Broadened horizons. Focused, cooperative analysis.

Broadened horizons.There is a story line, I am struggling to map.

I am living at a different rhythm, walking along the sea-shore, broadening my horizons, breathing in the sea-air...through a mask. 

At least, I have got away.

I'm on holiday.

I take my time to paint wide swathes of land and sea then focus on details. 

Board-walks, fishing tackle, barbed wire in the grass.

I alternate between mindful artistic meditation and broadening my intellectual knowledge.

I am taking my time.

I have been taking the time to reimerse myself in methodology - Nexus Analysis (Scollon and Scollon)

I have been taking the time to review and adapt such methodology to my particular research context.

I know that I am writing this in order to guide my actions with my friends towards the creation of a simple but multi-voiced storyline.

Focussed analysis informed by broadened and diverse perspectives

I alternate between focusing on moments of interactions captured in photos of educational contexts here and there, the stories and diverse perspectives of the photographers and the people who appear framed.  

.

I must, therefore take the time to work with different perspectives of the same stories, the same images. 

The work will be essentially limited by the time that we have but we must start with inclusivity as its guide. 

It will be a cumulative, iterative process. 

There will be... inevitably... be... ellipsis...

Masked, gagged, blindfolded.

The masks are a minor inconvenience, the political measures put in place by governments always hit the poor first... 

In no way is a global pandemic a "great leveler".

Impact of COVID-19 on the Education Sector in Nepal: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Intermittent connections

We are hanging onto our cooperation despite failing electrical supplies and internet signals, school closures, holidays and natural disasters.

Our storyline must reveal complexity through its simplicity.

It is only a start but we must work on preparing the ground.

The foundations must be solid and easily identified.

It must be clear, it must make one essential point.

This is research for action...activist research.

I, we, are not alone, we are not working for academic career impact.

Research for action, research as action.

Another life story connects,

THIS < from ⁦@jmeblommaert⁩ « Looking back: What was important? – Ctrl+Alt+Dem » via ⁦@sharmashyam⁩ #rhizo14 #clmooc #digped ⁦@EurocallLang ⁦@UNICollaborate⁩ ⁦@A_L_T⁩ #highered #digpedlab https://t.co/mUZTKjeNZo

— Simon Ensor (@sensor63) August 5, 2020

shared ironically by a Nepalese expat friend, Shyam Sharma and then reshared by Kabi Paudel in Katmandu.

A major research influence, Jan Blommaert, terminally ill, shares a testament to what matters.

"In a world in which knowledge is at once more widely available than ever before, and more exclusive and elitist than ever before, knowledge is a battlefield and those professionally involved in it must be aware of that. Speaking for myself: a neutral stance towards knowledge is impossible, for it would make knowledge anodyne, powerless, of little significance in the eyes of those exposed to it. Which is why we need an activist attitude, one in which the battle for power-through-knowledge is engaged, in which knowledge is activated as a key instrument for the liberation of people, and as a central tool underpinning any effort to arrive at a more just and equitable society. I have been a knowledge professional, indeed. But understanding what I have done as a professional is easier when one realizes the activism which, at least for me, made it worthwhile being a professional." Jan Blommaert

Global discourses local translations...

I am questioning the international, national, local economic, political, educational, socio-cultural discourses which are the more or less visible backgrounds, or frames to the photos and stories.  

I have immersed myself in Nepalese history, authoritarian regimes, bloody civil war, nascent democracy, Hindu religion, educational reform, central control and decentralization policies, current  economic and social realities of people in rural and urban areas, trying to capture some landmarks to guide my reflection.  

Ethnic and linguistic diversity, institutionalized caste and gender discrimination, chronic corruption, foreign interference and "aid", economic migration or expatriation according to the social status of the individual. 

The Anthropocene (/ænˈθrɒp.əˌsiːn, -ˈθrɒp.oʊ-/ ann-THROP-ə-seen, -⁠THROP-oh-)^[1] is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Common hopes and fears for a better more equitable, more environmentally sustainable future.

This is essential to the storyline: we are interconnected, we are one with the ecosystem.

Hinduism, amongst other religious traditions speaks of  this indisputable truth.

We are one with the planet, not in anyway apart or above it. 

What is the human cost of modernity, discourses of "progress", "sustainable development"?

I am aided in my reflection by my friend Paul Prinsloo who shares:

Andreotti:  Postcolonial perspectives in research on higher education for sustainable development. 

It contains a short poem.

