“Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. “
Human organization is slowly inching towards this ideal which was largely ignored in the industrial stages of our civilization while we were separating ourselves from the natural world and when the minimalistic equitable tendencies for pluralities dominated the formation of societal structures. Not surprisingly when applied to education – Universal Education was interpreted as compulsory “instruction of all children of a given age at general-education schools which provide a set minimum of knowledge.”
Universality in education nonetheless applies to all the species – in a natural world it means Live & Learn; it begins at the origins of life. The natural world is universal by design providing many dimensions of unlimited knowledge and affording us the opportunity to learn to the greatest extend possible; it is both limitless and unbounded. A human child and a little rabbit both have the same inherent responsibility and the same drive – learn in order to live [survive], and live to learn [evolve as species]. This is the premise on which Universal Education paradigm resides.
The two main principles of Universal Education that derive from this premise are Self-direction and Natural Learning. Both are based in our survivalist realization that we all are born equipped with the tools and the will to learn. These two principles together with the recognition that each of us must be nurtured and guided form the cornerstones of a foundation for Universal Education.
Nurture and Guidance of the young, the two principal functions of the family, with an advent of industrialization were gradually overtaken by the State. The right to education lauded as a liberating right has not only curtailed the rights of parents by making it compulsory but more importantly it has also restricted the opportunity of children to self-direction and natural learning.
“A fundamental premise of Self-direction is that top-down, coercive systems of schooling, imposed by states and nations, violate the human rights of children and families to direct their own lives, learning, and paths to adulthood” [ASDE].
“Increasing numbers of children are growing up with insufficient contact with the natural world. The lack of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children has profound impact not only on their development but ultimately on the health and survival of our world” [NLI].
As we stand today the encroachment of the state and the ever increasing drive for competitive achievement unwittingly perpetuated by our society into the realm of childhood, has effectively left children with almost no time of their own. This is one of the main vagaries underlying educational crisis. The other underlying component of this crisis is a debased stratagem of safeguarding children from the evils of our own society through a policy of containment; as a result schools have become places of confinement and suppression. This confinement is physical, intellectual, and spiritual – arresting the time, the space, and the development of our children.
These are the tangible factors that underlie a demise of our modern educational structures.
We must note here that while a contemporary system of education is reaching a crisis, the Special Ed. and its coercive behaviorism directed at Autistic Children has grown into a grotesque entanglement of segregation, isolation, and dehumanizing control that has little to do with education!
It is forthcoming then that the movement for Universality in Education shall begin with our advocacy. This is where it is most needed.
Self-direction and preference for natural environments where they commonly thrive are characteristic to autistic children. At the same time they have prolonged need for nurture and guidance. Universal inclusiveness positions them and other disabled children as the parametric determinants of the universal educational structure. Consequently the principles of self-direction, natural learning, and personalized nurture and guidance must necessarily underline the formation of the all encompassing Universal Education.
Even more importantly we should remember that the purpose of our educative efforts is Independence and Self-Determination of children. The failure of achieving this purpose results in an unfulfilled diminished life! This failure is very real for autistic children, who rarely reach it in the suppressive institutional settings of today; in recent times we’ve been also witnessing its spread into typical populations.
The Path to Self-Determination requires consistent and all encompassing access to the life of community, implying continuous self-directed participation of children in all the spheres of communal life from early childhood – building the gradual independence and extending the boundaries of self-determination out and beyond. This is true for all the children but it is the only way to Self-Determination for Autistic child.
Self-Determination of children is the Central Determinant of the “Wellness” of educational structures of society – it is at the foundation of the Universal Education we aspire to create.
The Path to Self-Determination necessitates Openness of societal structures to children implying that universal paradigm of education must be Borderless – this by the virtue of its quality effectively renders the Compulsory dictate – Obsolete! These are the Defining Concepts of our Solution.
The movement for Self-Direction is generally represented by two approaches: A redefined democratic school where educational methodologies are largely self-directed by the student [exemplified by the Sudbury Valley school], and the Unschooling model [a type of homeschooling that is self-directed by the child].
Neither of these however in the current prohibitive climate are easily accessible to the public, and neither is fully satisfactory, as each falls short in some respects. What we need is an unifying concept.
