Who really is the agent of change?

"Becoming acquainted with a people as an agent of a development organisation or a bearer of charity is profoundly different from working among friends for a common purpose. In the latter case, one's perception of reality is not shaped simply by academic theories that describe, from the outside, the needs and aspirations of the great masses of humanity." Farzam Arbab in 'The Lab, the Temple, and the Market'. 

I think this statement also applies to teachers and students, program providers and their audience (eg. young people), educators and the educated, we and they... This thinking is prescriptive and disempowering. In my opinion, challenging this thinking and the ego behind it is where sustainability education still needs to grow...

I attended a couple of meetings last week that got me thinking more about the importance of genuine relationships in the field of Education for Sustainability, in particular with young people (10-15 year olds,  my area of interest). By this I mean relationships that involve truly listening to the voices and opinions of young people, the very audience to whom one is reaching out to and trying to 'educate'. Relationships that can put aside any expectations or vested interest in the outcomes of a project, and instead be flexible to the design that emerges through consultation first among the young people themselves and second among all stakeholders. Relationships that nurture the capacity and speak to the potential of young people to rise and meet their challenge with integrity, careful thought and enthusiasm. 

This kind of approach, as referred to in the quote above, requires stepping back from the teacher / student model of education and moving towards the mentor / participant model. In this model the mentor can still have more experience, knowledge and insight in a particular subject area, but in order to empower the participants to become agents of their own education the mentor must allow them to own and drive the process. Young people that I've observed experience this in an authentic way are the same young people rising up as agents of change in their local community. 

So who really is the agent of change? Honestly, I say it's the young people themselves, not the teacher or even the mentor...