Thanks to all who have posted in the past few days...
Even though we said Tuesday was the closing day for this discussion. I 
think I will try to make some closing remarks on Wednesday....but list 
participants should feel welcome to continue with the discussion for a 
bit longer. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed because there are so many 
directions to take this conversation...so I hope my thought below are 
not too rambling.

A couple of keen observations have come from these posts and some new 
terrain for discussion. Both Andres and Ryan mention the issue of 
"other-ing." As Andres point out, medicalizing the experience of trauma 
and violence adds another layer of perception about those who survive 
trauma - another way of distancing ourselves from them - making them 
"other" than us. Ryan asks, "How should we deal with the issues of 
violence and trauma without adding another category of the 'other' to 
our classroom?" But the reality is what Jenny has helped Andres and 
Ryan -- and many of us who read her work -- understand that we too are 
affected by violence as well. I came to understand this for myself in a 
different way a long time ago when I realized that there have been many 
times when my ability to become intimate with women as friends or 
lovers was threatened, denied, or even destroyed by the emotional and 
physical harm inflicted in those women's lives by past and present male 
abusers. I can only explain this as grief and sadness about the 
profound loss this brings to women's power and to the creativity and 
power that our lives can bring. That grief has since turned to rage and 
anger and now to activism and compassion -- a circle of emotion I 
continue to experience in various and simultaneous cycles! I don't mean 
to sound self-serving -- but understanding how violence is pervasive 
has helped me to identify the myriad of ways violence functions in my 
life in ways I don't always claim  as well as how it affects my 
relationships with other women and my ability to trust and respect 
other people in general.

Connected to this other-ing, I also wonder about the effects of 
victimization. Feminism warns us not to "blame the victim." Sometimes I 
fear that while we are making safer spaces, we might also be 
reinforcing women's self-perception of being a victim, or unconsciously 
move into patronizing or "deficiency" models of teaching. How do we 
diffuse women's sense of self as victim? How do we move beyond the 
debilitating effects of victimization? How do we en-courage women to 
identify, embrace and use their power? I think these are questions to 
consider as we think about developing empowering learning environments.

Bertie questions the ways in which violence is systematic. This is one 
of those word places that can become difficult. Jenny uses the word 
systemic -- which has somewhat different implications. We might 
understand it this way -- systematic might look like the abuser who 
creates emotional and physical changes in increments over time that 
places more and more control over the abused.

Systemic refers to harder to recognize places where violence exists in 
systems of power - slavery, colonialism, genocide, war, but also social 
systems like welfare, racism, some ways in which the legal system 
works, and, yes, even education (among many others). Bertie offers some 
good examples of how education can manifest violence and abuses of 
power.

Shirley discusses another important factor - that of education within 
the context of program, family, and community. By maintaining a 
holistic approach, much can be gained by the learners as well as family 
and community. Sometimes it becomes too easily to "silo" the pieces or 
make sure things stay within the boundaries of compartments. I would 
say that power systems (patriarchy for examples) functions because it 
insists that certain things stay in certain boxes and remain isolated 
from each other.  Women who experience trauma and violence are isolated 
in many ways.
I wonder sometimes about the distinctions we make between maintaining 
"good boundaries" as compared to make sure that certain information, 
people, or functions stay within their separate boxes in order to 
prevent awareness or to maintain control.

Jenny's work offers s some ways to recognize violence and to address 
ways to make learning environments possible places of success for 
learners (and teachers). While we might think it's easy to "offer 
choices," Jenny outlines some important considerations for ways to make 
that happen -- through control, connection, and meaning.

Given al that has been said, perhaps we can focus on regaining a sense 
of control. What does it look like for learners to have control over 
their education/learning? What does it mean for a teacher to have 
control while not being controlling? Keeping in mind Jenny's sense of 
what control means -- the possibility of influencing an outcome - or 
the belief that it is possible to influence an outcome).

Mev
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