Learning ‘to do’ eases helplessness

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, February 9, 2011

To paraphrase a familiar saying, “It takes a community to educate a child.” And what does it take to become a truly “educative community”? An educative community is one that depends on the real work and creative participation of each of its members. Failure to do this creates unhealthy dependency and generational helplessness.

For example, our current practice of flooding the market with cheap consumer goods produced overseas is like putting a bottomless box of Twinkies in every household. Who needs to tend the community garden when you can just grab a Twinkie? Who needs to learn how to store food when Twinkies are individually wrapped and last forever? Who needs to learn how to prepare a meal when Twinkies are pre-baked? Over time our independence, knowledge, skills, health and human connections suffer. We become crippled and dependent, like pets who are kept alive by the good will of their owners.

I am not pointing a finger of blame — believe me, I eat my own share of Twinkies — but simply suggesting we look at the long-term educative role and capacity of our community. A local group doing just this is Transition Port Gardner (www.transitionportgardner.org). Another great resource is a new book by John McKnight and Peter Block called “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.” These are well worth checking out.

Jim Strickland
Everett