A New Educational Paradigm

A New Educational Paradigm?

Education for Active nonviolence and purpose

Education for Active nonviolence programme were inspired from the ideas of Universal Humanism pedagogical current. The education of Active Nonviolence educators are concerned by the social events of violence and discrimination and aspired to generate educational program capable of constructing new proposals and social directions. Education for Active nonviolence is giving greater weight to "emotional" over "rational". The "register" of thinking, reflections, comparing and learning are major conception in this education. 

In fact, education for Active nonviolence is aiming to introduce coherent thinking to school curriculum. Thus, Today educational system conceived the human being as a rational being, attributing to the intellectual function a greater importance than the emotional and motor functions. In accordance with this concept in most school, instruction, information and data are given to students. However, research has shown that the emotional function is preponderant in learning because it determines the domain and environment of the kind of action one can undertake in a given moment in his or her life.

Still Today's  learning process is base on "rational and intellectual" and is attributing  secondary roles to emotion and motor. In this way of conceiving "learning" human expression in his complexity is block and produces various type of inner fragmentation which continually inhibits emotional this fundamental aspect. Because emotions are what help one's development and make him/her essentially human.

Education and social crisis

We are clearly far from an education appropriate to this historical moment. Even if expert are saying that the central purpose of education is human development. Today for many educators it is evident that education no longer offers a satisfactory answer for this coming world. This is why thousands of educators are aware of the magnitude of this crisis and are seeking answers that will give meaning to education. In many ways government choose to subordinate educational model on economist bias or conceived education as a way to reproduce the existing social condition.  Theses ways of managing education programs formed individual that have experiment inner fragmentation when learning (disconnection from various part from within such as emotional, sensation and register, "subject-object structure ").

Moreover, this education is not given answer to the crisis because it does not educate people for the world to come. It doesn't work for children since most of them are bored and are don't enjoying learning. It doesn't work for teacher because they feel impotent as they watch their pupils deteriorating day by day, while they are less and less able to exert their influence to change the situation. On their part, the students, who are obliged to attend school, feel less and less motivated. The fact is that this situation of young people in school stifles their need for physical movement and emotional expression.

Most educators knows that our educational system is base on learned frustration and in this way of learning talents are been anesthetized. Unfortunately we are in the presence of an educational system of growing dehumanization, in which grades are more important than learning. The lack of communication that prevails between students and teachers, colleagues, teachers and administrators. It is clear that we need a profound change in the educational system. But it's not so clear for most of us that we need to change more than the educational system. In fact we must change ourselves and educators must be the reference in this kind of change.

We need to propose a new educational paradigm that will allow social and individual transformation. No one any longer disputes the fact that society is changing faster and faster. Theses changes throws the old institutions and methods into profound crisis. As we are witnessing a process of planetarization that seems irreversible, and a transformation it is necessary to consider the fundamentals of this new moment.

In fact there are basic questions to be addressed

What will be the tendency of the moment to come? ..Individual that aren't able to fully function in society or individual that are acting and creating opportunities for the necessary  change in society ?

What element of the old system can be push ahead ?

What can we find to serve as the common denominator ? Will we impose homogeneity ?Or while recognizing diversity of student and reality the convergence of diversity will be possible without losing our culture ?

These seem for us the basic questions for the coming time. During time of crisis options present themselves according course of events. These events might give new direction and new perspectives that will allow us to evolve toward a human society characterized by solidarity, liberty and Active nonviolence – or it may allowed a more regressive and authoritarian alternative.

Today's educators must be the voice for the best ability in human being. Educators for Active nonviolence must be those who raise the hope and who show in practice and in action that a new and better way of life is possible at school and in the community.

The human being and the intentionality

As we explain at the beginning of our blog, education for Active nonviolence ideas and practice is base on the pedagogical Universal Humanism current. This perspective conceive the activity of the consciousness in the world in such ways that human  being are builder of reality. Universal humanism define human being as an historical and social being and not simply a social being. In fact , we could say that each animal is always the first animal – but each human being is his or her historical and social environment, and is, besides, the reflection and contribution to the transformation or inertia of this environment. Therefore the human being is, above all a builder; it is human intentionality that moves the world, that transforms it, improves it or worsens it, promotes evolution or involution, converts it into a paradise or a hell.

