Questions to Consider as You Write Your Story

 

Dear Friend –

 

We are writing to you to ask you to share a short article with personal stories from your own life for our next publication in the Resisting the Culture of Schooling Series.  This book seeks to create a space for us to share: how we started to unlearn/challenge/resist development and globalization (and their various reference points); how we started to reclaim control over our own learning processes; and, how we are trying to regenerate our own ways of living more creatively, harmoniously, justly, etc. The intended audience would be young people who are struggling to make sense of the world around them and to create a positive role for themselves in it.  We hope the book will help nudge them out of the "we can reform the system" mode of thinking about the world and encourage them to take some risks.

 

Given your background, interests and inspiring experiences, we thought that you would make an excellent contribution to this book.  Please consider the following questions for your story:

·         How did you come to understand/unmask the present destructive military-industrial paradigm and its institutions of thought-control? What motivates you to challenge it?

·         How are you resisting the present consumerist/competitive lifestyle and institutionalized notions of ‘progress’?

·         What are some of your experiences with unlearning and self-learning? What were the processes/experiences by which you identified and started to develop your own potentials, abilities, skills, creativities, questions, common sense and voice of conscience?

·         What inspires you to undertake new experiments in your life? What values/dreams/relationships are important to you? How have you gone about exploring various dimensions of meaningful living?

 

Your story should be approximately 4000-6000 words.

 

Feel free to contact to us any questions or suggestions. Thanks.

 

Best wishes,

 

Manish and Shilpa

 

Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development