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Hello Lawrence and Geitza et al,
Are we not all educators and learners? Does formal education have a monopoly? Or does it provide a particular approach to what education is about and what learning should be? Does formal education encourage us to find our voice as part of our enquiry and development of a critical consciousness – be it in a cooperative or shared learning context?
Jack Whiteheads quote that you posted Lawrence is indeed profound: -
" I see the recognition of the significance of expressing and sustaining a pooling of life-affirming energy within a culture of inquiry, together with the commitment to sustain this pooling of energy within this cooperative inquiry, as perhaps our most important contribution to educational knowledge and to our living legacy. My interest in understanding sociohistorical and sociocultural influences and integrating implications of these understandings in what one is doing to improve practice extends into influencing social formations outside the classroom." (page 19, "Action research transcends constraints of poverty ..... ").
My feeling is that education is not solely about understanding…like living theory it is about how we live and improve and develop as a social formation, cooperative, community of practice or ensemble. To engage in a critical enquiry placing self, self in relation to others based on action and interaction that through the energy generated informs a better understanding. Is this a hallmark of education within social formations outside the classroom. Its structure and approach can be very different as the knowledge is living and changing in the present…always even though it is informed be lived history…and of course dead history that still resides within out lived experience. Something that is clearly still present while watching Thatcher’s funeral and the reaction to it from the country as a whole. I am aware that in SA Lawrence the embracing of the spirit of ubuntu in how we can enquire together and change as part of social formations is still a very strong influence….as is the remnants of the colonial past….. In this context having a voice, an identity and a capacity to engage in self enquiry as part of the living and connecting with life affirming energy is a crucial as ever – whether it be Venezuela, Syria, South Africa or the UK . At DUT I do believe that a bridge between formal education and social formations within community is being developed….this comes with an added need to encourage the creative within us by way of expression. Such exciting times for both practitioners and academics – an interesting ‘dance’ at the best of times …..lets not lose this connected life affirming energy….
Best regards
Shaun
From: Practitioner-Researcher [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lawrence Martin Olivier
Sent: 22 April 2013 09:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Researching Our Own Practice
Hi Geitza
What is happening in your society (and as you say a “so called socialistic government”!) has huge challenges – in such a context how is it possible to have an educational influence on the social formation? And so too with Syria?
What helps me to understand these troubling issues is what Liz Campbell wrote (in the same paper I referred to below, Jack et al) – Liz on Page 37 drawing on hook’s (1994) idea of being “part of a larger song” writes “ …. I discovered and exercised my voice through living theory action research. I found a way to meaningfully join in the larger song”. I find this very helpful to understand what we can do as educators in such difficult contexts – Nelson Mandela from my own country must have understood this!
Lawrence
From: Practitioner-Researcher [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of geitza rebolledo
Sent: 20 April 2013 04:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Researching Our Own Practice
Hi Jack, Lawrence and all,
Thanks very much for bringing this ideas into the group!! Iliked Lawrence point concernning , "what one is doing to improve practice extends into influencing social formations outside the classroom."
I could also add the example of the situation we are facing in Venezuela. We had presidential ellections in Venezuela, last week,after 14 years of a so called" socialistic government " that brought to Venezuela the highest inflation in the world, expropiation of land and propertyes that distroyed the production industry in the country ,the highest violence shooting killing in the streets,( the average for las month was 300 people killed),.. ... and many facts that picture a country in caos ....
Concernning the results of the ellections I could say that the process of reaching a result was in darkness..... . The board encharged came with a victory of the government candidate when the evidence was the opposite.More than 3.000 irregular claims were issued , among them those that included gun millicias asking the people encharged of the places were the ellection was taking place to leave and run for their life, also shootings at the entrance of the voting places...
People went into the streets to protest the results given by the official board and they were terribly repress by the army !!! More than 8 people were killed !!!
