tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68112103944664847192024-03-13T16:18:03.064-04:00Dave SoleilNonviolence, leadership and social changeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-879181345882469572016-03-08T11:16:00.000-05:002016-03-08T11:16:09.105-05:00Of Astronomers and Astronauts: How to Empower Your Teens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This article was written for <a href="http://parentingbeyondpunishment.com/" target="_blank">Parenting Beyond Punishmen</a>t as part of their month-long <a href="http://parentingbeyondpunishment.com/nsc/" target="_blank">No Spank Challenge</a> to encourage and teach peaceful parenting. This article will also have an accompanying webinar. Those links will be posted here as they become available.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Teenagers. The wonderfully smart, independent, contrary, complex, emotional, and social people that live in your house and eat all your food. How can you empower them? Will they even listen to you? How can you build a supportive relationship with them? I have taught leadership for young people for many years. Let me shed some light on working with teens in peaceful and powerful ways. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-43e4ed30-56ff-42e1-30b7-6c40b4f41e03" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine the job of an astronomer. They study objects in outer space. They study the moon. They look at the phases of the moon and the effect of the gravitational pull on our planet. They map the stars and planets and orbits. They do all of this critical observation from earth. It’s interesting. It’s useful. It’s very safe. Our parenting and our schools have spent the past ten years or so teaching our children to be astronomers and our children enjoyed it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, now that they are teenagers, they don’t want to be astronomers any more. They want to be astronauts. They want to go where they have not gone before. They want to leave the safety of earth, take risks and explore new worlds. They don’t want to look at the moon. They want to go to the moon! It’s exciting. It’s breathtaking. It’s risky and they can’t wait. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This can be very challenging when you have been Mission Control for so long because now they seem to have no mission and you have no control!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what can you do? How can you empower them? How can you build a supportive relationship with them in this new vocation of theirs as risk-taking astronauts visiting new worlds?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Listen Without Judgment</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, your relationship with them has changed (whether you wanted it to or not!) To use the terms of the author Starhawk, your relationship has shifted from “power over” to “power with.” They no longer accept being told what to do but want to have their own voice. They have their own interests, ideas, dreams and passions. Take time to listen to them wholly and fully. Put down your phone, stop doing laundry or multi-tasking while talking to them. Like every person, they want to feel heard for their thoughts and ideas. Be present. Give them your full attention. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ask Questions that Encourage Them Along Their Path </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After they have told you their ideas, refrain from offering your opinion, your advice, your judgments or your perspectives. Unsolicited advice is rarely welcome, especially between parents and teens. Ask questions that support them and their judgment. “What do you think is your next step?” Or, “what do you want to do about that?” And if you don’t know what your child wants or needs, it is perfectly ok to ask. “How can I be most helpful to you? Do you want me just to listen? Do you want my ideas?” Then, the conversation is on THEIR terms and you can support them in whatever ways are most helpful. Simply asking these sorts of questions shows respect for the young person and shifts the power dynamics of your relationship toward “power with.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let Them Risk. Let Them Fail.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe they want to save the world. Maybe they are in the throes of their first romantic relationship. Maybe they want to get a job. As long as they are not on a path toward mental or physical trauma, let them go and try out their ideas. It’s like learning to ride a bike. The way you learn to ride a bike is by riding without Mom or Dad holding onto the seat. You try to balance, you wobble, you fall. Maybe you skin your knee. It hurts but it’s not life ending. And the exhilarating feeling! The wind in your hair. The moment when you felt balanced before the crash. Despite what our culture tells us, failure is good. It is how people learn. Expect it. They will only learn the balance of life after you let go and give them the freedom to fail. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be Supportive</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all remember what it felt like to crash and burn as a teenager. Perhaps that first relationship? Or your first job? Or that hard class that you just couldn’t pass? What are the words you wanted to hear from your parent in those moments? “I told you so?” Probably not. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try “I believe in you.” Or, “I know you will find a way forward that works.” Tell them your story when the same thing happened to you as a teen. It’s ok to be human with your children. It’s ok to be vulnerable. It’s ok to tell them when you failed too. Support them as they leave the gravitational pull of mother earth. This is the moment for which you have been preparing them for the last 14 or 16 years. Trust your parenting. You have done your best and now it is their turn.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think you will be amazed to see the capabilities of your own child when they embark on a mission of their choosing. It may be one small step for your child but one giant leap for your parenting. I believe in you. You can do this. Commence empowerment in T-minus 10, 9, 8.... </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-45250401611988203162016-01-16T09:17:00.002-05:002016-01-16T09:17:20.874-05:00"Remain Nonviolent"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On this 30th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I reflect on the social turmoil of the past year. <a href="http://killedbypolice.net/" target="_blank">1202 citizens were killed by police in the United States in 2015.</a> Truly tragic. Something that echoes clearly in my head is the voices of our politicians who, in the face of unrest, told the public to "remain nonviolent."<br />
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As a teacher of nonviolence and leadership, what does that mean? "Remain nonviolent." We all know what it means for the politicians. In the face of injustice, please pretend that everything is fine. It means, "don't break anything."<br />
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It is time for us to reclaim the word, "nonviolence" because it is used by politicians without any understanding of what nonviolence is. What they fail to recognize is that people are not out to break things. We are out to fix what's broken. Nonviolence is not the opposite of violence, it is the antidote. It is the cure. Nonviolence is not passivity living in fear of destruction. It is courageous action out of love for the transformation of our society.<br />
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To me, "remain nonviolent" means implementing constructive programs, as Gandhi taught us. That means working together to build and empower our communities with programs that lift people up economically, spiritually and politically. That means reinventing the job descriptions and job training for police officers so they learn to be more compassionate and work with, not against our communities. We are in this together.<br />
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In his book, "Stride Toward Freedom," Dr. King talked about <i>agape</i> love or unconditional love as the wellspring of nonviolence. He called it, the "insistence on community even when one seeks to break it." It is "a willingness to go to any length to restore community." That means there is no us vs. them. There is only "us" as one Beloved Community seeking to correct the unjust system of which we are all tragic victims. I take inspiration when I hear the words, "remain nonviolent." It says, remain hopeful because we will make it together. It says, be courageous because the future is what we create together. It is an invitation to all to join in implementing the solutions we need for a brighter future.<br />
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"Remain nonviolent" also means being active in seeking peace. Remember, Dr. King taught us that "peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice." That does not mean that the grand jury must convict every police officer that took another life. At that point, we are too late. That is not justice, nor peace. Justice means correcting the conditions that lead a police officer to choke a citizen for selling cigarettes in the first place. It means bridging relationships in the community so police speak with their words and not their bullets.<br />
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"Remain nonviolent" means living up to the best of who we are and what we are capable of. It means mourning together when a citizen is killed and then working together for solutions. It means acknowledging anger in the community and hearing the unheard voices rather than launching tear gas at them.<br />
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On this 30th anniversary of the King holiday, let us renew our commitment to each other. Let us renew our commitment to change the unjust systems that continue to destroy our communities. Let us invite others to join us on this important journey to "remain nonviolent."</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-85851983575270681802015-11-13T15:55:00.001-05:002015-11-13T15:55:10.006-05:00So you want to go on a hunger strike?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You're pissed off! You are so angry you could scream. You want to show your opponent that they are in the wrong and you are going to make the ultimate sacrifice. You plan to go on a hunger strike to get your opponent to change their ways, resign, stop the injustice, accept your demands or whatever you feel is not being addressed. <br />
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A hunger strike is one of the most serious nonviolent actions because you are voluntarily putting your life at stake. Have you taken the time to learn about the strategies of nonviolent direct action, how they work and how to use them for maximum effect? Hunger strikes come directly out of the the traditions of nonviolent direct action. There are strict rules and considerations.<br />
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Keep in mind, your goal is justice. Your goal is social change. Your goal is NOT to become the next #hashtag. <br />
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First, your courage and depth of commitment to justice is incredible. You are part of a rare 1/10 of 1% people who would even consider a hunger strike. So, I will say right from the start that your movement needs you and needs your leadership. They also need you to be alive to help lead the movement.<br />
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<b>Hunger Strikes are a Last Resort.</b><br />
Mahatma Gandhi was known for using hunger strikes at key moments to maximum effect. He had very strict rules about hunger strikes, one of which was that hunger strikes are a last resort. Nonviolent direct action is about building relationships, especially with your opponent. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about how the Beloved Community is the end result of nonviolence. Why? Because nonviolence is a conversation with your opponent. It is relationship building at its core. We build relationships with our opponent because nonviolence is love in action. It is deeply rooted in the belief that we are all connected in unity. There is no us/them. There is only us and we take action out of love to dismantle unjust systems and build more just ones. The key here, as King teaches us, is to attack systems of evil, not the people within them.<br />
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As Freedom Rider Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr. said of his work in the Civil Rights Movement, they weren't trying to beat the enemy. "We had to rush to their aid." Their "opponents" had succumbed to fear, hatred and racism. They had fallen out of the Beloved Community and nonviolent action is what would bring them back in.<br />
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Nonviolent action is rooted in love and unity. That love and unity includes you, which is why a hunger strike is the <u>last resort.</u> You matter. Your life matters, even if the unjust system does not seem to recognize it.<br />
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<b>But I'm So Angry! </b><br />
Yes, the pain is real. The injustice is real. You are ready to give your life. I hear the depth of pain you feel and that you cannot go on living your life as it has been. Perhaps you are a student and the veil has been lifted for you on our society. It is filled with hatred and systemic racism against people of color. The impact of 500 years of white supremacy is now in full focus. Consider for a moment that your thoughts of giving your life in service to justice might be best interpreted to mean that you should give your lifetime to justice, not just to one hunger strike.<br />
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How much could you accomplish in 50 years vs. a 50 day hunger strike? </div>
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<b>The Hunger Strike Must Be Carried Out to Its Stated Conclusion.</b></div>
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This was another rule from Gandhi. Hunger strikes are no joke. Death is a very real end result. But when does a hunger strike work and when does it fail? It fails often because those undertaking it do not understand the strategies of nonviolent direct action. </div>
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Gandhi called nonviolent direct action the moral equivalent of war. Why? In war, we make others suffer to coerce them to do what we want. "I will make you suffer until you give up." It is nothing but pain, suffering, death and sadness. </div>
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Nonviolence says, "I will choose suffering on behalf of the greater good. I will suffer so others will not have to." Nonviolent action chooses suffering. A hunger strike is a nonviolent action. However, we must remember that relationships are at the core of nonviolence.</div>
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<b><u>A hunger strike will NOT work if you have a weak relationship or no relationship with the person or entity you are trying to change.</u> </b></div>
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A hunger strike only works because you are connected to the person or entity you are trying to change. Have you spent months or years building a relationship with the person or entity in real ways? Do they know you personally? Have you spent many hours face-to-face? Have you talked face-to-face about the injustices you experience and the solutions you seek?</div>
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If the answer to those questions is no, <b>do not go on a hunger strike</b>. Your chances of success are low. Imagine going on a hunger strike outside the White House to end the war in Afghanistan. Does anyone know you in the White House? Would anyone even notice you were outside? No. You'll just end up a #hashtag and our world will have lost a brave and dedicated justice-seeker who didn't do their nonviolence homework.</div>
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The depth of your relationship with your opponent will likely determine the depth of change.</div>
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<b>The Goal of the Hunger Strike Must Be Reasonable.</b> </div>
