EDUCATION A consideration of the education services across the globe will indicate, at present, that many are designed to serve the interests of the national governments, rather than those of the pupils. A large number of governments, including England, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Turkey: have National Curricula, devised by government departments, and designed to control what is taught, to whom, by whom, and how assessed. It is worth noting that even those governments which do not have national curricula, do have national guidelines which inform local practices, by special funding, e.g. Australia, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Wales, USA, South Africa. And even where administration is regional, there are regional curricula, as in Germany, the USA, Canada, Russia, and China. Today, it is rare to find local communities that are able to devise school programmes that are designed by the communities for the benefit of their own children. The days of Community education are over. Education services are centralized, not devolved. The administrators of education services, national and regional, are not at all interested in the debates about the validity and veridicality of knowledge. They accept that the knowledge they approve is reliable and true. They are interested in the identification of knowledge that they wish to prescribe for the education of the populace. Knowledge is seen as a commodity: that is, sets of objects that can be transmitted to pupils and students in schools and colleges. In their turn, teachers and trainers, as qualified experts, do not question the validity, nor the veridicality, of the knowledge that they are transmitting. The organizers of the National Curriculum only express doubts about what is to be included in their prescriptions, never about ‘the knowledge’. Such knowledge is divided into subjects, and the teachers are qualified and certified to teach their subjects. In terms of epistemology, or the theories of knowledge, such educators are realistic, materialist, empiricist, positivist, constructivist, social-ist, and by implication, relativist. The various authorities define the truth and knowledge in the light of the values, priorities, and expectations of their current governments in the many countries that impose a National Curriculum. The development of a National Curriculum assumes that ‘education is teaching’: that knowledge is to be taught . ‘Education’ as teaching accepts that knowledge is derived from the testimony and evidence of others. Administrators, teachers and trainers identify what is to be taught, and adopt methods to teach efficiently and effectively their authorised knowledge to the learners. What is to be taught is defined by agents and agencies in society. These vary according to the political structures of the society: democratic, dictatorial, military, plutocracy; presidential, parliamentary; capitalist, communist, socialist; catholic, protestant, orthodox, muslim, hindu, sikh, buddhist, confucianist, taoist, shinto, and so on. This leads us to accept that such educators tend to be social constructivists, whereby it is argued that knowledge and the truth are negotiated and agreed by communities of administrators in the light of the priorities of the politicians and civil servants. The transmission of the content of a National Curriculum leaves little room for any negotiation and agreement. Curriculum content is fixed and relatively static. The National Curriculum, as practiced by many governments, with its emphasis on prescribed content and testing, has encouraged the use of didactic teaching methods to ensure that the approved content is transmitted. This approach defines ‘Education’ as teaching. To be educated is to absorb and regurgitate what is taught and involves the transmission of knowledge from an expert to a novice; an adult to a child; a teacher to the taught; in which the teacher knows the knowledge and truth. This model is hierarchical, placing the learner as subordinate to the teacher, the teachers as the authority in the school or college, and the officers of governments as the rulers of the teachers, telling them what to teach. We live in societies in which it is taken for granted that ‘education’ as teaching is the norm, and takes place only within formal settings, and involves the teaching of knowledge, often described as the ‘truth’, and always ‘approved’ and ‘authorised’. Education is seen as development, as betterment, as progress, with a purpose, and direction, overseen by authorities that define what is normal, and permissible. Education services must be seen as the agencies of the governments, which prescribe what is to be taught in their schools. For example, in the UK, during 1986 Prime Minister Thatcher, who once declared that there was no such thing as society, nevertheless, asserted that education was too important to be left to the teachers. As a result of this premise she supported Kenneth Baker in the development of an Education Act in which the teachers became agents of the government in power, doing as they were told. In the U.K.,1988 marked a significant change in government policy and practices when the Education Act imposed a National Curriculum on all schools and colleges in the public sector, declaring that this was the way to raise standards and create an effective education service to enable Britain to compete in the 21st century. This Act specified the ages that children started the different schools, how many hours the teachers are to work, the aims and objectives of the educational programmes, the content and textbooks, the targets and the assessments of the pupils and the teachers. The focus would be on the attainment of specific standards for all children at specified ages. In any one school all the pupils were expected to reach those standards judged correct for their age group. Course material was prepared by central agencies and made available to the teachers, with recommendations about the delivery of the lessons. This National Curriculum was reinforced, later, by Mr. Blair’s new Labour government in 1997, with his call for “Education, Education, Education”. But 'education for all' was not the real objective. The introduction of ‘academies’, and the continued operation of grammar schools in the private sector, for the best pupils, reminded us that the Governments, Labour or Tory, are particularly interested in identifying the ‘brightest and the best’ for the civil services. The system is a meritocracy! So at the present time ‘education’ involves the teaching of prescribed knowledge to the ‘masses’; testing the pupils to verify their standards of attainment; and selecting the best pupils for the best schools and the best rewards. This model of education as instruction is graphically described in the magical world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts School for Wizards in which every lesson described starts with ‘will you please turn to page ….. of your book and you will be tested in half an hour’. This is the same model presented by Charles Dickens in Hard Times and personified by Mr. Gradgrind’s concern with “facts, facts, facts” and the need to fill pupils with knowledge. The time has come to re- evaluate and challenge this accepted dogma, which unfortunately has become embedded in the National Curriculum in the UK and in many other countries across the world. One of the problems associated with a system driven by standards, testing, and assessment is that the pupils, and the teachers, soon learn that the best way to learn is by rote. You learn facts ‘off by heart’, you take the test, and then you forget! Is this really the point of a modern education system? send comments to hmr@kelvynrichards.com EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ECOLOGY Social Ecology, whether as an expression of the ‘Green movement’ and the care of the environment across the globe; or of the viability of social epistemology, and social freedom; or of the dependence and interdependence of all species; has significant implications for the provision of education for children and adults. In another section, ‘How to keep the peace?’ it was argued that conflict prevention, sustainable development, elimination of poverty, and of climate change, the pursuit of environmentally friendly policies and actions, require us to realise our global dependence and interdependence, and to realise the demands for: tolerance of difference, appreciation of the advantages of cultural and linguistic diversity, respect for the rights and property of others, responsibility for contributing to communal economic and social well-being. This underlines the significance of a ‘multi-cultural’ approach. There is no point in seeking the uniformity of communities nor the ideology of a national identity; but there is point in promoting the diversity of communities, and getting to know and understand each other by dialogue and social and cultural exchange: this is what some have called ‘the Rainbow society’. For example, in South Africa, a central concept in the Xhosa-speaking culture, as in Bantu tradition in general, is ‘Ubuntu,’ fraternity. This implies compassion and open-mindedness and is opposed to individualism and egotism. What made Nelson Mandela stand out from other South African leaders, and made him finally emerge victorious, was precisely his vision of a state that belongs equally to all its different peoples,nations, and tribes, whether Afrikaan, English, or Zulu. Being himself a leader belonging to the Xhosa-speaking people, he eventually transcended the idea of national liberty, and he attracted Indians, Jews, Afrikaans, and other segments of the multicoloured population to the cause. [Anders Hallengren 2001] Nelson Mandela declared in 1996 "All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs . . . .The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace; Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit; Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan." Social Ecology, and our mutual social freedom, requires that we address those issues together, in fraternity, rather than focusing on our differences in opposition to each other. The adoption of a multicultural, ecological approach has significant implications for the kind of education that communities pursue, as well as for the ways of life they follow. If individuals in society are in a state of interdependence, they should act in the interests of all not simply in the interests of one. This is often expressed as ‘the community’, acting in cooperation, with mutual respect, and understanding of cultural difference, inclusive not exclusive. The concept of social freedom is based on respect for persons and their right to differ, with the necessity of negotiation and mediation. We must trust in our neighbours, talk with them, negotiate, and come to agreements with them. It is no longer acceptable to regard anyone who is different as an enemy to be attacked, punished, or tortured. They are to be cherished and consulted. Nor is it acceptable to look at other people as ‘lesser’, as inferior, and thereby as not human. They are to be cherished and respected. All humans are to be treated