Educational Change for the Australian and Asian RC Communities
We recently concluded a successful educational change workshop for the Australian and Asian RC Communities. Because of the time difference (I am approximately fifteen hours behind them), we had two- to four-hour meetings during their daytime and for me from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
The first day was for classroom teachers and allies. The second day was on educational change and reclaiming intelligence, for everyone. We had approximately sixty participants—from Australia, the Chinese mainland, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, and interpretations into Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. As expected, a great deal of organizing went into making this workshop go well. We had an amazing organizing team, which included an amazing interpretation team and an amazing tech-Zoom team.
In the classroom teachers’ and allies’ workshop, the teachers got to celebrate being teachers, keep remembering that they were doing an incredible job in impossible circumstances, and notice that they were not alone. The allies got to hear from the teachers what they needed from them as allies and work on their own distresses from school so that they could be better allies to the teachers.
In the workshop on educational change and reclaiming our intelligence, we looked at how school and learning experiences can lay in distresses and at the distress patterns we are often left with when we come out of school: insecurity, lack of confidence, passivity, fear of showing our minds, confusion, feelings of insignificance, and competition, to name a few.
We also looked at why educational change is important for everyone—the three levels:
1) For ourselves as individuals. We can reclaim our intelligence, sense of powerfulness, sense of confidence, and ability to think well. This will let us make a difference to what is happening in our lives, our society, and the world around us.
2) For the RC Communities. Every Community needs Co-Counsellors with enough attention to support everyone in reclaiming their intelligence and to welcome classroom teachers and support them to stay in RC.
3) For the whole world. Co-Counsellors can support (listen and introduce the discharge process) to those who are implementing change programs in the schools—to policy setters and decision makers. And they themselves can implement programs in schools, and lead teachers’ support groups.
It was important to have this workshop during the pandemic, when education systems and young people’s learning are under such strain and pressure. Everyone needs to be able to think well to face the effects of the pandemic on schools and learning, and on every aspect of our lives. It is an important time for connecting and staying close and for supporting teachers. It is a time for holding out hope that we will come through this stronger and more determined to have a rational world, and that education systems will be re-created to be what we have always known they should be.
Thanks to the Communities and Co-Counsellors who made this the wonderful experience it was for all of us.
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of educational change
(Present Time 203, April 2021)