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If you are demanding things that are not possible or not reasonable, you will fail. Imagine a hunger strike to end poverty around the world. Who is in charge of poverty? Who can make the change? What will the change be? If your demands are not specific and fully within the control of your opponent to enact, you will fail.</div>
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For example, the Memphis Sit-In movement was not about Civil Rights laws. It was not about equality for all Americans. It was SNCC students building the relationship with one store, in Memphis only. They started by talking with the people at the store and building a relationship. When the store was unwilling to change, the students escalated the conversation into the public realm and dramatized the injustice through sit-ins. They also chose to accept the suffering that came with disobeying the law. The received public beatings. They were arrested. But, their actions awakened the conscious of the store owner and leaders in Memphis. When the first store changed its policy, the students moved on to the next lunch counter and started the conversation over again. </div>
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That said, there are hundreds, even thousands of powerful nonviolent actions you can take with others in your movement that build relationships to create the change you seek. They are equally, if not more powerful than your hunger strike. You just need to focus your energy on a larger strategy to create the change you seek. Good strategy takes time.</div>
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<b>Nonviolence Has No Timeline.</b></div>
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Breathe. Nonviolence has no timeline. Rushing into anything is a form of violence. The unjust system will always be waiting for you. The question is, have you done the internal work of peace to create the external change you seek?</div>
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Are you acting out of fear and anger or have you found love within you that you can extend to your opponent? Do you want to hurt your opponent or are you rushing to their aid? Are your strategies peaceful or violent? Only peaceful means create peaceful ends. Make sure you are acting from a place of peace, not anger, vengeance, or retribution.</div>
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To paraphrase Eknath Easwaran, a mountain climber must intensely train their physical body to make it to the top of a mountain. You must train your inner self in love with the same intensity to reach the mountaintop of justice through nonviolence. Take the time. </div>
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In the meantime, organize, organize, organize! And strategize, strategize, strategize! You don't have to risk your life tomorrow, so build the foundation of your success while you learn and cultivate nonviolence within yourself and others. </div>
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<b>The Hunger Strike Must Be Consistent with the Rest of One's Campaign </b> </div>
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What is the larger campaign you are part of in your community? What is the constructive effort that will take the place of the injustice you are trying to dismantle? Who else supports you and how will a hunger strike take your movement closer to the justice you seek? </div>
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If you don't have a clear movement with clear reasonable demands; if you don't have a larger strategy and a large supportive community around the movement, <b><u>do not go on a hunger strike.</u></b> </div>
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<b>We Have Nothing To Lose But Our Chains</b><br />
The most important thing you have to dismantle injustice in our world is your life. The longer life you have, the more injustice you can defeat. You are literally being born-again into a lifetime of working for peace and justice. Your courage is needed. Your living energy is needed to build a community of justice. I firmly believe that the more you learn about nonviolent strategy, the more you will see that a hunger strike is not necessary to achieve the goals you seek.<br />
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What should you consider instead? Start with these <a href="http://www.youthpolicy.org/library/documents/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/" target="_blank">198 Methods of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp</a>. His book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dictatorship-Democracy-Conceptual-Framework-Liberation/dp/1595588507/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447447547&sr=8-1&keywords=gene+sharp+from+dictatorship+to+democracy" target="_blank">"From Dictatorship to Democracy"</a> was the nonviolent action blueprint that led to the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic in the Otpor! movement in Serbia as well as many other social movements. <br />
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And if you want to talk to me directly, I am happy to talk more or come to your campus. Call me: 404-386-(eight five)45.<br />
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More articles about Hunger Strikes:<br />
<a href="http://mettacenter.org/definitions/fasting/" target="_blank">Metta Center for Nonviolence </a> <br />
<a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/rules-hunger-striking-radicals/" target="_blank">Waging Nonviolence: "Rules for (hunger-striking) Radicals</a><br />
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Learn more about Nonviolence:<br />
<a href="http://mettacenter.org/research-education/self-study/" target="_blank">Self-Study through Metta Center for Nonviolence</a><br />
<a href="https://www.usipglobalcampus.org/training-overview/civilresistance/" target="_blank">US Institute of Peace: "Civil Resistance and the Dynamics of Nonviolent Movements"</a><br />
<a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/nonviolence/" target="_blank">Coursera: From Freedom Rides to Ferguson: Narratives of Nonviolence in the American Civil Rights Movement</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-73737332439568937632015-10-05T14:33:00.002-04:002015-10-05T16:20:11.444-04:00How To Prevent A School Shooter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/3bb6e00b2cca6c346cfa6ec1f5a6b483/tumblr_muq2rs0Fgc1qg4nwmo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/3bb6e00b2cca6c346cfa6ec1f5a6b483/tumblr_muq2rs0Fgc1qg4nwmo1_500.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Imagine you are an 8-year old student in elementary school. Your teacher tells you, "Today, we are having a lockdown drill." She talks in cryptic language explaining that if something bad happens at school, she wants everyone to be safe. You practice hiding in the closet with all of the other students and you sit "criss-cross applesauce" while the teacher bars the door. Or maybe you have a special cabinet to hide in. One of my friends told me how proud her daughter was about her hiding space in a cabinet for lockdown. This scenario plays out every day in our schools.<br />
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But what are we really teaching our community? We are teaching parents, teachers, and students to live in constant fear for their lives because "the shooter" is coming. Not since the Cold War have we surrounded our children in such an environment of reactive fear where they literally hide in the closet. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60" target="_blank">"Duck and cover"</a> used to be the rallying cry from Bert the Turtle for students to dive under their desks because Russia could drop an atomic bomb on the United States any minute.<br />
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School shootings are serious and complex issues. There is no single key that can unlock a solution for our communities. (Can we collectively be done with "silver bullets" please?) As a founder of a K-12 school myself and a consultant in Nonviolence Leadership, I have some perspectives that could be helpful as schools and communities wrestle with how to address the potential threat of violence. <br />
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<b>Build a Strong Community Around Caring and Love </b><br />
Let's back up, long before a shooter shows up anywhere, and ask, how is our community caring for each other? How are we taking time to validate the inherent worth and dignity of every person in our learning community? So often, we get caught up in our day-to-day jobs as teachers, parents and administrators that we forget about how important relationships are to our community. Strong communities are built upon trust, caring and love. These interpersonal relationships are your community safety net when issues come up and they take significant time and attention. It's much like fundraising in the nonprofit world. The wisdom of fundraising says, "If you are going to ask for money one month each year, you must spend the other 11 months building relationships." The same thing is true for community building. Invest time every day in building strong, caring relationships that will support the community in times of crisis. This strategy is not about "shooter management." It is about "shooter prevention" long before anyone picks up a gun.<br />
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<b>Open Communication Lines</b><br />
Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "A riot is the language of the unheard." I would say the same thing in this context, that school shootings are the language of the unheard. Many times, school shooters are also students. So let us be intentional that our schools can be "communities that hear." Consider how your school community can open lines of communication. Let's allow students to talk and allow them to feel. Let's allow students to discuss what's going on in our world without having to have a test, a homework assignment, a grade or a learning outcome. You can't measure caring with a rubrik and you won't test your way to a safer school. We spend weeks preparing every student to take standardized tests. Shouldn't we give the same attention to validating the humanity and feelings of each student? Even better, can we focus our time on building a loving community INSTEAD of testing? How many shootings could we prevent if students in despair felt their school was a place of caring rather than cold indifference? It is very difficult to validate the feelings of students when our predominant message is "don't talk" and our schedule shuffles us from room to room every 50 minutes. Where is the time for a student-in-need to talk, to feel, to grieve, to heal, or to feel support from their peers and community? If we do not make time for this important work, we will continue to hear the tragic "language of the unheard." <br />
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<b>Arm Teachers with Empathy, Not Guns</b><br />
Two years ago, Antoinette Tuff stopped a school shooter who carried an AK-47 and 500 rounds of ammunition in my home town of Decatur, Georgia. She didn't use a gun. She used much more powerful weapons: listening, empathy and love. No one was hurt. No one was killed, not even the perpetrator. She is a living example of the power of love, empathy and nonviolence.<br />
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What if we trained every teacher in empathic communication or Nonviolent Communication (NVC)? What if instead of lockdown drills, we had empathy drills? Instead of teaching students to hide in a closet, what if we taught our students and teachers to reach out to each other, every day, and help each other when people are sad or hurting? What if instead of living in reactive fear of death, that we engaged in the pro-active, life-affirming love of building a caring community? A school shooter may never happen, but community building can most certainly happen every day.<br />
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The issues of school shootings are as complex as the solutions. Building a loving, caring community is an important solution that can catch students in despair and bring them back into the community long before they decide to pick up a gun. However, the question remains for every community in America:<br />
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<i><b>Will we literally hide in the closet in reactive fear of the unknown or will we create courageous communities of love that listen and value the inherent worth of every person? </b></i></div>
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Antoinette Tuff was a single person who stopped a tragedy with love. Imagine a whole school of people like Antoinette. We would never hide in the closet again. <br />
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<i>Dave Soleil, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a founder of the K-12 Sudbury School of Atlanta, a consultant in Nonviolence Leadership and the former Chair of the Leadership Education group for the International Leadership Association. Follow him on Twitter @davesoleil.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-34276968661998078822015-09-06T22:43:00.001-04:002015-09-07T19:30:07.269-04:00Martin Luther King Jr. Lived on the Moon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
James McGregor Burns is a giant in the field of leadership studies. His seminal work called, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=leadership+burns" target="_blank">Leadership</a>" is a masterpiece. Reading it felt like watching someone take apart a Ferrari piece-by-piece and put it back together from memory. Stunning work. However, I have been continually frustrated by the field of leadership studies. I had the opportunity at a conference to ask James McGregor Burns the question at the root of my frustration. "If we are the rocket scientists of leadership, why aren't we sending more people to the moon?" <br />
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If we understand leadership so well, shouldn't it be easier for us to identify and launch strong leaders into prominence? Shouldn't it be easier for us to train and support existing leaders? Shouldn't positive change in our society accelerate when we use this important knowledge for the greater good? Unfortunately, he had little to say. <br />
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Here's the crux of the issue. There are two bodies of leadership. There is observational leadership and aspirational leadership. Using our rocket scientist analogy, it is the difference between observing the moon from earth and trying to live on the moon. They are two completely different experiences. They also can inform each other in helpful ways when we acknowledge the difference. <br />
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Observational study of the moon looks at the amount of light and darkness and why it is light or dark. It looks at the atmosphere and what gasses are present, if any. It looks at its orbit pattern around the earth. It documents those who have tried to go to the moon in the past. It is a safe and academic exploration. Personal risk is low. It examines past experiences and collective data. It is focused on history rather than on the future. It asks "what has been in the past?"<br />
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In contrast, aspirational work is for astronauts. It designs the breathing apparatus to survive on the moon. It creates the rockets to escape the gravitational pull of the earth. It builds habitats that can withstand the hot or cold temperatures observed with the phases of light and dark. It creates communication systems that can get messages, data and supplies back and forth from earth. It requires courage and personal risk to explore this uncharted territory. It is unsafe and unknown. It is active experimentation which then creates new experiences and new data. It is future focused. It asks "what is" and "what could be?"<br />
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We must examine our work in nonviolence, leadership and social change through both of these lenses. We need both the observational and aspirational perspectives. We must also be intentional to distinguish the two and not conflate or confuse them. The predominant paradigm is to teach from an observational perspective regardless of the audience or end goal. Remember, observational perspectives are safe and low-risk. We can peer-review them. We can wax philosophically for years without consequence. However, if we want to send people to the moon, we must shift our focus to aspirational work. <br />