as brothers and sisters, and loved as part of the human family for whom we are responsible. We are all responsible for the protection of the mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters. ‘Social Freedom’ is an attempt to capture the spirit of mutual interdependence of all for all, that through our mutual support we gain our freedom. ‘Social freedom’ is not only trying to point to the moral necessity of collaboration and cooperation, it is also suggesting that we become aware of the ways in which, even in our ‘selfish society’, we are totally dependent upon all others. It is necessary to adopt a different mind set. Existential philosophers have asserted that ‘others’ constrain and interfere with ‘me’. But ‘me’ or ‘I’ have to recognize that we are liberated by ‘others’. Without ‘others’ we are doomed. Following Paolo Friere, and Ivan Illich, education has to be about learning communities, involving everybody, young and old, in the processes of learning new knowledge, skills, and attitudes. A closed, didactic prescriptive system is not adequate to these objectives. An alternative is to move towards an open, process-based, negotiated curriculum which is based upon general learning outcomes, key skills and collaboration and participation. This involves a change from seeing education as teaching to seeing education as learning. Education as learning Education as Dialogue Education as Problem solving Education as negotiated curricula Education as Liberation Education as Virtual Learning Education and Green Living A Social ecology leads us to an alternative approach. It is not based on selection, streaming and meritocracy. It is based on mixed groups,topic-based curriculum approaches in which the teacher, the learner and the community identify what is to be learned. These strategies are based on a respect for diversity; a recognition of our interdependence; that learners are in cooperation not competition; and that we are all learners. The work of Piaget, and then Bruner, indicated that the learner is active. Bruner emphasized that learning is a social process. ‘What is learning? Learning is an active, social process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge. The student selects the information,forms hypothesis and then integrates this new material into their own existing knowledge and mental constructs. This is a continual process. Learning occurs in three stages: Enactive- in which children need to experience the concrete (manipulating objects in their hands, touching a real dog) in order to understand. Iconic-students are able to represent materials graphically or mentally (they can do basic addition problems in their heads). Symbolic- students are able to use logic, higher order thinking skills and symbol systems (formulas, such as f--ma and understand statements like "too many cooks spoil the broth") (Educational Psychology 1998)’. ‘How are skills and knowledge acquired? These things are not acquired gradually, but more in a staircase pattern which consists of spurts and rests. Spurts are caused by certain concepts "clicking", being understood. These "clicks" have to be mastered before others are acquired, before there is movement to the next step. These steps are not linked to age but more toward environment. Environments can slow down the sequence or speed it up. [Journal of Social Issues 1983] Bruner felt that knowledge was best acquired when students were allowed to discover it on their own.’ (Milner,1991]. This alternative approach will talk about learning spaces not teaching rooms. These spaces can be in the field, forest, street, museum and classroom. The learners will not be organized in rows but in flexible patterns. Sometimes all age groups will be together, other times friends, and family groups. The knowledge is not prescribed, it is to be discovered. The teacher is not at a high desk at the front of the room, but is sitting with the learners: sometimes the learner, the leader, sometimes the adviser. Lessons are not a series of prescriptions, but a complex of problems to be solved jointly. For those with access, the library is the world wide web with up-to-the minute information, facts, statistics. For others, the creative use of the local community and neighborhood can provide personal experiences and local knowledge from which to encourage investigation, and an innovative database. The communities of learners are actively involved in negotiating their studies with teachers who see their role as co-learners, organizing and structuring the learning experiences. This means that the teacher must themselves become learners, developing their skills in planning the presentation of problems and devising a supportive structure to guide learners in their explorations. Of course you may say that this is all a fantasy. But my experiences, working in a council estate school in Birmingham, many years ago, tell me that such approaches are certainly the only ones that will get any ‘reluctant learners’ to do anything! To fix the 'broken classes' described by Yakov Hecht in his articles about the democratic school. 1999. Education as learning means that the pupils are actively involved in problem solving, not simply learning by rote. Such active approaches are based on several key constructs: first, scaffolding. Scaffolding There are many sources of support for the type of approaches being suggested. A useful starting point can be for teachers to think in terms of Bruner’s concepts of learning and ‘scaffolding’ in which the role of the teacher is to provide support for student thinking in ways which help them to move beyond their present levels. A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given". As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active dialog (i.e., socratic learning). The task of the instructor is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned. Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects: [1) predisposition towards learning, (2) the ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner, (3) the most effective sequences in which to present material, and (4) the nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. Good methods for structuring knowledge should result in simplifying, generating new propositions, and increasing the manipulation of information. He proposes that the teacher could make sure 1. Instruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn (readiness). 2. Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral organization). 3. Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given). The term ‘scaffolding’ was developed as a metaphor to describe the type of assistance offered by a teacher or peer to support learning.In the process of scaffolding, the teacher helps the student master a task or concept that the student is initially unable to grasp independently. The teacher offers assistance with only those skills that are beyond the student’s capability. Of great importance is allowing the student to complete as much of the task as possible, unassisted. The teacher only attempts to help the student with tasks that are just beyond his current capability. Student errors are expected, but, with teacher feedback and prompting, the student is able to achieve the task or goal. When the student takes responsibility for, or masters the task, the teacher begins the process of “fading”, or the gradual removal of the scaffolding, which allows the student to work independently. “Scaffolding is actually a bridge used to build upon what students already know to arrive at something they do not know. If scaffolding is properly administered, it will act as an enabler, not as a disabler” (Benson, 1997). [http://projects.coe.uga.edu] The ‘scaffold’ is a particularly apt metaphor as it makes it clear that the scaffold is not the building itself. The scaffold is there to support the structure of the building. Thus, the learner does the thinking, the teacher develops the scaffold which merely ensures that the building does not collapse. The scaffold is a temporary structure which will be removed as soon as possible, but provides a necessary support to guide learners in their exploration. These approaches indicate the social and cooperative nature of learning: the individual is learning alongside peers, teachers, family. Vygotsky offered further support for the social situations of learning. The major theme of Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states: "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later,on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (p57). A second aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior. Full development depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone. For example, in the learning of language, our first utterances with peers or adults are for the purpose of communication but once mastered they become internalized and allow "inner speech". This is in complete contrast to the pattern prescribed by any National Curriculum. Such curricula focus on descriptions of where all children will be at each stage in their education, specifying knowledge learnt, texts used, methods adopted, and intervals of assessment, and standards achieved. The organizers of a National Curriculum are only concerned about the knowledge learnt. Bruner and Vygotsky, and many others, argue that learning must begin from what the learner actually knows and can do. More open approaches to learning, in which the teachers change their role from one of instruction to guidance, will enable learning to be a voyage of discovery in which each learner is inspired to construct, innovate and communicate. Open learning Experiences at Nottingham Trent University, tell us that it is possible to design programmes of study at the University level that are ‘open’ and not ‘closed’, developed in the light of what students want to learn. A key device to achieve this is to change the focus from prescribed knowledge to the achievement of General Learning Outcomes, or key skill areas such as Communication, Problem Solving, Interpersonal Relationships, Planning, Decision Making. Programmes of study are organized to provide the opportunities for learners to develop these skills and achieve these outcomes. Content of an individual programme is not prescribed but the learning outcomes provide a scaffold to ensure that key skills are achieved and the student learns how to discover and innovate and communicate. Alverno College, a small women's college in Wisconsin, USA, is a thriving example of such an approach which has generated remarkable interest on the national stage in the USA. Alverno essentially has open enrolment, and part of the school's mission is to make higher education accessible to women who need extra support. Many students are single mothers or the first in their families to attend college. Professors go out of their way to provide help; many give students their home phone numbers. And more than one- third of the students are minorities -- the highest percentage of such students on any campus in the state. Much of that success stems from Alverno's unique curriculum, which focuses on the development of eight abilities considered critical for real-world success -- communication, analysis, problem solving, social interaction, valuing in decision-making, effective citizenship, developing a global perspective, and aesthetic engagement . In each class, students are expected to demonstrate progress in relevant abilities. This focus on achieving key outcomes encourages both students and professors to think of education as what students can do, not just what they know. Rather than a written exam on literacy assessments, for example, students might be asked to evaluate a child's reading abilities. "They don't ask students to memorize things, or question them on facts," says Kathi Glick, a teacher in the Whitnall School District who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at Alverno and taught a literacy course there. "Students process the information. Teachers put you out in the real world to problem solve." One of Alverno's most innovative practices is its use of performance-based assessments. Instead of letter grades, students receive continual feedback from peers, instructors, and outside professionals. Professors typically give students a full page or more of feedback on each project. Students also watch themselves on video and conduct self-assessments. Each course has clear objectives. "Students know the criteria before they've even stepped into the classroom," says Nancy Jelen, dean of the education program. Students compile a Diagnostic Digital Portfolio of key projects and feedback, which provides a matrix of their progress. Field placements are another one of Alverno's strengths. During their second and third years, undergraduates have four twenty-five-hour field experiences (at least two in multicultural settings), plus a practicum in which they work with special-needs students. The placements have clear objectives and are closely tied to coursework. The second placement, for example, focuses on reading and occurs while students take a literacy course. That way, they can apply in life what they're learning in academia. Professor Donna Engellman reports that each student must demonstrate competence in eight core abilities in order to graduate. ‘At Alverno, expectations for mastery of the abilities are integrated by faculty into course and program outcomes, so that, for example, when I teach philosophy and humanities I am also consciously teaching analytic skill and the ability to make ethical decisions based on an understanding of one’s own and others’ values. In practice, this means that when I teach Kant’s ethics, it is to give students theoretical tools to make their own ethical decisions, and for this purpose, I am more likely to have them explain Kant’s texts to one another than to lecture about Kant. The goal is to have them actively involved in coming to understanding, and to take responsibility for sharing their understanding with others. When I am assessing their learning, I ask them to apply Kant’s thinking to the resolution of an ethical issue, rather than merely checking what they have memorized with a multiple choice test. We assess in order to improve the learning process, to give each student, and groups of students, guidance for their learning. In the Alverno curriculum, the continuous assessment of student performance produces data at all levels that can be — and are — used to make changes in course sequences, programs, and across the entire curriculum. When, for example, several years ago, the instructors of our intermediate communication seminar shared with one another their concerns that students were struggling to meet writing expectations, we examined the development of students’ writing in the three seminar courses. As a result, all the faculty involved in teaching the seminars — from departments across the college — decided to redesign the whole series.[http://www.alverno.edu] Such programmes emphasize the view that education is about lifelong learning and personal and social development. The emphasis of these open programmes is on ‘process’ rather than ‘product’. The ‘distinctive excellence’ of such a programme is to recognize that learners need to develop the skills in order to extend their knowledge, rather than the transmission of knowledge. The development of skills leads to the operation of working teams, and the recognition that’ knowledge’ is a collective project, and in order to establish different relationships between the tutors and learners. If one wants to bring about educational change, then it is important to alter the knowledge base of the learners. If all we are doing is learning by rote what others have written in the past, or what funding agencies have specified, then it becomes difficult to alter the pedagogical relationships of the present. Everyone has to learn how to learn. A key focus then becomes the question of how to improve the content of learning materials to achieve the educational aims of programmes more effectively. Developing more up-to-date lectures or text book materials is not the answer. Open Dialogue Open learning involves the development of an open dialogue aiming to alter the relationships between teachers and students so that all can participate as a community of learners. But this dialogue is not random. It has particular rules of engagement as outlined below. "DIALOGUE in a very specific, technical sense is a conversation on a common subject between two or more persons with differing views who share the willingness to change and grow, and who have come primarily in order to learn from each other. In fruitful dialogue all participants share … a common "vocabulary" so that they can understand their conversation partners' positions at least in general terms. All participants are both willing to learn/listen and to speak/teach. All participants acknowledge that no one has the absolute truth, though some may be better informed and/or have more clearly enunciated or logically coherent positions. All participants respect one another not only as persons but in terms of the other's ideas. This means that people who are totally convinced that they must convert others for their own good exclude themselves from dialogue…In other words, in order to participate in dialogue one must first accept the validity of dialogue-as-method and agree to use the dialogic mode of discourse. …Dialogue as defined above is among equals and becomes impossible if participants have come primarily to teach rather than to learn….. We must keep in mind that by not accepting the ground rules of dialogue, individuals exclude themselves from the community! We must also remember that it is important to avoid sarcastic, strident, adversarial tone; it is contagious. But so is civility!" ( http://www.usao.edu/~facshaferi/dialogue.html] The development of dialogue is a key element in an alternative model of education. It provides a structure and a learning space for everyone to participate as equals. The rules of the dialogue can encourage diverse groups to come to consensus about the issues being discussed. Open texts Developing educationally effective materials particularly via the World Wide web needs a careful and critical approach. To this end the idea of ‘open texts’ provide a key starting point. Eco (1979) develops the notion of an ‘open’ text which takes into account the role of the recipient, which calls not only for the cooperation of the reader but actually wants the reader to make a series of interpretive choices. There needs to be a move from the usual models of communication which describe a direct transmission of a message from the sender to the receiver which assumes an understanding of the ideas by both parties: " An open text outlines a ‘closed’ project of its Model Reader as a component of its structural strategy….Thus, the concepts of ‘openness’ and dynamism may recall the terminology of quantum physics; indeterminacy and discontinuity…In other words, the author offers the interpreter, the performer, the addressee a work to be completed. He does not know the exact fashion in which his work will be concluded, but he is aware that once completed the work in question will not be his own. It will be a different work." (p.10/11) Plant (1997) applies these notions to educational materials. He describes such texts as ‘open’ when they enable learners to engage and interact with the text. 'Open' texts promote questions and encourage critical thinking rather than closing down avenues of thought. They open windows for the reader, suggesting alternative perspectives and choices. The development of such texts, however, is by no means without difficulty. In many ways the openness of a text is linked as much with the ways in which it is received by the reader as with the intentions of the presenter. Thus 'open' texts challenge the traditional format of learning material. An open text may be conceived as interactive, rather than received. If it is interactive, then the entire student group can contribute. If it is received, then it is ‘given’ and requires the learner to memorise it, reproduce and quote it for assessment. The text you are reading now is intended to be received as an open text. The ideas are being presented to you for comment. The text has been presented as a web site for reaction and interaction. But while many read it, few comment. This perhaps means that the development of open texts will require a change in the ways in which the reader responds to the text. It may be better to design pedagogy to involve the introduction of a range of alternative viewpoints on a given topic, for example; the arguments in favour and against the cloning of sheep, or the development of genetically modified food. Each of these expositions can be ‘closed’ in the sense of presenting one side of an argument, or ‘facts’ supporting one perspective either in favour of cloning or against it. Yet the collection of views would reflect a wide range of viewpoints, the ‘openness’ of the text would be generated by the ways in which students are encouraged to interact with the views. Each view would be analysed in order to identify and try to separate ‘facts’ from values. The students can then discuss the values, and the ‘facts’ evaluated in order to encourage students, to articulate their own perspective on the issue of cloning. This description, however, should not be taken as a prescription for ensuring ‘openness’, the students’ reactions and engagements with the texts are the key determinants of openness. For this reason the types of activities in which students are asked to engage is crucial. In the cloning example students could be asked to work together to list the arguments in favour of cloning, and another group could be asked to work on listing the arguments against cloning — quite a common procedure in many classrooms. Individual students could then be asked to express their own personal views and to justify these for the group. Having explored one controversial issue in an open way groups of students could then be asked to choose another issue on which they could collect data of a similar type to the cloning example. A colleague, Dr. Marsh adopted this approach to the discourse on Social Freedom with groups of University teachers in Fiji. They were extremely receptive to the ideas and values but seemed