written by Roman Krznaric

“The twentieth century was an age of introspection, when psychoanalysis impelled us to search for who we are by looking inside our own heads. But the art of living involves escaping from the prison of our own feelings and desires, and embracing the lives of others. The twenty-first century should be the age of outrospection, where we discover by learning about other people, and finding out how they live, think and look at the world.”

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written by Simon Sheikh

“Words such as audiences, experiences and differences naturally also smack of market research and public relations management. Which has indeed been the other side of the coin, the other major shift in the public roles of the institutions, and in the mediation between artist, artistic production and reception. For a cultural industry, as well as for the currently prevalent neo-liberal governmentality, replacing publics with markets, communities with segments, and potentialities with products, are the new points of orientation, i mplemented by degree from funding and government bodies onto art institutions, as indeed any public institution.”

via Art & Research

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written by Diane Kinishi and G. Robert Lewi

“(Published in 1977) The Learning Exchange was started in the early 1970′s out of a series of seminars at Ivan Illich’s center in Mexico. This document is an explanation of “what it is, how it works, and how you can set up a similar program in your community.” It is a fascinating handbook that describes an educational model, but also acts as a more general resource for administration, advertising, fundraising, etc.
To keep the file size down, I cut out the 92 page appendix, which consists of lots of correspondences, articles, interviews, and so on, which provide a broader perspective of the phenomenon of the Learning Exchange, which acts as a precedent for contemporary social networks in general and The Public School (LA) in particular.”

via AAAARG discussions

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written by Alec M. Resnick

“The difference between the successful and unsuccessful student is that the successful student has adapted more effectively to the system, to playing the game. The more closely, quickly, and cheerily you can follow the lead of the adults around you, the more successful you will become.

What matters to these adults? Grades, scores, prestigious colleges, good jobs—in short, success. Youths and adults from all backgrounds know that education is the way to scramble up the socioeconomic ladder. 

This means more and more students are becoming professional students earlier and earlier. School is their job. And, so the ethic goes, a productive worker is a good worker. Though what exactly they produce is unclear, there is no question as to what they become: fully credentialed, well-schooled students. They become the modern aristocrat, the educatocrat.”

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