Transformative Learning

Reflections on 30 Years of Head, Heart, and Hands at Schumacher College

Satish Kumar, Pavel Cenkl

• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781771423410
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Inklusive Bildung

Education as if people and planet mattered

In Transformative Learning, Satish Kumar reflects on the legacy of Schumacher College, a beacon of innovation that fosters an ecological-based, holistic model of higher education built around the college's unique "learn by doing, " head, heart, and hands pedagogy.

Over fifty current and former instructors and alumni, including Vandana Shiva, David Orr, Kate Raworth, Fritjof Capra, Bill McKibben, Mary Evelyn Tucker, and Jonathon Porritt, paint a rich picture of education for human well-being and the ecological health of the planet.

Contributions delve deeply into the nature of transformational learning and holistic education, present a wealth of alumni experiences of working towards an ecological society, and detail the expansion of the Schumacher model to Belgium, Brazil, India, Japan, and beyond.

The result is a rich tapestry of ideas and educational methods packed with insights and experience for practitioners and activists looking to build a just, ecological society.

PART 1

Education of Head:
Science

IN THE BEGINNING

Greening of Education

SATISH KUMAR

In the modern times people do not experience themselves
to be part of nature, but as an outside force destined
to dominate and conquer nature. People even talk of a battle
with nature, forgetting that if they won the battle,
they would find themselves on the
losing side.

— E. F. SCHUMACHER

Meeting with E. F. Schumacher

My story of Schumacher College begins with my meeting E. F. Schumacher himself. It was in 1968 when Fritz invited me to have lunch with him in an Italian restaurant in London, following an introduction by a common friend. In that very first meeting we clicked.

On a subsequent visit to London in 1972 I met him again. At that time, Fritz was an associate editor of Resurgence magazine. The founding editor, John Papworth, had gone to Africa, and the editorial team was looking for a new editor. Fritz said to me, “You have had plenty of editorial experience in India, how about taking on the editorship of Resurgence?”

I replied, “That is a very kind thought, but I am in England only for a short time. I am returning to India.”

Fritz said, “But you don’t have to go back to India! Why do you want to go back? Is the job of the editor of Resurgence not good enough?”

I said, “I am a Gandhian, I want to work with the Gandhian movement in India.”

Fritz countered me energetically by saying, “But Satish, there are many Gandhians in India. We need one in England, so I urge you to take up the editorship of Resurgence.”

That was a very persuasive argument. Spontaneously I said, “Ok! If I become the editor, will you contribute to each issue of the magazine?”

Fritz replied, “Yes, that’s a deal. If you become the editor, I will certainly contribute in every issue.”

Then it became an impossible deal to get out of. Thus, I stayed in England and became the editor of Resurgence and worked with Fritz until he died in 1977.

After his death, to honor his memory and build on his legacy, Resurgence launched the Schumacher Society and a series of annual Schumacher lectures, held in Bristol. These lectures where delivered by prominent ecologists and new paradigm thinkers and activists. They were attended by five hundred to a thousand people and were a great success.

The Dartington Connection

In 1988, I was having lunch with John Lane, an artist, a regular attendee of Schumacher lectures and an avid reader of Resurgence. Moreover, he was also a trustee of Dartington Hall Trust, an estate of more than a thousand acres and a center for rural reconstruction, education, arts and culture. Dartington Hall was established through the inspiration of the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Over lunch John informed me that due to financial pressures and lack of numbers, Dartington Hall School had to be closed and one of the buildings, the Old Postern, with forty bedrooms was empty and they were looking for a suitable tenant. I knew the Old Postern, a beautiful fourteenth-century building which had been used to accommodate students of Dartington Hall School, and where Rabindranath Tagore had stayed. So, I said to John, “Who is going to want this building! Too big for a family, too small for a hotel, and after all it was a school. So, it should be used for a good educational purpose.”

John said, “But we could not continue to run the school. What kind of educational activities can we organize there?”