unable to conceive of the possibility of actually applying them in ‘real’ life. They were keenly aware of the pressures which would work against the achievement of social freedom – in particular the economic pressures were seen as a key restrictor. They were willing, and able, to discuss the issues, acknowledging that no ‘right’ answer existed and their own opinions were part of the ongoing debate. Once we see that all texts are open to discussion, then we can treat all texts as ‘open’. This particular text will be subject to interpretation by readers, whose responses could add an alternative dimension which could contribute to the development of these ideas. Problem solving ‘Open Learning’, requires a move from seeing learning as the providing of solutions to given problems, a presented problem, to that of problem clarification. Jackson & Achilles (1979) highlight the difference between presented and discovered problem situations: "in Presented Problem Situations, the problem is proposed by someone else and given to the problem-solver. It has a known formulation, known method of solution and known answer…..In Discovered Problem Situations, a problem exists, but it is found and formulated by the problem solver, not by someone else. It may not have a known formulation, known method of solution or known solution…Here a person may be actively engaged with others in finding, defining, and refining the problem and then seeking creative or innovative solutions ". Extensive work has been carried out, particularly in the areas of mathematical problem-solving which can have direct relevance to the development of the open learning. A good example is provided by the Center for Teaching Development, La Jolla, California who developed a model for analysis of mathematical problems which has wider applicability. The model stresses the need to distinguish between problems and exercises. An exercise can be defined as something which is performed as a test or practice of technical skills. If the students know how to perform a given action or procedure, and know the steps involved in reaching a solution, then chances are that they are performing an exercise. "Because an exercise can be completed using known procedures there is very little analytical, creative thought involved…Problems are something completely different. A problem is a question for which the procedure is not immediately apparent. If you look at a question and don't know how to do it, it is probably a problem. The key to this distinction can be found in the procedures involved…. for a question to be classified as a problem it must meet two criteria. There must be some kind of a gap between where you are with the question and where you want to be, and there must be no immediately apparent or obvious way of bridging that gap. How then, you might ask, does this distinction help in actually answering a question which has been classified as a problem? The answer is to break the problem into a series of exercises. This is the first step towards effective teaching of analytical problem solving." http://www-ctd.ucsd.edu/hndbk/7AnProb.html The Center for Teaching Development points out the need for teachers to shift their emphasis since knowing how to do a problem yourself is very different from teaching others how to solve a particular class of problems because of the different skills involved in these two activities. When presenting a problem solution, problem solvers aim for neatness, precision, elegance, but such an approach actually hinders teaching because all the mental steps which go into the examination and solution of the problem are essentially concealed in favor of elegance and impression. "As a teacher, your goal is to make problem steps as obvious as possible, thus enabling the students to see every step along the way to the solution. You should also avoid taking anything for granted, because a computation or explanation you consider to be obvious is often quite alien to your class. The key is to clarify all of the steps needed to solve the problem." http://www-ctd.ucsd.edu/hndbk/7AnProb.html The adoption of such procedures can give teachers a clear framework for providing appropriate scaffolding for students in developing their problem solving skills. The purpose of developing such skills is so that students can recognize their interdependence. When discussing education in the past, this was always in classrooms, but we no longer need to think in these terms. The availability of the internet means that learners can be anywhere and everywhere. However, the types of activities in which the learner engages is vital. These need to be active, open, problem clarification of issues chosen by the learner, which can liberate learners and develop social interaction. The learners are actively developing new ways of learning in communities which will lead to a re-definition of education as liberation. A negotiated curriculum In the past learners were able to pursue their interest within a topic-based curriculum in which through the mediation of the teacher the different age groups identified the ways in which they would explore and develop their knowledge and insights in particular topic areas. This was prohibited with the introduction of the National Curriculum because there is no room for choice and preference. An alternative to such a prescriptive approach to the curriculum is a negotiated curriculum where the arbiter of studies is the learner not the teacher or tutor. Within a negotiated curriculum the teacher/tutor is the facilitator, providing a service. The learner is actively pursuing their preferences with the advice of the teacher/tutor. The learner takes on the responsibility to meet the deadlines, and to consult with the teacher/tutors. The development of web-based research/learning has made the 'negotiated curriculum' more of a possibility for a greater number of learners. An example of a negotiated curriculum can be found in the Open University. The learner follows a programme of modules choosing their pathway according to their preferences and aspirations and rejecting others. Groups of students will complete their studies with the award of a degree but will have reached that point via different routes. Within this framework tutors guide and support student choices on the basis of their knowledge of the content of the modules. A fundamental problem with a negotiated curriculum is that it is claimed to encourage individual students to carry out their studies ‘on their own’. The concept of 'social freedom' counteracts this argument since we cannot study on our own. We can study alone. We may be in physical space in isolation, but we are referring to others all the time to inform and inspire our thoughts and ideas. We are learning in a learning space which may be virtual or actual but in some form others are present, on the page, in the picture, on the screen. In the primary and secondary schools strategies such as learning contracts can enable learners to choose their programmes of study in negotiation with their teachers. Even within single subjects the pathways do not have to be the same within any one classroom. Such Topic/project based learning was a standard and successful feature of classroom practice prior to the National Curriculum. These changes involve a re-definition of what is meant by the terms ‘Education’ and ‘Learning.’ Such a re-definition challenges the personal experience of learning, which feels to be an individual activity going on inside our heads. We need to recognise that what we learn and how we learn is a response to our social environment. These social activities build up our ‘social capital’ and promote our ‘social identity’ and as learners we recognize ourselves to be part of a wider social picture, reading the ideas of earlier writers helping us to develop our own understanding. Even creative thinkers link their ideas to those of others. We learn by 'standing on the shoulders' of others. In recognizing our connections with others in the learning process, we have the potential to overcome the restraints of our present situation that may help us to be liberated, to develop our ‘social freedom’ by joining in communities of learners. Suddenly we can begin to see the realization of the ideas of Friere and of Illich both of whom emphasized the social context of learning as a problem solving activity. In the process of negotiating a curriculum a wide range of problems will have been identified and it is these problems which will form the stimulus for enquiry. This can be seen as another facet of the development of an ‘open’ text. An ‘open’ text can be seen as material, which enables students to interrogate the ideas being raised rather than being presented with the answers. This can be thought of as providing a window for students to use to reflect upon issues and ideas. The raising of questions is intended to encourage students to reflect upon themselves and their social context, developing critical thinking skills and reflexivity in the learning process. The purpose of such thinking and enquiry is to encourage students to recognize their interdependence in an effort to develop social freedom and social ecology. Educational Liberation Our earlier concerns with the role of teacher and tutors can be resolved by recognizing that learning can take place outside of the classroom setting. Writers such as Illich and Friere have argued, liberation education should be in the home, in the field, on the street corner; in the village hall. The internet now provides us with the means to make this happen. They point out that organisations may talk about educational and economic liberation but they mean State control and prescription of what is to be learned, and freedom through conformity to national standards. Part of the radical critique of state education is that it places ‘education’ in an institution where it can be controlled and rationed. We need to connect our notion of social freedom to Community Education within which the equal worth of all is a central premise upon which communities of learners can be developed. It is important that Community Education is not to be interpreted as the teaching the community. It is essential to recognize that we are talking about members of communities coming together to research, to learn, to study, to collaborate, to cooperate, to solve problems. In a Freireian classroom, students act as subjects in the creation of a democratic society. They learn to critically examine the social construction of society, rather than being forced unknowingly into a class within society. A classroom based on the development of a ‘conscientizaçâo’ involves three different features: 1.DIALOGUE - open dialogue between teachers and students allows both parties to question, reflect, participate and create meaning. It aids in balancing power structures in the classroom. 2.COMMUNITY - all members of the classroom, regardless of class needs to work together in order to achieve goals. The formation of a community in the classroom is called a cultural circle. 