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For example, Martin Luther King Jr. was an aspirational leader. A majestic planet in his own right, many scholars observe him and his work. He left much writing and resources related to nonviolence. The Six Principles of Nonviolence and the Six Steps of Nonviolence are tremendous contributions to humanity. What we must recognize is that his writing and teaching came from an aspirational perspective. King lived on the moon, to use our analogy. It was active experimentation in an unsafe and unknown environment.<br />
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The work of aspiration is always unfinished. Gandhi understood this well. He famously writes about his "experiments in truth." No matter how much observational knowledge we have, it is imperative to document, reflect upon and refine the work of the aspirational practitioner. That means building upon the work of Gandhi and King and not simply accepting it as observational written truth. Nonviolence was not intended to be an observational textbook or chapter in a history book. It is a living tradition to transform an unjust present into a more just future.<br />
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Nonviolence, at its root, is an aspirational model. It is intended for astronauts "going boldly where no person has gone before." Aspirational leadership requires the active reflection and meaning-making from its practitioners. As I have said before, the mindset of leadership is being ready to learn. Leadership thrives where there are no clear answers. Every step a person takes toward social transformation is a step that no one has taken before for that group, that time, and that place. Therefore, we must distinguish in our explorations and learning if we are using an observational framework or an aspirational framework and for what purpose. It makes no sense to teach someone how to use a breathing apparatus if they will never go into space. It is also folly to send a person into space with no knowledge, skills or tools for survival.<br />
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This distinction can help all of us become more effective in our work. The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. Let's go into space and see how far it bends! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-19200172078914209202015-08-02T08:55:00.001-04:002015-08-02T09:06:43.249-04:00In Pursuit of the Beloved Community<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I received some feedback from my last article, <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2015/07/open-letter-to-guy-with-confederate-flag.html" target="_blank">"Open Letter to the Guy with the Confederate Flag."</a> One person implied that I am tone-deaf to the racist symbol that is the Confederate flag. So, let me tell you a story. <br />
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When Rev. Jim Lawson was on a march during the Civil Rights Movement. One bystander was yelling racial epithets and spit square in his face. He stopped and asked the man if he had a handkerchief. The man, surprised, gave him one. After cleaning his face, Rev. Lawson saw that the man wore a motorcycle riding jacket. Rev. Lawson was also a motorcycle enthusiast and struck up a conversation. They talked about what kinds of bikes they rode and where they like to ride. By the end of the conversation, the man apologized to Rev. Lawson for spitting in his face. Rev. Lawson made a human connection with the man who spit in his face. This is the power of Nonviolence in action. <br />
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In my work in Nonviolence, I have a workshop on how to create the Beloved Community in concrete ways. King told us "the aftermath of Nonviolence is creation of the Beloved Community." I am going to be bold here and clarify. The Beloved Community is not just the end goal. It is the beginning, middle and end. If we want to end with the Beloved Community, we have to show up with the Beloved Community. That means valuing every person's worth and dignity, including and especially your opponent, from the beginning. Yes, that includes the police who have terrorized our communities. That includes the racist confederate-flag waving groups. That includes the politicians who continue to vote against progress.<br />
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That does NOT mean that we accept or excuse racism, abuse and injustice. Absolutely not. The Metta Center for Nonviolence has a very clear definition of the means of Nonviolence. It is persuasion not coercion. The goal is cooperation, not domination. As Dr. Bernard Lafayette describes, "the goal of Nonviolence is not to win over your opponent. The goal is to win them over to your side." We must awaken their conscience. As he described his experience in the Civil Rights Movement, he said of the racist white community, "we had to rush to their aid." <br />
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But can we really create the Beloved Community? Do we have the collective courage? Do we have the strength to talk with Confederate flag wavers as people? Do we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people or only those who agree with us? <br />
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King said of <i>agape</i> love, "it is the insistence on community, even when one seeks to break it." Nonviolence is not about one letter or one conversation. It's about one hundred thousand letters and conversations that try to convince others that a community without hate and division is what we all want. That might also mean starting conversations that are not about the flag. Rev. Lawson didn't scream at his assailant about racism. He also didn't scream at him about togetherness. He talked to him about motorcycles.<br />
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Many activists see social change as a tennis game in which there is a net between them and their opponent which will never be crossed. They hit something at us and we respond. Back and forth, back and forth. The flag is racist. No, the flag is about heritage. Back and forth. Back and forth. Where is the progress? Where is the attempt for mutual understanding? Where is the attempt for reconciliation? There is none. We scream at them. They scream at us.<br />
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Social change with Nonviolence is not a tennis game. It is a complex chess match, deep in strategy and every piece you capture becomes active on your side of the board.<br />
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How would you win someone over to your side? Think about the letter would you write to those who wave the Confederate flag? What conversation would you have?<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Hatewatch" target="_blank">The Southern Poverty Law Center Hatewatch</a> tells us there have been 132 pro-Confederate flag rallies since the Charleston massacre. That is 132 rallies in 45 days. They are fully aware of the impact of their symbol. Actually, they just spit in your face. How will you respond? </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-69895417135746262522015-07-29T09:25:00.003-04:002015-07-29T09:48:28.488-04:00Open Letter to the Guy with the Confederate Flag<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On the road to North Carolina, I saw many confederate flags. Hundreds maybe. They were attached to pick-up trucks and motorcycles, on beach towels and bed comforters, on t-shirts and do-rags and next to graves in cemeteries. What I saw was blatant racism on parade. I dismissed them all, except one. Except you.<br />
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You were marching on the corner of a gas station in Waynesville, North Carolina. You were alone and you carried a large confederate flag with the words on it, "Heritage, Not Hate." I was driving by with my family on our way for a vacation together in the mountains. <br />
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You were different. You had the courage to stand on the corner, by yourself, waving a flag with the words, "Not Hate." I've had a few conversations with passionate confederate flag supporters. You think the massacre in Charleston was tragic. You think Dylan Roof was insane and he doesn't deserve to wave the confederate flag, the flag of your heritage. You think that most Americans don't get it that brothers fought brothers in the Civil War. Some towns sent every man and boy off to war and no one came home. The tragedy of the Civil War runs deep in the South. <br />
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But now you see the confederate flags coming down. You feel like your heritage is getting buried underneath a whole bunch of political correctness. You also want the government out of your business, especially when it tries to tell you what to do with your flag or any other part of your life. Enough is enough. <br />
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Have I missed anything? These things came up regularly in my conversations with others. If I may ask, would you be willing to put down the flag for a minute so we can talk? The confederate flag screams loudly in our culture and I want us to have a real conversation instead of a shouting match.<br />
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I teach leadership and nonviolence for a living. It is rare for me to find someone willing to stand alone on a street corner in their home town for a cause. America needs your courage right now.<br />
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Your heritage will be well secured in American history books. It is already there. But right now, America isn't fighting for its history. America is fighting for its future. We are struggling for a future without hate and division. Right now, we need you to stand up to hate in your community. It is that same hate that murdered nine innocent African-Americans in Charleston. It is that same hate that comes out when, in Douglasville, Georgia, trucks with confederate flags show up at the birthday party of an African-American child and intimidate his family with guns and death threats.<br />
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I know you dislike these unspeakable acts of violence. Are you willing to say enough is enough? Are you willing to march with a flag for peace? Do you have the courage to stand, not on a street corner, but square in the way of those who commit these acts of violence in your town? You know who they are. They are the ones who said they wouldn't march with you and your "Not Hate" flag. They are the ones who laughed at you. They are the ones who said you were crazy, even though they have three confederate flags flying off the back of their truck.<br />
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One of the things Nonviolence teaches us, and that I teach others, is that no one is beyond the reach of the human heart. We are all in this together. Christ spoke about this in his teachings, "love thy neighbor as thyself." This is the same love Martin Luther King talked about called <i>agape (ah-GAH-peh)</i> love; "the insistence on community, even when one seeks to break it."<br />
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I offer to you that nothing would be more courageous, nothing would be more honorable, and nothing would be more effective in ending the hate than you taking a stand in your community against it. Bring people together to make a plan of action. Imagine the heritage you will create today for future generations. In the peaceful world of your grandchildren, they will look back and proudly say it all started when you took a stand for peace and said "enough is enough."<br />
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<i>Dave Soleil is a nonviolence leadership consultant and a founder of the K-12 Sudbury School of Atlanta. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He can be reached at: davesoleil@gmail.com. </i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-92179352026395935852015-06-20T08:06:00.000-04:002015-06-20T08:06:11.790-04:00#Charleston. Another tragedy. What should we do?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother Emanuel</td></tr>
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In Charleston, SC nine African-Americans in a prayer group were massacred by a white racist. Once again, there is a resounding question in America, "what do we do?" This was the same question after the killings of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and many, many others. This was the same question after the Sandy Hook massacre. John Stewart characterized America yesterday saying, "We still won't do jack shit." He is tragically accurate.<br />
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But why? Why is America so flummoxed every time a tragedy happens among Americans? Let's begin with 9-11. Attacks from abroad allow us the opportunity to use our number one solution for everything... violence. We have the world's most robust military. Attack us and we will unleash billions of dollars of bombs and drones and missiles and planes and guns and soldiers upon other countries that may or may not have been involved in the attack. It's easy and cathartic and far away. Just like the Toby Keith song, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, says, "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way."<br />
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Yet, when a white American racist slaughters nine African-Americans in a church or when the police murder citizens on the street, we talk about "bad apples." We talk about mental illness. We talk about police body cameras and we post MLK quotes on Facebook and Twitter. We fight over the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter. Authorities tell people to "be calm" and not to burn down the city. Yet, more violence happens and authorities try to squash the violence with more violence and the cycle continues. <br />
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<i><b>To paraphrase Maslow, if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail. </b></i> </div>
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This is why America has no idea what to do when social problems arise in our country. The hammer of violence is the only tool in America's toolbox. So, when the problem IS violence, America is dumbfounded. We not only are confused about what to do but we don't recognize where the problem stemmed from. We are victims of our own self-perpetuating, violent, one-solution-fits-all philosophy. </div>
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What do we do about police violence? We don't know because violence is our only tool. What do we do about the Charleston massacre? We don't know because we can't bomb South Carolina. Where do we direct our water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets? Who should our drones kill? Fighting violence with violence is absurd. </div>
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So we make excuses about these tragedies because it's far easier than admitting that our toolbox is empty. "This was an isolated incident." "How can anyone possibly avoid this? When a man is sick and crazy, there's nothing that can be done." </div>
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So, what should we do? The first thing is to fill our toolbox with the many and multi-faceted tools of Nonviolence and throw away the rusty, bloody hammer of violence that has been destroying our communities for centuries. And when I say, Nonviolence, I am reclaiming that word from the politicians, officials and media who just want people to sit down, be quiet, and maintain the status quo. That is not, and never has been, Nonviolence. </div>
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Nonviolence is an active, creative and strong force for social change. It is not weak, nor passive. It challenges injustice. It organizes, empowers and forges the just world we seek. Nonviolence teaches us that peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the presence of justice. It does not inflict suffering on others, it voluntarily accepts suffering in order to awaken the consciences of all people. </div>
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This is why I teach Nonviolence Leadership. If Nonviolence is the tools for change, leadership is learning to use those tools effectively. The first part of leadership is just showing up. As an example, having attended #BlackLivesMatter rallies and town hall meetings on community policing, the white community in Atlanta has been painfully, noticeably and continually absent. </div>
