Study Circles: Schools For Life
Cooperative learning, democratic participation, respect for
individual views, and learning from the collective wisdom of the group
by Cecile Andrews
One of the articles in We Can Do It! (IC#33)
Fall 1992, Page 22
Copyright (c)1992, 1996 by Context Institute
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Study Circles are blossoming. All over the US, people are rediscovering
what the Swedes borrowed from us a century ago - an engaging way to learn
while socializing.
Cecile Andrews, director of continuing education for North Seattle Community
College, has built the program around the concepts of caring, creativity,
and community, and offers classes in personal growth, professional development,
and public involvement.
Through the college, Cecile is pioneering new methods for getting study
circles started. Among them is a series on voluntary simplicity which she
organized in collaboration with IN CONTEXT.
It is time we had uncommon schools,
that we did not leave off our education
when we begin to be men and women.
- Henry David Thoreau
Imagine this: Sitting around a dining room table littered with cups and
the remains of banana bread are seven or eight people. A burst of laughter
dies down as a woman continues her story about trying to persuade her 16
year-old son to wear a helmet when he rides his bike. A man wipes tears
of laughter from his eyes and nods vigorously - "Yes, I know just what
you mean. My son did that, too. But I read an article the other day that
said ...."
These people are engaged in one of the most fulfilling human pastimes -
conversation. But they're not at a dinner party. They're part of a study
circle - a way of learning that is springing up across the country, a method
of study that has been referred to as "education by the people."
In our thrill-seeking, high-tech, hectic times, people are turning to a
relaxed, simple, low-tech form of fulfillment - educating themselves in
an informal, egalitarian setting.
Members of community groups, churches, business groups, and unions have
used this small-group discussion format to seek understanding and common
ground when they faced difficult issues or hard choices. And formal adult
education offerings are starting to include study circles on a variety of
issues and topics.
This growing interest in study circles is part of a larger movement. People
are discovering their own authority in education just as they are in medicine
and religion. This reflects a growing conviction that there is a collective
wisdom in groups, that education and understanding go hand in hand, and
that learning can truly be available for all.
THE DIVERSITY OF TRUTH
When people take responsibility for their own education they are, in part,
saying that they want to come up with their own ideas - to examine their
experience and discover their own truths. In study circles, participants
learn to listen to each other's ideas, not as points to debate, but as different
experiences of reality. They may not agree, but they learn to accept that
- just like blind men feeling different parts of the elephant - each person
may be limited by his or her own perspective.
In the study circle, each participant feels empowered to think for themselves.
Anxiety about appearing foolish is lost. Since there is no one "right"
answer, all are free to say what they think, to sit back and relax, and
enjoy learning and thinking. Participants are encouraged to speak their
minds freely and to engage in friendly disagreement.
Often, written materials are used as a basis for discussion, and these are
sometimes chosen to reflect diversity of opinion. Study circle participants
have a special opportunity to investigate their own capacities to communicate
with and affect others, to improve their listening skills, and to use their
critical faculties.
EQUALITY
Unlike the traditional classroom - where inequality affects not only the
student/teacher relationship, but the relationships between students - in
a study circle, a person with a doctorate has no more status than a person
with a high school diploma. Value is placed not on having mastered someone
else's ideas, but on generating and communicating ideas of one's own.
Most often, there is a facilitator whose job is not to have mastery over
the subject the group is discussing, but to keep the discussion going. Facilitators
need be "expert" only in managing the group so that all are heard
and the conversation stays lively and on topic.
DEMOCRACY
By managing the process themselves, participants practice democracy. What
is democracy? It's a system of shared power, a system in which individuals
feel they can affect the outcome of political decisions. In the study circle
environment - where there is equality, respect for others, and excitement
about the exchange of ideas - people are engaged in the most fundamental
aspects of democracy. They will come to conclusions or make decisions through
talking, listening, and understanding.
Study circles - the open exchange of ideas, the give and take of discussion
- could be (as they are in Sweden) at the heart of our democratic society.
In fact, study circles have been used very successfully here in the US to
focus on political issues. Many participants - having learned to go in and
out of leadership roles, to solve problems and to resolve conflicts - go
on to become active in more strictly political forums.
CONNECTION
In study circles, "connection" is central. Participants are not
required to separate feelings from thoughts concerning a topic. Their roles
- as teachers, students, leaders, and followers - fluctuate within and across
study circle sessions.
Participants seldom take part just to learn objective facts. The importance
of what they learn lies in its connection to their lives, their own experiences,
and the real problems and issues they face. A study circle is "education
for life."
And, of course, the participants themselves are connected. When people talk
about their lives, share their feelings, and listen to each other with respect,
there is connection and a sense of community. When there is no need to compete
or wear a mask, people begin to discover and present their authentic selves.
EDUCATION AS TRANSFORMATION
Today, conventional education focuses more and more on careerism, seeing
education in the narrow role of helping people get jobs. Study circles focus
on self-realization and social transformation by encouraging participants
to blossom as individuals and to bring about change in society.
