Introduction
Inequality is rising. Some have so much more than they need and continue persuing more while others starve – a dynamic described by some as rooted in greed, fear, or both. People within corporations continue to persue unlimited growth on a planet with finite resources despite early warnings in 1971 from dynamics scientists at MIT . Using a simulated model, they predicted that the future interactions between population growth, consumption growth, and ressource depletion would lead to a collaps of the global industrial society, if we continue with business-as-usual (Meadows et al., 1972). We are in an what Steffen et al., in The Trajectory of he Anthropocene: The Great acceleration, call the age of acceleration – an age in which technological development, carbon dioxide, water use, and energy consumption, just to name a few, rise exponentially beyond sustainable limits. Heinberg and Miller from Institute from the Postcarbon Institute (2023) have referred to the age as the Great Unraveling, noting that:
The Unraveling is inevitable, given the extreme and unsustainable growth trends of the past two centuries, and especially the last 70 years. Because we have adapted our collective behavior and assumptions to economic opportunities opened by vast amounts of energy unleashed via fossil fuels, we have adopted unrealistic expectations for the levels of human population and consumption that can be sustained over the long term. The dashing of those expectations against hard natural limits is one way of characterizing and understanding the Great Unraveling. (p. 51)
Within this context „optimization“ and „agility“ dominate corporate agenendas, while workers face burnout and stress-related illness. The consequences are not only environmental and geopolitical but also psychological – younger generations fear the consequences of climate change much as older generations feared nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. The mental health of these same young people is for the same reason and due to social media declining (Hickman et al. 2021) (Prichett & Williams, 2024).
Daniel Schmachtenberger calls this interconnected web of crises the metacrisis, also described as the polycrises: Multiple crises within systems that are interconnected and interdependent and thereby degrade humanity’s prospects. Theses interacting crises produce harms greater than the sum of those than the crises would produce in isolation, were their host systems not so deeply interconnectd (Lawrence et al., 2022). Schmachtenberger (2023) even argues that AI, in the hands of intelligence unbound by wisdom, is an accelerant of the metacrises.
The uregent question, then, is how do we respond to this polycrisis we are in? What does it take to respond to these crises? What does ”wisdom”, within this context, mean? And how can we re-connect with our wisdom?
Education inevitably plays a central role: the younger generations will inherit the responsibility to lead, dismantle, and rebuild the systems of the future. But what kind of education can meet this challenge? What aims should it serve, and what pedagogy should guide it?
This paper explains and explores how the concept and history of Bildung shaped the folk high school movement, and how, when integrated with contemplative pedagogy, it offers responses to the questions outlined above. I begin by defining Bildung and tracing its historical ties to the Folk High Schools and their pedagogy. I then briefly discuss how Bildung, as a form of education, supports ego development and why this is vital for a functioning democracy. Next, I define contemplative pedagogy and consider how it aligns with and can be integrated within the framework offered by Folk High Schools. Together, these elements form the theoretical basis for a vision of a contemplative folk high school.
Understanding Bildung
Bildung is a particular form of education that evolved in Europe in the mid-19th-century. National identities began forming in people around that time. A sense of peoplehood and a movement towards a rule by the people was on the rise (Andersen, 2023). One example was the French Revolution which violently detroyed the old monarchic rule in order to establish a democracy. The values of this movement, namely, brotherhood, egality, and freedom, inspired thought-leaders in Europe. These same thought-leaders, such as the poet and theologian N.F. Grundtvig from Denmark, worked towards establishing a national sense of belonging and identity that would motivate people to contribute not only to their immediate family and village, but to their imagined national community as well (Andersen, 2023). But in order to do that he and others first had to define and differientiate Danish culture from the culture of the southern neighbors, the Prussians. The Danes were to reconnect with their language, Nordic mythology and their history. In Denmark, according to Andersen (2023), in particular the poets, artists, and thoughtleaders – the cultural elite – wanted to establish the values of the French Revoluion by moving towards a democratic rule, but they wanted to avoid the bloodbath that had taken place in France. They aimed for a peaceful transition and a key component for this transition was Bildung. The people had to be able to think for themselves before being given a voice within a democracy. They were to develop from what the adult development researcher, Robert Kegan calls the socialized mind into a self-authoring mind. Uneducated people were not fit to rule a nation state, rather to follow a monarch, but educated people were fit to rule. The Scandinavian countries were mainly nations of uneducated farmers or socialized minds, and badly needed an upgrade in education or ego development through education. Rooted in the Danish history and culture, inspired by an English philosopher, German philosophers, poets and playwriters, the French educator Rossau, the vision of a Danish Folk High School emerged through Grundtvig (Andersen, 2023). A School, whithout exams, where the teachers would teach for life in community. Teaching for life meaning, not only teaching academically, but around lifelong learning and personal development as well. Teaching people to engage in and take responsibility for a democracy in its infancy. Christen Colt took this somewhat abstract vision of Grundtvig and turned it into lived reality by educating farmers and farm hands on a farm in Denmark. Colt lived on the farm with his family and the students (Andersen, 2023). They would share meals, take care of and maintain the farm together. The education consisted of a mix of theoretical knowledge, to fill knowledge gaps, inspire through poetry, and practical skills the students could take home to their farms and communities. The schools were a success, gradually many schools popped up not only in Denmark but all over Scandinavia.
