Scholé news June 2019

Dear friends of Scholé, the unschoolers’ information evening at the Markhof on 20 May was so well attended that we had to bring in extra chairs,

which of course delighted us. Altogether six university-educated mothers and fathers of unschooled children spoke. From the perspective of their own fields, but above all on the basis of their personal experience, they talked about the advantages of informal paths of education and answered questions from the audience.

Without prior notice, an Ö1 journalist interviewed some of those present after the event. What he has made of these interviews and his recording of the talks we will hear on 11 June at 3.30 pm in the programme “Moment Leben heute”. An advance notice of the programme revealed, at any rate, that not only an education expert but also a representative of the state advisory office on sects had been invited to comment, which shows that unschoolers are still under general suspicion of being sectarian…

Trained subjects can apparently hardly imagine what drives free people any more! The idea that one could learn without a teacher, work without a boss, heal without a medical degree, create wonderful works of art without a degree from an art academy, live together peacefully without state surveillance and so on is usually rejected reflexively by “normal” people. The freedom that all people supposedly long for in truth conjures up visions of chaos and disorder in most minds. The mass media exploit this learnt reflex by stirring up fears and then suggesting to their worried consumers that all it takes is more control and surveillance for people to feel safe and free…

If you know who owns these media, this can hardly come as a surprise: “Whose bread I eat, his song I sing” – it has always been so. For the division between people does not run between right and left, as we are so often told to distract us from concrete social and ecological reality, but between top and bottom, between rulers and subjects: between the few who determine the course of the economy, politics and science with their billions in investment, and the many who strive ambitiously upwards or have to sell their labour to survive. This also applies to our actually existing democracies, as should have become clear to us at the latest after the political upheavals of recent years in and outside Europe.

The fogging of minds by stress, distractions and arguments over trifles seems, however, to have progressed so far that only young people not yet miseducated dare to look the truth in the eye and take action, instead of merely complaining or burying their heads in the sand in despair: Felix Finkbeiner, for example, now 20, who decided at the age of nine to do something about deforestation and dying trees. The foundation Plant-for-the-Planet, which he and his father set up, has since contributed to the planting of hundreds of millions of trees on several continents. After his first appearances on German public television, however, the boy received death threats (!) and has lived a very secluded life ever since.

Not so 16-year-old Greta Thunberg – “Greata”, as the magazine Falter so aptly called her on its latest cover. She will probably not be deterred by defamation or death threats either from telling the powerful to their faces how irresponsibly they are devastating the planet with their insatiable greed for money and political influence, thereby gambling with the lives of future generations. But the essential thing is not her message at all, because in fact we have all known for a long time how threatening and inescapable the consequences of the climate change to which humans contribute are, haven’t we?

What really distinguishes Greta and makes her a role model is her incorruptible, fiercely determined drive. Her active, consistent NO to the cheapness and convenience of fast food, cheap fashion or air travel. Her infectious resistance to distractions from what matters, to conformity and obedience. Greta Thunberg’s school strike and its worldwide consequences have shown how a peaceful revolution begins: with a decisive NO to the mentality of the subject! The vanishingly small minority of billionaires, oligarchs and dictators will lose their influence over the fate of billions of people as soon as those who take orders become aware of their own power. It is up to THEM to finally look the truth in the eye, overcome their suicidal fears and, in solidarity with all living beings – plants, animals and humans – break from below the chains of command that begin with an upbringing in competition and obedience…!

Cheerful, rebellious Whitsun greetings, Alexandra

P.S.: As newsletters are not easy to forward, here is a link where the Scholé News have been published as posts for some time now: https://gaia-energy.org/tag/schole/

Book tip – “Lernen ist wie Atmen” (Learning is like breathing)

Together with two unschooling mothers, Gudrun Totschnig and Sigrid Haubenberger, we published it ourselves.

We all feel that the time is ripe for this many-voiced account of how unschooling can be lived in practice. Order your own copy on the GAIA marketplace, with a 10 % discount for members. The book is in German.

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