Marko Koskinen (marko@vapaus.net)
Sat, 17 Mar 2001 22:34:36 -0500
Bill Richardson wrote:
> When I visited the Tutorial School (over 18 years using consensus), I asked
> them about the difference, about their thoughts on consensus versus voting.
> They listened to me and then basically said: " well, use whatever you like,
> what matters is your relationship with the child".
Yes, I agree. I guess that's pretty much what I've been trying to say. I
mean that the bulk of what staff at Sudbury Model schools do is one kind
of "therapy". They are available (or at least they should be) both for
information and emotinal problems. What I've been trying to accomplish
in my thinking is to find a way so that the staff members could be as
knowledgeable about emotional issues as possible.
> Marko, I get what you are talking about. Yes, there certainly is therapy that
> offers only deep respect and profound regard and then trusts the person to
> run their lives and direct their activities. It is called client - centered
> therapy (see Carl Rogers). Also see Ann Cornell Wieser on the Focusing
> website.
Thanks for the information. I have the Rogers' book there waiting on the
bookshelf. What I know of him and what short visits I took at the
Focusing pages I think they have lots of similar aspects to RC. And if
it is, as you seem to argue, respectful way to handle emotions, then I
guess it serves the same purpose as RC does to me.
> I like the theoretical question (the thought experiment) of having a school
> that could situationally mediate all norms. I can't see it in practice yet.
> Could you say more about how our cultural norms are irrational?
Some norms that I consider totally irrational are e.g. following:
- "to achieve better results and to be more efficient, people should
compete"
- "boys shouldn't cry"
- "girls should look pretty"
- "nobody should be fat"
- "it is a sign of weakness to show emotions"
- "people of same sex shouldn't get too close to each other"
- "sex is dangerous"
- "emotions aren't rational"
- "unanimous decision making isn't possible" =)
- "guilty people should be punished"
- "everything will go fine if the economy is fine"
- "I'm not responsible of what my brother does"
and so on...
I think the staff should make every effort to fight against these kind
of irrational norms, because it's the people in the environment who
create the atmosphere of freedom, not the environment itself.
Marko
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