3. LANGUAGE - through the gathering of a list of terms used in daily life in the community, the teacher can learn to understand the reality of the people and speak in a language that all understand. Making words relevant to the lives of the people helps to build a conscientizaçâo among students. Language is POWER! In the USA from the 80’s onwards, there were set up new community schools with full service in such states as Florida, California. These were integrated, school based, health and social services as a means of supporting individuals and families in combating underachievement and disadvantage. Similar initiatives were taken in the UK with the setting up of the Sutton Centre in Nottinghamshire, and Sidney Stringer School and Community College in Coventry. But they were taken over by the National Curriculum in 1988. In such schools programmes and services were provided as needed by the local communities and as provided in collaboration between schools, public and private agencies, parents, and other members of the community. Such schools were attempting to focus on the breaking of a culture of failure by providing the type of prevention, treatment, and support services that enable children, families, and communities to succeed. For example, mother’s clubs where the mothers come together with a nurse tutor to form a baby and toddlers club in which during their meetings they have dialogue about child rearing. The nursing tutor does not set the agenda, it is the mothers who raise the issues through their discussions about their own problems, and often offer the solutions to specific problems. In Paolo Friere’s work his emphasis on dialogue has struck a very strong chord with those concerned with popular and informal education. Given that informal education is dialogical (or conversational), rather than a curricula form this is hardly surprising. However, Paulo Freire was able to take the discussion on several steps with his insistence that dialogue involves respect. It should not involve one person acting 'on' another, but rather people working ' with 'each other. Second, Paulo Freire was concerned with praxis - action that is informed (and linked to certain values). Dialogue wasn't just about deepening understanding - but was part of making a difference in the world. Dialogue in itself is a co-operative activity involving respect. The process is important and can be seen as enhancing community and building social capital and to leading us to act in ways that make for justice and human flourishing. Informal and popular educators have had a long-standing orientation to action - so the emphasis on change in the world was welcome. But there was a sting in the tail. Paulo Freire argued for informed action and as such provided a useful counter-balance to those who want to diminish theory. The idea of building a 'pedagogy of the oppressed' or a 'pedagogy of hope' and how this may be carried forward has formed a significant impetus to work. An important element of this was his concern with conscientization, developing consciousness, but consciousness that is understood to have the power to transform reality' (Taylor 1993) Fourth, Paulo Freire's insistence on situating educational activity in the lived experience of participants has opened up a series of possibilities for the way informal educators can approach practice. Ivan Illich wanted to deschool society. By being forced to go to school, the pupil is thereby "schooled" to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. His imagination is "schooled" to accept service in place of value. Schooling - the production of knowledge, the marketing of knowledge, which is what the school amounts to, draws society into the trap of thinking that knowledge is hygienic, pure, respectable, deodorized, produced by human heads and amassed in stock..... [B]y making school compulsory, [people] are schooled to believe that the self-taught individual is to be discriminated against; that learning and the growth of cognitive capacity, require a process of consumption of services presented in an industrial, a planned, a professional form;... that learning is a thing rather than an activity. A thing that can be amassed and measured, the possession of which is a measure of the productivity of the individual within the society. That is, of his social value. Educational resources are usually labelled according to educators curricular goals. I propose to do the contrary, to label four different approaches which enable the student to gain access to any educational resource which may help him to define and achieve his own goals: 1. Reference services to educational objects - which facilitate access to things or processes used for formal learning. Some of these things can be reserved for this purpose, stored in libraries, rental agencies, laboratories and showrooms like museums and theatres; others can be in daily use in factories, airports or on farms, but made available to students as apprentices or on off-hours. 2. Skill exchanges - which permit persons to list their skills, the conditions under which they are willing to serve as models for others who want to learn these skills, and the addresses at which they can be reached. 3. Peer-matching - a communications network which permits persons to describe the learning activity in which they wish to engage, in the hope of finding a partner for the inquiry. 4. Reference services to educators-at-large - who can be listed in a directory giving the addresses and self-descriptions of professionals, paraprofessionals and freelances, along with conditions of access to their services.[www.infed.org] This is in line with the views of Bourdieu (1998) who recommends that "there is a need to radically question the economic view which individualizes everything …Against this narrow short- term economics, we need to put forward an 'economics of happiness' which would take note of all the profits, individual and collective, material and symbolic. …There is a need to invent a new form of communication between researchers and activists… You can't turn on the radio without hearing about the 'global village', 'globalization' and so on. These are innocent sounding words, but through them come a whole philosophy and a whole worldview, which engender fatalism and submission. We can block this forced feeding by criticizing the words, by helping non- professionals to equip themselves with specific weapons of resistance, to combat the effects of authority…which plays an absolutely crucial role…Our objective is not only to invent responses, but to invent a way of inventing responses, to invent a new form of organization of the work of contestation…Our dream, as social scientists, might be for part of our research to be useful to the social movement, instead of being lost"(p49/58) We should be viewing ‘education as liberation’, as social change. Bourdieu reminds us that the development of cultural capital is achieved by the alteration of the habitus so that rather than competing with each other for the acquisition of specialist knowledge, situations are set up in which the development of learning skills and the identification of learning outcomes is achieved through teams of learners and the creation of communities of learners. These communities come to realize that knowledge is a collaborative venture that leads to social freedom for all rather than academic distinctiveness for just the few. What we know now is built upon the endeavors of all who have gone before. It is the height of arrogance to believe that any single individual or group have the secret to all wisdom. What we know, we have learnt from others. Our education is mediated through the inspiration of others. We gain our delusion of ‘personal’ freedom through the realities of social freedom. The development of social freedom leads to communities of equals. It recognizes that we are all collaborating in order to survive and thrive. It rejects any notion of elitism. Elitism gives greater value to some and no value to the rest. Social freedom gives equal value to all. A community of equals would be one in which the most brilliant offering would be received as eagerly as the most stupid offering. Each contribution is accepted and discussed ensuring that as many perspectives as possible are considered. These utopias can become a reality through the development of communities on-line. Virtual learning communities. If there are a number of learners concerned to identify and solve a set of problems, the resources to enable them to do that are all ‘virtual’. The concept of 'community' has been used to refer to people being in the same space. The notion of a ‘virtual community’ clearly challenges this, focusing rather on the sharing of the activity of communicating by electronic means rather than the sharing of a physical space. If we are able to learn in virtual space it would make the educational buildings in physical space redundant. A ‘virtual learning community’ would then be groups who engage in the process of communication to improve learning. This could be thought of as a ‘community of ideas,’ the connection between the participants being the identification of a common problem which they wish to address. For a virtual learning community to develop, participants would need to be prepared to enter into relationships within which respect and trust are paramount. The aim of such a virtual community of learners would be to uncover meaning, developing understanding of self and others by focusing upon a common problem. This approach sees community development as a process, not a product. Within a virtual community of learners, technology is used as a tool, facilitating connections between people who do not share a common space and time, but who share a common goal. This goal could begin with a problem but can grow into the development of skills in learning how to identify questions. The age of the computer has opened the way to self-directed learning. Computer and e-mail connections are not only the preserve of the wealthy, developed world. Across the world extensive connections have been set up, allowing people to gain access to the ‘information super highway’ It may be that the future is ‘virtual’ whereby all comers are able to ‘log-on’ and ‘log-off’ when it suits them, rather than the gatekeepers. On the other hand, it is not surprising that governments yearn to gain control of the World Wide Web. A fantasy has emerged which deplores the ‘independence’ of virtual learning. For example, it is argued that the learner is stuck in front of the computer on their own, and that the isolation of the computer user is a risk which has to be balanced against the improvements in access. But the Internet and the web are an expression of ‘interdependence’. They consist of the writings and works of many. They provide, easily and readily, the researches of others for all to share. The Web and the Internet can provide testimony to the community of learners, each supporting each. The potential of chat-room and discussion forums do provide the opportunity of on-line interactions with others. Thus virtual learning should not be regarded as necessarily an alienating experience or an independent activity. The technology enables people from all over the world to communicate directly with each other in seconds. It can be seen as a model