REIMAGINING EDUCATION WITH MANISH JAIN: FROM HARVARD, WORLD BANK TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GRANDMOTHERS, August 30 - September 3, 2024 | Triêm Tây, Hội An

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The 5-day program "Reimagining Education with Manish Jain" has concluded, creating a space for individuals interested in and working in the field of education to reflect on the current education system, explore alternative educational models and initiatives worldwide, and design their own learning paths or launch personal educational projects. With over 30 participants from various fields—farmers, university lecturers, students, gap-year participants, unschoolers, office workers, project coordinators, and Catholic nuns—the program fostered a diverse and rich learning environment throughout the five-day workshop.

The program was flexibly designed and adapted based on the learners' needs. Activities included discussions, games, film screenings, traditional communication practices, interactions with local residents, and field trips to explore community models. These experiences helped participants “unlearn” traditional ideas about education and “relearn” how we learn, live, and think. As emphasized throughout the program, learning is not confined to the narrow space of four classroom walls but happens everywhere, at all times, linked to personal needs. Education cannot be separated from economics, culture, society, and nature.

KEY THEMES

1. The History of Education and the Relationship Between Education, Economics, and Society

Manish Jain, with his vast experience at institutions like Harvard, UNESCO, UNDP, and the World Bank, and as a pioneer in the reimagining education movement, provided a comprehensive overview of how economic, educational, and societal systems operate, shedding light on the origins of problems in modern education. A notable statement was:

“The education system is not broken; it’s functioning very well because it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do." — Manish Jain

This insight sparked discussions on how colonial legacies continue to shape education in formerly colonized countries, including Vietnam. Although independent, many nations retain colonial education, legal, and governance systems, leading to indirect control. Manish Jain referenced Gandhi's warning about keeping the colonial system:

"We drove out the colonizers, but kept their systems of education, law, healthcare, and technology. Gandhi believed we needed to dismantle these systems, or else the colonizers would continue to control us from afar."

2. From Reimagining Education to Paradigm Shifts

The discussion about reimagining education gradually expanded, connecting learning with how we approach economics, life, relationships, community-building, self-perception, and the relationship between humans and nature—even how we eat and design our daily lives. We need to reconsider the nature of our jobs—are they destructive (deadlihood) or regenerative (alivelihood)?

Since education is life and inseparable from cultural, economic, historical, and natural factors, reimagining education must involve a systemic and sustainable approach.

Reimagining education also demands a paradigm shift—from factory-style education to indigenous paradigms. We need to move away from seeing people as human resources, products, or consumers and towards the belief that each person is born with a unique sacred purpose. Instead of education focusing solely on the brain and memorization, we need a holistic approach—head, heart, hands, and home. From external motivation through rewards and punishments ("carrot and stick"), we should nurture internal motivation where learners take ownership of their learning journey. Instead of teachers being the sole source of learning, we need to expand the concept of "teacher"—anyone or anything can be a teacher, from children, farmers, mechanics, street vendors, to trees, rivers, and mountains. Moreover, learning must be rooted in a specific cultural and community context. Learning happens continuously and in various settings, whether caring for a sick grandmother, attending a funeral, or simply learning how to cook a healthy meal. By connecting more deeply with life and learning from life, nature, and intergenerational participation, each individual can grasp the broader picture of themselves, the world, and life.

The core values of the education system must also shift—from scarcity and competition to self-awareness, collaboration, abundance, and sharing, all rooted in strong relationships with the community and nature.

3. From Mainstream to Manystream

Colonialism brought with it a monoculture of thought, beliefs, lifestyles, and practices, with few alternatives presented within the mainstream society. This monoculture led to the disappearance of linguistic diversity, cultural practices, indigenous knowledge, learning methods, and biodiversity. Reimagining education means shifting from a “mainstream” system to a “manystream” system, allowing for different ways of living, learning, and working based on localization and diversity coexisting simultaneously.

4. Informal and Local Knowledge Systems

Typically, we only have access to formal knowledge systems through institutions and official universities. However, informal knowledge systems exist within indigenous communities, farmers, fishers, and others who have lived harmoniously with rivers, forests, and lands for generations and have their own solutions to macro-level problems. Reimagining education also means creating space for dialogue between these two knowledge systems to foster mutual learning and collaboration for more holistic educational initiatives.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES

Through hands-on experiences, field trips, and exchanges during the learning journey, participants gained the necessary tools to design their own educational programs or even start a university with zero cost! Initially, many doubted whether these ideas were realistic until the group visited Kim Bồng village in Cẩm Kim, Hội An, where locals are building their own community school using both tangible and intangible resources. What Manish Jain shared during the program, which seemed far-fetched or difficult to implement, became vividly real, just a 15-minute bike ride from the workshop site!

Inspired by alternative university initiatives like Travellers University, Grandmother University, Riversity (River University), Farmversities, Jail University, Deathversity, etc., founded by Manish Jain, we experimented with a new type of university—Wedding University—to collectively organize a community wedding for two friends in the program. It was a simple but heartwarming wedding where everyone contributed to organizing it without any cost. The bride and groom simply needed to share their love story. Through this, we also reimagined how a wedding can be held!

AFTER THE PROGRAM

“What will we do after this program?” was a question participants naturally sought answers to. The spirit of action and experimentation (action-oriented and prototyping) was central to the workshop. In the final two days, participants took time to prototype their own educational ideas and projects, leveraging collective intelligence to receive feedback and refine these ideas to make them more practical and feasible.

The group also agreed to meet monthly to update and support each other in their self-designed learning journeys and their ongoing efforts to reimagine education.

As the program demonstrated, education is life—it cannot be separated from culture, economics, history, and nature. Reimagining education means seeing it holistically, based on cooperation, abundance, and deep understanding of the interconnectedness between humans, communities, and the natural world.

“The program doesn’t end today, but a new door opens from this point onward,” Manish Jain shared during the closing ceremony, marking the beginning of a new journey in reimagining education.

Of course, this brief recap cannot capture the entire essence, spirit, emotions, and invaluable experiences built and nurtured during the program. It is merely a small glimpse of the five-day workshop.

Vcil Community sincerely thanks all members for trusting and embarking on this journey. We look forward to seeing everyone again and meeting other friends who are also on their unique educational journeys soon!