A series of parallel conversations have arisen concerning the topic of Deschooling, all within the last day or so, each of which has contributed to a sense of personal disquiet and contemplation. Most notably, these include Leigh Blackall’s post on Deschooling, which features a series of fascinating videos on the topic, and secondly, a brief conversation with my wife Lisa (who is a former educator herself).
For those unfamiliar with the term, Wikipedia describes deschooling as follows:
“Philosophically, it refers to the belief that schools and other learning institutions are incapable of providing the best possible education for some or most individuals. Some extend this concept beyond the individual and call for an end to schools in general. This is based on the belief that most people learn better by themselves, outside of an institutional environment, at a self-determined pace. This is the meaning of the term as used by Illich.”
Quite clearly in my own mind, I have firm opinions and ideologies on the way education should be, and have spent a fair bit of time exploring them here. And yet there are times when my natural impulse seems to clash with my conceptual idealism.
The most clear example of this recently was yesterday, which Lis pointed this out to me. We’re in the process of developing a fantasy role-playing game for my daughter’s birthday party (which is today), and have called upon many favourite films, books, and video games for inspiration. The whole process has been absolutely fantastic, and has given me the opportunity to revisit some favourite moments from my childhood, as well as endlessly repeat some of the theme music I’ve managed to find on YouTube.
The quests in particular have been the greatest source fun for me in this project, and I’ve really gone wild with them; however as Lis pointed out, it’s also the instance where my background in education has begun to creep in subconsciously.
Woven into each of the dozen or two quests are not just fun visual elements, or ideas, but clearly articulated learning pathways and objectives as well. I hadn’t intentionally set out for them to be there, but there they were nonetheless.
It was here I began to realise the implications for Deschooling for me – or more accurately the challenges.
I work in a university; in a formal educational setting. I’m fluent in the jargon, the structures and the processes; I’m cognizant of the political pecking orders, both within the university and more broadly with respect to the expectations of industry and government authorities. I also spent the first 7 years of my career within the central learning and teaching departments, where curricula, learning aims and objectives were – and are – the subject of much debate and scrutiny – I even posted about learning outcomes within the last week.
So while I see myself, in many ways, as a change agent or agitator of formal structures and systems, it is increasingly clear that I have been influenced by the system I am attempting to influence myself.
And thus I arrive at the question I’m currently debating: Can you ever truly deschool when you work in a school?
My current thought is: No you can’t. In working within an environment is a perhaps inevitable outcome that you will start to become part of it. However you can hopefully mitigate the impact of the system by maintaining a constant awareness of and contact with your ideologies.
This poses some major challenges for the prospect of both deschooling and educational change more broadly I think. In some ways the people who are best equipped and empowered to promote change to education are those who work within its walls – and yet by existing within its walls, there may come a time when the structures you are attempting to alter – even level completely – are those that you personally rely upon.
Does this mean there is an inherent conflict of interest in educational change?
I really want to keep exploring this thought, but have to prepare for the party – so I’ll come back to it later.
While inside, there are things we can do to empower “deschooled” practice. Get researchers and teachers to publish their work on popular internet so that informal, self paced, networked learners have more opportunities, and so that more teachers become exposed to such learning and reconsider their roles. Take away the LMS as a primary tool and we will have taken out a key blockage to this popular engagement and the potential of forming educational webs” as Illich described. Of course you must read Deschooling Society, as well as Tools for Conviviality, and Energy and Equity. Glad you’re joining the conversation. I have blogged a lot about Illich’s ideas if you were interested in how I work from the inside.
Pingback: Tweets that mention Deschooling and conflicts of interest | TechTicker -- Topsy.com
I am feeling a tad upset – your beautiful daughter promised to invite me to her birthday when I spoke to her on webcam last year – and she’s forgotten
Hope you all have a fabulous day and a wonderful Christmas!!
BTW, not at all sure why my nomination of your blog didn’t get through the Edublog screening process?!
@Sarah Stewart: I’m sorry about the oversight on the party Sarah, I completely forgot about that video message. Her invitation was definitely sincere then – it just got lost in the shuffle between then and now
As far as the Edublog nomination – I did get one actually, it’s for Best Educational Technology Support Blog. Is this what you nominated me for? I’m a bit unclear on how the whole process works I must admit, but I’m honored to have made you list regardless
@leighblackall: Interestingly from what I’ve observed, one of the greatest sources of traditionalism for existing educational structures, processes, and social hierarchies is in fact the students – not necessarily the staff. I know staff who have actively tried to open up learning opportunities in their classrooms in order to empower students to visualise and direct their own experiences, only to find that the students are REALLY uncomfortable with the idea and want to be told what the lesson plan is, what the grading scale is, and what they’re being held accountable for.
Clearly after that many years of reactive, behavioristic learning in formal education systems, students are conditioned to look outside of themselves for all aspects of their learning – what they learn, how they learn, and whether they are learning it “correctly.”
It’s critical that change be realised from the earliest points of schooling, when young minds still freely and openly question the world around them and haven’t been dulled or silenced from external stimuli.
But for those students who have already been indoctrinated to existing processes, I think we need a different tact that involves helping them rediscover that they as individuals can decide what they want to learn, and that they don’t have to wait for someone else to do it for them.
I used to think that the change that is required lay at the root of existing systems of schooling, but I’m beginning to realise that it’s even more widespread and deeply rooted than that – it’s as much about breaking down mental walls in the minds of students as it is about subverting formalised processes and classroom structures.
Pingback: Learning is bigger than schooling | TechTicker
Pingback: Just Enough and Nothing More » Blog Archive » Is It Possible to Completely Deschool in Our Society?
Yeah, 13 years schooling is a lot to let go of, as well as the entire university structure. One teacher pissing in the wind will never work, unless they’re charismatic. .. that why the book is called deschooling society. Its the whole hog, not a linear process.
One thing I’m doing is adjusting my language. Try removing the word student (or learners) from your vocabulary. See what new sentences and thinking you discover.