Silent Modalities

At the confluence of silence and alternative educational theory lies a territory of great promise for education. Ways of learning, being, becoming and understanding in alternative education modalities, such as democratic schools and elective home education, are different from the goal driven atmospheres of mainstream schooling. These 'ways' suit silence in the same way that Lao Tzu suggests in the 'Tao Te Ching' that we should not strive and that 'all things work silently in nature'. This seminar presentation looks at the moment of discovery of the possibilities of such education -by adults- as a moment of mystical silence with magnificent effects in the personal self and substantial effects on attitudes to education, lifestyle and the upbringing of children. It also considers the flight to and from silences of different kinds in mainstream schools that presage these moments of wonder as a need to return to the safety and peace of silence as a valid part of one's life. A theory of education as strongly connected to silence will be explored.