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Think about it. When an African-American community member is gunned down by police and a demonstration is held to affirm that #BlackLivesMatter and the white community does not show up but then are loudly vocal on social media that #AllLivesMatter, what message does that send? <br />
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If we want change in our communities, we cannot simply post on Facebook that #BlackLivesMatter or #AllLivesMatter or Gandhi quotes about "being the change" or MLK quotes about "hate doesn't drive out hate." The change we seek will not happen on Facebook and Twitter. In the words of Gil Scott Heron, "the revolution will not be televised." Everyone needs to show up. In person. And often. </div>
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To use our tool analogy, if your friend calls you because their house needs an emergency repair, will posting Bob Villa quotes on Facebook fix the house? No, that's ridiculous. The way to fix your friend's house is you show up with your toolbox, that has the right tools, and you work and you sweat and you rip out what broke and you put in new frameworks and sand and paint and then you and your friend look at what a beautiful thing you fixed together. </div>
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We must learn about all the tools of Nonviolence. They are many and versatile. I try to write about many of them. They can build the world we seek. Leadership is what teaches us how to use those tools most effectively. </div>
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The solutions we seek for our communities are within reach, but we are waiting for you. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-32015058996224057092015-02-27T14:04:00.000-05:002015-03-05T10:42:38.425-05:00How We Teach Violence to Children<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As thoughtful, caring parents, we would never want to teach our kids that violence is the answer to any or every problem. We want our children to learn to get along with others, share, be kind, say "excuse me" and try their best at an empathetic "I'm sorry." <br />
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I thought I was attuned to the violence that surrounds us in American culture. However, a trip to Target with my kids yesterday was shocking. We stepped into the toy aisles. Here is a quick rundown of the toys and action figures, in order...<br />
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<li>Batman</li>
<li>Power Rangers</li>
<li>Star Wars</li>
<li>Elite Force - modern Army/military toys</li>
<li>Professional Wrestling</li>
</ul>
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Next aisle:</div>
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<li>More Power Rangers</li>
<li>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</li>
<li>Spider-Man</li>
<li>Super Hero Smashers</li>
<li>Marvel Comics Characters - Hulk, Avengers, Captain America, etc.</li>
<li>Transformers</li>
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End cap:</div>
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<li>Horror Series - Michael Meyers action figure from Halloween movies and Eric Draven from the Crow</li>
<li>Game of Thrones</li>
<li>Magic</li>
<li>HALO</li>
</ul>
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Next Aisle:</div>
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<li>Super Hero Adventures - these are tiny cute versions of Spider-Man, Batman, Wonder Woman and Hulk for younger kids.</li>
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Notice a pattern here? Every toy, without exception, uses violence and weapons to cause pain and/or death as their solution to problems. Then, with the Horror Series, we are supposed to play Serial Killer?!?</div>
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What message does this send our children? Violence is heroic. Violence is the solution to all problems. Violence is a super power. </div>
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We are aghast and outraged when we see ISIS beheading a person on the nightly news, yet our children play out the same gruesome scenarios with the toys we get them for their birthday, the movies we take them to see, the comic books we buy for them, the shows they watch on TV, and the video games we buy for them. </div>
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What is a solution for this? Do I want a Selma action figure series at Target? Perhaps a Gandhi bobblehead? (<a href="http://www.indiabobbles.com/drive/Product-Photos/Bobblehead/Mahatma-Gandhi/Gandhi-Portrait.png" target="_blank">Yes, that one exists...</a>) </div>
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While that would be nice, the solution that I seek is to empower parents to take a stand for your values. Take a stand for peace-making. Take a stand for selfless service to others, out of compassion and empathy. Your children are looking to you to define how to interact with the world. Talk with them about your values, especially at Target, and especially in the toy aisle. How do you solve problems? Connect it to your faith or your belief system. What does it mean to you to be a Christian? A Muslim? A Unitarian Universalist? A Humanitarian? Who are the super heroes in your life and why? </div>
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Suddenly, those plastic "super heroes" and weapons seem pretty silly and your family's connections, values and relationships have grown much deeper. Stand strong. Put peace into their hands. Leave the violence on the shelf. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-74880424486769950032015-01-29T12:23:00.000-05:002015-01-29T12:24:20.356-05:00The Next Step Beyond Service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nonviolence teaches us to look beyond problems to their root. What are the causes of these problems? For example, when we see hunger in our community, the cause is not that someone forgot to eat! There are unjust systems that we have collectively built that marginalize and dehumanize people. These systems have created the conditions that make it extraordinarily difficult for some members of the community to meet their basic needs. <br />
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It is our responsibility then, not only to feed those who are hungry, but also to correct the systems that create the conditions for hunger and food insecurity in the first place. <br />
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This is what I mean by "the next step beyond service." It means taking service to others and adding deep strategy to address root causes. This is the essence of Constructive Program.<br />
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The classic example of Constructive Program was Gandhi's efforts to teach people how to spin cotton into cloth to make fabric and clothing. At the time, the British Empire took the cotton and raw materials from India, sent it to England, made it into cloth and then sold it back to the Indian people at a much higher price. Gandhi's Constructive Program looked at this exploitation at its roots. This was not just about high priced clothing. This was about Indian independence from the British. It was about economic independence. It was about moral and spiritual independence.<br />
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The spinning wheel built local economies. It empowered the Indian people, not only with the structural means to make cloth, but with the moral and spiritual vision of independence. As his message spread, it had a major impact to free the nation from British rule. <br />
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If Gandhi had simply tried to provide cheaper cloth, that might have meant opening second-hand markets for clothing. Maybe there would have been an exchange system from those who had excess cloth to those with less. It would have created some jobs and some solutions, but the root of the problem would have remained... subjugation to the British Empire.<br />
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Constructive Program can be extraordinarily powerful. The key is taking the mindset of service and love for others and adding in strategy that addresses the root of the problem. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-66301271538760418282014-12-17T11:25:00.002-05:002014-12-17T11:37:19.615-05:00The #BlackLivesMatter Movement and a New Paradigm for Schools<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the midst of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, protests are happening all over the country. Everyone is looking for solutions and the conversation inevitably turns to education. Recently, <a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/turning-anger-to-action-rev-alex-gee-heard-from-african/article_c46fda52-c436-5af1-93c4-735d8312adea.html" target="_blank">Reverend Alex Gee took a listening tour through high schools in Wisconsin to "find the cultural and academic pulse of young black males."</a> Here is one thing Rev. Gee found:</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"<b style="font-style: italic;">The young men stated that too many teachers and administrators underestimate their ability, worth and potential. They mentioned feeling unwelcome and expendable."</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The conclusion that we hear in the media often is that we need better teachers, more funding, accountability and a raft of stricter regulations. However, these will not solve the problem and many freedom movements throughout history have known this. In fact, many freedom movements have thrown out the "Western" system of schooling and re-invented education. From Mississippi Freedom Summer to Gandhi in India to Paulo Freire in Brazil and more, all re-invented education. Why? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Under oppressive governments, it became clear to each of them that an education system implemented by the government would only serve to support the needs of the government. The American system of education is no different. Our system is based upon obedience and conformity. If you do what you are told, you are rewarded. If you do not do what you are told, you are punished. Wear uniforms, walk in straight lines, don't talk, raise your hand, compete against your classmates to see who can be most obedient to the teacher, get a pass to use the bathroom, get good grades. This is not a system that encourages independent thinking or critical reasoning. It is not a system that develops the individual. It is a system designed to oppress and break the individual. It is a system that conquerers have used for centuries to homogenize a population.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Among many examples, the United States used it in establishing Native American boarding schools in the late 1800's. <span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">U.S. Army officer, Richard Pratt, founded the first Indian boarding school called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. In 1892, he described his philosophy in a speech, saying:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one. I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What were the horrible, oppressive methods of this school designed to kill the Native American culture? Wear uniforms, walk in straight lines, don't talk, raise your hand, compete against your classmates to see who can be most obedient to the teacher, get a pass to use the bathroom, get good grades. Add to that, students were only allowed to speak English, just the same as when California banned bi-lingual education in 1998. Or when Russia banned the Crimean language in schools after invading Crimea in 2014.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, when young African-American males say that schools underestimate their worth and they feel expendable, that is the result of a "schooling" system designed to dehumanize the individual in favor of obedience to authority. The solution is not better teachers. The solution is a different system. We need a system that values <span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">and develops each individual and says YES! to who they are, their ideas and their passions. We can say YES! to their individuality, their decisions, their successes and mistakes. We can say YES! to the content of their character knowing that they are on a path to fulfilling their own dreams and desires. As Martin Luther King, Jr. told us:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and.html" target="_blank">Mississippi Freedom Schools</a> in 1964 did not have grades, uniforms or tests. It was a free-form, multi-age learning experience where people learned to question and think critically. According to a memo to Freedom School teachers:</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The purpose of the Freedom schools is to provide an educational experience for students which </i><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">will make it possible for them to challenge the myths of our society, to perceive more clearly its </i><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">realities, and to find alternatives, and ultimately, new directions for action."</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The goal was valuing and empowering each individual, not breaking them. Freedom Schools wanted students to become active, engaged citizens. They knew that the traditional "Western" school system was oppressive. Why fight to maintain it? They started over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Gandhi started over too. He founded the <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_31.html" target="_blank"><i>Nai Talim</i> or "New Education"</a> system in India. He dumped the British system of education in favor of empowering schools in the native language that recognized each individual as "mind, body and spirit." He said in 1917, "All education must aim at building character." </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gandhi wanted schools that validated the individual spirit, embraced local culture and valued the efforts of young people to benefit their community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In Brazil in the 1950's <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_15.html" target="_blank">Paulo Freire</a> launched adult literacy programs leading him to write the landmark book, <i>"Pedagogy of the Oppressed."</i> Literacy was a requirement for presidential voting in Brazil, so the illiterate poor had no political influence until Freire came along. He called "Western" education the "Banking Concept of Education."</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fd079249-ae7d-1b60-0c28-9325ca0768eb"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>“In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence.”</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, he suggests:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He says teachers and students should be in an egalitarian, respectful relationship where students have voice rather than being coerced into a "culture of silence." A culture of silence only perpetuates the submissiveness of the oppressed. Instead, Freire argued, knowledge should be co-constructed without the authoritarian power structures of traditional education. This evolution of the classroom begins by valuing and giving voice to the life experience of the students before they even enter the classroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is just a sample of how freedom movements have cast off the traditional system of schooling and re-invented education. Today, America is going through another social upheaval. Our system of policing is broken. We need to start over and re-imagine it. It is the same with education. We need to start-over and re-imagine it. Freedom struggles from around the world are speaking loudly to us now about education and we should listen. They don't teach these lessons in school. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-29274779444440775272014-12-06T12:01:00.001-05:002014-12-06T12:01:03.173-05:00The Value of Spinning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAkYzf9Zm3gnXx5CQDCTYGzsgW38E_D8PdvK-MpSY4XZhGKQZnwaMdY8PlwV08zovc6FnlIkqlsTsc8CwIHPdP6OPxge0vIn_-Y8jwiuLkNEYzZ5kxyAJscrAjkWXoLs9Tpq8iAa5PyE/s1600/Gandhi+spinning.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAkYzf9Zm3gnXx5CQDCTYGzsgW38E_D8PdvK-MpSY4XZhGKQZnwaMdY8PlwV08zovc6FnlIkqlsTsc8CwIHPdP6OPxge0vIn_-Y8jwiuLkNEYzZ5kxyAJscrAjkWXoLs9Tpq8iAa5PyE/s1600/Gandhi+spinning.jpeg" /></a></div>
One thing I value about Gandhi's leadership in the struggle for India's independence was his <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-constructive-program.html" target="_blank">Constructive Program of spinning</a>. Not only did it create the economic and spiritual independence sought by the Indian people, it gave everyone something productive to do when no one knew what to do. <br />
