The Search for Truth
There is a report titled Living and Learning that was commissioned by the Ontario Government decades ago that is still viewed by some as the finest report on education ever commissioned by a government. Youth are saying: “We are the generation we have been waiting for.” The documentary “Schooling the World” challenges us to consider that we change a culture by changing how we educate our children and youth. Our democracies are in trouble. Our planet is in trouble. Our education systems are in trouble. Our culture must change and today’s youth are stepping up to make it happen. Their schools need to help them to pursue truth. Following are quotes from the Living and Learning Report.
“The underlying aim of education is to further man’s unending search for truth. Once he possesses the means to truth, all else is within his grasp. Wisdom and understanding, sensitivity, compassion, and responsibility, as well as intellectual honesty and personal integrity, will be his guides to adolescence and his companions in maturity.” p. 9
“The search for truth in a democratic society: If the loftiest ideals of truth can be sought only in a free society, then it is exceedingly important that education, the formal cradle of truth seekers, reflect an awareness of those factors in our society which can throttle the free flow of individual thought and action.
“Democracy implies the freedom to think, to dissent, and to bring about change in a lawful manner in the interest of all. Democracy does not arise as a result of imposed or structured political practices, but as a dynamic, liberating force, nurtured by the people themselves. It can thrive and flourish only when its citizens are free to search continually for new ideas, models, and theories to replace outmoded knowledge in an effort to serve an ever-increasing populous tomorrow. A true democracy is a free and responsible society, and one aspect cannot exist or have meaning without the other.” p. 21
These thoughts added to the creative thinking occurring around how to emerge from the pandemic on course to a brighter future inspire hope. The brief video “Youth Perspectives on Sociocracy” gives assurance that youth can be trusted to create a better world. They are in the beginning stages of a youth-led/adult-supported initiative to unit us all behind helping them to become the generation we have been waiting for. This solidarity is to be symbolized by the creation of a global Youth Rights Day celebrated on November 20th, the day the United Nations has designated as “World Children’s Day” to celebrate its Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Currently the United Nations is seriously considering how to decolonize education, which is essential to the search for truth. Je’anna Clements sheds light on what this means in her article referenced below.
The Easter message given in two words is – “Carpe diem!”
Living and Learning: https://www.connexions.org/CxLibrary/CX5636.htm
Youth Perspectives on Sociocracy: https://youtu.be/H3EXpBWaZk0
The Youth Rights Day Movement: https://www.facebook.com/groups/933351720770117
Schooling the World: http://carolblack.org/schooling-the-world
Decolonizing Education: https://www.unschoolingschool.com/decolonizing-school.html