The Gravitas of Independent Media

'We will not be silent' is a slogan that dates back to the 'White Rose Collective,' a nonviolent group of intellectuals who spoke out against the Nazi Regime. Their movement became characterized by leaflets which rendered the voice of the people, rather than of power. This mantra has been necessitated again and again, in every language, as people vie for their right to know in the face of dominant State propaganda and corporate media.

Last night I had the opportunity to see Amy Goodman, journalist extraordinaire and famed host of the Independent News program, Democracy Now!. She spoke at Calhoun, a progressive, Independent School on the Upper West Side. Goodman doesn't use detailed notes when she speaks, she is a vivid storyteller - linking true accounts from history with what's happening on the ground today. Her recent New York Times Best Seller, 'Breaking the Sound Barrier' is a collection of columns and stories that elucidate our deep-rooted need to hear the truth on the ground. Democracy Now! is one of these silence breakers, giving what they call the 'war and peace report.' Their aim is not to stand on the sidelines of news, but to really catch the voices and experiences of those in question.

"Where are the experts in their own communities?" she asked.

Let them be heard, she reiterated. In her talk Goodman gave voice to several different youth in brief anecdotes and quotations. These stories of inspired young people give us hope.

"Dissent must be encouraged."

Youth need to know that it's ok to speak out, and to question the status quo. We have essentially been fighting a war since the September 11th attacks in 2001. Yet, Goodman asked the audience quite seriously;

"Do kids get to talk about War?"

The answer is clear. Even some seniors, who are old enough to fight wars for their country, are forbidden to discuss war in their classrooms. Here in the United States we are carefully fed highly controlled information. Goodman knows this directly from experiences like the time when her and several colleagues were arrested during the Republican convention, despite their press credentials or another instance, being stopped and exhaustively interrogated at the Canadian border. Surveillance and patriotism in this country are more prevailing then ever. But these actions are a violation of 'Freedom of Press' as well as the 'Right to Know,' Goodman declared. The image at the top, 'We will not be silent' in English and Arabic was written on a T-shirt worn by an Raed Jamal, an Iraqi blogger and activist when he passed security at JFK. They forced him to turn the T-shirt inside out, saying that it was like going to a bank with a T-shirt that reads, 'I am a robber.'

'Independent media is dangerous because it challenges stereotypes,' Goodman said. Rather than depicting a recurrent, well-crafted image of the 'other' you are given the opportunity to find common ground.

"It is not about one person, it is about movements." Each person just becomes part of the momentum that is the wave, the change or awakening. You can become part of it by becoming involved, by supporting Independent Media and grassroots organizations. Amy Goodman conjured Woody Allen's famous remark that, " 90% of life is just showing up." It's true. That is what independent reporters are aiming to do; to show up at the front lines and offer a genuine account of the story unfolding there. Youth, with all their potential to bring about change and their need to be informed need to be given opportunities to see what's happening in the world firsthand. Goodman told a story of a high school girl who skipped school in order to attend Rosa Parks' funeral, despite the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to get in - 'the good stuff usually happens on the outside anyway,' Goodman winked. The girl called her school that day and left a message saying,

"I won't be in class today, I'm going to get an education."

We will not be silent. Thank you to Calhoun and to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!

*You can access news and interesting programs from the field at democracynow.org

Or, if you are in NY you can listen to the radio at 8am, M-F on WBAI 99.5 FM

Education as Eros

One of my favorite professors, a philosopher of education with antiquated languages tattooed on his forearms, commenced our first lecture together by inscribing, in large chalked letters the ancient Greek word:

Ἔρως,

Eros, he said, means Love. And seduction of the mind, which is education, is erotic. Education as Erotic? Hmmmm...He's taking it a bit far, I thought - but I was deeply engaged, almost to the point of perspiration, and I listened on carefully to his argument. The Greeks believed that knowledge was best derived through bodily interactions with the world; Hence the emphasis on music and gymnastics until a scholar was readily developed in physique.

Music and gymnastics were the subjects taught first in order to establish a strong attraction to knowledge. Activating the body through gym and the mind through music brings the body alive. It is an embodied encounter. The mind body dualism was essential to the foundation of Ancient Greek education; the mind mediates toward the body, and the body mediates toward the mind. Therefore, education begins as an inner dialectic. A dialectic with the body, the embodied and the world. Later, when the mind has developed and is agile and nimble from it's music and bodily training, it is ready for dialectic with the teacher.

