ChildrenEducationAndLearning

Convenor:

 Ian Thomson

Participants: Ilu-Gabriel Beth Hawkes Mary McDonaugh? Patrick

Dialogue summary: - we are developing learner-centred support for home learners on Bowen and this may be a place that could play a role - we are looking for some of these things: o community-based resources o closer to the needs of young people o close to water? o Learner-driven o Safety, mutual respect, personal accountability are core attributes of the learning o Holistic view of the world o Stable place/permanent place o Experience of being part of an intentional learning community o Integrates the needs of everyday learning into the ‘curriculum’

(Regio Amelio was a post-war Italian school that taught peace—this approach to leanring sounds similar..from Ilu)

Practicalities - far from Cove and bulk of island population - fit with neighbourhood?

Integrated Uses - Ashoka would be more sustainable if there were multiple uses - It would be desirable to see Ashoka used for more than just adults

Conclusion.. (and we really did come through to this place…) - as the dialogue developed, we saw that what we were drawn to about Ashoka was the ‘sacred’—it is a place ‘apart’, and it is in coming here that we are renewed. - If being here were to become common (ie., frequent and a matter of course) then it could more easily lose its sacred sense to its visitors and assume more of the ‘profane’ - This would be a better place for children to come periodically to experience the ‘apartness’ f the place and to sense its special qualities