Today's educational system is no longer sustainable since it's carrying a conception of a passive consciousness, were the human being is a mere receiver and is - mechanically determined. The fact is that it's clear that education regards the student as a passive subject. But it is less obvious that the educator are also seen as a passive subject, who must applied plans and program to passive subject. This conception come from old learning paradigm -  were the student are considered to be a passive entity.  A model were teacher are mainly seem as instructor (given instruction and evaluation). In fact according to this concept, knowledge is outside the subject, who must go looking of it. Education for Active nonviolence is proposing a learning approach base on intentionality and on the idea that knowledge is built within the subject. This pedagogical approach view knowledge as "something" more than an external object.

Pedagogy of intentionality

The pedagogy of intentionality approach is proposing a change in methodology  and a modification in plans and programs.  This approach urge for the need for a new educational model, a new concept, a new human aspiration, which will allows the human being to develop the best of his or her possibilities and potentialities. This will allows some space for human being development. Student should be the protagonist of his/her own life and consequently permit the building of a new moment. What we are saying is that we propose an education committed to personal and social transformation. As such we dispute that the present moment, and the educational system reproduces existing social conditions and by this growing (un)adaptation conditions news generations are experimenting growing dehumanization.

Empowering a function of education

Education for Active nonviolence is pushing the empowment function of education. This statement doesn't follow the current model which is emphasizing on socializing by the reproduction of some condition which is in many cases generate authoritarian and instructive and passive model. 

To empower education new generations need to incorporate themselves, actively and early on, into the building of the social structure. Such  program were launched by community association such as Réseau International Humaniste in Quebec (french Canada) - 2011 Run This Way school activities program for elementary pupils. Later on in May 2015 World without Wars and without violence, international organization, launched 'Youth 14-21 program' for high school and colleagues students. Theses school activities program are aiming to bring forth the capacity for growing adaptation to change and transformation - but obviously theses short term program are not enough. To empower the new generations to exercise an active, pluralist vision of reality school need to incorporate in their curriculum the project of building a process by supporting student in active social roles. The concept of empowering is emphasizing on the idea that education is a building process in which student plays the active roles. When we talk about active role we are saying it's a process which allows the development and cultivation of all the student's capacities, without exception. We are taking about a process that allows more tools to be implemented for an efficient and constructive role in society where the essential characteristic is ongoing change.

Some basic principles of a new education must be taken into consideration:

A. Practiced attention to one's own look – this means that students attentively observe the construction and the structuring of their particular way of seeing.

B. Exercising coherent thinking. This means that students acquire the ability to observe now the mechanisms of learning work, to realize how they are learning. Today the students are facing fragmentation of thinking (learning step by step method of thinking) eventually student are experimenting incapacity to make various connection when facing complex situations.

C.Stimulating emotional comprehension and development. That means that individuals are having emotional contact with themselves and with others. It is through the emotions that human beings perceives themselves and the world: per ex. this doesn't feel right / this feel right, etc.. (learning through inner connection, register and object - dynamic process)

D.Governing ones own body. We need to take into consideration that educational practice must create harmony into our own body and not discomfort. This means adequately enabling the abilities to sense and register the body, to understand its language, and to develop the capacity to communicate with others.

Finally we understand that a truly integral education for Active non-violence program would allows the maximum cognitive and consequently mental development. Only an education that integrates the cognitive, emotional and motor allows the maximum potential of each individual to unfold.

In our next blog we will explore an education with coherent relations versus relations of authoritarianism and violence.

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Note: 

The knowledge processes, 'the pedagogy of intentionality' was design by Mario Aguilar and Rebeca Bize, (chilean teacher & university professor) they publish Pedagogia de la Intencionalidad a few years ago which is still available on Internet (spanish version only).