Creating a Culture of Possibility

Abstract

How to teach young people about the grave ecological and social crises of our times without crushing their sense of possibility? The author has come to believe that the nature of these crises, together with a widespread weakening of civic and democratic culture, makes it irresponsible to teach young people about “the world as it is” without simultaneously giving them opportunities to develop capacities for collective agency. As increasing numbers of school districts cut civics courses out of the high school curriculum altogether, students bring to their college studies little formal schooling about social change, and almost no practical experience of what it might mean to participate in the cocreation of the world. In short, they come to the overwhelming crises we would teach them about with a very shaky faith that social change is possible. There is an acute need for colleges and universities to innovate engaged pedagogies, creating a culture that cultivates, as one student put it, “the knowledge of where to begin to make a difference.” Here, the author discusses Community Reengagement for Arizona Families, Transitions, and Sustainability, a powerful 3-year-old initiative at Northern Arizona University. Participating students show increased self-confidence, capacity for shared learning, and a strong sense that meaningful change is possible through collective action.