[NLA] building policy vision

[Catherine B. King]

Art:

Your point is exactly on point:   A capitalist democracy
is not the same thing as capitalism raised to the level
of political ideology.

As a political ideology, capitalism defines belonging to
the political group in terms of monies, a bank account,
who you know, etc.; being able to be educated takes
money; and so those who don't have money don't get
educated.

On the other hand, a political order based in a democracy
(power in the people) defines belonging to the group in
much broader terms--though financial security is always a
hope for everyone, belonging to "We the People" does not
depend on being financially secure; and "The People" need
to be educated in order both understand the value of living
in a democracy--rather than just living in one until it
"mysteriously" disappears--and to have the power and
understanding to continue its maintenance.

In this later long-term view, the less financially well-off people are,
the MORE we need to support adult education in a democracy.

Also--and this is really the "big picture"--the more we educate
immigrants and other-language persons in our country--who in
turn communicate with others outside of democratic orders--the
more we support peaceful worldwide community.  Ultimately
adult education is involved with the big picture of civil order in
the world--or not.  This is the reality of the long view.

If you want an example of a short view, look to California:  We have
just cut education, and increased the building of prisons.

Art asks:  "How do you suspect that the political machine might
reintroduce the 'need' for education back into the subset of our
society, millions strong, who currently are unable to generate the
will to get there."

Just getting to this question has been a long time coming.
Certainly the irony is:  through education.   Also certainly, raising
this question and putting forth the facts of political ideology will
force the hands of many who are invested in ignorance, but fly
around under the guise of living in a civilized democracy.

Regards,

Catherine King

-- Original Message -----
From: Art LaChance <arthur at ellijay.com>
To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 10:51 AM
Subject: Re: [NLA] building policy vision