of social freedom. The potential of a ‘virtual’ learning community has many attractions: The institutional gatekeepers could be bypassed more easily. Members of the community could avoid the hierarchical ‘habitus’ of traditional institutions. Learners could access learning opportunities at times and in ways, which are suited to their own learning needs. The development of web-based learning is no panacea, and there are dangers and challenges to be overcome if social freedom is to be developed. There are many skills for teachers to learn in order to participate in the development of the educational vision of a virtual community of learners. Familiarization with the technology is clearly essential in order to harness these tools for educational purposes, but in addition to such skills, educational issues also need to be re-examined and clarified. In some ways the invasiveness of the technology makes reflection upon its underlying educational value difficult. It is essential for educationalists to take the opportunity to reflect upon their experiences and to share their learning. As stated earlier, the learner should be at the center of the educational process, and the role of the teacher is to let the learner learn. The learning must be ‘structured’ and based on activities — the learner must be active. The World Wide Web/Internet provides a wealth of information, which can be accessed by learners, and has the potential for a variety of learning activities based on words, pictures, games, questionnaires, and quizzes. However, there are many questions about the changes involved in developing a virtual learning community. : · Will web based learning actually increase students’ achievements? · Will the use of the Internet improve access to learning resources for students? · Will students make use of the increased facilities, which are being made available to them? The provision of IT support is crucial for both tutors and students. Indeed this can be seen as a central feature in the development of a community of learners since it is necessary for others to contribute to the educational goals for these to be achieved. Communication within the virtual community of learners can pose particular difficulties. Web designers really do talk a different language, a ‘techie’ language, and translators are needed with expertise in technology and teaching in order to bridge the communication gap. But once teachers begin their technological journey, however, there is something of an unstoppable force which entry to the web seems to bring. Careful thought and planning will be essential. It is easy to be carried along with the enthusiasm of the learning and professional development involved in the movement from paper to web based learning. The ‘magic’ of the technology is seductive. Scanning a picture in one room and transferring this to a document on another computer in another room cannot fail but impress. . The development of web-based programmes needs to be based on solid educational principles. The transfer of material from paper to electronic storage does not necessarily improve student learning nor lead to the development of a community of learners. We are convinced, however, that: The technology can provide active learning opportunities; learning can take place when it is best for the learner; the learner can work at their own pace; the learner can ask questions by email and get an answer at any time. But this all depends upon the student as learner becoming actively involved. If students are indifferent or lazy or too busy playing the specialist game as well as doing other things, then little progress will be made. However, the most significant advance is that the material is available at any time. Although, of course, the type of material being made available is central if improved access is to lead to the development of social freedom. If, for example, a whole text book is downloaded and then learned by rote, this is not what we mean by developing a community of learners. Downloading research to find solutions to problems, however, could support the kind of learning we are discussing. send comments to hmr@kelvynrichards.com EDUCATION AND 'Green Living' David Schott, in his research about Outdoor Education and ecological living, Linkoping University, 2006 observed that modern society has set economic goals as a top priority, and they have infringed on the ability for us to sustain the planet. He is concerned to find out if modern society brings us to a higher level of contentment or the ability to work in positive ways with each other? The tragic irony is that while the consumer society has been stunningly effective in harming the environment, it has failed to provide us with a sense of fulfillment. Consumerism has hoodwinked us into gorging on material things because we suffer from social, psychological, and spiritual hungers…. Fulfillment has to do with the timeless virtues of discipline, hope, allegiance to principle, and character. Consumption itself has little part in the playful camaraderie that inspires the young, the bonds of love and friendship that nourish adults, the golden memories that sustain the elderly. The very things that make life worth living, that give depth and bounty to human existence are infinitely sustainable. Sustainability will require a reduction in consumption in wealthy societies and changes in the kinds of things consumed toward products that are durable, recyclable, useful, efficient, and sufficient. It is clear that if we are to adopt a ‘green life’ there are many aspects of living that will have to change. For example, we will have to reduce, and perhaps stop, traveling in private motor cars. The motor car has successfully polluted the lower atmosphere across the globe. If there is to be a sustainable future, the motor car has to go! Public transport may remain. But cycling would be preferable. The era of private commuting will have to decline. We shall have to think in terms of local work again. To live and to work in the same areas. If our houses have gardens, they will have to be productive, growing vegetables and fruits. World travel will have to be limited. As the evidence increases as to the pollution of the upper atmosphere by aircraft, holiday travels must stop. Industrial processes will have to be monitored for pollution. We have the technologies to pollute as well as to clean. We now have to have the will to clean and not pollute. Our education services will have to emphasise the interdependence of people, and the processes of pollution. It is no good pretending that to pollute the ground ‘here’ has no impact ‘elsewhere’; polluting the air ’here’ has no impact ‘elsewhere’. We operate in an interconnected world. Despite differences, a number of common principles are embedded in most charters or action programmes to achieve sustainable development, sustainability or sustainable prosperity. These include, [according to Hargroves &Smith 2005,]: * Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty and irreversibility . * Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation and restoration of nature. * Integration of environmental, social, human and economic goals in policies and activities. * Equal opportunity and community participation; Sustainable community * Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity * Ensuring inter-generational equity. * Recognizing the global integration of localities. * A commitment to best practice . * No net loss of human capital or natural capital . * The principle of continuous improvement * The need for good governance. The United Nations has declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as from January of 2005. A non-partisan multi-sector response to the decade has formed within the U.S. via the U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Active sectors teams have formed for youth, higher education, business, religion, the arts, and more. Organizations and individuals can join in sharing resources and success stories, and creating a sustainable future. The World as Social Ecologists Envision 2003 By Peter Staudenmaier, Institute of Social Ecology At the center of our vision of free communities is 'direct democracy'. Direct democracy means people managing their own lives, consciously and collectively, for the good of the communities they are part of. We envision a network of community assemblies as the basic decision-making body and as the primary venue for practicing direct democracy. These assemblies include all the residents of a local area (in cities at the neighborhood level and in rural areas at the township level), who meet at regular intervals to discuss and decide on the issues before them: political as well as economic decisions, indeed any social decision that significantly affects the life of the community as a whole. The popular assembly includes everybody who is willing to participate in it and provides a democratic forum for all community members to engage one another on an equal basis and actively shape social life. Ongoing interactions of this kind encourage a sense of shared responsibility and interdependence, as well as offering a public space for resolving disputes and disagreements in a rational and non-coercive way. Recognizing that people have differing interests, aspirations, and convictions, the neighborhood assembly and its accompanying civic ethos present an opportunity for reconciling particular and general objectives. Direct democracy, in this view, involves a commitment to the wellbeing of one's neighbors. Communal wellbeing, in turn, implies an active respect and appreciation for the natural context within which local communities exist. No social order can guarantee that the ecosystems and habitats that host our various settlements will thrive, but social ecologists believe that communities built around free association and mutual aid are much better suited to fostering environmental diversity and sustainability than those built around authoritarian systems of power. In societies that have overcome domination and hierarchy, ecological flourishing and human flourishing can complement and reinforce one another. Social ecologists want to create social forms that promote freedom and solidarity by building these values into the very fabric of social relations and public institutions. Thus, our emphasis on face-to-face assemblies open to all is meant to encourage, not preclude, the creation of other libertarian and cooperative social forms. An enormous variety of spontaneous associations, living arrangements, workplaces, family structures, and so forth all have an important place in our vision of a free world. The only forms that are excluded are ones based on exploitation and oppression. Social ecology's model of direct democracy can therefore be realized in a number of different ways depending on the needs, desires, and experiences of those who are inspired by it. This is especially true of economic processes, and the scenario outlined here is only one possible interpretation of the economic aspects of a social-ecological society. The fundamental shared perspective is that of a moral economy, in which the material conditions of our existence are