Signs of life?

This blog started 10 months ago following all of the kerfuffle over St J, created largely by an online bulletin board where ex-pupils aired their grievances. I was very frustrated that (a) all of this stuff hadn't been sorted out sooner (b) many people were still unwilling to admit that the School was at fault and (c) there was no forum within the School to discuss anything in a proper fashion.

The kerfuffle seems to have died down. I don't have any inside information on why that might be, but I would speculate that a number of actions including the official apology from the School and the truth & reconciliation meetings with governors must have helped. My feeling has always been that the people who suffered as children were mainly motivated by a wish to have that acknowledged. The dark mutterings about "hardened activists" do not seem to have been justified, on the whole.

Anyway, my concern was never primarily about St J because it really is none of my business, except in so far as it is an extension of the School itself and therefore a useful lever for change. So what sort of changes have been happening in the School? I know many people who read this blog don't have much of an idea about the experiments and new initiatives, so I thought it might be useful to list some ... click "read more"

1. Parties for "alumni"
Alumni is my term for people who spent a considerable time in School (say 3 years). The attitude to people who leave has always been that they have turned from the true path, but this seems to be changing. A number of parties are being held for such people. The intention is to expand the School's sense of its family, to acknowledge the contribution of the alumni, and to let them know that just because they don't attend any more doesn't mean they are unwelcome.

2. Experimentation with groups, study days and weekends
Experiments I have personally witnessed or heard about in the middle and senior levels include: groups sitting in a circle, students tutoring groups, students tutoring study sessions, groups being mixed up on weekends, "free form" reflection sessions in which it is left up to the intelligence of the student, experimental meditation techniques including those from other traditions. The last two study days I attended were essentially tutored by students.

3. Willingness to explore new online formats
It's now possible to download podcasts from the main web site, and the word is that online discussion groups will soon be started.

4. Links with other organizations
See "Developments" post below. This was pioneered by the Economics faculty a few years back, and - praise be - it is now filtering through to philosophy. The obvious and easiest step is to build connections with similar Advaitin/Hindu groups. I would also like to see us getting some help from university philosophy departments, initially perhaps for things like Plato and Ficino, but eventually including modern Western philosophy. Members of the language faculty attended the World Sanskrit conference in Edinburgh last year for the first time.

5. More liberal attitude to School members' time
In the last couple of years it has become acceptable to put family needs before that of attending one's group, weekend or whatever. Couples have been offered the chance to move stream so that they attend the same weekends.

6. The School asks questions
Again pioneered by the Economics faculty over a decade ago when they asked people to fill in a survey explaining their concerns about economics. The philosophy faculty (a notional entity, like the Alumni, but if you keep saying it, it might happen) seems to be starting to shift too. This is the biggest step, because if the School asks its members (or the public) a non-rhetorical question, it means that the School is finally surrendering a claim on knowledge. All of the preceding five points are helping to create the atmosphere for this.

So, there it is. My personal view, which you may not agree with, is that all of these points are positive signs of life, and that we are finally throwing off the blanket of fear that has covered us for so long, and discovering that the world is not actually opposed to us. Of course, these actions are not endorsed by all senior members - we don't have any way of knowing what they say in the smoke-filled rooms - but so far there has been no revolt.

Do you think some of these changes are wrong? Or do you, like me, agree with them? What other changes would you regard as a sign of health?

It would be very good to hear from everyone, and also from some new voices. I know we have more readers than participants.