Collaboration vs Self-Directed Learning18thFebruary
Many people come to me and exalt the value of self-directed learning. They assume this is what we offer at TrackersTEAMS. A recent conversation with Judy BlueHorse helped me clarify this issue. We do not rely on self-direction, we rely on collaboration.
Judy and I were talking about how people often state that they want to be "free" in learning and life. We agreed that in a team or family the notion of freedom takes on a different scale then how modern culture defines it. The extreme of self-directed learning only regards the individual's desires in what they will do, when they will show up and what they want to get out of it. In collaboration the needs of everyone in the group informs this decision. With the experience of each additional community member we increase the intelligence of discourse and deliberation.
At Trackers we often talk about the law of mobility...
If at any time during our time together you find yourself in any situation where you are neither learning nor contributing, use your two feet. Go to some other place where you may learn and contribute.
It could sound like self-direction, where a person decides what is best for herself or himself, but its actually about respecting the individual's awareness of where they best contribute to the whole. Interestingly enough, needs and wants of individuals become more stable as you include a greater ecological perspective. The recognition that your health is dependent on the health of others is the meaning of teams, family and the nature of the village.
The trap of only stressing self-directed learning is the same trap of defining only one mentor, guru or philosophy as being the savior of a community or yourself. Like any other system that limits diversity, these models cannot work with the reality of the people who are actually present. Self-directed learners often find themselves drifting from community to community (along with gurus) because the people aren't "perfect" enough for their philosophy or desires.
I was raised in a culture where you grew food for the family. I was taught to lobby for the quality of life of everyone around me. That is where I and everyone at Trackers finds their passion and responsibility. Self-directed learning can be a healthy part of collaboration, yet it needs to be tempered by care for the land, other family members and the next generations to come. Ironically enough, it is up to the individual to determine if they are a good match for this kind of collaboration. What are your needs? Do you want a school that feeds the individual achiever or do you live for community that clearly defines individual achievement as love for the greater good of land and family? We admit one is more challenging than the other. We admit, we are still figuring collaboration out together.