What is a dialectic? Historically, it is a shared, mystical experience in which Socrates served as a sort of psychagogic midwife; assisting in the divulgence of new ways of thinking through asking questions, through seduction into 'seeing' what is already there. It is teacher as guide and corruption of the mind, or seduction as learning.

Seduction in Latin is: SE DUCERE - lead towards / EX DUCERE - to lead out of

So, my Professor had written the word EROS and essentially led me towards the understanding that the attraction to learning comes through bodily interactions with the world. We were sitting in a classroom, in neat little chairs beneath fluorescent lighting and breathing controlled air while learning about how embodied knowledge and mind-body dualism can actually make education an erotic experience. I believed him, though not because he was telling me it was so - my body already held the wisdom for knowing it to be true. My deepest moments of learning have always occurred when I have been in direct, embodied contact with the world. Whether traveling, falling ill, through touch or taste, a piece of music or the exchange between a merchant, and especially through communicating with others of all ages and creeds.

Couldn't we transform schools with this little philosophic quip?

By giving students the opportunity to connect with learning, through some deep interface with the world? Wouldn't this inflate a sense of responsibility to their community? This is exactly what Greek Education was all about. The word for education, paideia, actually involves a triad understanding of education, philosophy and the polis or community. Paideia was holistic in approach, and emphasized involvement with ones society. Which, today, is not bound to a metropolis, but to the world. Therefore, schools must deliver some interaction with the world in order to make their students fall in love with it, and to be drawn toward their own illumination.

Pressing Forward: 21st Century Skills

What is the purpose of schooling?

Fernando Reimers, a contributor to 'Educational Leadership' writes that the 'purpose of schooling is to prepare students for life in the real world in their communities and societies, both in the present - while students are in school - and in the future - after they leave school behind.'

So, good educators today must be adapting outmoded systems in order to reflect the interconnected and interdependent nature of life as we know it now. Educator's must be leading with a new set of skills. One American organization; the Partnership for 21st Century Learning is working to provide a new framework for teaching and learning in our era. They redefine the three r's of learning (reading, writing, r'thmatic) into a broader configuration which includes the integration of the four C's, critical thinking/problem solving, communication, coolaboration, creativity and innovation. A fusion of these is necessary to cultivate effective student outcomes. Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Wisconsin breaks down the new demands as the following:

"Students need to be technologically proficient, globally aware, civically engaged and financially and economically literate to most effectively use their creativity in the 21st century."

See the interactive version of this rubric at Route 21

The demand for global competency is more dire than ever. If students want to be a dynamic part of the global workforce and competitive in the economy a sense of global proficiency is essential.

"I define global competency as the knowledge and skills people need to understand today's flat world and to integrate across disciplines so that they can comprehend global event and create possibilities to address them. Global competencies are also the attitudinal and ethical dispositions that make it possible to interact peacefully, respectfully, and productively with fellow human beings from diverse geographies (Reimers, 2009)"

Cell Phones Have No Boundaries

Image from an article on elearning; Mobile Phones revolutionizing education in Africa, Kevin James Moore.

The last time I visited Tanzania one of the grandiose changes that I witnessed was the looming presence of cell phone towers, high on hills and in the remote skylines of National Parks. However unsightly the 'vodacom' spires are, they are making cell phone reception possible from the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the distant bush of Serengeti. This kind of accessibility is unprecedented - in places where there are no schools, or running water - there is mobile reception. One reoccurring style trend around the world today is the mighty cell phone, clasped in hand.

Last week here in New York I had the opportunity to take part in The Economist's Ideas Conference on Human Potential. There was much sprightly discourse on new ways of thinking and doing. The Economist has recently launched an initiative called the ‘ InnoCentive Challenge’ in which the floor is opened to unconventional ideas which press forward. The last challenge was focused on the challenge of ‘21^st century Cyber Schools.’ The challenged winner is awarded a small grant, and be given more opportunities to present the proposed idea at the upcoming Economist conference.