Promises of progress, promises of equity, growing inequality and people who are expendable.

'We have abandoned the poor': slums suffer as Covid-19 exposes India's social divide https://t.co/b4lmUlJXaa

— Simon Ensor (@sensor63) August 3, 2020

US & THEM

Vast financial investment enable photos from space, illustrating the vulnerability of all and the absurd hubris of the privileged few. 

Photos on earth show that a hard rain falls harder on those with less means.

We live in a world where some lives are valued less than others.  

We live a world where some voices are valued less than others.

We live a world where some languages are valued less than others.

We live a world where some passports have less value than others.

There is no hope of equitable change unless we face the facts.

Uncertain paths...beyond the horizon

Only six years ago I had no idea that my path would lead me to such discussions, these reflections, these actions. 

I have little idea of what really drives these actions apart from what I have always had: an insatiable curiosity to know what lies beyond the horizon and persistent indignation.

How many instants have I captured in these pages of myself looking at or beyond a wall, gazing at or beyond distant horizons?  

Promises, promises, promises.

I have been taking time to learn about the relationships between global educational resources, funding, and local educational policies, pronouncements and actions particularly as regards which data has currency, what gives leverage to those who have their hands on such levers and the disconnection between seductive declarations and cruel realities. 

We live in  world where it is often not what you know but who you know which counts.

 

It seems that all too often politicians are now not speaking for those who they represent but to those who represent sources of influence....prestige...money.

I am learning about the disconnect between political movements and leaders who take up the causes of the oppressed, of the voiceless and then use their despair as fuel for violent revolution which gives them the leverage to gain access to prestige....money.

I am constantly trying to avoid distracting my attention and attempting to focus on this our storyline.

[All that I see around the world, are the same beautiful declarations of those who are able to access stages and the same lies, the same violence, the same absence of solidarity for others who are left feeling forgotten, frustrated.] 

This storyline involves the young people who care, who believe and struggle for change.

#Monsoon2020 Aide à la population Népalais sous la mousson https://t.co/VveeVaiAyk

— Simon Ensor (@sensor63) August 1, 2020

They believe in solidarity, they believe in the importance of children to be seen and heard regardless of their social backgrounds, religions, genders. 

They work to become changemakers in their communities, on their terms, not just for them but for us all. 

This story has ONE simple message. 

I=0  [alone I am zero]

Peace of mind....

“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have only begun to learn content and peace of mind since I have resolved at all risks to do this.”

― Thomas Huxley, Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley

What is education for if it is not for peace (of mind)? 

I had noted down the meeting "P4P (Peace for People - Nepal) Teacher Hub" for Friday 30th January 2020 at 9:00 French time in my diary (15:45 in Nepal).  

There were a number of people, among them, a couple of Nepalese teachers, who had joined a Facebook Messenger chat at the invitation of my friend Santosh Bidari, activist, for Peace for People Nepal.  

“The fact that educators can now reach out to thousands also means that they need to slow down, to invite participants from different contexts for genuine participation, to listen and learn from others, to enrich their own understanding.” (Bali, Sharma, 2014)

We had talked together over the months, over the years about how to go about bringing change to our respective educational contexts.

Both of us have been working  for over ten years with a guiding question:

"What can I, as an individual, do to work towards enabling a meaningful (life) education for myself and those around me?"

What is education for if it is not for peace (of mind)?

We have both been faced by obstacles, some insurmountable, set-backs more or less easy to laugh about.

I live in the Auvergne, a land of Volcanoes, which for the foreseeable future are at peace.

They indicate on building permits over here, perhaps laughably, that we live in a zone of seismic activity...

Santosh lives in Dhading Nepal, a zone of seismic activity, and  experienced a catastrophic earthquake in 2015 measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale.

Learning about Santosh's work and speaking with him, his friends and colleagues, teachers and kids, I feel a mixture of emotions: awe, privilege, inspiration, happiness.

[When I read the experiences of others who have met him, I am not alone in feeling those emotions.
Here's Kristine Tauch speaking of Santosh: The Change can start with me - Hero of the educational system]

While we have had very different life experiences, while we may come from very different cultural backgrounds, while we many have very different levels of practical difficulties to overcome in our everyday lives, while we may have very different levels of freedom of movement around this OUR world, we have so much to learn from each other, and so many stories in common.