Robert Kegan’s Theory of Adult Development
Robert Kegan (1982) has defined 5 developmental stages. 3 of those stages are within the field of adult development and thereby relevant to explain. The 3rd out of the 5 developmental stages is the socialized mind. The socialized mind mainly follows the herd and its norms, conforms and doens’t ask questions. It is identified with these norms and believes its survival depends on them. The 4th and next level is the self-authoring mind which begins to question the norms and its conditioning. The subjective identification with the norms have dissolved and those same norms have become an object that can be observed. The self-authoring mind begins to think critically for itself and dares to walk of the beaten track, if that path feels in alignment with its principles and values. On the other hand it mostly identifies with its individual convictions to a degree where it clashes with other perspectives. It might get stuck in the „I’m right and you’re wrong“ ego conflict. The final and fith stage according to Kegan is the self-transforming mind. The self-transforming mind has integrated all the former developmental stages, as the others stages have as well, but it is able to dis-identify from it’s personal perspecive and hold more perspectives simultaniously. It is able to transform its perspective based on the input it gets from other perspectives, without clinging to a particular perspective. Its moved beyond right and wrong. The aim of the Folk High Schools including the Contemplative Folk High School was and still is to, at least, transform the minds of the students from the socialized-mind to the self-authoring mind. Ideally all the way into the self-transforming mind.
Folk High Schools and their Pedagogy Today
Since the beginning days the number of Folk High Schools have stabilized in Denmark at around 70 schools, with less in each of the other Scandinavian countries. Up to 50% of the schools expenses are state subsidized in Denmark, while the other 50% are paid for by tuition fees. The schools are thereby accessible to most people in Denmark, while around 8 percent of the students are internationals. The pedagogy has nevertheless stayed true to its roots and as a matter of fact the early aims have been legislated into the Danish Folk High School law. The aims of the law are the enlightenment of life or what Grundtvig called teaching for life, peer-to-peer awareness, democratic education, and at least half of the subjects taught have to be general education with a broad civic and cultural perspective. In other words, not more than 50% of what is taught can be specialized subjects that aim for a particular profession. The schools are bording schools where, as Colt did with his family and students, the principal and main teachers live on the school’s property with their families together with the students Meals are served three times a day and are shared amongst teachers and students. It is expected of the students that they partially take on the responsibility of everyday chores such as doing the dishes, and cleaning common and community spaces. The schools serve as a micro cosmos for the democratic macro cosmos of the Danish society at large. Some schools even consider themselves as a micro comos of the global society at large and emphasise an international perspective with international students. By taking responsibility and learning through the frictions that inevetibly occur between the students within the community the students learn to find their own two feet independent of their family of origins and to navigate the challenges that occur when engaging with that community and thereby society at large (Rahbek & Møller, 2015).
