Way back in the day, Bobby Kelly and I were riding our bikes in the woods that split Westfield and Garwood. Somehow we ended up on the other side of the creek and stumbled across a wooden fort down in a gulley. Someone had spray painted the anarchy A on one of the walls … Damn…excitement and confusion flooded my system. I knew what the A meant… some of the older kids talked that way after they went off to junior high. Actually, I didn’t really know much, but it sounded cool. We wanted to know more, so we snuck in. We didn’t figure much out, but the inner walls had weird band names painted everywhere. As a result, we came to associate the anarchy A with punk music. For some soon to be teenagers, a door to a new world had opened. Adolescence and anarchy fit together naturally. Nothing feels better at 14 than independence and doing things for yourself. Giving the world a giant middle finger feels good at the time, but doesn’t really solve a whole lot.
Last year a former student told me that I promoted an anarchistic community in my classroom. On the plus side, I’m glad he paid attention in his government class, but WHAT?! I encouraged and promoted anarchy in my middle school classrooms for years? This hit me hard… Until it didn’t. Then I started getting psyched. Don’t confuse me with an anarchist - I lack the chutzpah and energy. As much as I wanted to be anarchy back in the day, I wasn’t even that punk back in the day. Sure, I had combat boots, tried carving the anarchy A into my bicep, and wore a trench coat, but punk and anarchy are way more than a look. The necessary attitude and full rejection of the system eluded me. All of that seemed like too much work. Maybe I just couldn’t bite the hand that fed me too hard.
Hearing that I had facilitated an anarchist community as a teacher made me feel almost legit. I’m not pretending to know or be that knowledgeable about the anarchist community, but being told that, I got the same sensations as I did sneaking into the cool, older kids fort back in the woods. I did some digging. and came to realize that if teachers could harness some of the energy and concepts of anarchy, we could make school function more effectively or at least make it a better experience for more students.
Generally, teachers and schools frown upon anarchy in the classroom. Yet, anarchist ideas could benefit classrooms and school communities. Embracing the core ideas of anarchy could help teachers and students get more out of school. Some readers will have already started freaking out. At the mention of anarchy, most people think chaos, confusion, and dysfunction. We hear ‘anarchy’ and picture AntiFa protests and scenes of chaos or violence. However, this doesn’t do anarchy justice. In reality, anarchy represents way more than individuals using violence to dismantle social and political hierarchies. Anarchy can provide a system that many schools actually want to establish and encourage.
If we take a deeper dive into anarchist communities or go beyond the common imagery of anarchists we find something more meaningful. Anarchists, their communities, and workplaces reflect more organization and equity than many of us give anarchists credit. In fact, many workplaces strive to employ some of the same ideas as anarchist communities. In schools, good luck finding a teacher who admits to embracing anarchy. Yet, if they say they emphasize decentralized, collaborative, and equitable practices - look out! So, what can we borrow from anarchistic philosophy to improve our classrooms and schools? For the purpose of this conversation I want to focus on four components of anarchist collectives that would benefit learning communities. Those four components are: collaborative relations, direct action, community assembly, and a self managed workplace. Each of these concepts involves a decentralized hierarchy that emphasizes responsibility as well as accountability within the community.
Many teachers strive for cooperative or collaborative interactions, but few would say they’re anarchists. However, if we adjust their perspective on anarchism, perhaps they really are anarchists. A deeper understanding could lead to big changes in how we facilitate classroom interactions. Let’s start here - Schools are based on factory assembly lines or corporate offices. Classroom dynamics represent political interactions. Most of the interactions within a school reflect a struggle for or reaction to power. Various micro-communities (small groups) coalesce around or position themselves against those with power (for example the typical popular kids versus marginalized individuals). It is foolish not to acknowledge that the social dynamics of school inhibit or impact learning. In most classrooms a limited number of students control the vast majority of resources. So classrooms reflect unbridled capitalism in which a limited section of the population controls almost all of the economic distribution system. When a few students control almost all of the classroom resources (time, attention, power, etc.), those at the mercy of the powerful have a harder time learning and living in the classroom. The festering resentment of the disenfranchised towards the ruling class of students not only impacts learning but has tremendous repercussions throughout the school. So for a lot of schools and teachers the focus on collaborative relations fits naturally (effectiveness is a different story).
