Letter from The Founders
Our View Is That Education Should Be Universal, Enlightening And Liberating. Education Should Draw Out Of Humans The Potentialities Of A Progressive Humanity Which Is Inclusive And Respectful Of Difference. In This We See At Once How Different The Conceptualization Of The Purpose Of Schooling Would Or Should Be. Such A Stance Shifts The Fulcrum Between The School And The State From How Can Schools Become Universally Available To All Children, Better And ‘Fit’ All Of The Students Into Them, To One Which Asks, ‘What Are Students Being Fitted Into’ And ‘Why’ As Well As Who Benefits Most From Such Schools?
We Believe That When Educational Leaders Are Emboldened To Step Out Of The School/State Nexus That They Become True ‘Leaders Without Borders.’ This Distinction May Be The Most Fundamental Line Of Demarcation Of The FS. We Believe That Humanity Belongs To No One But Itself. Education Is Not A Means To Somebody’s End, Including The State, But Education Is The End Unto Itself. Education So Conceived Is The Most Open-Ended Process Of Development And Democracy Possible. A ‘Leader Without A Border’ Is Someone Who Can Be Objective About Their Own Role In A State System Of Education. It Would Be Someone Who Can Examine The School/State Nexus And Ask Questions About The Ends Desired By The State And Whether Or Not Such Ends Are Good For All.
Educational Leaders Without Borders Require School Leaders Who Are Culturally Proficient And Who Can Approach Cultural Objectivity And Personal Bias To The Greatest Extent Possible. The Goal Of Greater Democracy And Equality Has To Provide A Fuller Range Of Opportunities That Render Availability For All. Secondly, We Have To Confront Any Idea Of A ‘Zero Sum Game’ In Which What One Set Of Students Acquires Must Be Taken From Other Students’ Opportunities. This Dilemma Is A Particularly Potent Source Of Push-Back From Parents Who May See Efforts To Equalize The Advantages Of Schooling As Jeopardizing Their Own And Their Children’s Social Or Cultural Advantage. Not Everyone Will Be Happy With Equalizing Opportunity. But We See Much Of The Perspective Met With The Idea Of Eliminating Time Served As The Benchmark Of Schooling And As A Means To Enable The Rapid Advancement Of All Students ‘In The Shortest Time Possible.’
Educational Leaders Without Borders Means That Such Leaders Question And Stand Outside And Look Again At How Schools Work To Perpetuate Injustice, Social Division And Reinforce Social Hierarchy. We See Schools As A Leveraging Institutional Force For Greater Equality And Opportunity Than They Are In Many Of The Wealthier More Privileged Western Nations.
If One Accepts This Goal As A Desirable Definition Of An Educational Leader Without Borders, Then We Ought To Anticipate The Kind Of Objections And Resistance To Which It Will Be Subjected.
We Believe That When Educational Leaders Are Emboldened To Step Out Of The School/State Nexus That They Become True ‘Leaders Without Borders.’ This Distinction May Be The Most Fundamental Line Of Demarcation Of The FS. We Believe That Humanity Belongs To No One But Itself. Education Is Not A Means To Somebody’s End, Including The State, But Education Is The End Unto Itself. Education So Conceived Is The Most Open-Ended Process Of Development And Democracy Possible. A ‘Leader Without A Border’ Is Someone Who Can Be Objective About Their Own Role In A State System Of Education. It Would Be Someone Who Can Examine The School/State Nexus And Ask Questions About The Ends Desired By The State And Whether Or Not Such Ends Are Good For All.
Educational Leaders Without Borders Require School Leaders Who Are Culturally Proficient And Who Can Approach Cultural Objectivity And Personal Bias To The Greatest Extent Possible. The Goal Of Greater Democracy And Equality Has To Provide A Fuller Range Of Opportunities That Render Availability For All. Secondly, We Have To Confront Any Idea Of A ‘Zero Sum Game’ In Which What One Set Of Students Acquires Must Be Taken From Other Students’ Opportunities. This Dilemma Is A Particularly Potent Source Of Push-Back From Parents Who May See Efforts To Equalize The Advantages Of Schooling As Jeopardizing Their Own And Their Children’s Social Or Cultural Advantage. Not Everyone Will Be Happy With Equalizing Opportunity. But We See Much Of The Perspective Met With The Idea Of Eliminating Time Served As The Benchmark Of Schooling And As A Means To Enable The Rapid Advancement Of All Students ‘In The Shortest Time Possible.’
Educational Leaders Without Borders Means That Such Leaders Question And Stand Outside And Look Again At How Schools Work To Perpetuate Injustice, Social Division And Reinforce Social Hierarchy. We See Schools As A Leveraging Institutional Force For Greater Equality And Opportunity Than They Are In Many Of The Wealthier More Privileged Western Nations.
If One Accepts This Goal As A Desirable Definition Of An Educational Leader Without Borders, Then We Ought To Anticipate The Kind Of Objections And Resistance To Which It Will Be Subjected.