The magic that happens...

Julie Smith jsmith at mosquitonet.com
Tue Sep 3 09:48:24 PDT 2002


Dear Peggy and Elena,

I'm just curious about the focus on democracy.  In using that term, do
you mean the concept of "one person, one vote" and the idea that "the
majority rules?"  I wonder if the concept of democracy itself can be
limiting.  Kerry posted an interesting observation about voting in his
post this morning.

Elena, could you define the purpose of your class as an exploration of
OST as a means for helping groups of people solve important and complex
problems?  If that is the purpose, then you could approach the students
as sponsors from the very beginning.  They could define the complex
problem that is important to them, they could decide who to invite, and
how to address the logistical questions (where and when to hold the
event).

If your students want to give the process a try in the classroom before
expanding to a larger group, simply ask them to come up with a theme
they want to discuss, and then do it.  If your class meets for three
hours at a time, you could use one of those class periods to define the
theme (and perhaps make posters), and the next class period to do the
opening, meet in one or two sessions, and then a closing.

Thanks for this interesting discussion ~

Julie

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