Rolling Earth, movement education

I learned this technique for "video citizen journalism" from Richard Hering in a workshop he did for our English for Activists class in Tokyo. Seems like a great tool for activists that can also be a great tool for learners. The key factors are immediacy, a clear simple structure, and low technical barriers: you use the video camera on your phone, a simple formula for organizing content, and no editing or effects. (See remoscope for a similarly direct approach.)

In this activity, the joker uses drawings to tell a story without speaking.

The flow:

Joker deals playing cards to participants, two or three cards each. (To equalize participation but maintain some freedom to choose when to participate use playing cards as talking chits.)

Filmmaker Emiko Aono introduced this approach to participants in the media working group of Labor Now, the Tokyo-based labor research and activist group. (www.jca.apc.org/labornow) I have doubts about the theoretical project of overcoming the difference between spectator and performance, especially since reading Ranciere's Emancipated Spectator. But I think this technique is perfect for practicing the attentive seeing and verification that is central to emancipated learning. For more information see http://remoscope.net/

In the 1980's in NYC I first heard someone use the term "she-roes" to emphasize the role of women in history and society. Not being so interested in the concept of "heroes" -- I believe with Debs that people have waited too long for some Moses to lead them out of bondage, waiting for a Joan of Arc to lead us out is equally problematic -- I didn't think much about the term. But it stayed in my mind, like an advertising jingle or a virus. The fact is, I use figures like Debs to orient myself, to represent my aspirations, to express that which I dream of being in some way.

Teaching is the best way to learn. Why? Because what we call teaching is usually a combination of actions, attitudes, and responsibilities that make for good learning. The teacher is fully engaged and active, often acting with strong motivation, clear goals, and a sense of responsibility not just for the material and her/his own action, but also for others and for the group as a whole. "Student," on the other hand, often describes a very limited range of activity.