1. Deepening Our Understanding of Participatory Democracy

I am sure that all of you can think of relevant questions that we must address together in order to take responsibility for building a viable participatory democracy within and outside of the Goddard community. Here are some questions that I have come up with.

• How do we define facilitation within a democratic culture?
• What forms of decision making are democratic and what are not?
• How do we question the "winner take all" mentality of our electoral politics?
• What forms of decision making are used at Goddard? Are they consistent with participatory democracy?
• What are the distinctions between direct-democracy and representative democracy?
• Does majority rule truly acknowledge the diversity and needs of the group?
• What steps can we take to ensure that representative processes begin to move toward more participatory ones?
• How do we evaluate whether paid staff (including the president) are meeting their responsibility to safeguard participatory democracy on-campus and at Goddard?
• How do we develop democratic learning environments? What are the necessary conditions and skills needed?
• Do "T-groups" provide people with hands on experience in participatory democracy?
• Are there exercises in art and theater (e.g.. improvisation) that hone collaborative skills?

• What can psychology tell us about authoritarianism?
• Who are the authoritarians?
• What role does feeling play in the democratic process?
• Which individuals have done exemplary work and thinking in these areas? Let us invite them to address these questions on-campus and in the residencies.

2. Building and Strengthening Our Skills in Participatory Democracy

In an effort to initiate this process I have spoken to faculty about bringing these ideas to the residency. Many of you expressed to me the need to unify and communicate across the various off campus programs and to become more connected with the Goddard community. I see this newsletter, the internet, and our residencies as ways we can use to strengthen our relationship to one another. I have found that participatory democracy is a vision and value that we hold in common.

The theme of the combined Social Ecology, Teacher Education, and Psychology residency that is occurring the week of January 5th is "Social Justice". In addition, the MA?BA individualized residency will have as its theme "Democracy". Can we continue to build overarching themes around community building and participatory democracy in future residencies? We need to develop a common language and shared experience amidst our inherent diversity. We must strive to create a supportive environment to practice, evaluate, and implement participatory democracy.