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When Gandhi was uncertain of what to do next in the movement, he would spin cotton. It was an effort that allowed him and others time to think and strategize while continuing to work for independence. Sometimes he would think for weeks or months on end. Nonviolence has no timeline. <br />
Nonviolence is often seen ONLY as civil disobedience. While <i>Satyagraha</i> is visible and confrontational, Constructive Program builds the just and peaceful world that does not yet exist. <br />
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So, find your Constructive Program. Take time to spin. There is no hurry. You are building the solutions you seek. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-51494844947439213862014-11-29T09:28:00.002-05:002014-12-01T21:30:08.812-05:00Free Nonviolence Training<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As a service to to all of the #BlackLivesMatter groups, I am offering free 90 minute Skype or Facetime trainings in the philosophy and methodology of Nonviolence. Feel free to forward this invitation to those who might be interested. See the description below and email me at: <a href="mailto:davidsoleil@gmail.com">davidsoleil@gmail.com</a> to set up a time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learn the power of Nonviolence.</td></tr>
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The #BlackLivesMatter movement is here and it is strong. We are angry about Mike Brown and police brutality. We want to do something but what? What is going to be effective in creating real change in our communities? What is going to empower people and challenge the status quo without causing a civil war? <br />
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I would like to introduce you to Nonviolence or what Gandhi called, "the greatest force at the disposal of mankind." Gandhi defeated the British Empire with it and never fired a shot. Martin Luther King studied Gandhi's techniques and as King said of the Civil Rights movement, "we expressed anger under discipline for maximum effect." <br />
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Today, there are tremendous misconceptions about Nonviolence. It does not mean "Sit down and be quiet." It also does not mean march in the streets and sing "We Shall Overcome" and everything will work itself out. These are cartoon versions of Nonviolence that are rampant in American schools and culture. <br />
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Nonviolence is strong, courageous, strategic action with a very specific philosophy and methodology. It has been used with great effectiveness in overthrowing the most brutal dictatorships and regimes. It will work in our communities but it requires training and planning. <br />
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Please contact me to set up a free online training session for your group. Email me at: davidsoleil@gmail.com. I offer this as a service to our communities. There is no catch. There is no obligation. <br />
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As King said, "The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." It bends with Nonviolence. Contact me and let's work together to create a more just world. <br />
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<i>Here is my bio:</i><br />
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<i>Dave Soleil has over twenty years experience developing the leadership skills of thousands of college and high school students, MBAs, and nonprofit and corporate clients. He is passionate about teaching the philosophy and methodology of nonviolence for transformational social change. Gandhi called it "the greatest force at the disposal of mankind."</i><br />
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<i>Dave is the former Chair of the Leadership Education group for the International Leadership Association. He also was the Associate Director of the Center for Global Leadership and Team Development in the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Dave has worked as a consultant for many universities and nonprofits including the Interfaith Youth Core, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Agnes Scott College, the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, the Foundation for Teaching Economics and more. </i><br />
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<i>Dave is also a founder and staff member at the Sudbury School of Atlanta, a K-12 school dedicated to empowering students.</i><br />
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<i>Dave received his Masters degree in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University and holds a certificate from Emory University in the Nonviolence philosophy and methodology of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. </i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-63231206200692037062014-11-16T08:52:00.002-05:002014-11-16T08:56:27.663-05:00Blueprint for a Nonviolence School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEAFhwna1ot_6zuhZyThEkt3Szp5OwHO-ft_6DSXiUyEtAAXfxzwYGGQY117yDjKEryMtibmmMX7SLkQvAzgCa6x37oNtKtb8pW66oYMLJdabZU_SVxenlLw5KEDe1Ofogz-Lmgage5I/s1600/Peace+Mural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEAFhwna1ot_6zuhZyThEkt3Szp5OwHO-ft_6DSXiUyEtAAXfxzwYGGQY117yDjKEryMtibmmMX7SLkQvAzgCa6x37oNtKtb8pW66oYMLJdabZU_SVxenlLw5KEDe1Ofogz-Lmgage5I/s1600/Peace+Mural.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
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Can we design a school based on nonviolence? Can we find inspiration from the lineage of nonviolence activists and change agents? Can we determine a model that supports what the <a href="http://mettacenter.org/" target="_blank">Metta Center for Nonviolence</a> calls, a New Story?<br />
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Let's begin with Myles Horton:<br />
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<b>I think if I had to put a finger on what I consider a good education, a good <i>radical</i> education, it wouldn't be anything about methods or techniques. It would be loving people first."</b></div>
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-from the book, "We Make the Road by Walking"</div>
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<i><b>1. Respect the inherent worth and dignity of every individual </b></i></div>
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Each person, regardless of age, is a complete human being with strengths, abilities, interests, experiences and passions. They are not a vessel to be filled, nor a voice to to be silenced. The nonviolence school would be egalitarian and multi-age. We would create, co-create and recreate knowledge together and as individuals. We would seek to empower the intrinsic motivations of each person and eliminate externally imposed measures that serve only to support obedience and conformity. We would ask, "what are you interested in?" "What are you passionate about?" Then, we would empower each person to discover and fulfill their <a href="http://mettacenter.org/definitions/gloss-concepts/swadharma/" target="_blank">swadharma</a>. </div>
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<i><b>2. Every Person has Voice and Choice</b></i></div>
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Voice and Choice are an extension of respect for the individual. Each person, regardless of age, would have voice to express their interests, passions and experiences. They would also have the power (choice) to pursue those interests with others or by themselves. Agency is another term that applies here.<br />
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<i><b>3. Encouraging the development of mind, body and spirit </b></i></div>
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"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony." - Gandhi The compliment to mind, body and spirit are actions of word, thought and deed. These all are interwoven and would be encouraged. </div>
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<i><b>4. Nonviolent communication (NVC) and restorative justice</b></i></div>
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The practice of NVC and restorative justice would be a framework for communication and conflict resolution. There would be no principal's office or retributive justice. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "an insistence on community, even when one seeks to break it." When issues in our community separate us, we work to bring our community back together rather than ostracize or punish people in our community. </div>
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<i><b>5. Embodying service</b></i></div>
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"I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be." - Martin Luther King, Jr. Service would be a value and a practice. </div>
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<i><b>6. Encouraging the lifelong study and practice of nonviolence</b></i></div>
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This would likely encompass spiritual practice, social action in both constructive and obstructive programs, teaching others about nonviolence, and other explorations of the practice, science, philosophy and methodology of nonviolence.<br />
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There is a growing trend of schools similar to this, particularly emphasizing numbers 1 and 2. Democratic schools, free schools, unschools, Sudbury schools, and other similarly inspired programs follow numbers 1 and 2. The rest you can modify to fit the needs of your community. This could be a model for after-school programs, "Sunday schools" or other schools seeking to encourage the spiritual journey of young people. tutoring programs, music schools and more. <br />
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I helped start a school similar to this and offer this as a blueprint for others who wish to make a nonviolence school their constructive program. The results are incredibly empowering, creative and fulfilling. Reinventing education in this way is also the subject of a book I am writing under the working title, "The Content of their Character." <br />
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Feel free to contact me if you have questions about opening a nonviolence school. It is possible. You can do this! In the words of Peter Block, "the future appears as we gather." </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-61776973739990635022014-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:002014-12-17T10:58:14.377-05:00Part 8: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "talking book" by Horton and Freire.</td></tr>
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Before I even begin about Paulo Freire, I have to recommend two books. This is essential reading and encompasses far more than I can put into a blog post. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pedagogyoftheoppressed.com/" target="_blank">Pedagogy of the Oppressed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Make-Road-Walking-Conversations-Education/dp/0877227756/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415969189&sr=8-2&keywords=we+make+the+road+by+walking" target="_blank">We Make the Road by Walking</a><br />
<br />
These books are just two of dozens authored by Freire. "We Make the Road by Walking" was also the last book Myles Horton authored. He approved the final draft of it just days before his death. <br />
<br />
Paulo Freire is from Brazil and is one of the most widely influential authors related to education. While we have explored many re-inventions of education in these posts, most educational circles point to Freire as the father of "critical pedagogy." He was the bridge between freedom struggles and educational theory. He spoke truth to power in education. That doesn't invalidate the work of Tolstoy, Gandhi, Freedom Schools and more. Their work in education was simply overshadowed by their more popular efforts toward freedom and social change. <br />
<br />
Early on, Freire was influenced by a popular movement of populist politics in the Brazilian Northeast. This was around the time of the Cuban Revolution, 1959-1961. The Catholic Church increasingly supported Liberation Theology and focused efforts on the poor. Literacy was a requirement for voting in Brazil which excluded a large majority of the illiterate poor population in Brazil. <br />
<br />
This backdrop set the stage for <a href="http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/epe/PDF%20articles/Bartlett_ch5_22feb08.pdf" target="_blank">Freire to launch adult literacy programs</a>, much like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septima_Poinsette_Clark#The_spread_of_Citizenship_Schools" target="_blank">Citizenship Schools</a> of the Civil Rights movement that originated at the Highlander Folk School with Septima Clark.<br />
<br />
Freire was so successful in his efforts in northeast Brazil that he was invited by the federal government to coordinate a national literacy campaign. However, a military coup in 1964 drove out the populist government and Freire was exiled. He returned to Brazil after 15 years when the military regime gave way to democratization. <br />
<br />
Let's pause for a moment. You know how a statistic sticks in your head and then you go back to find it and you just can't. Here's that statistic. I believe it was in "We Make the Road by Walking," but I can't find it for the life of me. So, take it with a grain of salt. I remember seeing that the literate electorate in Brazil was about 250,000 people. Freire's literacy programs touched around 750,000 people. So, you can see how his literacy programs were downright dangerous to a government of the elite that wanted to hold on to their power. <br />
<br />
So, what was his philosophy on education? Traditional education is a political tool of the oppressors. However, it can be used for liberation as much as oppression. Here's a sample from Pedagogy of the Oppressed:<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pedagogy which begins with the egoistic interests of the oppressors (an egoism cloaked in the false generosity of paternalism) and makes of the oppressed the objects of its humanitarianism, itself maintains and embodies oppression. It is an instrument of dehumanization.”</span> </i></span></div>
<br />
He called it the "Banking Concept of Education."<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fd079249-ae7d-1b60-0c28-9325ca0768eb"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence.”</i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, he suggests:</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” </span></div>
<br />
He says teachers and students should be in an egalitarian, respectful relationship where students have voice rather than being coerced into a "culture of silence." A culture of silence only perpetuates the submissiveness of the oppressed. Instead, Freire argued, knowledge should be co-constructed without the authoritarian power structures of traditional education. This evolution of the classroom begins by valuing and giving voice to the life experience of the students before they even enter the classroom. Sounds a lot like Myles Horton? Now you know why they wrote a book together. <br />
<br />
Freire's programs were for adult education but they apply equally to younger people. It begins with valuing the inherent worth and dignity of all people. His model promotes freedom and equality and empowers students with their own voices, experiences, thoughts and actions. <br />
<br />
For now, this is the end of my exploration into the lineage of re-inventing education through freedom struggles, humanitarian efforts and nonviolence. There are many more stories to tell, like the Reggio Emilia form of education that began in Italy after WWII with the sale of a German tank, nine horses and two military trucks and the belief that <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/pioneers-our-field-loris-malaguzzi-founder-reggio-emilia-approach" target="_blank">"children are powerful people, full of desire and ability to construct their own knowledge."</a> It was an effort to bring freedom to education to ensure that fascism would not return. <br />
<br />