The winner for the first challenge in 21^st century cyberschools is Andrew Deonarine, a Public Health and Preventative Medicine resident at the University of British Columbia, a facility reputed for the sciences. He won for his proposal on “Educell,” a start-up that uses cell phone technology as a platform for basic literacy through “phonecasting.” A teacher anywhere in the world can use the mobile medium to write and load curriculum in multiple languages using simple coding. The lesson is then published to a server, compressed and sent out to cell phone users in audio and video format (obviously necessary for literacy learning).

Deonarine is pushing the limits by bringing together medicine, biology and computer science in order to advance learning across demographics. The beauty of this idea is that most people around the world have access to and are willing to invest in a mobile phone. Even some of the most rural areas in India and Sub-saharan Africa, where there is no running water or electricity, people have access to mobile phones and coverage. This would be a fantastic move, and not unrealistic to do, especially in teaching basic literacy and rudimentary health promotion.

Most teachers prohibit the use of mobiles and texting in schools, however, might this be one of our most untapped, and tapped-in resources? Students send hundreds of texts a day, they access information and engage with one another. Could we be using cell phones, which are available to youth throughout the world and across demographics to foster more dialogue, and to spread more conscious learning initiatives? This is an idea that could help push things forward in both western, and developing nations.

Texting could also be used between students in classrooms from Kentucky to Kochi.

September 11th Prayer

Reflecting on humanity,
Remembering the brave souls,
and the countless lives lost since and because of those lamentable acts of 9 years ago today.


A prayer today for more interfaith dialogue

Y-generation

beep bep bob beeb bep beop… Crraaaarrrraarr… Crraaaarrrraarr… Crraaaarrrraarr…

If the seemingly prehistoric sounds of dial-up Internet were a part of your childhood experience – then you are probably part of the Y Generation.

Unlike the X generation, which begins after the baby boomer era and ends in the eighties, 1961-1981, the dates of the Y generation are still debatable. The Y-geners appear to be those born between 1976 and 1996. But, more generally we can say that the Y generations are the first of those to come of age under the flowering of the Internet. That is why they are sometimes referred to as iGen, net generation, Internet generation as well as echo boomers and millenials. What we can be sure of is that this generation has been under the constant influence of technology.

Some have been honing their technological literacy since learning to read. They have literally had the world [wide web] at their fingertips. The world has been in a period of steady, dramatic and accelerated change in the past thirty years; so it wouldn’t be surprising to confirm that this generation is now refashioning what it means to be a ‘twenty-something.’ And they’re in no rush to grow up. The New York Times recently published an article called, ‘What is it about Twenty Somethings?’ which introduced the possibility of a new developmental phase called ‘emerging adulthood,’ a term coined by Psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, and brought about by the social and economic changes of our time. The article is a well-written exploration on what is means to be an ‘emerging adult’ today, and whether it’s helpful or just a setback to use the twenties as a time of self-discovery and continued dependency. The article was written by a regular New York Times contributor in her 50's.

The articles negotiations between pros and cons illustrate just how little we understand this generation of youth. Come to think of it, do Generation Y-ers understand themselves? It seems they are caught between the conventions and pressures of their parents, and the limitless opportunities of the world today. They are supposed to discover themselves in ways that their parents were never able, but at the same time expected to get the degree, the job, and the family before expiration (a date that is protracting more than ever). The Y generation and the world have changed, but the architecture of our schools and institutions are lagging behind. So, what can we learn from this generation in order to better bridge schooling with the work force, and world? Because, come on, these twenty somethings don’t have the time to mess around – they want to reinvent jobs to work for them.

As a bonafide member of the Y generation and a scholar of ‘21^st century education’ I have a few ideas about who we are and what kind of support we need in order to thrive:

1. More learning outside of the classroom; schools are still operating from an Industrial Revolution style model of learning. What students need is more access to real world relationships, work experiences and relevant pedagogy.

2. Support Youth to take a Gap, or Bridge Year ; Princeton is at the forefront of this movement in America, encouraging prospective students to apply and then take a year ‘on’ of public service. This gives youth the support they need to engage in self-discovery, volunteer, as well as ensuring continuation in school.

3. Beyond-the-office training; How much work is really performed during office hours? How much money and management is needed in order to monitor how many times people check their facebook accounts on the job? This generation doesn’t want to be confined to offices, professional attire or the 9-5 nightmare. So how can we reinvent the wheel? We need more a innovative approach to work… How to guides on thriving as a freelancer, entrepreneur and actor in the 21^st century workforce.