We have shared our stories of being brought up in religious family backgrounds, of the difficulties of  seeing the world differently and choosing different paths to those of our parents.  The dulling experience of many of the years we spent in school, the brutal, physical and verbal violence of teachers who left indelible marks on our bodies and our self-esteem. The inadaptation of an educational system which is reduced to the following of text books, copying from the board, bored to our cores, our core being stress-tested constantly for no other reason than that is what counts to those who count, to those who count.

We have been brought closer thanks to my ex-student, colleague, friend Terry Guirado who went to Nepal to work with Santosh and his association, living with his family, working, playing, laughing with the kids at the schools.

On his return, I remember having lunch with a Terry transformed,  but at the same time disorientated.

How could he now find peace of mind back in France?

He was in a state of culture shock.

Santosh, told me a story this morning of Terry's disorientation when faced with the reality of reliably unreliable electricity supply, lack of running water, the dawn rise rythms of the household, the time taken to get the water, to make the meal, to do the washing, to get to the next village, to reach the next town.

And I am suddenly thinking back to 1970's oil crisis, British power cuts, candles and our childlike excitement from being freed from the boredom of evening classes at boarding school.

God, I had forgotten how much power-cuts were a god-send.

THEN: NO ELECTRICITY! F***ING REJOICE!

NOW: NO ELECTRICITY! F***ING MORE EXPLETIVES!

And I am now thinking of how Terry is different now.

He was always different but now working on his thesis, his way of being, his peace of mind shines out like a beacon.

He appears relatively serene when faced with the pressures of his academic environment.

He has asked himself that question that we now share:

"What can I, as an individual, do to work towards enabling a meaningful (life) education for myself and those around me?"

One of his answers was to set up an association in France, a branch of Peace for People:

Peace for People France

Another of his answers was to come and share his experiences with perhaps 200 French students (modest estimate).

He has just messaged me with news of an event organised to collect funds for 8 students going to Nepal in March to walk and work with Peace for People and the kids that they help.

The event had attracted over 200 students who would run for kids in Nepal.

The excitement in his voice in the audio message left on Facebook Messenger speaks volumes.

Finding a common pupose, feeling togetherness, sharing effort, dreaming aloud, moves mountains.

No doubt he will share stories from the event on his website and we will find time to share this day's work.

Not that long ago, Terry was selling doughnuts and chocolates, to be able to go and help kids in Nepal.

Not that long ago, not one student that I spoke with of Peace for People had plucked up the courage to pack their bags and get to Nepal.

Now there's two hundred kids running around an athletics track for a small association in Dhading.

I feel mixed emotions: awe, privilege, inspiration, happiness.

The impact of  Terry's story, Santosh's story, the stories of these, our weirdly connected learning communities is such that we are working together on a research project and a joint conference submission.

How can people from the "Global North" and the "Global South" work together to enable meaningful lives and educations for themselves and those around them?

How can we work towards peace of mind, peace and protection for this fragile world which we call home?

How can we work together with the ethically and ecologically dirty technological means at hand, the data limits, the battery limits, the linguistic limits, to learn what really counts?

We are there together with Santosh, and Ram myself, and his family.

We manage communicating in English, not just a means of dominion but a means of communion.

I remember reading a Paul Prinsloo share:
Africa's colonisation of the English language continues apace.

And I realise that I am already learning a new version of English, a Nepalese version,  which includes "Namaste" "Sir" and "Miss" - yet another English to go with the Englishes that I am already more fluent in.

So here I am, sitting on a bench, choosing to write before I can eat to have some sort of peace of mind and I have 10 minutes before I meet with another close distant friend and colleague.

And we share that question:

"What can I, as an individual, do to work towards enabling a meaningful (life) education for myself and those around me?"

Because what else is there to do?

So there we are, Santosh and Simon and then Ram and his son and family meeting somewhere between life and death and IPs on a net, and others elsewhere asking ourselves the question:

"What can I do to work towards a meaningful education (life) for myself, my family and people around me?"

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." 
John Dewey.

I suggested using Zoom so that we could record the meeting.  

We managed a session of 40 minutes before we had to retreat to Facebook Messenger.

And then the data plan ran out.

A few hours later, Aasha, another Nepalese teacher in this nascent "Teacher's hub", who couldn't make the meeting was able to witness our joy.

"You had such a good time with them@Simon sir. I enjoy watching this."

And I say to myself that that moment of dialogue was a moment of  life well spent.

And I say to myself that I can be of use to others when I feel useless, that I can learn with others when I feel ignorant, that I can be present for others when I am absent.

And I say to myself that now I feel, for an instant at least, some peace of mind...