"This is scary but not as scary as what's happening to our future." Student outside Millbank..... says it all, really. (the quote refers not only to his immediate future, as a student, but to a feeling emerging from ALL youth, that that adults are unwilling to act as needed).
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2010/11/young-scary-future-riot-crowd
This article/blog for the New Statesman Laurie Penny investigates what happened in the foyer of Millbank, the Conservative Headquarters, in London. She was there.
She describes, with great sensitivity, the feelings of the college and university students, mothers, fathers, school children, unemployed, teachers, lecturers and many others who come from a diverse range of backgrounds that went on that march. It's well worth the read.
They KNOW that their Government is failing them. They are well informed, better than most previous generations, partly because of the way the internet enables people to share their experience and reflect on it and gain insight.
Self organised learning.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
They ARE angry at the hypocrisy and more importantly the sense that, as things are done, they are rendered powerless to affect change, and that those in Governance have no intention of making the changes the children and youth know must be made.
Laurie places the much publicised 'fire extinguisher' incident into context. 99.99% of the people there thought the thrower was an idiot.... (there was about 2000 people at the event) ... which is about right. Everyone has a 'mate'. Even idiots. Tony Blair.
And there is also the well worn methodology of Agent Provocateurs and as we know, that cannot
The frustration of dealing with the intractable manner of that rendering of power is part of the source of the anger. The other source is at the blatant injustice, the actual bodily harm done to so many people - by the wars, the poverty, the damage to the habitat, the children on Ritalin, the widespread Institutionalised abuse.
And they have started to break free from the chains of behaviour that bound them; deference to power, politeness, hope and ultimately conditioning, They are thinking and feeling for themselves.
The youth do not see violence as a mechanism of change - expect to see a lot more activity to generate the power to make those changes emerging from the grass roots, and equally a reaction from Power.
My bets are on the youth and the adults with them.
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I left this comment:
The empathy if the author is the essence of this piece.
Power exists to reinforce itself, irrespective of the costs to those upon whom Power is exercised.
Children and young people understand this, and understand that it is their futures and the futures of those who follow them are at stake.
The moral imperative of life is to live a life that detracts not at all from the lives available to those who will follow us into this world.
The current modes of Governance, without exception, fail in this regard.
These kids KNOW THIS. Their sense of injustice is deeper than Laws which protect War Criminals (Tony Blair) - they WILL break what is called 'the peace' in order to prevent a far greater crime. We, the adults, ought to support them in EVERY way we can.
----------------------------
Ted Talk by Sugata Mitra SELF ORGANISED LEARNING This video is well worth the time 17 minutes spent viewing it, to get an insight into the efficacy of self organised learning... and to begin to get a sense of what our children and youth are truly capable of.
Enjoy!
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2010/11/young-scary-future-riot-crowd
This article/blog for the New Statesman Laurie Penny investigates what happened in the foyer of Millbank, the Conservative Headquarters, in London. She was there.
She describes, with great sensitivity, the feelings of the college and university students, mothers, fathers, school children, unemployed, teachers, lecturers and many others who come from a diverse range of backgrounds that went on that march. It's well worth the read.
They KNOW that their Government is failing them. They are well informed, better than most previous generations, partly because of the way the internet enables people to share their experience and reflect on it and gain insight.
Self organised learning.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
They ARE angry at the hypocrisy and more importantly the sense that, as things are done, they are rendered powerless to affect change, and that those in Governance have no intention of making the changes the children and youth know must be made.
Laurie places the much publicised 'fire extinguisher' incident into context. 99.99% of the people there thought the thrower was an idiot.... (there was about 2000 people at the event) ... which is about right. Everyone has a 'mate'. Even idiots. Tony Blair.
And there is also the well worn methodology of Agent Provocateurs and as we know, that cannot
The frustration of dealing with the intractable manner of that rendering of power is part of the source of the anger. The other source is at the blatant injustice, the actual bodily harm done to so many people - by the wars, the poverty, the damage to the habitat, the children on Ritalin, the widespread Institutionalised abuse.
And they have started to break free from the chains of behaviour that bound them; deference to power, politeness, hope and ultimately conditioning, They are thinking and feeling for themselves.
The youth do not see violence as a mechanism of change - expect to see a lot more activity to generate the power to make those changes emerging from the grass roots, and equally a reaction from Power.
My bets are on the youth and the adults with them.
------------------------------
I left this comment:
The empathy if the author is the essence of this piece.
Power exists to reinforce itself, irrespective of the costs to those upon whom Power is exercised.
Children and young people understand this, and understand that it is their futures and the futures of those who follow them are at stake.
The moral imperative of life is to live a life that detracts not at all from the lives available to those who will follow us into this world.
The current modes of Governance, without exception, fail in this regard.
These kids KNOW THIS. Their sense of injustice is deeper than Laws which protect War Criminals (Tony Blair) - they WILL break what is called 'the peace' in order to prevent a far greater crime. We, the adults, ought to support them in EVERY way we can.
----------------------------
Ted Talk by Sugata Mitra SELF ORGANISED LEARNING This video is well worth the time 17 minutes spent viewing it, to get an insight into the efficacy of self organised learning... and to begin to get a sense of what our children and youth are truly capable of.
Enjoy!
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