4. Capitalize on Capitalism; the NGO trend is a swing in the right direction, however, people working for them are often burnt out and underpaid. Social entrepreneurship is the way forward, and the Y generation is at the helm. People are much more likely to give money when there is a cause attached (see cause and cone marketing). Enterprise redesigned.

5. More cross-cultural/inter-generational interface; One of the major issues of our era is the growing gaps between rich and poor, cultures, and generations. As the world is changing at ever accelerating rates more efforts must be made to foster dialogue between civilizations (see dialogue among civilizations). Using technology in schools to promote discourse between students around the world is one way of cultivating global competence (see Global Nomads Group).

6. Environmental and Social Responsibility; The eighties and nineties commenced a period of exposure to global crisis unlike ever before. New media started to uncover war, famine, genocide, and environmental degradation, in ways that make it impossible to turn a blind eye. This generation has a unprecedented responsibility, and if they haven't realized it, or are too overwhelmed with information - some real focus and guidance is needed.

7. The willingness to change; If we want to continue to be competitive in the global economy we must take action to change the architecture of old systems. The future of our success may not greatly resemble structures of the past. The Y-generation is not willing to go along with outmoded ways of working and living - and that should be OK.

We are constantly learning how to adapt and integrate news ways of doing in the 21^st century. The Y generation is still emerging on the scene with their gadgets and an epoch-making sense of autonomy. Rather than trying to hold on to convention, and ideas of what it means to ‘grow up,’ let’s nurture the sense of immeasurable options that youth feel today. Take the advice of Ken Robinson, the author of ‘The Element’ who writes,

“My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”

So, with the last wave of the Y-generation entering college it would be a good time to put trust in evolving the new technology they are already so intimate with. As well as creating opportunities to bring innovation into the academic methodology – such as cultivating the skills that employers are looking for; innovation, self-starter attitudes and experience – all of which comes from direct work and experience in the world. The Y-generation may be seemingly gradual in reaching adulthood, but personal evolution in the twenties may be a step toward unlocking human potential in our era. So let’s be kind to the Y-generation, in a world of constant growth and flux, they’re still getting to know themselves.

Sometimes, the Y generation is even known as Generation, 'Why'? for the ways they are shaking up notions of workforce. Often met with an attitude of skepticism by older generations, this era of youth and their inclination to query and taking their time should be treated with heed - the importance of questioning obsolete conventions may be a step forward in building ones that work.

-Rebecca Thom

La Belle Sauvage

Rousseau's notion of the Noble Savage views the natural as the ethical base of man. He believed that schooling should begin with the soil, not in the clouds.

In Rousseau's discourse on Education, or Emile, he describes the development and individual tuition of a fictitious boy/young man in line with the principles of 'natural education.' The treatise is comprised of five books, and a sixth on Sophie, the female scholar. Each book describes the appropriate way to educate the boy according to life stages. The second phase, ages 2-12 is the 'age of nature,' in which the child receives only 'negative education,' no moral instruction, and no verbal learning. He believed the mind should be left undisturbed until all its faculties have developed. One of the lessons in the second book involves tending to a garden plot in order to understand notions of property, and cultivation. It is a lesson in culture.

The tutor is merely an witness to the child's discovery of its natural habits.

The cultivation of a garden has continued to be a departure for learning in progressive education. Dewey believed gardening, the hands-on, democratic approach teaches responsibility and recognition of the individual's place in society. Dating back to Aristotle, tekne or the intelligence of agriculture was an essential skill for understanding necessity, ergo life and death. Understanding the interconnected nature of plant growth and nourishment also teaches about sustenance, dependence, money, exchange, use and responsibility. Therefore, it is also a place-based way of teaching about globalization. Increasingly in the 21st century we are recognizing the importance of understanding the growth of our foodstuffs; learning about food is learning about life.

Gardens create a dynamic learning environment for not only teaching, but involving students with their locale, creating awareness about the natural environment and food. It is an essential feature of 21st century education.

Age

~ Mkoba wa mzee hauishiwi kabisa ~

An elders handbag is never completely empty

*Photos by Rebecca Thom