reintegrated into a broader ethical and institutional framework. A moral economy means making decisions about production and consumption part of the civic life of the whole community. Communal Self-Management in Practice In this scenario, workers councils play a crucial role in the day-to-day administration of production, while local assemblies have the final say in major economic decisions. All members of a given community participate in formulating economic policy, which is discussed, debated, and decided upon within the popular assembly. Social ecology foresees an extensive physical decentralization of production, so that workers at a particular enterprise will typically live in the same municipality where they work. We also foresee a continual voluntary rotation of jobs, tasks, and responsibilities and a radical redefinition of what 'work' means. Through the conscious transformation of labor into a free social activity that combines physical and intellectual skills, we envision the productive process as a fulfillment of personal and communal needs,articulated to their ecological context. Along with the rejection of bosses, profits, wages, and exchange value, we seek to overcome capitalism's reduction of human beings to instruments of production and consumption. Social ecology's assembly model encourages people to approach economic decisions not merely as workers and consumers, but as community members committed to an inclusive goal of social and ecological wellbeing. While the broad outlines of communal production are established at the assembly level, they are implemented in practice by smaller collective bodies which also operate on an egalitarian, participatory, and democratic basis. Cooperative households and collective workplaces form an integral part of this process. Decisions that have regional impact are worked out by confederations of local assemblies, so that everybody affected by a decision can participate in making it. Specific tasks can be delegated to specialized committees, but substantive issues of public concern are subject to the discretion of each popular assembly. Direct democracy encourages the formation and contestation of competing views and arguments, so that for any given decision there will be several distinct options available, each of them crafted by the people who will carry them out. Assembly members consider these various proposals and debate their merits and implications; they are discussed, revised and amended as necessary. When no clear consensus emerges, a vote or series of votes can be held to determine which options have the most support. Social ecology's vision of a moral economy centers on libertarian communism, in which the fruits of common labor are freely available to all. This principle of 'from each according to ability and to each according to need,' which distinguishes our perspective from many other anti-capitalist programs, is fleshed out by a civic ethic in which concern for the common welfare shapes individual choices. In the absence of markets, private property, class divisions, commodity production,exploitation of labor, and accumulation of capital, libertarian communism can become the distributive mechanism for social wealth and the economic counterpart to the transparent and humanly scaled political structures that social ecology proposes. In such an arrangement, the interaction between smaller committees and working groups and the full assembly becomes crucially important to maintaining the democratic and participatory nature of this deliberative process. Preparing coherent proposals for presentation to the assembly will require both specialized work and scrupulous information gathering,as well as analysis and interpretation. Because these activities can subtly influence the eventual outcome of any decision, the responsibility for carrying them out should be a rotating task entrusted to a temporary commission chosen at random from the members of the assembly. Confederal Economic Democracy When the assembly has considered and debated and fine-tuned the various proposals before it and has agreed on an overall outline for the local economy, community members continue to refine and realize this outline while implementing it in their workplaces, residences, and elsewhere. If obstacles or disagreements arise that cannot be resolved at the immediate level of a single enterprise, institution, or household, they can be brought back to the full assembly for discussion and resolution. If some aspects of an agreed-upon policy are not fulfilled for whatever reason, this will quickly become apparent to community members, who can then alter or adapt the policy accordingly. While most of economic life will be carried out within smaller collectivities, in direct ooperation with co-workers, housemates, associates and neighbors, overarching matters of public economic direction will be worked out within the assembly of the entire community. When necessary, city-wide or regional issues will be addressed at the confederal level, with final decisions remaining in the hands of each local assembly. The reason for this emphasis on assembly sovereignty is two-fold. First,the local assembly is the most accessible forum for practicing direct democracy and guarding against the re-emergence of power differentials and new forms of hierarchy. Since the assembly includes all members of the community on equal terms and operates through direct participation rather than representation, it offers the best opportunity for extending collective self-management to all spheres of social life. Second, the local assembly makes it possible for people to decide on their economic and political affairs in a comprehensive and coherent manner, through face-to-face discussion with the people they live with, play with, and work with. The popular assembly encourages a holistic approach to public matters, one that recognizes the myriad interconnections among economic, social, and ecological concerns. Much of this vision will only be practicable in conjunction with a radical overhaul of the technological infrastructure, something which social ecologists support on environmental as well as democratic grounds. We foresee most production taking place locally, with specialized functions socialized and conceptual and manual labor integrated. Still, there will be some important social goods that cannot or should not be completely decentralized; advanced research institutes,for example, will serve large regions even though they will be hosted by one municipality. Thus confederation, which offsets parochialism and insularity, plays an essential role within social ecology’s political vision. While the primary focus of this scenario is on local communities generating economic policies tailored to their own social end ecological circumstances, social ecologists reject the notions of local self-sufficiency and economic autarchy as values in themselves; we consider these things desirable if and when they contribute to social participation and ecologically nuanced democratic decision making. We foresee a confederation of assemblies in consistent dialogue with one another via confederal bodies made up of recallable and mandated delegates from each constituent assembly. These bodies are established as outgrowths of the directly democratic local communities, not as substitutes for them. Since economic relations, in particular, often involve cooperation with distant communities, confederation offers a mutually compatible framework for sharing resources, skills, and knowledge. A confederal network of popular assemblies offers a practical way for all people to consciously direct their lives together and to pursue common goals as part of a project of social freedom. Bringing together solidarity and autonomy, we can recreate politics, the art of communal self-management, as the highest form of direct action. In such a world, economics as we know it today will no longer exist. When work becomes creative activity, when production becomes the harmonization of human and ecological potentials, when economics becomes collective self-determination and the conscious unfolding of social, natural, and ethical possibilities as yet unimagined, then we will have achieved a liberated society, and the ideas outlined here will take on concrete form as lived realities and direct experiences. send comments to hmr@kelvynrichards.com GREEN LIVING: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE * 40 SIMPLE STEPS TO A BETTER WORLD * *Is ‘Save the World’ on your To Do list? If not, it may simply mean you feel hopeless and overwhelmed when you learn about the state of the environment. With problems so big, it's hard to imagine that one person can make a dent in any of them. The good news is, you're not alone, and together, even a few, small steps can make a big impact. For example, the American Waterworks Association says homeowners can reduce water use by about 30 percent by installing more-efficient water fixtures and regularly checking for leaks. Indeed, just one drop per second from a leaky hot water faucet can waste up to 165 gallons a month - that's more than one person uses in two weeks! Review the checklist below and figure out which steps you already do. Then, figure out which ones you can do over the next few months. Before you know it, you'll be effortlessly making a big difference while saving a lot of money! 1. Keep water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run to let it get cold. 2. Take shorter showers. 3. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or washing your face. Fill a cup or basin instead. 4. Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If color seeps into the bowl, it's time to fix the leak! 5. Install water-saving devices such as low-flow showerheads and toilet dams to save water and money. 6. Use cold water in the washer to lower utility bills and energy use. 7. Water the yard early in the morning or at night, when evaporation rates are at their lowest. 8. Don't use toilets, drains or storm sewers for waste disposal. 9. Check your pipes for leaks, and fix leaks promptly. Reuse and Recycle Goods 10. Use both sides of a sheet of paper, and use scrap paper for informal notes. 11. Collect used paper for recycling. 12. Repair or purchase used items instead of buying new ones. Use freecycle.com, a Web site that connects people who need things with people who want to get rid of things. 13. Donate unwanted articles of clothing, furniture, and books to appropriate agencies so they can be used again. 14. Shop at second-hand stores, garage sales, and Web stores, and use the classified ads instead of purchasing brand new items. 15. Purchase an existing home and make repairs to it instead of building on natural areas or agricultural land. 16. Reuse grocery and plastic bags (for lunch sacks, etc.). Select and Dispose of Household Products Wisely 17. Choose household cleaning products that are the least harmful to the environment, and in quantities you will use up. 18. Dispose of leftover solvents, pesticides, used transmission oil and other toxic chemicals through your county's hazardous waste collection program. 19. Avoid products containing ozone-depleting substances. 