Generally, schools have issues with direct action by students. Some principals frown on student protests. Other administrators accept if not encourage students exercising their rights (appropriately of course). However, large scale direct action from students or teachers rarely happens. Perhaps teachers should protest more, but let’s focus on students for a second. Individuals and small groups fight against the systems of adolescent or academic power throughout each day. This may stretch the boundaries of direct action, but some direct action supports positive change. Other direct action came about in response to a negative change or incident. The school day is littered with small incidents, individual action, and subtle confrontations. Whether or not we understand or support student direct action, it happens and will continue to happen. Perhaps if we infuse the other three ideas I’m discussing, we’d see more positive direct action in schools.
Having students participate in authentic decision making in the classroom and larger school community has a positive influence throughout school. What that looks like will vary quite a bit. In most schools, assemblies and meetings are rarely autonomous and usually reflect top down systems. In anarchist terms community assemblies involve autonomous, face-to-face decision making conversations by members of the community. Decentralized conversations address specific problems and issues that impact the community. Teachers and schools have a lot of control issues so ceding decision making to students takes a certain amount of confidence and trust. As a result, most schools shy away from providing students with authentic and autonomous power to make decisions. More likely teachers provide opportunities that resemble authentic control, but again what this looks like varies. The meaningfulness of these opportunities also varies. When teachers step out of the way, their students will usually (eventually?) come up big. Expanding and increasing student autonomy by providing critical roles in deciding how the schools shapes policy and responds to issues benefits students on many levels and can reshape what going to school means.
Contrary to popular mischaracterizations, anarchists really focus on taking an active role in and accepting responsibility for their actions in the community. The notion of a self managed workplace continues this focus. Teaching and learning would change dramatically if teachers created self-managed workplaces in their classrooms. When students have a chance to organize and manage themselves and their work, learning changes and takes on new meaning. To my novice, wannabe anarchist eye, a self managed workplace comes down to holding oneself and your peers accountable for your actions. The self managed workplace relies on decentralized empowerment that uses a mix of delegation and direct participation within the workplace. Since the classroom represent students’ workplace, schools and classrooms could better entrust students with genuine opportunities to shape their school experience and the power to hold folks accountable.
Almost no one will take these ideas seriously. The optics around anarchist principles in the classroom won’t fly in most school communities. Of course, education is quite good at creating descriptors for programs or practice that people find more palatable. The truth is, schools have already adopted versions of these anarchist ideas using different terminology to describe things. I noticed that I’ve used the words ‘authentic’ and ‘genuine’ a few times in this conversation. My mom used to always tell me, “it’s not what you did, it’s how you did.” School programs and interventions are the same way. Some schools do well enough, others may not have effective programs. I’m willing to bet that the majority of all of these endeavors reflect a top down management style. To really go there, schools and teachers have to trust their students and give up some control in their communities (developmentally appropriate of course).
Again, many will scoff and say that students do not want or can not handle such responsibility. To that, I say this - if you give them a chance and scaffold their efforts to practice handling new found responsibility, youth will surprise you and usually in a good way. This would fundamentally change how we teach, what we teach, and the nature of schooling. I’m guessing that most educators can not or will not shed the trappings of traditional school practices. Once again, I don’t know that I can do it either. I’ve dabbled in these practices… perhaps more than most of my colleagues. My students tend to get quite a bit of power and responsibility to shape their learning. Much of the time things work out. Patience and reflection helps students adjust to this responsibility. Most of them having never had a say or choice at school. The transition is messy and slow, freedom and responsibility are tricky that way. Some groups handle the power better than others. Reflecting on and discussing their process and experience helps the process along. Like any other skill nurtured at school, seeing students get the hang of and run with their new skills and power warms even the coldest teacher heart.
I wish my classroom did model anarchist principles. Schools have to change. The factory and corporate models that guide schooling have reached the breaking point. Shifting 21st century away from traditional models of schooling might require a change in how we teach and go against many popular parenting trends (snowplow, etc.). Yet the benefit to students and communities could be quite powerful. Anarchy isn’t really about chaos and violence. Recently an article described one purpose of school as preparing individuals to be proactive members of a free society. If that’s the case, shouldn’t schools reflect free societies? To me a free society requires choice, responsibility, and accountability. If that’s the case anarchist communities have the jump on traditional communities in terms of more authentic freedom. To make school experiences more engaging and authentic maybe we need to give anarchy a chance.
Sources:
*theanarchistslibrary.org
*democraciaparticipativa.net