Collaborative Process: Concept Paper Commentary by Dan Reyes
Wednesday, 8th of April 2009 at 02:42:19 AM[From the Editor: On April 1st, 2009, the Concept Paper for an independent Antioch College was released on antiochians.org. Read the concept paper here.]
Continue the Discussion on the Record’s Forum
There’s a lot of irony in this document and its appearance, obviously professionally produced and presented in a fairly polished fashion but ambiguously signed, a collective ?we’ of an untold number of heads and hands that, by all accounts, speaks a future of Antioch College without involving the trouble of an open discussion in the present with the people who over the last several decades have done the work of continuing the much lauded tradition of exceptional educational outcomes, often in conditions of institutional distress that would have predicted anything but the levels of success Antioch has enjoyed. This document makes its gesture to past successes but looks back much further to supposed greener fields before any of us personally remember, to Mann and Morgan. A substantial number of exceptional young people have gotten their start here much more recently, up, very nearly, to the present and that’s in large part connected to a committed faculty who have resolved to make things happen without remorse about resources lacking.
I’m calling signature of this document ambiguous and a little odd for what it excludes. It’s not the first time we have gotten this feeling reading about Antioch action and policy with surprise. This isn’t a matter of content, although I believe there are matters of content that need to be discussed. It is a question of process, and for the aggrieved faculty of Antioch College to read this report waxing optimistically in a vague future tense about a newly empowered faculty of the college as a future project is where it gets ironic, and it might even be a little funny except we’re all in a very serious and precarious position that doesn’t much lend itself to laughing.
A report about moving forward, if it is going to do justice to the present and especially if it is going to learn from mistakes of the past, benefits immensely from an open dialogue and constructive partnership with the faculty who most understand what has distinguished Antioch even in its hard times; an intellectual and professional partnership that can serve as a basis forward. In this past year in which for the broader American culture so many of the smug ?wisdoms’ of the market status quo have proven to be puffed-up nonsense, pyramid schemes built only on personal acquisitive ambition rather than any sound sensibility for how we all might better move ahead, Antioch’s values have not been found bankrupt. There has not in recent decades been a time better suited for Antioch values to find a receptive ear, and again consultation and collaboration with the most recent Antioch faculty seems one of the simplest and surest ways to pursue a renewed vitality and an educational plan that arises from the educational offering this new Antioch community would embody.
Of course the document on the table is just a document on the table and not necessarily the last word on what is planned or what might be hoped for. I would though find my confidence better bolstered and much prefer to see a renewed inflection on the newness that gets talked about here brought to practice in the present by favoring fully inclusive process.
Dan Reyes
Community Member,
M.Arch. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies
Related posts:
- Cheap Glitter and Mixed Feelings, Reaction to the Concept Paper by Lincoln Alpern ‘11
- “The rest is pretty okay”: Concept Paper Response by Gerry Bello ‘97:
- “This is remarkable,” Op/Ed by Tony Dallas
- Support Nonstop, by Chad Johnston ‘01
- “An Evolving Piece of Work”: Joe Foley on his role as Vice President, the Nonstop budget, and the Alumni Board’s upcoming challenges.
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Strongly agree with his assessment of his answer to “What is your vision for the new Antioch?” I feel like most of my ideas weren’t and aren’t challenged nearly enough at Antioch and Nonstop Antioch because everybody is on the same page in so many ways. The rare occasions when they have been challenged are/were some of the most rewarding I’ve had in a very rewarding education.
Also, I find it hilarious that the homonym for hominem as in an ad hominem fallacy should be … well, you know. I was roaring with laughter for a good 15 seconds at that one.
Damn but this brings back memories. I saved a print copy of that issue of the Record especially for this letter. It’s still just as hilarious today as it was last year. Thanks for including it, Rose. Really nice touch.
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Thank you, Chad. You can tell this guy’s in communications; that was a perfect summation of what we in the Nonstop community stand for, and why we’re important.
I’d just also like to stress that we’re important because of people like Chad Johnston. While many things have changed in the near eight years since he graduated, we’re still bearing the torch of an Antioch education and Antioch values.
Chad Johnston is just one of innumerable examples of what an Antioch education means for the individual, and the wider world. He is a passionate and progressive media activist, fighting for freedom of communication as a necessary foundation for social justice.
This is ultimately why Antioch matters; why it is vital that Antioch survive, in spirit as well as name: so that it can go on nurturing and empowering people like Chad so that when they leave college, they will have the knowledge and the skills to work for the betterment of humankind.
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