Today most Folk High Schools differentiate themselves by offering courses in a particular professional direction. Schools for example offer 1-4 main 22-week-long courses bi-anually on different forms of artisan craftsmanship, theater or music with an additional long list of electives the students can choose from. The empasis of the subjects taught lies less on the subject themselves, but more on what the subjects teaches the students about life. The student is for example not only taught different pottery skills, but also what the subject of pottery can teach the student about life. As in the early beginnings there are still no exams and curriural goals. The schools are intentionally administered by the ministry of culture and not by the ministry of education. This is a vital aspect, as it takes the pressure of the students of having to persue ambitious goals. It gives them the time and space to, experiment, explore and discover, how life wants to be lived through them. Finding their song, and what makes their heart sing. This is not neo liberal individualistic ideology, but it is embedded within a tight knight community with which the individual is lovingly connected and thereby also accountable towards. A particular culture is practiced, where when someone checks out and doesn’t enage or stops taking responbility, it is inevetibly felt by the other students, who check in with the checked-out student (Rahbek & Møller, 2015). This emphasis of teaching about life, which is always in the present moment, allows the teachers to address, integrate and pedagogically use whatever emerges through the students and the community without feeling in conflict with reaching curricural goals.
The Danish Folk High Schools are unique, an expression of Bildung in practice and have through more than a century proven their contribution to Danish society, but it seems the schools have reached a plateau and could benefit from and be complemented by contemplative pedagogy. In particular the conemplative pedagogy taught at Naropa University. The freedom to chose method, content, the freedom from outside criteria, and the freedom from within which life can develop and evolve its potential through the students merges well with contemplative pedagogy.
Contemplative Pedagogy
There are many secular definitions of Contemplative pedagogy that more or less overlap. And then there is the contemplative pedagogy at Naropa University, which was initially strongly influenced by (tibetan) Buddhism, but has since been secularized. Barbezat and Bush (2014) define contemplative pedagogy as educational practices that have an “introspective, internal focus” and that “have an inward or first-person focus that creates greater connection and insight. Zajonc (2013) refers to the “educational methods that support the development of student attention, emotional balance, empathetic connection, compassion, and altruistic behavior, while also providing new pedagogical techniques that support creativity and the learning of course content” (p. 83). The first definition of directing the student’s attention inwards or has a first-person focus is already taking place to a certain extent at Folk High Schools. The students are asked to reflect on their experience and to discuss these exeperiences. The second definitation includes the personal development and societal contribution, which is already practiced at the Folk High Schools. It is the third form of contemplative pedagogy that is practiced at Naropa University, which especially compliments the Folk High School pedagogy.
Contemplative Pedagogy at Naropa University
Naropa University was founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who was also the main teacher during the formative years. The contemplative pedagogy that drew myself to Naropa University was the fact that the university was called Naropa. Naropa was a eleventh-century Buddhist scholar, teacher and abbot of Nalanda Univesity. Nalanda was a major multi desciplinary mainly buddhist educational institution that existed from the 5th century CE to the 12th century CE. Naropa one day met a daikini (female tantric teacher) disguised as an old woman, who showed him he hadn’t really understood the Dharma (Gautama the Buddha’s teaching) at the same level as her brother Tilopa had. By having to admit this to be true Naropa abandonded his respected position at Nalanda to seek out Tilopa. Naropa eventually met Tilopa who took him through 12 trials. Naropa only attained self-realization and a true understanding of the Dharma after having gone through all the trials. The story of Naropa provides vital pointers of what contemplative education at Naropa University, in my interpretation, is about. Contemplative education is not only theoretical knowledge, but also experiential, existential and transformational. It is not about gaining or maintaining status and respectability, but about honesty, truthfullness and the courage to act in the interest and service of these. Ultimately it aims at self-realization and the compassion that follows or vice versa.
Contemplative pedagogy includes contemplative practices and the practices are diverse, and not necessarily connected to religions or spirituality. The people behind the website contemplativemind.org have created an unexausted overview and visualisation of the conemplative practices that are used by contemplative education. I would therefor argue that there is no contemplative pedagogy without contemplative practices, yet what do the students get from these contemplative practices? The first thing they get, in my experience with active meditation techniques and the basic buddhist Shamtha Vipassana practice, is disidentification with the body, the thoughts and eventually the feelings. Through the mentioned contemplative practices I’m able to observe thoughts, desires, impulses and feelings from the outside and I’ll thereby be able to choose whether I want to act on these impulses or not. I do not have this freedom when I’m identified with the impulses. If I’m completely identified with my anger I’ll act out of this anger an might hurt myself or someone else. If I’m completely identified with the belief and desire that I want to buy something, which I might find out I don’t even need, I’ll act on it. Once a disidentification has taken place, I’ll be able to observe the desire to buy something or the impuls to hit someone out of anger, and will consciously be able to choose whether to act on this impulse or not. This also means I’ll become my own authority when it comes to my innner life. My mind will become self-authoring. The more I observe the impulses, desires and emotional weather the better I’ll get aquainted with how my inner life functions. I might discover certain patterns, and I can use all these insights when navigating and interacting with ”the outside” world.
