What's the point of education if it doesn't change anything?

Tickets are pay-what-you-can with a minimum donation of £3.50 to help cover venue costs. There are some limited free tickets as well for people who will struggle to contribute this.

- Description -
“Education is a form of political intervention in the world that is capable of creating the possibilities for social transformation.” Henry Giroux (2004)

What is education actually for? Is it just about getting qualifications, finding a job and becoming a productive member of the economy? Or should education help us question the world around us, challenge inequality and imagine how things could be different?

Schools and universities are increasingly expected to prepare people for the labour market. Students become consumers, knowledge becomes a commodity and education becomes an investment in our individual futures. But what happens to education's potential to change society when its primary purpose becomes fitting us into the society we already have?

Henry Giroux argues that education is never neutral. What we teach, how we teach and whose knowledge we value are all political questions. Drawing on Freire and Giroux’s ideas about critical pedagogy, we'll explore the relationship between education, power and democracy.

Can classrooms become spaces for genuine democratic participation? Can teachers challenge existing power structures without simply imposing their own ideas? Is critical thinking enough to bring about social change? And what would an education system designed around collective liberation rather than economic productivity actually look like?

- Recommended reading -

Focus on these sections of this Henry Giroux piece, obviously read it all if you like!

33–36 (Affirming Modernity’s Democratic Legacy) and 39–43 (Beyond the Pedagogy or Deskilling) 
PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RXTjjcHI4QJxHy8bh6WwOyMTokXzaaZy/view?usp=drivesdk 

- What to expect -
After a short introductory talk, we will discuss the topic in small groups, with some time to feed back to the whole room.
Most of our events have somewhere between 10-30 attendees.
We aim for every event to be accessible to everyone, regardless of your knowledge of the topic!

- About Bristol Transformed -
Bristol Transformed runs an annual festival of politics, arts and culture in May, and events every Tuesday evening throughout the year. See all our events here: https://hdfst.uk/bristol-transformed 

We are a grassroots, volunteer-run, socialist education group, bringing together activists, trade unionists, and everyone who wants to learn. We're creating the space to discuss the most important issues facing us, equipping people with the skills and knowledge to transform Bristol and the world.

Bristol Transformed is run by dozens of local people. Without new people coming in every year, we wouldn't be able to maintain the same standard of events that you enjoy. If you'd be interested in joining us, sign up as a BT volunteer today! https://cloud.seatable.io/dtable/forms/d3a761c9-4c79-4b10-b38e-50bbad501bcc/