Study circles bring people together to talk, to feel part of a community,
and to practice acceptance of diversity, equality, democracy, and connectedness.
Imagine what could happen if more and more people were engaged in these
"uncommon schools." Perhaps it would become clear that Americans'
supposed apathy toward education and political participation is really a
disguise for a deep hunger to learn and become involved.
GOOD ADVICE
The following tips for successful study circles, excerpted from materials
supplied by the Study Circles Resource Center, show that the communications
skills used and honed in the study circle environment are pertinent in almost
any other situation.
See below for more on what the Resource Center has to
offer to assist those running their own study circles.
* Maintain an open mind. You don't score points by rigidly sticking
to your early statements. Feel free to explore ideas that you have rejected
or failed to consider in the past.
* Strive to understand the position of those who disagree with you.
Your own knowledge is not complete until you understand other participants'
points of view and why they feel the way they do. It's important to respect
people who disagree with you; they have reasons for their beliefs. You should
be able to make a good case for positions you disagree with. This level
of comprehension and empathy will make you a much better advocate for whatever
position you come to.
* Value your own experience and opinions. Everyone in the group, including
you, has unique knowledge and experience; this variety makes the discussion
an interesting learning experience for all. Don't feel pressured to speak,
but realize that failing to speak means robbing the group of your wisdom.
STUDY CIRCLES: HISTORY & RESOURCES
Americans discovered study circles in Sweden, a country which has been characterized
as a "study circle democracy." At any one time, one-third of Swedish
adults are engaged in some form of adult education - most often it is a
study circle. The government has subsidized this form of education since
1947, and uses it not only to educate people about government policies,
but to receive feedback from the public.
Ironically, the Swedes imported the study circle idea from the US where
it was used in the early Chautauqua movement, an adult education system
of lectures and study groups popular in the late nineteenth century. The
Swedish people saw it as an answer to their problems of poverty and illiteracy
- to educate the broadest possible spectrum of society in the arts of democracy.
Today, following a period of decreased awareness and a lack of involvement
in community affairs, many in the US are re-adopting study circles. Linked
to a broader educational movement called "folk education" - again
brought over from Scandinavia - study circles are designed to encourage
both personal growth and social responsibility.
This emphasis on the responsibility to work for the common good fits well
with the growing realization that we cannot deal with the tremendous social
and environmental problems we face unless everyone is part of developing
the solutions.
Good examples of how well this can work come from one of America's best
known folk education efforts - Highlander Center, founded by Myles Horton
in the thirties. In the depths of the Depression, Horton established a school
in Tennessee which brought people together to figure out how to solve their
problems themselves. In the early years he worked with labor unions, and
later, with the civil rights movement.
Highlander's role affected all our lives. A few months before Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat on the bus, she attended classes at Highlander.
So did Martin Luther King and Eleanor Roosevelt. As Myles Horton expressed
it, "The fact is that people have within themselves the seeds of greatness,
if they're developed. It's not a matter of trying to fill up people, but
to fulfill people."
Study circles hold great promise for both personal and social transformation,
and several organizations are working enthusiastically to help people engage
in them. For more information, call or write the following:
Study Circles Resource Center
Route 169 PO Box 203
Pomfret CT 06258
203/928-2616
This organization is a veritable gold mine of information on study circles.
They have materials describing the nuts and bolts, i.e., the ideal group
size (five to 20), usual number of meetings (three to six), etc. They also
have an extensive annotated bibliography on study circles, a clearinghouse
list of study circle material developed by a variety of organizations, training
materials for study circle organizers and facilitators, and a newsletter
- Focus On Study Circles. Some publications are free of charge; others
are low cost ($2-$5) and come with permission to photocopy for your study
circle group.
Folk Education Association of America
107 Vernon St.
Northampton MA 01060
413/585-8755
FEAA is an organization of people and institutions interested in the history
and concepts of folk education as exemplified by study circles and Scandinavian
folk high schools. It has strong links with European folk educators, a valuable
newsletter, exciting conferences, and enthusiastic members.
National Issues Forums
100 Commons Road
Dayton OH 45459-2777
800/433-7834
National Issues Forums are nationwide programs that bring citizens together
to discuss national policy issues such as racial inequality, abortion, the
environment, and free speech. Forums range from small study circles to large
town meetings. Call them for more information.
Utne Reader
Neighborhood Salon Association
1624 Harmon Place
Minneapolis MN 55403
Salons are neighborhood discussion groups started by Utne Reader (the Reader's
Digest of the alternative press). Send them $12 and you will receive a list
of 15-30 people in your neighborhood (or closest proximate area) who are
interested in participating in a salon group. (By now, their master list
includes some 10,000 names.) They'll also send you information on getting
started, and four issues of a newsletter.
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Last Updated 29 June 2000.
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