So, given all of these rich and deep connections, what might a school of nonviolence look like? I shall write about my experience and ideas in the next post. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/blueprint-for-nonviolence-school.html" target="_blank">Next: Blueprint for a Nonviolence School</a><br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-14461028365298615712014-11-14T08:00:00.000-05:002014-11-15T09:30:59.844-05:00Part 7: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHEzAkclIJu7UWgLTtf4IF-w_Aw3GTTIIq-MDBsxvPrzddf9OocwAfnB7ahznFq7CLKGJpi63uylwZ3kDggDVdK315FaWHg5gekBvMjxCfBvQKAMoymu-BaUnxHSOOGaNGoHsT_TO8ug/s1600/tolstoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHEzAkclIJu7UWgLTtf4IF-w_Aw3GTTIIq-MDBsxvPrzddf9OocwAfnB7ahznFq7CLKGJpi63uylwZ3kDggDVdK315FaWHg5gekBvMjxCfBvQKAMoymu-BaUnxHSOOGaNGoHsT_TO8ug/s320/tolstoy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leo Tolstoy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Leo Tolstoy was a well-known and established author in 1859. However, he considered abandoning writing altogether. Why write for the Russian people if most of them could not read his writing? So, Tolstoy embarked on a trip to Europe exploring different methods of pedagogy and schooling and looking for a new path for Russian education. <br />
<br />
In one of this journals, he remarked, <a href="http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/smmnsej/tolstoy/chap4.htm" target="_blank">"In education, once more, the chief things are equality and freedom."</a><br />
<br />
Upon his return to his home Yasnaya Polyana, he founded 13 schools. <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=4cQnAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">Here is his writing about</a><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=4cQnAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">, "The School at Yasnaya Polyana."</a><br />
<br />
<i>"The children bring nothing with them, - neither books, nor copy-books. No lessons are given for home. Not only do they carry nothing in their hands, but they have nothing to carry even in their heads. They are not obliged to remember any lesson... They are not vexed by the thought of the impending lesson. They bring with them nothing but their impressionable natures and their convictions that to-day will be as jolly in school as it was yesterday."</i><br />
<br />
No child was forced to "learn." Tolstoy summed up the coercion of the Western model of education well, "Force is used only through haste and through insufficient respect for human nature." There was no homework, no grades, no tests or other forms of extrinsic motivations. Young people of multiple ages joined in voluntarily and there was a structure of freedom for students with equal contribution by students and teachers. <br />
<br />
Tolstoy also remarked, "...the pupil has always had the right not to come to school, or, having come, not listen to the teacher." <br />
<br />
Again, we see the connection of another school throwing off the Western model of education in favor of:<br />
<br />
1. Valuing the inherent worth and dignity of the students.<br />
2. Multi-age environment.<br />
3. Promoting empowerment of students.<br />
4. Informal environment with freedom and equality.<br />
<br />
Sounding familiar? Nai Talim, Freedom Schools, Hull House, the Highlander Folk School, Yasnaya Polyana are all cut from the same educational cloth. Tolstoy's schools, while short-lived, became a strong influence on the <a href="http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/" target="_blank">Summerhill School</a> in England and later <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_school" target="_blank">Sudbury Schools in the U.S.</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_school_movement" target="_blank">Free Schools</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling" target="_blank">Unschooling</a> and other models of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_education" target="_blank">democratic education</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_15.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 8, Paulo Freire and Pedagogy of the Oppressed </a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-13322664944953832132014-11-13T09:58:00.003-05:002014-11-15T09:30:26.855-05:00Part 6: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX3wWrv5cO84pvIZbLQauJzx6qVYS44WDvPD97Yv05w250AOykhmIePvEkXClZPUBQtRnd63e1HCxzQui02JFaG8C1sLJ48-kOZ8OUqQrb_zTt8ivNyL2i8IamNTmZxgBidTLZYi9kHQ/s1600/Hull+House+Boys.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX3wWrv5cO84pvIZbLQauJzx6qVYS44WDvPD97Yv05w250AOykhmIePvEkXClZPUBQtRnd63e1HCxzQui02JFaG8C1sLJ48-kOZ8OUqQrb_zTt8ivNyL2i8IamNTmZxgBidTLZYi9kHQ/s320/Hull+House+Boys.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boys from Jane Addams' Hull House who built their own clubhouse in the 1920's.</td></tr>
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When Myles Horton was in graduate school in 1930 in Chicago, he was considering what sort of educational program could create social change. His program required him to spend time with an organization engaged in social work. He chose to spend time with <a href="http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/_learn/_aboutjane/aboutjane.html" target="_blank">Jane Addams</a> at <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/615.html" target="_blank">Hull House in Chicago</a>.<br />
<br />
This was five years before Addams death, in 1935, and one year prior to her winning the Nobel Peace Prize. She had long since established the first kindergarten in Chicago in 1889 and the first public playground in 1893. What was appealing to Horton about Addams and Hull House? Professor Jon Hale wrote about it in the <a href="http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/jefferson/files/nnewman1/earlypedagogical.html" target="_blank">American Education History Journal:</a> <br />
<br />
<i>"In many ways, Addams' views reflected dominant progressive thinking. For instance, her writing indicates a belief in democracy and the importance of incorporating students' experience in education. For Addams, the 'democratic ideal demands of the school that it shall give the child's own experience a social value; that it shall teach him to direct his own activities and adjust them to those of other people' (Addams 1964, 180). While this clearly resonates with progressive thinking, Addams' commitment to alleviating social ills was of more importance for Horton. At Hull House, Addams took direct action in establishing a new social order."</i><br />
<br />
While the educational efforts at Hull House were not exactly what Horton was looking for, according to Hale, "Jane Addams is significant in this analysis for she is representative of Horton's search for models of critical education that would resonate with his notion of achieving radical social change through education."<br />
<br />
Jane Addams believed in empowerment at any age. Hull House had a philosophy that affirmed the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Hull House offered a myriad of classes and opportunities for people of all ages and even had its own marching band. As a side note, the most famous alumnus of that marching band? <a href="http://tigger.uic.edu/depts/hist/hull-maxwell/vicinity/nws1/essays/bennygoodman.pdf" target="_blank">Benny Goodman.</a><br />
<br />
Shortly after Horton's experiences at Hull House, he visited Denmark to study the Danish Folk Schools and thereafter, the Highlander Folk School was born. <br />
<br />
However, the lineage continues further back than Addams. Throughout her life, Jane Addams was influenced by the work and writings of Leo Tolstoy, who in 1859, founded his own school which was radically different from the traditional model of education.<br />
<br />
As another side note, Jane Addams was aware of Gandhi's work in India and they exchanged letters. As well, Addams' work and philosophy was also <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/addams-jane/" target="_blank">influenced by John Ruskin</a>, the art critic, philosopher and author of "Unto This Last." Ruskin's book on economics was instrumental in Gandhi's life as he began his campaign in South Africa and it helped him form his ideas, now known as Gandhian economics. Gandhi also reflected on Ruskin's ideas on education in his writing, "Some Reflections on Education" from March 28, 1932.<br />
<br />
As you can see, the connections here grow wide and deep. Connecting the dots is challenging because the more dots I research, the more dots I find. Both Addams and <a href="http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_Oct%20010/y.p..htm" target="_blank">Gandhi looked to Tolstoy</a> for inspiration for their work. We will explore Tolstoy's work in education in Part 7.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_14.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 7</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-88689276598259264222014-11-02T19:32:00.003-05:002014-11-15T09:29:54.153-05:00Part 5: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJATD5hNrxW09PL-1Vh5OxkMkwScprbWAeWXit-u996JeaOPKWR2vyVKID08oqixfnRIsnazS23zMXqKfT7O0qbu47k_PjvvZDsKqOurjrkEcey3zzMWbyMfeBe3mMPBVT-NEM59DkZ0/s1600/septima-rosa-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJATD5hNrxW09PL-1Vh5OxkMkwScprbWAeWXit-u996JeaOPKWR2vyVKID08oqixfnRIsnazS23zMXqKfT7O0qbu47k_PjvvZDsKqOurjrkEcey3zzMWbyMfeBe3mMPBVT-NEM59DkZ0/s1600/septima-rosa-a.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Septima Clark and Rosa Parks at the Highlander Folk School in 1955, <br />
before anyone knew who they were.</td></tr>
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Connecting the dots:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_31.html" target="_blank">Nai Talim</a> and the <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and.html" target="_blank">Freedom Schools</a> were two well-documented efforts to re-invent education toward empowerment. Other efforts to establish a new vision for education is where things get very interesting. <br />
<br />
Just prior to the launch of the civil rights movement in the mid-1950's, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septima_Poinsette_Clark#Highlander_literacy_courses" target="_blank">Septima Clark</a>, Ralph Abernathy, James Bevel and more visited the Highlander Folk School under the direction of Myles Horton. Not only was Highlander instrumental in educating leaders of the Civil Rights movement, <a href="http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/jefferson/files/nnewman1/earlypedagogical.html" target="_blank">professor Jon Hale wrote the following in the American Education History Journal in 2007</a>: <br />
<br />
<i>"Another notable connection between Highlander and the Freedom Schools comes in March 1964 at the conference called for the curriculum planning for the Freedom Schools. Myles Horton was in attendance at this meeting, ensuring, at least, that the tenets of critical education espoused at Highlander would be represented."</i><br />
<br />
Founded during the depths of the Great Depression, Horton wrote about his vision for the school in 1931, saying:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-54ca943e-72c4-d15b-90cb-e4b75e92b5b4"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I would like to see a school where young men and women will have close contact with teachers, will learn how to take their place intelligently in a changing world. In a few months, free from credits and examinations, utilizing only such methods as individual requirements called for… it is hoped that by a stimulating presentation of material and study of actual situations, the students will be able to make decisions for themselves and act on the basis of an enlightened judgment.”</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Highlander was based on the <a href="http://denmark.dk/en/practical-info/study-in-denmark/folk-high-schools/" target="_blank">Danish Folk High School movement</a> which began in 1844 as a way to bring education to the adult lower classes in Denmark so they could also be active participants in the modern Danish state. Hallmarks of the Danish Folk High School movement included:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Students and teachers learning from each other</span></li>
<li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Freedom from examinations</span></li>
<li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Freedom from state regulation</span></li>
<li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Social interaction in a non-formal setting</span></li>
<li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Multi-age environment</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As a side note, there are still 70 Danish Folk High Schools in Denmark with 5000 to 7000 people attending every year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Many regarded the Highlander Folk School as a training program for organizers, but Horton disagreed. He saw Highlander not as a training center, but as a place for education. in the book "We Make the Road by Walking," he said: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>"We've called our work adult education. We thought of ourselves as educators. We deliberately chose to do our education outside the schooling system." </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life-long learning and people being able to solve their own problems was of paramount importance at Highlander. Horton did not use traditional teaching methods. He would not give anyone "the answers," nor did he want to. He recognized that telling people what to do would only make them dependent upon him for answers.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-54ca943e-72e0-5637-38a4-f0d9d08103b2"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“Stretching people’s minds is part of educating, but always in terms of a democratic goal. That means you have to trust people’s ability to develop their capacity for working collectively to solve their own problems.”</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Empowerment was the educational root of Highlander. He practiced what was "experiential education." However, what students learned did not come from their experience in the classroom, as the term is used today. For Horton, students learned from the experiences of life before they even walked into the classroom. Horton believed the students already had the answers. Paul Freire said that Horton "was just awakening their memories concerning some knowledge and concrete experiences... What Myles did was to touch their memory about a subject and to remake the road."</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This is where our road through the history of education forks. I hope to address both routes. Paulo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, had a similar journey in adult education in Brazil. So similar in fact, that Freire and Horton co-authored the book, "We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change."</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Shall we now travel to Brazil with Paulo Freire, a man whose educational programs for the illiterate poor were so successful that he became a threat to the establishment and was jailed and then exiled? </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Or should we travel father back in time with Myles Horton to his formative years in graduate school in Chicago where he spent quite a bit of time with Jane Addams at Hull House? We shall soon see!</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_13.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 6</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-78244143062787296292014-11-02T07:13:00.002-05:002014-11-15T09:29:13.072-05:00Part 4: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
1964 was Freedom Summer. It was an effort organized by the major civil rights organizations at the time, SNCC, CORE, SCLC and NAACP, to register voters and educate young people in Mississippi to become agents for social change. As detailed in a COFO <a href="http://www.crmvet.org/docs/fs64_memorandum.pdf" target="_blank">memo to Freedom School teachers in May, 1964</a>:<br />
<br />
<i>"The purpose of the Freedom schools is to provide an educational experience for students which </i><i>will make it possible for them to challenge the myths of our society, to perceive more clearly its </i><i>realities, and to find alternatives, and ultimately, new directions for action."</i><br />
<br />
Freedom Schools were the educational efforts that brought together more than 3000 students in 41 schools across Mississippi. However, these "schools" were radically different from traditional 'Western' schools.<br />
<br />