Before we proceed to our guideline a review of various alternative approaches is recommended (wiki, T4L, ASDE, Divergent Labs, Better Way). All these approaches can be accommodated within the framework of our solution.
A General Guideline
- Its premise is Live & Learn
- Time must be self-directed
- Space must be borderless
- Self-Determination is the purpose and the goal from an early age
- It is Nourished by Family and Community
- It relies on Natural Learning – in nature and in community of children and adults
- It is Guided – patiently, gently, and wisely – by all of us with reverence and love
Paradigm of Universal Education :
It begins with freedom of choice granted to the child. We empower them [school age] to be in charge of their time [most of it]. We should provide learning environments – the set of their choices – we shall strive to expand them. We are the empowered adults [parents, family, community]. We have to make right choices; the environments that we create for them, the people and children they encounter, their leisure options, the work we encourage, rules of the road.
The first priority for us [adults] is creation of learning environments – this shall begin with the reclamation of space. We’ve large swaths of real estate for golf courses and what else, while public schools are shackled between fences. We need to change this. Here is a wish list for Universal Educational Grounds. It digs into the past and looks into the future…
Let these Grounds be borderless following in the natural design that is befitting to all the beings – as a qualifier of wellness and health of our children. Let us engineer these environments and colonize them.
Like Libraries in Dr. Gray vision, and parks, and museums, and street squares, and wastelands, and cemeteries, the maker spaces, and even the old school rooms with children contained in their sits dreaming of adventure and play- let us engineer it together.
The all encompassing diversity of Universal Grounds – natural and engineered, with maker spaces and learning hubs of modern kinds, where professional instruction is available as a service or subscription or traditional enrollment blends the unschooling and self-directed schools approaches; all kind of approaches and methodologies may coexist as well as the variety of flexible access arrangements. We can engineer these environments and we can engineer the availability and access. Let the children choose and be the judges of what is good for them.
Inflection Point
Practical approaches to transition and creation of universal environments
It may appear that this [amazing paradise] of land and buildings is unrealizable – at least in a short term. Where would we find places like that available – with buildings and maker shops, etc.?
This however is just a shortcoming of our imagination – take for example all the seasonal [summer] areas of leisure and recreation; they mostly close or are underused in other seasons – precisely when we need them. It is just a matter of finding these places, presenting a good business plan to local and outside players and the local government – it is good for everybody. These places are everywhere, in great many communities.
We should also drive to open College and University campuses – let the children access the grounds, the lectures, and the workshops – as they choose [including their entourage]. Considering a reform providing each child with an allocated budget – the pay per use may be easily engineered, which by the way would allow to lessen the costs of regular student population. The effects of this inclusion may be quite amazing in many respects, and can’t be underestimated, as this would exponentially expand the boundaries of learning frontier for the younger generation; as a side effect we expect that the presence of children would also promote the softening of intolerances on student campuses. Notably some campuses already carry Pre-K programs. This is a natural way for age-desegregation with a logical potential for incredible societal advances.
As regards autistic population – we should also consider administrative reformation solutions.
Looking at the Centers for Developmental Disabilities – here is a quote from CDD in LI, NY: – “Today, we boast of serving over three hundred families, employing over six hundred and fifty staff and providing an array of services worth 30 million dollars each year. “This boast translates into some $100K per child a year to effectively segregate these children and habituate them to the segregated life of an outcast administered by the system. These centers are predominantly behaviorist’s havens that are due for scrutiny and reformation, and we should be looking into driving towards it. These centers would then be reengineered as all inclusive self-directed learning centers welcoming self-learners and children with disabilities alike. The path to Universal Education may very well come through the land of Disability.
The Beginning
We should drive to reintroduce the National Self-Determination Program. A part of this program would concentrate on reforming education for children with disabilities. The approach would be centered on Universal Design, reformation of the Centers for Developmental Disabilities with inclusion of typical children, and very importantly a promotion of communal involvement in creation of universal educational grounds and their utilization in educational processes of all children.
It is essential to acknowledge that much of what we propose extensively relies on our ability to reconsider many policies of the past. It is also essential to advance our use and reliance on the tools of Assistive Technology [AT]. AT is instrumental for creation of safe educational environments and upholding the proposed Policy of Trust and Wellness.
NEXT: Universal Educational Grounds