– intro by Laiali
Prompting quote from Elisabeth Irwin:
“Democracy builds on understanding others, accepting responsibility for them, escaping from the narrow cell of personal needs and interests and cultivating the widest possible understanding and appreciation of all the peoples of the earth, a commitment to using knowledge to make a difference in the world and to enrich human life , to reduce human drudgery, and to study community problems and act upon the m in constructive, democratic fashion.” (from “Democracy”, 1940)
“To Elisabeth democracy means responsibility. She wants everybody to feel comfortable in LREI/community. Elisabeth wants school to be a comfortable place where no one can get bullied or hurt. That is what democracy means to Elisabeth Irwin.” –Bailey
“Democracy means to Elisabeth Irwin that everybody helps each other and works together to make a well oiled community. Elisabeth Irwin said “…escaping from the narrow cell of personal needs and interests…” I think she means that you have to think about others and not just yourself to have a happy democracy. I think she also means that you have to let go of yourself and think of others needs to, which can be hard for many human beings. She said “…a commitment to using knowledge to make a difference in the world…” I think that means that she thinks people should use their knowledge for good and to help instead of using it against people, she means to use it to learn and provide to the community. My version of that sentence is that democracy means that the people have to be more than the people but the people who provide information and make the democracy machine work.” – Laiali
“Democracy to Elisabeth Irwin means to understand other people and not just care about your self, but to care about people all around the world. She thinks it means not to take what you don’t need because there are a lot of people that actually need it. She would like to study and use knowledge to make a difference. She would also like to study community problems. Elisabeth Irwin wanted to make a difference in the world.” – Alex
- “Trying to climb into people’s brains to understand them better. Warning: try to avoid brain goop
- Caution you must climb into everyone’s brain.
- Don’t just climb into other people’s brain but use your knowledge too to make a difference in the world
“Democracy means many things to Elisabeth Irwin. She thought that democracy meant “to reduce human drudgery…” (drudgery, hard or dull work [taken from dictionary]) which means she probably is referring to hard labor. She’s also probably referring to the LREI curriculum, because she says, “to study community problems and act upon them in a constructive, democratic fashion,” because in LREI we study the community as part of our curriculum; she also said, “a commitment to using knowledge to make a difference in the world and to enrich human life…” which also might be referring to our curriculum because we learn in a fun way and and play…A LOT. I agree with her.” – Ezra]]>
I am really sad because I wasn’t able to be at the Founder’s Day assembly but I bet you guys had a great time! I wrote my little Elizabeth Erwin paragraph on the plane ride. It was a good (and fun!) way to spend my extra time!
-Margot
I really like these drawings. I wish I could draw this well. These drawings really represent founders day. I am proud to say that Elizabeth Erwin created our school because she is such a role model.