They were multi-age and had students ranging from small children to the elderly. They met anywhere and everywhere from church basements to parks, homes, kitchens or under a tree. When a host church in McComb, MS was bombed for hosting a Freedom School, <a href="http://www.crmvet.org/tim/tim64b.htm#1964freeschool" target="_blank">the classes were "held on the scorched earth next to the blown out wall."</a> The teachers were primarily volunteer college students and questioning was the mode of instruction. They questioned the institutions of racism and prejudice, what does the majority culture have that they wanted or didn't want and more. It was a free-form environment where a teacher could toss out his or her entire plan if the students were interested in discussing something more local and more relevant to their experience. Empowering the students was the focus, not the teacher or the curriculum. There were no grades, no homework and the only test was life in Mississippi after Freedom School. <br />
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Staughton Lynd, a history professor at Spelman College, was chosen as the Director of the Freedom School program. <a href="http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/FSCfiles/B_19_MSFSchoolsLynd.htm" target="_blank">He described the program like this in 1965</a>:<br />
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<i>"...our approach to curriculum was to have no curriculum and our approach to administrative structure was not to have any (I will explain this in a moment). So my answer to the question: “How do you start a Freedom School?” is, “I don’t know.” And if people ask, “What are the Freedom Schools like?” again I have to answer, “I don’t know.” I was an itinerant bureaucrat. I saw a play in Holly Springs, an adult class in Indianola, a preschool mass meeting in McComb, which were exciting. But who can presume to enclose in a few words what happened last summer when 2,500 youngsters from Mississippi and 250 youngsters from the North encountered each other, but not as students and teachers, in a learning experience that was not a school?" </i></div>
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Lynd commented on the free-form structure:</div>
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<i>"...it helped us to break away from the conventional paraphernalia of education, to remember that education is about a meeting between people. We said at Oxford: If you want to begin the summer by burning the curriculum we have given you, go ahead! We realized that our own education had been dry and irrelevant all too often, and we determined to teach as we ourselves wished we had been taught."</i></div>
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After hosting the Freedom School convention in Meridian, MS, where students put together their own mock political program, Lynd had this conclusion:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 28.7999992370605px;"><i>"But in the not very distant future candidates running for Congressional office will be real, not mock, candidates, and will have to declare themselves intelligently on a variety of issues. These candidates may come out of Freedom Schools. If we do not take their program seriously, it means not taking their ideas seriously. If we do not take their ideas seriously, we should ask ourselves what the Schools are for."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 28.7999992370605px;">Once again, like Gandhi's Nai Talim, we find Freedom Schools cast off traditional education in favor of empowerment. Age grades were set aside for multi-age learning. Curriculum was thrown out the window in favor of what was socially relevant. Cultural norms were questioned and the results needed to be taken seriously.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit;"><br />"The Freedom Schools challenged not only Mississippi but the nation. There was, to begin with, the provocative suggestion that an entire school system can be created in any community outside the official order, and critical of its suppositions. The Schools raised serious questions about the role of education in society: Can teachers bypass the artificial sieve of certification and examination, and meet students on the basis of a common attraction to an exciting social goal? Is it possible to declare that the aim of education is to find solutions for poverty, for injustice, for racial and national hatred, and to turn all educational efforts into a national striving for these solutions?" </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Howard Zinn</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 28.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://www.crmvet.org/tim/tim64b.htm#1964freeschool" target="_blank">For more information on Freedom Schools, check out these first-hand accounts and resources.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 28.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://www.crmvet.org/docs/msfsdocs.htm#msfs_schools" target="_blank">Here are original documents created by and for Freedom Schools</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Full curriculum of the Freedom Schools</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_2.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 5</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-47496615374681850862014-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:002014-11-15T09:33:18.757-05:00Part 3: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1CYzuhWhf7C_Y1r8d5CsQ6GNArOXC011dIo8EEIOUiILsBDu0r75Vh5yBF0mrJUPQ0wjNhsU-pyvoxWguF0AVLOsiyNIfK6aKZjax_FsCsX192Dg1GVwaJ4acA-ah7mzIP2rhzaNn7I/s1600/gandhi+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1CYzuhWhf7C_Y1r8d5CsQ6GNArOXC011dIo8EEIOUiILsBDu0r75Vh5yBF0mrJUPQ0wjNhsU-pyvoxWguF0AVLOsiyNIfK6aKZjax_FsCsX192Dg1GVwaJ4acA-ah7mzIP2rhzaNn7I/s1600/gandhi+pic.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
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"All education must aim at building character." </div>
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-Gandhi, 1917</div>
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<a href="http://mettacenter.org/definitions/nai-talim/" target="_blank">Nai Talim</a> or "New Education" was Gandhi's term for a new kind of school in India. He recognized that "Western" schools were <a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_30.html" target="_blank">tools of conquest and not education</a>. Western schools were designed, not for the benefit of the individual or the local community, but for the benefit of the conquering state with the outcome of obedience, conformity and loyalty. Schools had to be re-invented in order for India to truly be independent from British rule. </div>
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In 1835, Thomas Babington Mcaulay wrote the <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/macaulay/txt_minute_education_1835.html" target="_blank">"Minute upon Indian Education"</a> advocating for English education in India. Here is how Gandhi summarized Mcaulay's views:</div>
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<i>"Macaulay despised our literature. He thought we were over-much given to superstitions. Most of those who drew up this scheme were utterly ignorant of our religion. Some of them thought that it was a false religion. Our scriptures were regarded as mere collections of superstitions. Our civilization seemed full of defects to them. Because we had fallen on evil times, it was thought that our institutions must be defective. With the best motives, therefore, they raised a faulty structure."</i></div>
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So what were these new schools? In a letter requesting funds for the Ashram, he wrote:</div>
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<i>"The experiment now being carried on at the Ashram seeks to avoid all the defects above noted. The medium of instruction is the provincial vernacular. Hindi is taught as a common medium and handloom weaving and agriculture are taught from the very commencement. Pupils are taught to look up to these as a means of livelihood and the knowledge of letters as a training for the head and the heart and as a means of national service." </i> </div>
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In Hind Swaraj, he wrote: "Our ancient school system is enough. Character-building has the first place in it and that is primary education. A building erected on that foundation will last."</div>
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In <i>Navajivan</i> on February 28, 1926, he said,"True education is something different. Man is made of three constitutents, the body, mind and spirit. Of them, spirit is the one permanent element in man. The body and the mind function on account of it. Hence we can call that education which reveals the qualities of spirit."</div>
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Gandhi wanted schools that validated the individual spirit, embraced local culture and valued the efforts of young people to benefit their community. </div>
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<a href="http://home.iitk.ac.in/~amman/soc748/sykes_story_of_nai_talim.html" target="_blank">A detailed history of Nai Talim can be found here.</a></div>
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<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/11/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 4, The Freedom Schools of 1964</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-89913212067284911042014-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:002014-11-15T09:32:18.128-05:00Part 2: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before and after picture from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the U.S. </td></tr>
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Before we can reinvent education, we must understand why it needs reinventing and why education was of concern to freedom struggles and other humanitarian efforts.<br />
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Without writing a dissertation on the history of education, the "Western" model of education which mandated public schools for all young people, whether in America or England, was deeply rooted in obedience, conformity and homogenization of a population. Both models sprung up in the mid to late 1800's during times of conquest and colonialism, and were designed to produce industrial workers who were loyal to "the crown" or to the American government. <br />
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At the time, "teachers" were the keepers of knowledge. We didn't have the internet or even public libraries. In order to get your education, you had to be in the same room as the teacher and the teacher told you what to think and what to do. If you responded in the way the teacher wanted, you were rewarded. If not, you were punished. <br />
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Mandated public education is an extremely powerful way for governments to control the beliefs and attitudes of young people that will last their whole lives. It is no secret why an imperialist government would want to implement public education in newly conquered territories. <br />
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In the 1850's, the U.S. had 31 states and over 3 million slaves. The term "Manifest Destiny" became popular as America expanded westward deeming their conquests as "divine providence." The government funded boarding schools for Native American children. U.S. Army officer, Richard Pratt, founded the first Indian boarding school, called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. In 1892, he described his philosophy in a speech, saying:<br />
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<i>"A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one. I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man." </i> </div>
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Upon entering these schools, Native American students were forced to cut their hair short, take English names, wear European-style clothes and uniforms, speak English, convert to Christianity and more. These were not gentle steps to nudge children into developing as valued individuals. It was overt cultural genocide to produce graduates who were conforming, obedient, loyal and ready to serve the needs of American businesses and government. </div>
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The system of public education in India was much the same. So, for someone like Gandhi, who wanted to empower the Indian people, to embrace their native culture and language in a movement toward <i>Hind Swaraj, </i>re-inventing education was essential. Traditional "Western" schools were tools of conquest, not education. And therein lies the root of the connection between nonviolence, freedom struggles and reinventing education. <i> </i> </div>
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<a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_31.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 3, <i>Nai Talim</i>,</a> or "New Education." Gandhi's effort at re-inventing education. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-34719395349851279352014-10-29T11:16:00.000-04:002014-11-15T09:28:22.002-05:00Part I: "Stayed on Freedom": Social Movements and Re-Inventing Education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1vsAEN_2gRBfuZcel6dP3VEG8N-z9vwWMBaKUjCHwQZHcqBuw8VYqkKbgmARfic4Vk2PIhs6ukojh5NZsOBhr-WPaDkExS4UERHzxU4E7MVFRyyJpn061aLkiDEknTOiJTbTF4LGTag/s1600/Nai+Talim+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1vsAEN_2gRBfuZcel6dP3VEG8N-z9vwWMBaKUjCHwQZHcqBuw8VYqkKbgmARfic4Vk2PIhs6ukojh5NZsOBhr-WPaDkExS4UERHzxU4E7MVFRyyJpn061aLkiDEknTOiJTbTF4LGTag/s1600/Nai+Talim+school.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Nai Talim school - Gandhi's effort to reinvent education.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Our graduates… are a useless lot, weak of body, without any zest for work, and mere imitators. They suffer an atrophy of the creative faculty and of the capacity for original thinking, and grow up without the spirit of enterprise and the qualities of perseverance, courage and fearlessness.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">M. K. Gandhi, 1917</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">One hundred years later, the complaints about traditional education are the same as Gandhi saw in 1917. What if education were re-invented through the lens of nonviolence? <a href="http://sudburyschoolofatlanta.org/" target="_blank">As a founder of a K-12 school myself</a>, I have been looking for clues to innovations in education from those who have studied and practiced nonviolence in history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The results were surprising, deep and connected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, the theme of re-inventing education in freedom movements, humanitarian efforts and other expressions of nonviolence was pervasive enough that I now expect every freedom movement to have some mention of re-inventing education, if not a fully realized plan for it. Through these posts, I want to share with you the connections I've found and hopefully shed light upon ways we can re-invent education to be in alignment with the principles of nonviolence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">From Tolstoy to Gandhi, Jane Addams, Myles Horton and Paulo Freire, Freedom Schools and more, each of these people and movements invented or re-invented education in some way and often influenced each other in their views of education. It creates an interesting lineage of education innovation both real and implied dating back more than 150 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, drawing these historical connections and the conclusions from it requires a few disclaimers. Reinventing education and the philosophy of education is last-page-news compared to the events of a freedom struggle. To say that education ideas get "short-shrift" is an understatement. For example, in researching Freedom Schools from the Freedom Summer effort in Mississippi in 1964, I found a 400+ page book written exclusively about Freedom Summer. Out of 400 pages, three pages were dedicated to details about Freedom Schools. Most books will provide one paragraph. There is no definitive work on this subject that I have found. That is also why I think it is important to document what I have found. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, my explorations have been mostly to inform my study of nonviolence and hopefully to add to the perspectives and insights we derive from the practice of nonviolence. I hope you will join me on this fascinating journey through the world of education with the lens of nonviolence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://davesoleil.blogspot.com/2014/10/stayed-on-freedom-social-movements-and_30.html" target="_blank">Next: Part 2 </a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-65116202245646568592014-10-21T16:24:00.000-04:002014-10-21T16:39:20.117-04:00What is Constructive Program?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flag of India with the spinning wheel; the symbol of India's constructive program.</td></tr>