I said to him, “We know these great thinkers and activists who have given Schumacher lectures, but these lectures are one-day events, there is no in-depth exploration possible in such a short time. Wouldn’t it be good if we had a place where these green thinkers could spend a reasonable amount of time and go deeper into the exploration of new kinds of science, new kinds of economics and a new way of life? Most universities are wedded to the old paradigm thinking. They are committed to reductionist science, continuous economic growth, unlimited industrialization and rampant materialism leading to waste, pollution and the destruction of biodiversity and loss of natural habitats. In terms of ecological worldview, the planet is in peril. I would love to invite these thinkers and activists to teach in such a new learning center.”

John said, “That sounds very interesting! Write a proposal, which I can present to the trustees of Dartington Hall!”

That was the seed of Schumacher College. After many meetings and prolonged discussions among trustees, my proposal was accepted by them, but with a certain reluctance by some. One of the trustees, Michael Young, was particularly skeptical. He said to me, “Satish, you are a dreamer! Who is going to come and learn about ecology and green perspectives and pay for it? The college may not last more than five years! But since my fellow trustees want to do something and the building is standing empty, we will give you five years to prove yourself, but I don’t think you will last that long!”

I said, “Michael, it is better to try something and fail, than not try at all!”

Michael said, “I like your enthusiasm and your passion. The trustees will give you five years rent free, and we will underwrite any deficit during that time. I wish you good luck.”

Launching the College

James Lovelock, who had given a Schumacher lecture, lived near me in North Devon. I often walked with him on Dartmoor, talking about his Gaia theory. So, as I was planning to invite teachers of an earth-centered worldview to teach at Schumacher College, I said to James, “I would like to start our courses on a scientific subject. Science is good, but the old science of mechanistic thinking, which only looks at nature as an inanimate object and exploits her for the benefit of humans, is becoming a dangerous science. We need a new and holistic science. Your Gaia theory is the science of the future; will you be our first teacher at Schumacher College?”

James said, “Your invitation is tempting. Most universities at the moment reject my science of Gaia. They think that my science is not scientific enough. But Gaia, the earth, is a living organism. How can life be sustained by a dead rock! But that is how most of the scientists think of the earth— a dead rock. Therefore, I would love to explore and explain to a group of people how scientifically we can prove that earth is a living organism and not a dead rock.”

I was delighted that James accepted to be our first teacher. Then I contacted Fritjof Capra, Vandana Shiva, David Orr, Jonathon Porritt, Joanna Macy, Janine Benyus, Wendell Berry and many others who had given Schumacher lectures and asked them to teach at the college. To my utter delight every single one of them accepted my invitation, and we published our year-long program in Resurgence.

The very first course, in January 1991, on Gaia, was a sellout with a waiting list.

The Vision

The vision of Schumacher College was not simply to create an intellectual learning center based on an ecological and spiritual worldview. Our vision was to create a center where learning and living came together, where knowledge and experience integrated and where learning was not simply a personal pursuit but a collective journey within the context of a community. We envisioned that Schumacher College should not be solely an institution, it would be a community, a home.

Most education in universities is an intellectual pursuit. Students are perceived as if they have no body. They have no hands, no legs, no hearts, no feelings, only a head, and education is simply education of the head and only the left hemisphere of the head at that. How could education be defined and then promoted in such a staggeringly narrow way? So, we decided from the very beginning that at Schumacher College we would endeavor to practice education of head, education of hearts and education of hands. Thus cooking, crafts, cleaning and gardening became an integral part of learning. And, of course, singing, storytelling, poetry, meditation and spirituality were incorporated in the daily timetable to cultivate the heart qualities. The pursuit of beauty and elegant simplicity became an integral part of the Schumacher experience.

Michael Young had given us five years. But I am delighted that we have been here for much longer than that. Now we are celebrating the 30th anniversary. During this time students and participants have come to Schumacher College from around the world. We have about 20,000 alumni in eighty different countries. They have gone through a transformative experience at the college and gone out into the world to serve people and the planet earth. When Schumacher students leave the college, I say to them, “Go out in the world, but don’t look for a job. Create your own job, a job which is regenerative, fulfilling and enhances the life of Gaia, people and yourself. Your work is not just a job, it should be a livelihood.”

Pedagogy of Freedom

The word “education” is derived from Latin educare which means “to bring up” or “to bring forth” or “to draw out.” Thus, education doesn’t mean teaching, or schooling or giving knowledge or ...