> Catherine/Eileen,
>
> How do you suspect that the political machine might reintroduce the "need"
for
> education back into the subset of our society, millions strong, who
currently
> are unable to generate the will to get there.  OR, is this a product of
> capitalism that dictates a separation between educated entrepreneurship
and
> uneducated labor that will continue to refine itself.
>
> Art
>
>
> Art LaChance
> Gilmer Learning Center
> Ellijay, GA
>
>
>
> "Catherine B. King" wrote:
>
> > Hello Eileen:
> >
> > Your three themes, and the related learning theories you refer
> > to, are all directly congruous with western democracies.  They
> > all imply an ongoing openness to understanding and to
> > creative orders, openness to knowing anything we want to
> > know, and an openness to discernment of the good however
> > we may develop and define it.  Education in every culture
> > "sits" in a context of a specified political order (one kind of
> > "bigger picture").
> >
> > Whereas education in more "top-down" political orders seek
> > control and to develop not openness, but passivity and closure
> > around either a political and/or religious ideology--resulting
> > in the kind of "receivers" you speak of in your note.  In these
> > cultures, the theories you speak of do not speak of "how things
> > are and should be," but rather are seditious and incongruent
> > with the political-religious order.  A view of them in this light
> > should also begin to answer the question "why they hate us so
> > much" at least in part.
> >
> > But the definition of Education is determined by the political
> > order we live in.  We tend to forget that in western democracies.
> >
> > Of course, for some human spirits in any culture, no amount of
> > fear and ignorance will make puppets and receivers out of us.
> > But putting up with a few hidden poets is not the same thing as
> > developing an open, vibrant, messy, loud and irreverent
> > democracy where everyone has something to say and the
> > problem is not silence, but one of developing self-reflection,
> > good listeners, and an identity with community concerns over
> > individual self-aggrandizement.
> >
> > The point of recognizing the "deep" connection of what we mean
> > by education (and various learning theories) with democracy is to
> > try to move adult education away from the whole idea of "welfare"
> > (defined as giveaway or merely connected with work) and into its
> > <<essential>> relationship to a civilized and civilizing democracy
> > based not on following the leader, but on transparency and
> > dialogue where we are all developed to be capable of discernment,
> > and of being both leaders and followers--at the right time and place.
> >
> > If our policy makers (and our teachers) (1) have any vision of the
> > long term at all and (2) understood this deeper connection of
> > education to our political ground, it would be the last thing they would
> > cut from funding--unless they are covertly involved with
> > anti-democratic orders.
> >
> > But everything else falls under this bigger picture of the relationship
> > of education and what it means to the political order.
> >
> > I have enjoyed this thread, Eileen.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Catherine King
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Eileen Eckert <eileeneckert at hotmail.com>
> > To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
> > Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 7:38 AM
> > Subject: [NLA] building policy vision
> >
> > > Last week, I asked, "When you advocate for literacy policy, or make
policy
> > > decisions yourself, is there a big picture? Are there some unifying
themes
> > > or underlying principles that make specific policies complement each
> > other?
> > > What are they, and how do they work?"
> > >
> > > A few people wrote about how to develop a policy vision for the field,
or
> > > about the content of their individual vision. I hope we can pursue
this
> > > further, focusing on the principles or themes involved in each
> > individual's
> > > picture of what policy as a whole should do, and how it should work.
> > >
> > > To that end, I'm going to try to articulate my own "big picture" and
the
> > > themes involved.
> > >
> > > Theme 1: Learners, teachers, classes, and programs are "complex
systems"
> > > whose integrity should be respected and whose learning should be
nurtured.
> > > Policies that recognize the uniqueness and support the further growth
and
> > > development of such self-organized complex systems will be more
effective
> > > than policies that prescribe specific actions.
> > >
> > > (A note about complex systems: Syvantek & Brown (2000) explain that
> > complex
> > > systems are "those systems whose behaviors cannot be explained by
breaking
> > > down the system into its component parts" (p. 69). Davis & Sumara
(2001)
> > > differentiate between complicated and complex. "Complicated objects or
> > > events are mechanical...In the case of a complicated object, a
detailed
> > > knowledge of its components is all that is needed to predict what it
will
> > > do...A complex system does not comprise simple discrete parts. Rather,
it
> > is
> > > itself a collective of dynamic and similarly complex systems...Unlike
> > > complicated objects, which are the sum of their parts, complex systems
> > > transcend their components" (p. 88).)
> > >
> > > Theme 2: People are self-determining learners and actors (from Deci &
> > > colleagues' Self-Determination Theory). Policy that respects autonomy
and
> > > self-determination and builds on it as a strength will be more
effective
> > in
> > > promoting learning than policy that mandates specific actions or
> > processes,
> > > even in the name of disseminating "best practices". Policy that
dictates
> > or
> > > mandates specific actions takes control from the people who are
> > responsible
> > > for implementing the action, negating the strength of autonomy and
setting
> > > up a power struggle between the actor (learner, teacher, etc) and the
> > > policy-dictator.
> > >
> > > Theme 3: People learn by reflecting, alone and with others, on their
> > > experience (from Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory). Policy that
directs
> > > resources and support to learners, teachers, and programs, and that
allows
> > > and encourages them to learn from each other in ways that make sense
to
> > > them, will be more effective than policy that attempts to distill and
> > > disseminate the results of learning done by others. I think this is
> > related
> > > to Women's Ways of Knowing as well, in that "silent" or "received"
knowers
> > > will have a hard time constructing meaning from their own experience,
and
> > > policy that promulgates a culture of received knowing will be
> > disempowering,
> > > emphasizing acceptance of knowledge from external sources.
> > >
> > > It is useful to me to attempt to articulate my own "mental model" of
> > policy
> > > and practice, surfacing assumptions and connecting them to theory and
to
> > > policy. Most of my reflections haven't made it to this message. I'm
> > > interested in hearing what themes and principles others use to decide
what
> > > policies (and what kinds of policies) to support.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Eileen
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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