Just came across a 2001 publication in PDF format online called:
Unfolding Learning Societies: Deepening the Dialogues
Vimukt Shiksha Special Issue
April 2001
http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/ls2.pdf (NB- it is a 159 page
document, so a large file)
Here are some exceprts from one article in the publication that may be
of interest - food for thought anyway:
"Exposing 'Sustainable Development' Rhetoric to Make Way for Learning
Societies"
Charles Otieno-Hongo and Isaac Ochien'g
...
Exposing the Development Game
For the past five centuries, we in Africa have been repeatedly taught
that we have benefited from colonization, development and (now)
globalization, because our benevolent colonizers have instilled in us
civilized manners, railroads, bureaucracies, English/French languages,
legal system, multi-party democracies, etc.2 But before we declare
Development a great boon, it is necessary to explore the trade-offs in
more detail.
...
"Along with environmental devastation, one can examine Development as
destruction from another angle: its annihilation of cultural
diversities and social relations in an effort to forge a mono-culture.
Uniformity (a.k.a. globalization) demands an annihilation of complex
ways of interacting, organizing and knowing. Indeed, the race to
converge upon ONE way of living has destroyed many intellectual and
spiritual self-defense capacities to resist repressive frameworks. For
example, Development has contributed to the extinction of languages,
by replacing local languages with English, French, Spanish and other
languages of the imperialist regimes (a trend that continues today,
where imperialist languages are viewed as the most superior means of
communication in education, bureaucracy, judiciary, and other State
institutions). In Kenya, a class of young people who are not familiar
with their mother tongues is fast emerging. From the onset, the
emphasis in schooling is on English, and so local languages (and even
sometimes the national language, Swahili) are seen as obstacles to
producing a literate nation. It is very common to find that the
speaking of local languages is banned in schools, as teachers endeavor
to produce English speakers. Ironically, a large number of students
leave school without ever being able to 'properly' communicate in
English, while at the same time they find that they have been divorced
from their indigenous languages. 'Language-less', they end up in an
identity crisis, without a means for fully expressing or understanding
themselves and changes in their environments.
...
"Freeing our language to make new meanings, to enable new and relevant
metaphors, narratives, and creative expressions to emerge, is one
exciting example of regeneration that emerges from
de-institutionalization. As noted earlier, a skewed education system
(and monolithic language policy) has led to the production of a large
number of youth, who are totally alienated from their traditional
languages and who, at the same time, find themselves incompetent in
using the institutional language of their schooling. This, however,
has not meant that they have stopped communicating and interacting.
The young people of Kenya, especially those in the urban areas, have
over the years developed a unique language that combined elements of
Swahili and other indigenous languages and also invented new words in
the streets. This language, locally known as Sheng', is providing the
youth with a new medium of expression.
"Although marginalized for years, amid accusations of being the
language of 'thugs', 'unschooled' and 'uncultured', Sheng' is
gradually expanding its base in popular culture. Young musicians are
starting to use Sheng' as a medium of reaching out and articulating
their frustrations with the systems. Although the forces of capitalism
have been quick to see this potential, and the commercialization of
Sheng' is rapidly moving in, Sheng's uniqueness is that it is a
dynamic, constantly evolving language. This makes it hard to capture
or even write, as it has no 'custodians' and does not abide by any
rules. Every individual, every community adds to it, while ensuring
that the sense of communication is not lost. Without undermining
Kenya's indigenous languages' struggles against extinction, Sheng'
perhaps bears the most hope for the survival of our ORAL traditions at
the national level.
"... When Development destroys local cultures, languages, economies
and capacities, it asphyxiates meaningful and diverse learning within
our communities. ...
..."
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