Learning 107recognize the power dynamics between agents according to gender, race,
and ethnicity. And it means to recognize and to be aware of learning
agendas promulgated by the specific society learners and teachers live in.
In this chapter, a major shift in order to de-colonize learning is in
particular to de-individualize it. This is not to say that nothing happens on
the individual level. Rather, it is saying that not everything happens on the
individual level. Why is this important, and why is this a critique? It is
important because it makes our social and cultural life visible: we are not
single individuals living in a neutral context with our learning brain. On
the contrary, we are specific persons to other specific persons, and we live
together in specific communities and societies; this extends to the situation
when we are alone: we still live with our others in our imagination –
talking to them, arguing, listening, rehearsing, memorizing the words we
exchanged and the activities we did together. It is a critique because it
shifts responsibilities and uncovers the implicit assumptions of general
psychology.
1.3. Responsibilities
If everything happens strictly ʻinsideʼ on the individual level, the only
responsible person is the learner herself. If she fails, she fails and is to
blame. She will feel ashamed, her self-esteem will be damaged, and the
social and economic consequences for that person can be far reaching. In
contrast, when saying learning happens in the first place inter-individually,
responsibility is de-located from the single learner and distributed to the
whole system of interacting individuals within a societal and (often times)
institutional context.
1.4. Implicit Assumptions
Typically, implicit assumptions follow ideals serving specific societal
interests. Key assumptions are that everybody learns at the same pace, has