Peter Kaufman (2017) in his article Critical Contemplative Pedagogy lists five dimensions that follow the practices of (critical) contemplative pedagogy. The first being a foundation of non-duality, which basically means that the notion of subject and object or me and the world dissolves into a self-less presence. This selflessness or oneness with everything is not only busy with its own personal physical needs but all needs in existence. “Relating with nonduality,” as Chogyam Trungpa (2013, p. 22) refers to the fact that we are not the center of the universe, nor do we exist in our own little bubble. This naturally leads to the next dimension called interdependence. These contemplative practices nourish the seed of interdependence (Kaufman, 2017). A seed that might still lie dormant within outselves, and only needs the right conditions to sprout and grow. Or as the 13th-century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart explained an aspect of interdependence in The Book of Divine Consolation: ”“Thus the outer work can never be minor,when the inner work is a major one; and the outer work can never be major when the inner work is a minor one and without value.”
The third dimesion Kaufman (2017) describes is that of impermance, which is also mentioned in the Buddhist Dharma. The longer I observe the weather the more obvious it becomes that the only constant is constant change, and that nothing remains forever. The only permanent is impermanence.
Integrating Contemplative Pedagogy with Folk High Schools
At a Folk High School in Denmark nowadays, the students might find out what makes their heart sing, how their behavior affects their peers, and perhaps how they want to contribute to society at large, but contemplative pedagogy and its practices will allow the students to go one step deeper.
Not only finding out what they want to do, but to also awaken to their own being. Take the example of learning to turn clay. At a Folk High School, the students, as already mentioned will learn pottery skills, and what pottery teaches them about life itself. At a contemplative folk high school, the students will intentionally slow down and direct their attention towards the present moment through a contemplative practice, they’ll still pay attention to what pottery teaches them about life, but will also become aware of which processes take place within them. What thoughts, sensations and feelings might arise within them. Find out whether these thought and behavioural patterns still serve life, or whether they can be discarded. Through an ongoing contemplative practice in eveyday life, they’ll have gained insights into how their inner life works, will see how it plays out during the practice of pottery, and will have learned a laguage that will allow them to articulate what happens within them from a first person perspectice. Since childhood a studnt might have been conditioned to always perform with perfection, yet might notice during the contemplative pottery class that this conditioning isn’t serving them and thereby life anymore. They’ll be able to let go of this conditioning in order to find their own way of turning clay.
Conclusion
In general the students will be coming from a place of truely being themselves, with sufficient inner mastery to act consciously from a place of compassion, in other word from a place of wisdom, wich in turn will create a more sustainable world. When more and more people stop buying things they don’t really need, but have either been manipulated to do, or perhaps unconsciously compensate for a disconnect with themselves, then we won’t have to produce as much, which in turn will save the earth’s resource. We can slow down, when we become aware of ourselves. It is difficult to stay aware in constant acceleration. The awarenes will pull us towards itself, which in turn will require us to slow down.
These are just a few examples of how a contemplative folk high school can disrupt the unconscious business-as-usual approach. Business-as-usual is driven by the past, and it has become clear that doing what we’ve always done will not solve the metacrisis. Through the practies of contemplative education within the framework of a folk high school, the students will continiously be reminded to live and create life in the present moment and to critically question the conditioning of the past. The future will emerge and be created out of and into the unknown. Or from what Otta Scharmer (2007), the developer of Theory U, calls presencing or from the bottom of the U.
As education evolves to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world, the integration of contemplative pedagogy within the established framework of Folk High Schools offers a promising path forward. This synthesis of traditional and innovative educational practices has the potential to cultivate not just knowledgeable, but also wise and compassionate individuals capable of leading the transformation necessary to respond to the polycrisis we face today.
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