Alternative Education: a model to develop

EDITORIAL

By Carlos Cruz

Welcome to the Alternative Education Model blog. I do hope that this tribune can help with the debate and analysis of contemporary education. The goal of these pages is to contribute to the discussion of the current situation of adult learners in London and the UK and the possible alternatives we have to confront the dramatic exclusion style policies implemented under the ComDem government coalition since they came to power in May 2010.

The name of this blog, 'Alternative Education Model' (AEM), is the name given to the pedagogical method we are following at our United Migrant Workers Education Project (UMWEP), based in Faraday House, Holborn, Central London and supported and sponsored by Unite the Union since 2007. Thanks to Unite and the Union Learning Fund (ULF), we have developed the AEM against all the adversities, unjustified and antidemocratic cuts for English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) and other adult education programs around the country.

From summer last year when ESOL cuts started to take effect and our education project was one of the first victims left with no paid teachers and consequently, with no formal, accredited courses delivered to our members and community learners, we had not option but to create AEM, as a way to survive the social tsunami launched by the government against the more vulnerable and impoverished communities.

Based only on volunteer tutors and assistants from our own communities and knowing that there are a lot of skilled ant talented people, many professionals graduated in their own countries but forced to migrate by the lethal actions of neo-liberal economic models and condemned to increase the cheap labour force of the rich countries; we invited them to be part of the project. That is how we have arrived to our first anniversary as an independent education project, seeing learners learning and enjoying and making education a real tool to build up and improve our quality of live.

The conclusion so far is that AEM can and must continue as a real education alternative for the migrant and native workers, for all adult and vulnerable members of our communities who have been left outside of the formal, conventional mainstream of education. From now on we will be publishing more accurate and detailed information about UMWEP-AEM. My invitation to all readers is to contribute with your comments/articles/opinions to debate the legitimacy and viability of our project and, in general, concepts and interpretations of education as the backbone of society as I think it is.