Who selects whom?
Most schools have now been in session for at least two months. And whether the learning environment is distance learning, hybrid, or in person, a goal established by teachers and administrators is one of community. The objective, spoken and unspoken, is for students to view themselves as part of a community. A place they belong. A place they feel safe. A place they desire to be. Some might use the language of “being a family”, but that is a whole other issue. Most people would agree, these are admirable goals, yet I wonder, if in our race to create such a space do we miss some critical points or worse yet, do we actually undermine the process of establishing community?
The questions lurking about are, How is a community created? Is it something that is created or does it just happen? Is there a selection process and therefore a rejection process involved, albeit, frequently hidden?
A couple of months ago, I purchased a new horse. The two-year-old, quarter horse, is a buckskin gelding. He is easy on the eye and already great under saddle. The only downside is that this guy is going to be tall. He already stands over 15 hands and has two more years to grow. I will need to drag a step ladder behind us for mounting.
Whenever I bring a new horse onto the place the process is always the same, the horse goes into the round pen for at least a week. This enables the horse to become familiar with the sights, the sounds, and the smells associated with the place before introducing them directly to the other horses. This process enables the horse to relax and become comfortable with their new home. It also allows me to learn any unique characteristics of the horse and determine their disposition. By simply watching how the horse moves, how it responds to various sights and sounds, I am introduced to how the horse “sees” the world. Throughout the week, we begin to develop a level of trust with each other.
With the ease of swinging closed a gate, creating an enclosed pasture, the new horse, now identified as Drifter, was given access to a space that enabled the lanky young buck to stretch his legs. The space was also conducive for Drifter to initiate the introduction process with other horses at a safe distance. Securing a place along the fence, a few of the horses quarantined by the space snorted and squealed as they stretched their necks across the electric fence to inhale the spirit of Drifter. The reaction from Drifter was minimal. He too stretched to greet others, but he didn’t overly react as the community of horses pushed to get closer to him. He didn’t overly react as they pawed at the ground. He didn’t overly react as the alpha attempted to bite him. He merely took a single stride back making the alpha’s efforts futile. Eventually, Drifter turned and slowly moved away from the other horses to explore the rest of the pasture. His behavior was consistent with everything I had witnessed in the round pen. His demeanor was extremely mature for a two year old.
As the week drew to a close and it came time to place Drifter with the other horses, I determined that he would fit well with a group of three other horses. I again brought Drifter to the enclosed pasture and introduced the three horses one at a time. The idea was to establish a “neutral” territory and not overwhelm Drifter with three horse flooding his personal space. I was fully aware that the three horses upon meeting Drifter were less likely to display aggressive behaviors, individually, when not fueled by the energy of mob behavior. I started with Nevada, a four-year-old, black quarter horse, who is playful and generally accepted by all other horses. Following the initial exchange of breath, the two horses lowered their heads, stood side by side, and enjoyed the grass. From time to time, Nevada, with his tail held high, would rub his nose against Drifter’s side and invite him to race about the pasture. Together the two high stepped their way from one end of the pasture to the other. As Nevada turned to take another trip, Drifter lowered his head and slowly made his way to where several other horses watching the events unfold. There, he stretched his neck across the fence, waited for the others to squeal and pound the ground and eventually stride back before the alpha could remove a tuft of his hide and take up his position.
The second horse brought into the space was Lady, a twenty-two-year-old mare. Lady, who generally is quite passive and ignores the majority of other horses, displayed her instant dislike of Drifter. Within a matter of two minutes, it was clear that the source of irritation with Drifter was rooted in the fact that Nevada was spending too much time with him. The moment Nevada moved close to Drifter, Lady pushed her way into between the two and swung her head towards Drifter. I wasn’t concerned that Lady was going to hurt Drifter; it was more of an issue that Lady was running herself ragged trying to keep Nevada away from Drifter. I also wasn’t sure what this would mean for Missouri, the third horse to be introduced or how this might play out when all four were returned to the three’s “home” pasture.
I saved Missouri for last because he could be unpredictable at times. The sixteen-year-old, quarter horse, resembled an old bachelor who was fine with others unless they interrupted his privacy. The consistent behavior occurred at feeding time, he didn’t take to sharing his feed. I feared this might create an initial issue as Drifter seemed confident in his ability to eat wherever he wanted and wasn’t intimidated by aggressive displays of bullies.
Missouri, true to form, ignored the young gelding and found a lush patch of grass and busied himself.
