The Radical Road by Character Scotland

The Radical Road by Tila Morris

exploring values, virtues & strengths

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k

The Radical Road

Tila Morris Tila co-founded Catch the Light (CtL) youth and community development consultancy in 2006 with her partner Ian McDonald. CtL’s work is founded on an unfaltering belief in the potential of young people and communities in Scotland. CtL’s clients cover a range of national organisations including YouthLink Scotland; Girls’ Brigade Scotland; Boys’ Brigade UK and Creative Scotland. As a registered member of the CLD Standards Council for Scotland; Tila’s work reflects her commitment to the values, principles, competences and code of ethics for community learning and development and to continuing professional development. Inspired by literature on informal approaches to learning Tila has a strong interest in actively engaging individuals and communities in the learning process to affect positive social change. She believes that through understanding the way we learn and working for the common good; we can overcome the barriers that prevent too many of us from achieving our full potential.

Abstract In our current times the word ‘radical’ is heard most often as something extreme which is to be feared and avoided yet here we propose that radical education is to be openly embraced. In this article we learn the dilemmas of a parent sending her children to school for the first time. We all hope schools will have a positive impact on our children’s characters, but can we leave it to chance? This article asks us to reflect on some of the flawed ideologies we have of school and the potential negative impact it has on character. It argues that raising young poeple’s consciousness of the institutions and dominant ideologies in society can empower young people to create a better future. It suggests that Positive Youth Development offers a useful asset-based framework for learning vital skills and developing virtues through creating positive opportunities for young people to transform their lives and the world they live in.

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 2

The Radical Road

The Radical Road When I was asked if I might prepare a blog for Character Scotland, I couldn’t get past the inner voices I’m wrestling with as a parent about to send my four year old son to school for the first time. Most of us have a perspective on education, which predominantly reflects our own school experience. It is difficult to gauge how objective we can be on such limitations. When it comes to school we have so little to go on yet have such strong views on its effectiveness. How do we really know? Can we judge how much school influenced our character? How much of our time in school was critical to who we are now? Are there aspects of life where we are working to repair some of the negative experiences we had? Could we have achieved more or have formed better characters if we had been offered alternatives? If we are lucky enough to reflect on fond memories of a successful school journey, as parents we may be inclined to believe “what was good for me will be good for my children.” Or we may be seduced into raising our mortgage high enough to afford a house in a desirable school catchment area. Personally I’ve had a very mixed school-bag of some very bad, some very good, though mostly mediocre learning experiences at school. Tempering the fears I have for my son’s education is more difficult than I anticipated. When I observe his incredible imagination, his incessant ‘why’ questions, his love of telling stories, listening to music, drawing pictures, his appetite for learning, his physical interaction with his environment, and his curiosity of nature and outer space; I realise that one of my biggest fears is whether school will diminish his character traits as he is moulded into a model pupil or if worse is to come if he fails to fit the mould. Surprising to me, is these fears far outweigh any thoughts of what academic awards he might achieve in 10 years time. The fears are not misplaced. As youth and community development consultants at ‘Catch the Light’ my partner and I have spent many years working with young people struggling to repair the damage they feel school has caused them. One of the many privileges of working with these amazing characters is they serve as timely reminders of why we need to embrace radical

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 3

The Radical Road education. The question is less about how we build character education into the curriculum, or embed it in the school ethos; but is more about how we empower young people to build the character virtues they need to transform their lives, regardless of their academic achievements. It includes making space to question the education system itself. Consequently this article considers whether character education can be effectively achieved without radical or transformative education as its purpose.

Why Radical Education? According to the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues1 character education is about learning what is ethically important in different situations. Character education is about knowing how to act for the right reasons, so that pupils in school become more autonomous and reflective, with the ultimate aim of developing ‘good sense or practical wisdom’ which is defined as ‘the capacity to choose intelligently between alternatives’. Radical education on the other hand acknowledges that compulsory education was designed with the purpose of controlling the general population to adhere to the norms of the dominant ideology in society2. The danger of developing the practical wisdom referred to in the definition of character education is the hegemony whereby many dominant values and beliefs which are popularly deemed as ‘good sense’ are flawed, especially in relation to our education. Dominant beliefs include for example the idea that all children should dress the same when going to school or that children will form good characters by going to school, regardless of whether character education is an intended part of the curriculum or not. Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues [unknown] A Framework for Character Education; University of Birmongham [ www.jubileecentre.ac.uk/432/character-education ] 2 Hicks, D. (2004) Radical Education; from Ward, S. ed. (2004) Education Studies: A Student Guide, Routledge Farmer [ www.teaching4abetterworld.co.uk/docs/download9.pdf ] 1

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 4

The Radical Road There is a long established list of authors advocating for a more radical reform of compulsory education such as Paulo Freire, Antonio Gramsci, Ivan Illich, John Mezirow and Stephen Brookfield to name but a few. The common theme which binds them is that school systems as we currently know them, are not working. A notable recent contributor to the phenomenon is Ken Robinson. One of his renowned TED talks on ‘How School Kills Creativity’ argued that we need to rethink our education systems so that they nurture rather than undermine creativity3. It has been watched by around 27.5 million people around the world, indicating that the message chimes deep with many of us. It gives rise to important questions of how much we as practitioners recognise the need for radical education, how well we understand it and what we might do about it.

