Tomas has touched on this a little bit in his learning journal:
The irony is strong to me in a school that promotes change that participants will not and do not speak up. I believe this is because they do not feel empowered to do so, that the time vs change is an equal balance, and that when they weight priorities in their life that change falls low. Again, how will we effect the outside world if we do not interact within this smaller, more supportive, one?
I don't necessarily agree with the thought that the students don't feel empowered. I do agree that there are competing priorities, and change (especially of the little things) falls on the low end. I tend to be someone who just goes with the flow most of the time, but I really appreciate it when fellow students (like Tomas and Manan) stir the pot and don't just accept the status quo. I know one day that there will be a cause that fires me up to action. I just wish I had found it in time for this project!
As I posted in Tomas' blog, there can be a frustrating sense of stasis at times at BGI. The best way I can describe it is that it is like a big ship — it has a lot of momentum and it can take a lot of energy to change its direction. The trick is knowing when to steer from the front rather then steering from the rear. The thing I like about your projects efforts is that they are independent of anything from staff or teachers — they are coming from below. It may not seem at times that that works, but it is actually can be quite influential.
ReplyDeleteSo whatchagonnadoaboutit.com ?
ReplyDeleteSo I learned a new word that hits more on what I was talking about, learned helplessness. There is a body of literature on this psychological term that I am looking forward to diving into as I look to integrate grounded language into this longer discussion.
ReplyDelete