It's the last week of July and I'm watching the USA Election news. I'm shaken and invigorated by what I see coming to the surface.
I want to understand what's going on; and I want to learn from it.
Whoever wins the election, and whoever becomes President of the United States, the people of America will still be neighbours with each other and with the rest of the world and we will all need to find ways to continue to live, work and study together.
So what does this have to do with Co-Activity in Education?
What the USA Elections have to do with Education
Mainly. Education is political. In any country.
And Co-Activity is about Big Change. Change at an evolutionary level. And the change includes all of us, it's about collaborative, creative change.
As promotors of Co-Activity (or change in general) we meet different kinds of reactions from people and it's useful to understand what's going on in people's minds so that more people can be included in the ongoing changes.
We want to empower people (students) by empowering educators. Educators meet different kinds of students, with different nationalities, religions, cultures and political backgrounds. We need to understand what they are thinking, and what realities they meet and expect to create.
Co-Activity in Education is based on the belief that change will come more quickly, smoothly and elegantly when done with the support of trained teachers and informed parents; and coaches.
Change is inevitable, right?
Finally, Whoever wins the election will be in a position to set the agenda for what is taught in schools; and how it is taught, for the next decade or so. Schools are the places where people are taught, based on what's believed to be right, according to the prevailing world-view.
What can we learn from observing the election process?
The process of choosing a leader reflects what people believe is right.
Both the What and the How.
Currently, according to George Lakoff*, there are two main world-views in the USA. The Nurturant Parent family (progressive) and the Strict Father family (conservative).
*George Lakoff is Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, and Director of the Berkeley Center for Brain, Mind, and Society.
George Lakoff writes clearly, so I have quoted a lot of what he's written at https://georgelakoff.com/2016/07/22/understanding-trump/
The playlists of the videos associated with my mission to evolve the education system, one small step at the time.
The story from the start
I am a teacher, a business-owner, a public speaker, a coach and an author.