The Problem with Schools Over a century ago, Dewey4 observed that schools tend to create a false reality which emphasises character traits that have no other purpose than to serve the school system. This can result in negative characters being nurtured through school such as: individualistic motives, avoiding violation of the rules, fear of failure, or competition and rivalry between peers. Framing the argument in a more modern context Illich5 argued that the institutionalisation of values leads to ‘global degradation and modern misery’ which permeates all parts of our lives and has to be challenged.

Robinson, K. (Feb 2006) How School Kills Creativity; TED [ www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity ]

Dewey, J. (1909) [Ed. Suzzallo, H., 2008] Moral Principles in Education; The Riverside Press, Cambridge Massachusettes [ www.skepticthinker.com/files/Dewey-_Moral-Principles-in-Education.pdf ]

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EQZF474/ref=pe_385721_48721101_TE_M1T1DP

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 5

The Radical Road To share a topical example Radio Scotland6 recently aired an interview with a young woman in Glasgow that has benefited from the city hosting the Commonwealth Games. She admitted that from the age of 11 she regularly truanted from school and stopped attending altogether by the age of 15 because she “totally hated it”. While at school she lost her Mum and struggled to cope. Through her involvement in various youth activities she managed to turn things around. She joined a ‘Street League’ programme where she gained 10 qualifications, secured a job working in the new Velodrome and was selected to meet the Queen. Unlike the approach she experienced in school she found her experience in ‘Street League’ was more relaxed, she didn’t have constant studying, she wasn’t treated like a child and importantly she didn’t have to put her hand up to ask permission to go to the toilet. In Catch the Light we find young people’s alienation from school is greatest when, like in the radio interview, it does little to recognise the character and virtues young people bring into the school. Dewey referred to this as a loss of moral power caused by everything in school being built on the premise of an elusive future. Today the promise of a good job or a place in university is akin to trying to persuade teenagers to believe in Santa Clause long after they have discovered the truth. More beneficial is recognising that young people have real lives outside the classroom which for some includes living with parents battling addictions, surviving on a low income, witnessing domestic violence, or acting as the main carers of family members with life limiting illnesses. For them moral power is lost when school imposes unnecessary and demeaning moral habits which have no usefulness after the bell rings. Through focussing relentlessly on the character traits required to pass exams, schools fail to teach the virtues needed most in those circumstances – empathy that leads to compassion. It is not only exceptional circumstances that test the role of schools in character education. The enormity of the challenge is made clear when employers consistently report on the growing problem of young people lacking the

Listen to the interview here, at roughly 6 minutes into the programme: [ www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04brcn6 ]

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 6

The Radical Road skills or virtues required in the modern workplace7. Meanwhile politicians and public figures make the headlines by breaking moral codes. Consequently regardless of our backgrounds, qualifications or circumstances we all need our learning experiences to be much better connected and meaningful to our daily lives, work and communities, with opportunities to critically reflect on what we do and how we do it. Furthermore we need our learning to give us the knowledge, skills and virtues to make our environment better.

The Need for Radical Education Dewey declared that the role of educators was to make the methods of learning so ‘vital’ that they become ‘moving ideas and motive forces’ that guide character formation. Radical education fundamentally encapsulates values of justice, equality and empowerment. Despondently critics of the public education system in the UK declare that that the more we understand about children, knowledge and learning the more neo-liberalists reduce education to a form of pedagogy which merely transfers knowledge from the teacher to pupils, devoid of any values, ethics or democracy. Fielding and Moss8 for example, believe education requires a radical rebirth of democracy and a renewal of its spirit. In this context democracy goes beyond formal political spheres to become part of everyday life in all social domains to influence the way we think individually and act collectively. Lister9 summed up the common features of the radical education movement as follows: Simon Bain (30/07/2014) Schools failing to prepare pupils for work; Herald Scotland [ www.heraldscotland.com/business/markets-economy/schools-failing-to-prepare-pupils-forwork.24428991 ]

Fielding, M. and Moss, P. (2012) Radical Democratic Education; Institute of Education, University of London: UK [ www.ssc.wisc.edu ]

