Why “Educational Change?”
Several people have raised questions about the use of the phrase “educational change.” Their concern seems to be whether one must be employed by an educational institution in order to attend educational change workshops. The answer is emphatically NO! Educational change is for everyone.
1. Almost everyone has gone, is going or will go to school. No other institution is so pervasive in our society. We have all been affected by our experiences in school. We were oppressed as young people and in other ways by the schools. In addition, much of the divisiveness between groups and competitiveness between individuals stems from the internalized oppression that developed during our schooling. We need to counsel on these experiences.
2. If you want to be an ally to young people or to parents, you will need to help them deal with educational institutions. They will need encouragement and information about theory and policy. You will be participating in educational change.
3. Everyone’s learning ability has been affected by their distress experiences. Counseling on our own learning will improve our ability to learn as well as give us more attention for other people’s learning. Learning takes place all of the time. It is not restricted to schools. You can be a force for educational change in a factory, an office, a farm, anywhere. Counseling on learning is educational change.
4. If you are counseling on liberation issues and want to devote some resources to world changing activities, try your local school system. School Board meetings are open to the public. You will often find many people attending these meetings trying to improve the schools. They will be concerned with racism, sexism and other forms of oppression. You will be able to make allies with people who are different than you and are working for the same goals.
Julian Weissglass
Santa Barbara, California, USA