20. Insist that your refrigerator repair technician use CFC recovery and recycling equipment when servicing your refrigerator or freezer. 21. Choose water-based and low VOC (volatile organic compound) versions of varnishes, paints and other home products. 22. Whenever possible, choose natural, organic wood, clays and fibers (and even steel), rather than formaldehyde-emitting carpets, furnishings, walls and fabrics. Save Energy and Lower Your Electric Bills 23. Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and when leaving the house, also nix the A/C or heat. 24. Make sure your A/C and heating units are leak-free, and in good working condition. 25. Change your air filters regularly, so that your units don't have to work twice as hard to move the air through the filter. 26. During the hottest months, lower the blinds or invest in tinted windows to minimize the sunlight entering your home. 27. Purchase energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs, and as your incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with these longer-lasting ones. 28. Request a free home energy audit through your county environmental agency or utility. Clean and Green Your Yard and Garden 29. Reduce or avoid chemical pesticides. Learn and use alternative pest control options. 30. When adding new plants to your landscape, choose those best suited to the environment in which you live. These require less water, fertilizer and pesticides to survive and thrive. 31. Create a composting area to collect food waste for use in your yard. This keeps organic material out of the landfill and chemical fertilizers out of your yard. 32. Leave grass clippings on the lawn or add them to the compost pile. Make Smart Transportation Choices 33. Walk, ride a bike, rollerblade, carpool or use public transit more often. 34. Keep engines well-tuned and tires properly inflated to maximize fuel efficiency. 35. Shut off your engine even for short stops. One minute of idling uses more fuel than re-starting your engine. 36. Buy local whenever possible to save the energy used in transporting goods. Reduce Waste 37. Bring a lunch from home to avoid the paper waste of takeout. 38. Buy a reusable water bottle to avoid disposable cup waste. 39. Avoid products with lots of packaging or those in plastic or Styrofoam containers. 40. Buy paper products instead of plastic if you must buy disposables, and be sure to recycle the paper. Buy recycled products to help complete the cycle. ***Written by: Amy Godfrey, Your Guide To Green <http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/shop>.*** *Saving energy at home:* * Clean furnace, air conditioner and heat pump filters. * Schedule an energy audit for your home by calling your electric company. * Use energy saving settings on appliances. * Clean dryer lint filter after each load. * Keep drapes and shades closed at night in winter and during the day in summer. * Clean refrigerator coil. * Do laundry and other energy intensive chores during off-peak hours (at night and on weekends). * Put an insulating blanket on your hot water heater. * Purchase clean energy where available (where not available, call your utility company and demand it). * Install window film to reduce heat loss/ gain. * Caulk or weather-strip doors and windows. * Seal heating ducts. *Bigger projects:* * Install a programmable thermostat. The same results can be achieved by adjusting the thermostat by hand, but the programmable thermostat can adjust temperature automatically based on the hours that you are typically home or away. * Replace aging (10 or more years old) and inefficient appliances with high-efficiency "Energy Star" labeled models. For a dishwasher this can save 154 kWh/year, for a refrigerator, the savings can be 353 kWh/year, and for a washing machine, the savings can be up to 538 kWh/year. * Upgrade leaky windows. * Improve your entire home's insulation. * Replace furnace with more efficient model. * Purchase solar panels and solar water heating system. * Use passive solar design in building a new home. * Purchase micro wind turbines. /Note: Most states have tax credits and other financial incentives for many of these energy saving investments. *An Associated Press poll found that 56 percent of Americans said the best way for the federal government to handle the nation's energy needs was by encouraging greater conservation by industries, other businesses and individual Americans. Just 35 percent said it was preferable to encourage more oil and gas drilling,coal mining and construction of nuclear power plants. Call of the wild: Being green doesn't mean being a stick in the mud Helena Pozniak goes in search of activities for nature-lovers where family fun is high on the agenda Published: 01 December 2007,Independent,UK As carbon footprints go, Father Christmas's are huge. While the odd Christmas light won't tip the balance of global warming, the bigger picture isn't pretty. Nearly 3 million tonnes of waste are dumped over Christmas in the UK. Christmas shopping accounts for the use of a fair chunk of the UK's annual 10 billion plastic bags. Most of the 8 to 9 million Christmas trees bought in the UK at this time of year will end up as landfill. Add to that a load of turkeys from Brazil and an estimated 16,000 tons of Christmas dinner in the bin and the whole celebration begins to look like an ethical shop of horrors. Of course, all this is likely to go right over the heads of those for whom Christmas is supposed to be the most fun: the kids. And while the concept of spending an ethical Christmas with the children sounds worthy and possibly a bit dull, think again. There are a host of eco-friendly festive activities and events for families this year which will ease your conscience and add to the jollities. Try a visit to an organic demonstration farm, suggests the Soil Association ‘ about 100 organic farms around the country welcome families for day visits. Children will leave, able to look a turkey in the eye and understand where their Christmas meal comes from ‘ see www.soil association.org for details. You'll have the chance to buy locally sourced gifts and food at the farm shop. Christmas shopping and children is never a nice combination, but several fair trade fairs around the country offer a more civilised alternative. This year, a green Santa ‘clad in a recycled costume’ will grace Edinburgh's first World Christmas Fayre in the centre of the city (5-9 December; www.handupmedia.co.uk for details). "We're not ramming a message down people's throats," says Tania Pramschufer, co-organiser. "There are some beautiful ethical and sustainably sourced products, live music, children's activities ‘ it's about stepping back for a few moments, helping somebody else have a good Christmas." See www.fairtrade.org.uk for similar events in your area. If you're after a touch of nostalgia and tradition, try any of the National Trust's Santa's Grottoes ? a more tranquil alternative to commercial versions, and a chance to buy gifts in aid of the Trust. "We like to think of it as a haven amid all the commercialism," says a spokeswoman for the Trust. While dragging children out into the cold doors can be an uphill struggle, you can fire their imaginations with a spot of twitching, says Peter McSweeney, creator of www.whentowatchwildlife.org. "Birds are the most accessible thing for children this time of year as they move into gardens to look for food," he says. "Look out for territorial robins ? about the only birds singing at this time of year." Making a bird cake with peanuts, raisins and lard is both cheap and simple ? www.rspb.org.uk/youth has a recipe and other ideas, including making bird feeders out of recycled material and pine cones. Let your children loose nature-spotting with a digital camera, says McSweeney. "It's a good time of year to look at the detail in things ? close-ups of bark, or 'jelly-ear' fungus [an ear-shaped fungus found on elderflower] all make great computer screen-savers." Out and about, winter is a fine time to watch the feeding of a spectacular numbers of Bewick's and Whooper swans at the reserves of the Wild fowl and Wetland trust (www.wwt.org.uk) around the country ? see the WWT's Slimbridge site for details of Christmas events including making greeting cards from recycled materials. And while you're out with the children, look out for holly or mistletoe and other foliage for decorations, and avoid the environmental sin of disposable, non-biodegradable tinsel and the like ? though take care not to take too many berries from the birds. Home-made decorations will forever carry a whiff of Blue Peter about them, but now their green credentials give them the edge over baubles and neon. Use wallpaper off cuts, CDs, sweet wrappers tile grout and much more, says Susie Johns, writer and illustrator specialising in art, crafts and illustration ? see www.susieatthecircus. typepad.com (Christmas Crafts) for some resourceful ideas, including making your own Christmas crackers from recycled materials. Alternatively, Londoners can swap decorations with others at Covent Garden Piazza from 6-22 December. Tree-dressing day, a recently invented event which falls on the first weekend of December, is being celebrated around the country ? www.england-in-particular.info has details of family workshops to inspire you to make your own decorations ? or simply decorate a tree in your garden or neighbourhood. Home-made presents have taken on a new chic, and many of the excellent virtual gift schemes such as Oxfam Unwrapped or Present Aid are now well-established. But, as one mother put it, "In the end, you get your kids what they want," and it's unlikely to be a hand-knitted cardy. However, you can at least encourage the children to get creative for others. "We always made presents at home and now my children make them for friends and grandparents," says mother of three Katie Peters. She recommends decorating boxes and filling them with simple home-made treats such as gingerbread and peppermint creams. Avoid wrapping paper, much of which can't be recycled, and decorate recycled brown paper, or use old comics, newspaper (the FT looks nice) or fabric bags. String and ribbons are better than sticky tape, and add a leaf or two of holly for decoration. Alternatively, consider getting the children involved in culling their toys via websites that allow you to give away ? and receive ? items free of charge. One of the most successful, Freecycle (uk.freecycle.org), has just reached a million members in the UK and is preparing for a festive surge in exchanges. "Don't see us just as a place where you can get something for free, but as a way of gifting items," says spokeswoman Hazel Roethenbaugh. "Kids will get a buzz from seeing their toys appreciated and reused, its a lovely way to introduce them to giving." Users must be 16 or over, but many children get involved via parents. Finally, if you have the courage, grab a few friends and family for a spot of carol singing ? the traditional period is from St Thomas's Day (21 December) until the morning of Christmas Day. Your children may never forgive you. send comments to hmr@kelvynrichards.com November 2008. |
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