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One of the most important elements of nonviolence is the Constructive Program? What is a Constructive Program and how does it work?<br />
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A Constructive Program is a positive effort to create the changes you want to see in the world. The classic example was used by Gandhi in the struggle for India's independence from the British Empire. Gandhi encouraged the Indian people to spin cotton on a spinning wheel in order to make their own cloth. Rather than purchase high priced cloth from the British, making cloth empowered the Indian people with something everyone could do, developed self-sufficiency and created goods to boost local economies. <br />
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Even when Gandhi was uncertain what to do strategically for independence, he would spin and ask others to spin. Regardless of knowing how to proceed with the British, every minute of spinning was contributing to economic self-sufficiency and independence for India. Spinning became the symbol of Indian empowerment and independence. That is why the spinning wheel sits in the center of the flag of India.<br />
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Nonviolence is not a knee-jerk reaction to take to the streets, or have sit-ins and protests when there is something you see as unjust. Far from it. A Constructive Program is a powerful and strategic way to be the positive change you want to see in the world. <br />
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In 1964 in Mississippi, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker and Bob Moses created the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Freedom_Democratic_Party" target="_blank">Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party</a>. African-Americans were not allowed to vote or participate in the democratic process, so they created their own political party that garnered 80,000 members. This was a kind of Constructive Program.<br />
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Simple efforts like buying local, buying organic, shopping regularly at a farmer's market, or riding a bike to work can be part of a Constructive Program. These efforts also build community, a common purpose and can grow the movement for your cause.<br />
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A key question for your own Constructive Program is:<br />
<i>How can you empower people with simple, positive actions that create the solutions you seek?</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-12611765848096725412014-08-22T11:39:00.000-04:002014-10-11T08:27:49.244-04:00#Ferguson makes me angry. Teach me about Nonviolence.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hands up, don't shoot!</td></tr>
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You are angry, sad and upset about what is happening in Ferguson, Missouri. The injustices in Ferguson are reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement and the pictures remind us of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The unarmed youth, Mike Brown, laying dead in the street for hours, is just a modern version of a lynching for all to see. You want to do something, but what? Take to the streets? Rise up? Speak out? Stand up for justice? Rebel? Revolt? And what does that even mean?<br />
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The Civil Rights Movement was rooted in the philosophy of Nonviolence. But what is that? How does it work? Most people think that the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King giving the "I Have a Dream" speech and then everything was fine. Nothing could be further from the truth. The philosophy and methodology of Nonviolence is very specific and incredibly powerful. It is not just refraining from violence. It is a way of living, acting and organizing that creates positive social change.<br />
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There are six principles that Dr. King identified as the principles of Nonviolence. Among many influences, Dr. King studied Gandhi extensively. If you don't know who Gandhi is, he led India to independence from the British Empire through the philosophy and methodology of Nonviolence. If you want to dive deep into Nonviolence, read King, read Gandhi, and follow the <a href="http://mettacenter.org/" target="_blank">Metta Center for Nonviolence</a>. <br />
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To start, love is the root of Nonviolence. We're not talking about love like it's Valentine's Day. We're not talking about giving candy and love notes to Ferguson police. It's the kind of deep love that recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Here is what King said about what he called, "Agape love" in his book, "Stride Toward Freedom:"<br />
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<i>"Agape is not weak, passive love. It is love in action. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community. It is insistence on community even when one seeks to break it. Agape is the willingness to get to any length to restore community. It doesn't stop at the first mile, but it goes the second mile to restore community. It is a willingness to forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven to restore community... He who works against community is working against the whole of creation. Therefore, if I respond to hate with reciporical hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavage in broken community. I can only close the gap in broken community by meeting hate with love. If I meet hate with hate, I become depersonalized, because creation is so designed that my personality can only be fulfilled in the context of community...</i><br />
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<i>In the final analysis, agape means a recognition of the fact that all live is interrelated. All humanity is involved in a single process, and all men are brothers."</i><br />
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It is the insistence on community, even when one seeks to break it. Nonviolence begins from a place of love and then we put that love into action.</div>
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In 1924, Gandhi said, "My study and experience of non-violence have proved to me that it is the greatest force in the world." Rev. Jim Lawson, whom King called, "the mind of the movement" and trained countless groups in Nonviolence said that "Nonviolence has far more power than what anyone actually knows. Period." <br />
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Here are the six principles King identified for Nonviolence:<br />
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<b>Principle One:</b><br />
<b>Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.</b><br />
Nonviolence is a courageous and aggressive positive force that confronts injustice with love. It is the insistence on community coming out of deep agape love. Freedom Rider and activist, Bernard LaFayette says, "the goal is not to win over the opponent. The goal is to win them over." We want them to see the injustice too and join us. You must be active and courageous in speaking out and confronting the injustices with your firmly held belief that all lives matter. King teaches us that this insistence on love and community must be a way of life. If not, how are you going to stand and speak out for justice amongst your peers? Your family? Your community? How will you speak out when others disagree with you? Chide you? Shame you? Attack you verbally or physically? How are you going to speak out in the face of the deafening silence of good-natured people who just want to drink a latte and ignore the whole thing? How are you or the people of Ferguson going to face tear gas, tanks, rubber bullets and police dogs? <br />
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<b><u>How strongly do you believe in inherent the worth and dignity of all people?</u></b></div>
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This was the challenge of our parents and grandparents during the Civil Rights Movement. They stood up with love. It's our job now to stand up too.<br />
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<b>Principle Two:</b><br />
<b>The Beloved Community is the framework for the future. </b> <b> </b><br />
This is the "I Have a Dream" message where our society lives together, not only in the absence of conflict, but in the presence of justice. That is the definition of true peace, where we sit together at the Table of Brotherhood, working together to eliminate systems of injustice, racism, poverty, war and violence. This includes sitting at that table with the Ferguson police because they too are human. They too have the spark of the divine within them that we so greatly respect. They need our help in bringing them out of the evil system of injustice of which they are a part. No one said this Nonviolence thing would be easy. Believe in love. Insist upon community.<br />
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<b>Principle Three: </b><br />
<b>Attack forms of evil, not persons doing evil. </b><br />
The systems and structures of evil that create the injustices in Ferguson and elsewhere were collectively built by us. They can also be dismantled by us. In Nonviolence, there is no "us vs. them" mentality. There is only us and those who have not yet joined us in dismantling the systems of injustice. When we attack persons doing evil, we inflict violence. To paraphrase King, darkness does not drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate does not drive out hate. Only love can do that. Violence does not drive out violence, only Nonviolence can do that. Focus on dismantling the system that creates the injustice. <br />
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<b>Principle Four:</b><br />
<b>Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal.</b><br />
This is a tough one for many people. This means accepting the blows of police, the rubber bullets and the tear gas without retaliation. How can you possibly do this? Because of your insistence on love and community. It dramatizes the issue for all to see when a violent and brutal police force attacks a peaceful demonstration. This is a major reason why the Civil Rights Movement awoke the conscience of our nation. It was not the police violence alone. When police violence meets violent protests, people see chaos and no way out. When police violence meets organized peaceful protest, it puts the injustice on a platform for all to see. It evokes empathy, compassion and the need for change. By suffering without retaliation, we all become Michael Brown. Remember, the police are human too. How many times will they shoot rubber bullets at peaceful protestors before their own conscience tells them that their actions are brutal and immoral? Only suffering without retaliation can evoke those feelings. It's not about the police officers. It's about dismantling the system of injustice of which they are a part and winning the hearts and minds of the people to make it happen, including the Ferguson police officers. <br />
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<b>Principle Five: </b><br />
<b>Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence.</b><br />
In addition to avoiding physical violence with others, we must know that the love we extend to others in the campaign includes you too! You are strong. You are worthy. You are making a difference. You are doing the courageous work that your children and grandchildren will benefit from in the future. Look at how far America has come since the Civil Rights Movement. It is our turn to take the next steps. We owe a great debt to our parents and grandparents. Part of paying that forward is believing in yourself the way they believed in you and in a better America. When our parents and grandparents stood in front of the fire hoses, police dogs and tear gas, they did it for us. Believe in yourself. You have descended from a courageous and loving people who had their minds, "stayed on freedom." You can do it too.<br />
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<b>Principle Six:</b><br />
<b>The universe is on the side of justice. </b><br />
King echoed the words of Rev. Theodore Parker, "The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." I will also add, it bends because we bend it that way. There is no question that we are acting on the right side of justice when we seek justice through Nonviolence. The universe is on our side because our actions are rooted in the universal truth known as love. Love in action will result in a more just world. Nonviolent means achieve Nonviolent ends. Nonviolent ends are justice and the Beloved Community. You are acting on the right side of history. Be bold as you put love into action.<br />
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I hope this explanation gives you a philosophical base and methodology from which you can turn your anger and sadness into action. Every person's actions and every person's contribution will be different depending on where you live, what you do and what you want to do for justice. Maybe you live far from Ferguson and will organize an effort in your home town. Maybe you are going to join the protests in Ferguson. Maybe just forwarding this post is your contribution today to get Nonviolence into the hands of those who need this message most. Every contribution through Nonviolence is important in creating a more just world. <br />
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Our hearts break over Ferguson. Let your heart break open with deep love and compassion that will be your inspiration for Nonviolent action. <br />
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In peace,<br />
Dave</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6811210394466484719.post-91160896598448803002012-10-05T13:40:00.001-04:002012-10-05T13:40:05.953-04:00What Have I Been Doing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been many months since I last posted. This is not because of a lack of interest but rather a multitude of life experience that has deepened my commitment to service and broadened my perspective.<br />
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Since my last post, I have been part of the founding team of a K-12 school in Atlanta. The <a href="http://sudburyschoolofatlanta.org/" target="_blank">Sudbury School of Atlanta</a> is now open and serving students. It is a school dedicated to the joy of learning in an enriching environment that respects and trusts students. The school is based on cooperation rather than competition and is democratically-run. Students make the majority of the decisions including how money is allocated and even which staff members return year after year.<br />
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People may ask, "isn't that a lot of power you give to students?" Absolutely, because we trust that students are good people. We don't assume they have bad intentions when they walk through the door. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy for many schools. Surround someone with an environment of distrust and most people will act according to the expectations. Surround someone with an environment of trust and responsibility and you will get trustworthy, responsible students. For an extreme example of how our environment can negatively affect our behavior, check out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment" target="_blank">Stanford Prison Experiment</a>. <br />
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When you have a school that does not pit students against each other in competition and trusts them with great freedom and responsibility, the result is a school that develops the content of your character. It empowers students start to finish. It provides an educational model exactly in line with the outcomes we commonly seek for our society: responsible citizens who are independent thinkers, good decision makers and lifelong learners. The means and the ends are the same. <br />
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I'm happy to be back writing again and I look forward to sharing new thoughts and new endeavors!<br />
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