Re: Self-organized Learning LO289

jpwilso@iastate.edu
Wed, 01 Mar 1995 10:13:25 CST

Replying to LO279 --

Gene Bellinger

I found your message below very interesting! Your conclusions re varying
degrees of indirectness each represent a state of manipulation.
Interestingly, during a discussion in my class on instruction of adult
learners, the issue of manipulation under the guise of process
facilitation came up. I wish I had this message before that discussion.
I arrived at the same conclusion about manipulation. The only true
non-manipulative facilitation process exists only, if ever, when there is
an open sharing of ideas, regardless whose ideas they are among the
dialoguing persons, whether the ideas are about process, direction, or
whatever. Unless the entire ' group'- community is in ownership of what is
going on, there is the existance of manipulation. This is what I like
about Myles Horton's philosophy and work at the Highlander Research and
Education Center in Tennessee. His approach was to rely on the group
(learners) to identify their own problems, their own approaches to dealing
with them, and taking the intitiative and responsibility for doing
something about them.

> irt: Myrna Casebolt, Feb 28, 1995 12:35 AM EST
>
> I worked this out once, now let me see if I can remember it:
>
> -> I can extract blood from a stone.
> -> I can motivate a stone to give blood.
> -> I can empower a stone to motivate itself to give blood
> -> I can inspire a stone to empower itself to motivate itself to give blood
> -> I can create an invironment which inspires a stone to empower itself to
> motivate itself to give blood
>
> This represents varying degress of indirectness, yet regardless of the
> indirectness, each represents a state of manipulation.
>
> I think it was Kenneth Boulding, in "The World as a Total System," who
> described 5 classes of system interaction:
>
> -> parasitic - one way destructive interaction
> -> prey/preditor - mutually beneficial destructive interaction
> -> threat - if you do something I want you to I won't do something you don't
> want me to
> -> exchange - if you do something I want you to I will do something you want
> me to
> -> integrative - where you and I do something together because of what we
> both want to accomplish
>
> It is only when we get to the integrative mode of interaction is there a
> potential for real synergy.
>
> Gene Bellinger
> From: CrbnBlu@aol.com
>
>

---
John P Wilson
jpwilso@iastate.edu