As the day wore on, Lady’s actions of intimidation waned and Nevada became less provocative in his efforts to have Drifter play. The four of them appeared to settle into a level of comfortability. What became clear was that Drifter never drifted very far away from the herd of horses that greeted him over the fence. Even when they left the fence and wandered off he remained at or near the fence. He was more attuned to the movement of the horses in that herd than the three that joined him in the current pasture.
Walking across the yard to retrieve a horse, in need of a hoof trim, the image of Drifter standing facing the five horses nearly a quarter mile away from him, pushed me to ponder why I determined the herd of three was the best fit. Was I allowing my biases about the existing herds, (community dynamics) to dictate the herd selection? Was I attempting to protect a two-year-old whether he needed protection or not? Was I failing to ask what Drifter might have to offer a herd? Was I ignoring Drifter’s request to join a different herd? Was I locked into the act of creating community, because community is an important value, without acknowledging all the factors that may be part of creating community?
By the time I finished trimming the horse’s hooves, I concluded that I was more concerned about protecting Drifter and creating a “peaceful” herd, than considering what Drifter might want, as well as acknowledging what he might offer another herd. The bottom line was, I was trying to fit my definition of community on these horses without recognizing the complexity of community.
I followed Drifter’s lead and returned Nevada, Lady, and Missouri to their pasture without Drifter and I swung open the gate that separated Drifter from the other herd of five horses. I stood back and anxiously watched as Doc, the delta, greeted Drifter and brought him into the middle of the other horses. The alpha squealed, pinned her ears and lashed out, removing a tuft of hide from Drifter’s backside. But, Drifter didn’t run, he didn’t kick back, he merely stepped forward and forced the alpha to expel more energy if she was going to chase him. Energy, the twenty-three-year-old alpha mare decided wasn’t worth expelling. The simple fact was, the alpha mare now had two deltas to contend with who were not threatened by her aggressive displays of force. Two deltas that would not flee from her bullying behaviors.
Within less than an hour the newly constructed herd consisting of six horses were a quarter mile away from the gate acting as though they had been together for years. The alpha raised her head from time to time and pinned her ears, even swung her head wildly, but just as she didn’t bite Doc, she no longer bit Drifter. It was humbling to realize that the horses knew what community they needed and desired and that I simply needed to trust them. I couldn’t create a community, a herd, by force. I needed to listen and watch, and learn from them to discover what they needed.
It doesn’t matter what type of community we are discussing, whether it’s in school, church, book clubs, online, etc… it can’t be forced, nor can we make it be something more than it really is. For example, the community within a school setting is first and foremost an academic community. A community for the purpose of critical discourse and critical inquiry. A space where critical questions are welcomed, the construction of new knowledge is expected, and a vision of a just world is put into practice. If it becomes something more than that, it’s up to all the students and adults to make that decision, it’s not something adults determine for the students.
Just as Drifter was intentional about the herd he desired to join, I believe there is intentionality that aligns with the creation and ongoing development of a community. The key, however, is that this intentionality is granted to all members. All members are given the space to share their voice. The purpose of the community must be clearly defined and available for all members. The United Nations defines community development as “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.”
“Generate solutions to common problems.” I wonder how often one defines community as functioning to solve problems? In the days following Drifter’s introduction to his new herd, I noticed the entire dynamic of the herd changed. There were now two deltas in the herd and together they labored to maintain a more peaceful environment. I wonder what this would mean for school communities if their purpose included solutions to common problems? No doubt, it would require identification of problems, it would require a balance of perspectives being represented, it would require not simply equality but equity!
Final thought, one should avoid the assumption that the emergence of a new community is ex niliho, out of nothing. I recall as a student being frustrated by educators who were determined to create a particular type of community in their classroom, based on the assumption that I didn’t already belong to various communities, or worse yet, that the community would help them indoctricate me. Reality is, most individuals are already in a community and many others are part of several communities and a variety of factors have brought these groups together. There is an interesting study entitled, Tracing Community Genealogy: How New Communities Emerge From the Old, that explores this very topic and uses the development of Reddit as evidence. Drifter was part of a herd before he arrived at my place and his presence played a particular role in the herd. Now, at a new location he selected the herd that needed his presence – thankfully he questioned my preconceived ideas of what was in his best interest (or my best interest).
I wonder how many times I have missed the questions and plowed ahead with a narrow definition of community, both with horses and humans. Thank goodness I have educators, like Drifter, who are patient with me, while challenging me to reflect on my choices.