On the 4 June 2007 16:54:37 BDT Pete Mellett wrote:

"OK Jack - as I understand it, the context of this BERA e-seminar is to 
reveal standards of judgment that are appropriate to evaluating the quality 
of the knowledge we are generating as practitioner-researchers - standards 
of judgment being the appropriate standards we use to evaluate our claim to 
having knowledge; plus the need for us to understand the logic which is the 
mode of thought appropriate for comprehending the real as rational, as 
understood within the perspective we are working in…..

Now Jack - perhaps we could open up a conversation from which new 
understandings might emerge, the first step being for you to let me know 
how far the above ‘pick and mix’ narrative reflects the areas of interest 
we touched on and the connections we made - and to what extent it is 
educational." 

Dear Pete (and all participants in the e-seminar)

Your response has captivated my imagination and it is fizzing with possibilities. Your narrative 
covers comprehensively the areas of interest and connections in our last conversation. A great 
start for understanding your educational influence in my learning in contributing to the purposes 
of the e-seminar you outline above. 

As I respond I hope everyone feels included in what I am saying because in many ways those of 
you who were not present at the celebrations shown on the 45 second video clip at 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxqRF2tVLB4 , are most significant in seeing if Alan is right in 
his response to Pete in believing that you will be able to relate to what lies behind the outwardly 
observable scene in a sense of continuous natural inclusion in co-creative togetherness. 

I’m hoping that you will explore with me what is involved in as many of us as possible saying to 
each other “I now know that you understand what I mean.”  The clip on YouTube should stream 
immediately into your browser so do please click on the link.

The celebrations were for Jacqueline Delong’s accomplishment on graduating with her doctorate 
on the 18th December 2002 – In many ways this contribution to the e-seminar is a continuation of 
those celebrations because on the 21 June the Grand Erie District School Board are hosting a 
celebration of Jacqueline’s 34 years in education in marking her retirement as a Superintendent of 
Schools as she moves on into other context for expressing her educational influence. 

Each time I view the video-clip I see something new. Viewing the clip this morning, after reading 
Pete’s letter, I saw for the first time that Margaret Farren was the first to give an overt response 
with her body moving forward with her laughter. Looking closely I saw for the first time 
Jacqueline’s expression of well-being in response to Pete’s direct acknowledgement, recognition 
and affirmation of her accomplishment. At the moment of Pete’s acknowledgement, Jacqueline’s 
response is the kind of response I hope to see in an individual’s own recognition and affirmation 
of their own value and the value of their accomplishment. I associate this feeling with one of the 
most inclusional responses to a human existence. That is, being affirmed by the power of being 
itself (to use a phrase of Paul Tillich’s)

The celebration of collective joy continues to be a source of pleasure as I view the clip. Looking at 
Margaret’s expression of pleasure connects for me, and I hope with yourselves, with the 
expression of celtic spirituality that informs Margaret’s understandings of a web of betweenness 
and a pedagogy of the unique (some of the ideas we have worked on together in explaining 
educational influences in learning with visual narratives have recently been published in the paper 
Pete refers to at:
http://www.jackwhitehead.com/jack/mfjwDIVERSEcomplete.pdf ). Margaret, along with her 
colleague Yvonne Crotty at Dublin City University is coordinating the ‘E-Life Connecting People 
Project’ and it might be Maggie that our contributions to the e-seminar could help to extend the 
influence of this project? Details of the ‘E-Life Connecting People Project’ are at 
http://www.jackwhitehead.com/farren/eLife.htm

I like Alan’s phrase on the natural inclusion of co-created togetherness. I’m also fascinated about 
how to adequately represent flows of life-affirming energy with values in explanations of 
educational influence in learning. Taking a leaf out of your book Pete about not writing too much 
in e-letters I’ll pause here to see if anyone else would like to respond to your letter before I 
continue.  The questions I’d like to explore with you at present are focused on enhancing our 
understandings of the logic which is the mode of thought appropriate for comprehending the real 
as rational, as understood within the perspective we are working in.

Love Jack.