From my response to Chris' post:
"My most recent realisation is that I liberate myself with the omission of certain words: I will try not to mention education or learning in the pursuit of my PhD in the Department of Education on Community Learning. Instead I will focus on the words: diversity, community, democracy, voice, play, involvement, activism, environment..."
Why does this help me?
It does!
The more I avoid those words the more I can express what I am talkign about. I firmly believe in public education, but I dont believe in what people understand education as. I dont agree with how "learning" is understood by the institution of Education--notice the capital E. I feel like a feminist, but instead I'm an educationalist. Im reclaiming the e word.
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1 comment:
Right on Aaron. Thanks for the thoughts. I think you are right: words come with baggage. Many words will bring with them all sorts of positionings and pre-fabricated stances designed to locate you in one or another convienient, pre-determined boxe.
Going back to some very early questions about agency and contstraint : new words of course come with baggage too, but if you get it just right, the baggage will fly in at a good angle and knock over the tower of crusty old baggage attached to the old words!
Education is dead, long live education!
C
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