Adventures in Free Schooling

(Please note that the following is a first attempt, and needs some editing. Also, I decided in this essay to examine the aspects of Mondragón’s education that bears respect. This is not a critical examination of the education of Mondragón in regards to what it needs to improve, although such a discussion would be a good, lengthy, and important one. Instead, this is an exploration of the aspects of Mondragón’s educational philosphies, techniques, and models that should be regarded as beneficial influences):

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge must be socialized so that power can be democratized.

After the socialization of culture, inevitably follows the socialization of wealth and even of power. We may say that this is the indispensable and prior condition for the democratization and socioeconomic progress of a people.

-Don José María Arizmendiarrieta, Reflections

Introduction

The above quote illustrates the unique tie that exists between workplace democracy and learning-place democracy. Don José María Arizmendiarrieta, the founder of the Mondragón cooperative movement, argued often about the distinct and important ties that exist between working and learning. Through his community and cooperative organizing efforts in the Basque region of Spain, Don José María was able to tirelessly paint education as the core to any successful implementation of revolutionary change towards democratic workplaces and a just society.

Mondragón is currently one of the largest worker cooperatives in the world and is an impressive and vital example of worker’s self-management and democracy. It is, in fact, a co-op of co-ops – held together via a cooperative bank, a cooperative congress, a dedication towards expanding democratic-economic opportunities, and the overall cooperative experience. The first cooperative of the Mondragón group was a child of a school built with the labor and the capital of a community desperate for social justice and economic security. The community of now 100,000 workers has its roots in a school that begun with twelve-pupils. Five of these pupils went on to start Ulgor, the first cooperative of the Mondragón movement. Their teacher, Don José María, continued to be involved with the new movement and wielded great influence over its direction and message. Thus, this cooperative movement was created out of an educational movement; consequently, the natures of working and learning have become inseparable in the experience.

There are many written documentations of the overall history, structure, and functions of Mondragón. This will not be one of them. Instead, this discussion will specifically focus on the philosophy of education that makes up the cooperative experience and specific educational implementations that exist within the Mondragón structure. In addition, it would take a great deal of time to explore every single aspect of Mondragón’s educational model (the primary schools, research institutes, the training methods of workers, the University of Mondragón, and so on), and to analyze both the promising aspects and those characteristics that need improvement. Therefore, this conversation will focus on particular examples that should be regarded as inspirational models.

Mondragón is by no means perfect, but there are multitudes of critical lessons to draw from its example. Throughout this dialogue, we will explore four specific arguments: 1) Cooperativism as an educational movement that uses economics is an exemplary model, and socialized knowledge is a direct prerequisite to socioeconomic progress and justice; 2) Mondragón’s link between workplace democracy and learning-place democracy are strong in the schools, but imperfect; 3) democratic and ongoing education is not only important in the promotion and establishment of cooperativism and workplace democracy, but it is also crucial to the continued maintenance and safeguarding of such movements and institutions; and 4) the Mondragón workplaces of democracy are also learning-places of democracy.

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