I’ve had several memorable experiences in the last few days. They all reminded me of the loss of traditional society and how education is not equipping us to lead full and fruitful lives. One experience was my involvement with a community school, one was a ‘girls night in’, and one was a meeting of my ‘gang of friends’.
The ‘girls night in’ was a highly enjoyable evening. The “girls” range in age from 20 something to 50 something, and the evening was spent sipping wine, singing songs, and chatting about nothing and everything. No men, no relatives, no formality and no barriers of age or status. It was called in response to our men’s preoccupation with the Football World cup. It was so pleasant that we decided to hold one every 5 weeks.
I’ll have to fit it in with our ‘gang of friends’ meetings. These also take place every 5 weeks or so and involve a group of us, men and women, who come together at different houses to cook communal meals, and chat, and argue, and enjoy the company of likeminded people. Here too, the ages range from 60 to 30 something, and they are great fun.
My involvement with the new community school is also a fun experience. The school is open to all, and it seeks to involve the whole of the surrounding community in the school’s activities, irrespective of whether they are young or old, rich or poor, families or single people. And regardless of caste or religion. Community school are designed to serve all of the community and are not just open in traditional school hours.
The school is in use 15 hours a day. In the evening and at weekends the schools premises are used for social, sporting, and community activities such as shows, talks, classes, and presentations. Even children from schools outside the community are welcome to enjoy the facilities of the school, and discover the joy of doing things with their neighbours and other members of their geographic community.
The community school open day was the first this new school had ever held. The staff and the pupils invited every member of the local community to join them, to see what facilities were available for their use, and to share the food that the children and staff had prepared. Some of the invitees were perplexed. “Why invite me? I have no school age children”, said one elderly lady. Like most of us, this lady had only ever known the education system left to us by the British. A system based on wealth, language, dress, and privilege, with a massive divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ A system designed to exclude all but the faithful few.
This new community school is attempting to address the excesses of our colonial inheritance. The community school is about building communities and bringing the lost joys of the village to the urban sprawl. It is about inclusion and building caring communities. It is a place where people of all ages can meet, chat, sing, share food, play games, participate in sport, argue and discuss and learn new things about themselves, their neighbours, and the world.
My little communities of ‘girls’ and my ‘gang of friends’ will heartily approve of this new direction in education. We’ll definitely discuss it, and maybe sing a song of hope and expectation about it.