It made us think also on the values of governments officials when the main interest is to keep the power !!! .....We try to discuss these aspects at Universities, but the main question remains how can one help to influence the development of other values outside formal education ??' .... greetings,g.
> Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 08:08:34 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Researching Our Own Practice
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Hi Jack
>
> Thank you and your co-researchers for making a contribution to "my own learning" about, "living educational theory", about developing a "culture of inquiry", and about "the values we believe carry hope for the future of humanity". I was particularly "energised" by this piece you wrote in a paper:
>
> " I see the recognition of the significance of expressing and sustaining a pooling of life-affirming energy within a culture of inquiry, together with the commitment to sustain this pooling of energy within this cooperative inquiry, as perhaps our most important contribution to educational knowledge and to our living legacy. My interest in understanding sociohistorical and sociocultural influences and integrating implications of these understandings in what one is doing to improve practice extends into influencing social formations outside the classroom." (page 19, "Action research transcends constraints of poverty ..... ").
>
> This seems important for me in a hectic week of key "moments", where I (living and teaching in Durban, South Africa) have witnessed through the power of TV : the London funeral service of Margaret Thatcher (and the reflections on, Thatcherism, the connections to Reagonomics, to neoliberal ideology and their connections to recent crises in global financial markets and with banking practices and government/taxpayer bailouts of collapsing banks; followed by the Boston Marathon bombings, the service in the Boston Cathedral, the story of the two bombers, one a 19 year old student. There was also in these moments a strong connection made to matters of religion, the diversity and similarities of our spiritual beliefs. I learned more about Religion/Faith, about God,about Death, about Harm, about Evil, about Good, about Courage, about Humanity.
>
> Are there not lessons to be learned here about what we do in our classrooms in our schools and in our universities - the "culture of inquiry"? For example, is the Science of Economics, the curriculum, just about abstract theoretical laws, unrealistic assumptions and mathmatical models? Is there a space, a place for a "living curriculum", Economics as if people matters? Why does a 19 year old student plant a bomb? What are the influences?
>
> Indeed, how can we influence social formations outside the classroom?
>
> Lawrence
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Practitioner-Researcher [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jack Whitehead [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 16 April 2013 03:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Researching Our Own Practice
>
> Here are some details of practitioner-researcher contributions to AERA in San Francisco on the 28 and 29 April 2013 and to the Inaugural Conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas in San Francisco on the 2 May 2013. I've put the details in the What's New section of http://www.actionresearch.net . If you have accounts to share from researching your own practice do please send the urls to me and I'll add them to the resources on actionresearch.net. I've still time to modify the Workshop presentation below so if you have suggestions on how to strengthen this resource do please let me know:
>
> Workshop at the inaugural conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas on 2nd May 2013 in San Francisco on 'What could the Action Research Network of the Americas contribute to and learn from the learning of others?' at:
> http://www.actionresearch.net/writings/aera13/jwarnawork2013.pdf
>
> An international Round Table discussion on Creativity And Criticism In The Growth Of Educational Knowledge From Researching One’s Own Practice. at the inaugural conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas on 2nd May 2013 in San Francisco at:
> http://www.actionresearch.net/writings/aera13/arnaRTprop2013.pdf
>
> Jacqueline Delong, Elizabeth Campbell & Jack Whitehead, with Cathy Griffin on 'How are we creating cultures of inquiry with self-studies that transcend constraints of poverty on empathetic learning? at the American Educational Research Association Conference in San Francisco on the 28th April 2013 at:
> http://www.actionresearch.net/writings/aera13/jdlcjwaera13cgopt.pdf
>
> Elizabeth Campbell, Jacqueline Delong & Cathy Griffin, with Jack Whitehead on 'Action research transcends constraints of poverty in elementary, high school and post-graduate settings' at the American Educational Research Association Conference in San Francisco on the 29th April 2013 at:
> http://www.actionresearch.net/writings/aera13/lcjdcgaera13jwopt.pdf
>
> Love Jack.
>
> ________________________________
>
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