Lister (1987: 54-56) as cited in Hicks, D. (2004) Radical Education. In Ward, S. ed. (2004) Education Studies: A Student guide, Routledge Falmer

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 7

The Radical Road

• Knowledge should have a social purpose aimed at improving the human condition; it should involve both understanding and action for change. • The curriculum should deal with major issues, e.g. war and peace, poverty and development, human rights, multicultural society, interdependent world. • Learning is about developing skills, not just about content. • In order to develop skills, learning needs an active dimension, e.g. games and role-play. • Education must be affective as well as cognitive; attitudes and values are as important as knowledge and facts. • Recognition of pluralism and diversity in own society and globally. • The curriculum should have an international and global perspective. • Education should also have a futures perspective.

Hence character education and radical education are inter-dependent. The radical questions are how can character be learned without a social purpose? How can learning be implemented without democratic participation? How can it have meaning without being made relevant to young people’s different social domains? Does it challenge or conform to the dominant ideology where learning occurs? Does it make us see ourselves from different perspectives and give us new perspectives on the future? Does it equip us with the knowledge and tools to create change? The challenge for schools and teachers is how to remove the institutional barriers inherent in the system so that the school domain is not the weak link in young people’s development. However character education cannot be limited to the classroom. Shaping all of young people’s social domains into democratic spaces of knowledge exchange10 requires many disciplines, families and citizens working together for the common good of our young people. Interpreted in the right way Curriculum for Excellence presents unprecedented opportunities to transform learning in Scotland far beyond the classroom. Across professions further hope for change in Scotland emerges in the 10

Brookfield, S. (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher; San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 8

The Radical Road ideological shifts in policy towards asset-based approaches which see young people as active agents in their development. Whether in schools, in youth work settings or in family work, Positive Youth Development (PYD) gives a framework for an asset based approach. It focuses on positive engagement of young people to acquire all the necessary skills, aptitudes and virtues to transition from adolescence into adulthood.11 The evidence of its effectiveness is limited due to the lack of rigorous evaluation, however research so far shows a positive impact. A key feature of PYD is that as required in radical education the programmes strive for systems-wide as well as individual change. PYD’s key characteristics are referred to in literature as the ‘five C’s and include competence, confidence, character, connection and caring. There is some discussion that these lead to a sixth ‘C’ of contribution whereby young people come to believe they have a moral and civic duty to make a positive contribution which aids advances in their own development as well as the development of their communities.12 Schulman and Davies found that successful PYD relies particularly on positive relationships with peers and adults built over a longterm period. Working in multiple social domains of family, peers, school, work, neighbourhood and community; leads to more desirable outcomes. The constructs are similar to those identified in literature on character education and include for example: bonding; resilience; social competence; emotional competence; self-determination; spirituality; self efficacy and moral competence. It is possible to imagine that PYD provides ways to widely practise radical education in Scotland. Therefore when we consider character education we need to pay particular attention to its contexts and how conducive they are to positive character traits. Assumptions that lessons on character education in schools will lead to positive results are to

Schulman, S. and Davies, T (2007) Evidence of the Impact of the ‘Youth Development Model’ on Outcomes for Young People – A Literature Review; The National Youth Agency [ http://www.blog.participation.co.uk ] 12 Lerner, R. M, et al (2005) Positive Youth Development, Participation in Community Development Programs, and Community Contributions of Fifth-Grade Adolescents: Findings from the first was of the 4-H study of Positive Youth Development; Journal of Early Adolescence, Vo. 25 No.1: Sage Publications 11

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 9

The Radical Road be avoided. Most of all we must firstly consider the reality of young people’s lives and a process of learning that has the power to positively influence character and in time transform the lives of individuals and their wider communities.

The Power within us and Between us The benefit of networks like Character Scotland is the ability to form “emancipatory alliances….[offering] a values-driven solidarity and a commonality of orientation so essential to those who work against the grain.” 13 My hope here is to spark debate on the best way to build character and virtues in young people. Therefore I invite you to join the alliance, continue the critical reflection on practice and nurture ideas for future action. Should you take up the invitation our shared motive is to create the space where young people’s critical consciousness can be raised and entrust our belief in the power and potential of young people to be the force of positive change in Scotland. A little support will be enough at least for me to send my son off to school optimistic about the chances of a better future and that we all give each other the encouragement we need to continue in our daily plight.

Fielding & Moss (2012) pp.32, ibid

exploring values, virtues & strengths

www.character-scotland.org.uk

www.catchthelight.org.uk

Character Education Scotland Ltd is a charity registered in Scotland number SCO40962 and a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland number 365627

w w w. c h a r a c t e r- s c o t l a n d . o r g . u k 10