Community Holistic Education
“The function of a child is to live his/her own life, not the life that his/her anxious parents think he/she should live, nor a life according to the purpose of the educators who thinks they knows best... All crimes, all hatreds, all wars can be reduced to unhappiness..... When we consider a child’s natural interest in things, we begin to realize the dangers of both reward and punishment. Rewards and punishment tend to pressure a child into interest. But true interest is the life force of the whole personality, and such interest is completely spontaneous.”
Garin Samuelsen 2/20/22
I was sitting at my local coffee shop sipping my coffee when an old friend unexpectedly stopped by. He asked if he could sit down and talk. I said of course. He sat down on the couch next to me. Immediately, we just dove into a deep conversation. My friend is just one of those people who is open and ready to explore. We had a wonderful dialogue about his daughter who is in middle school. He informed me that she was struggling in school. She was impacted by bullying and a low self-esteem especially around certain areas of curriculum. He also shared how their family was often stressed especially around money and time. Even with this being the case, they found a tutor for their child. They found someone who could really see his daughter, help her discover that she was capable and also help bring out her joy for wonder and learning. He was sad yet hopeful as he was beginning to see changes in her. He eventually got up and left.
While I sat, I began to ponder something that I have thought a lot about for the past few years. I had come to the understanding that society is a mirror of how we are educated. Wars, hierarchy, obedience to authority, environmental degradation, and the dysfunction within most people is taught into us. I came to a deeper revelation. What if we were to change the way we see each other and children? What if learning wasn’t about grades but about…learning? Instead of an educational system that has very little to do with an actual child and who they are, what if we created something both ancient and yet revolutionary? Ancient in the sense that for countless thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of years, indigenous cultures taught their children very differently. They didn’t go to school nor get grades. They learned from play, from wonder, from curiosity, from community, from nature and from their elders. Revolutionary in the sense that we have nothing like this that I know of within our culture except to some degree a free school such as Summerhill (a school created by E.S. Neill). We would give rise to children’s voices and let their wonder shine.
Our traditional educational system is not really about community. In fact, it breaks down community for it forces children to shut down their voices and compete for grades and follow blindly to the prescribed curriculum. I could go on and on in how our educational system creates anxiety and fear and generates the dysfunction we see in the world. Can you remember- When was your voice and wonder listened to in school?
I want to propose something that would actually benefit not only children but also adults. It would not only bring people together, but make learning fun and enjoyable, create community, and provide experiences that brings people together rather than tearing them apart. It would bring dialogue into our conversations where instead of being afraid to talk about difficult topics, we learn how to listen, engage, question and dive in together to discover deeper meanings and maybe come to an underlying truth.
I imagine a community center that bridged all sorts of learning. The design would incorporate all the potential intelligences and allow for openness to create new avenues of learning based on what community members are curious about. There would be no age restrictions. Children and adults would be both learners and teachers together. The design would be inviting and bring wonder and curiosity to all who enter.
The design would have the local ecosystem in mind and be imagined by the local community members. For example, imagine your local library in the shape of an octagon with branching arms that spread out in a symmetrical pattern like a giant snowflake. Each arm is a space of learning. Each learning space gravitates to ways for learners to discover and tap into their potentialities. On the roof are gardens. The spaces flow into each other, illustrating that all knowledge is hitched together and fluid. Learners would see how all the learning modalities are incorporated, for all learning is interwoven. This space would be designed with community in mind, a community in which nobody is higher or lower than anyone else. A community in which each person is both a teacher and student. A community in which dialogues and connections are made with no goal in mind except the openness to learn.
Here would be the idea. This structure would be mindfully created and designed with functionality, sustainability, energy efficiency and connection with the local ecology. It would be open all hours. Every design would be unique based on the place and the community who evolves the space. For example, a community in Tempe, Arizona, would build their community learning center differently from Burlington, Vermont, or the Bronx in New York City.
Members of the community, both young and old, who have a passion and/or mastery of particular subjects would be there to lead anyone who wanted to learn and grow in those areas. These learning spaces would not be seen in isolation but connected through doors to each other, so that learners would see that all knowledge is hitched together and interconnected.
a gymnasium with rock walls and space for games, climbing and movement.
A library full of books and paper for reading and writing.
A music and drama room full of equipment and spaces for exploring music.
History / mythology / Religion room.
An eco-center focused on science and ecology. This room would also incorporate a green house and doors to the outside. This would be a place to use the scientific method to discover the wonders of nature. Rather than dissecting things in isolation, here we would look at species and their interconnectivity within broader and broader ecosystems.
Math and physics room for studying mathematics and the properties of the Universe. Through this, you can also be led to meet with professors from local Universities.
Construction and architecture, plumbing and electricity space that has tons of materials to explore design and a place where you can come to find internships to work with people within the community.
Meditation and quiet space to explore one’s own mind.
Community rooms with couches, chairs, rugs, etc to create the ambiance best suited for community. Places to have meals together, dialogues, lectures from community members, etc.
Tech room for exploring computers and robotics and IA technology
Things will be added based on interests and ideas as the community center evolves.
Here are questions for you to ponder and if you have time, add to the comment section. With ingenuity, creativity, compassion and love, I feel like we can truly do something revolutionary together. Imagine the possibilities?? Imagine if you could help design a space for your child, for all children, for adults, for you, for me…
What do you think would be useful, necessary or cool to add?
What would you have in each space?
Would you come and be a volunteer master for a week in one of these rooms?
If you were a child, would you rather go to a school or come to this place?
Is there a way that we can begin to rethink education together?
