Someone recently raised the question as to whether living in a context of war, peace, or crisis can change the characteristics of a trainer’s duties. Nowadays in Europe and in Italy, a deep crisis is perceived, and it is generating distrust toward institutions and damaging hope for a better future as well.

So, what are some leading-ideas for the trainer in order to give education a specific and positive role in time of crisis? An essay written in 2005, “Learning Democracy” by Gustavo Zagrebelsky can help us. In the essay, the author discusses several intriguing ideas concerning democracy. I’ll try to link these ideas to the daily work of training, hopefully answering the question: How can a trainer be a teacher of democratic learning and an advocate for quality throughout the organization?

The Spirit of Dialogue: Learning From Lessons Learned

Democracy means discussion and reasoning together. We should be careful about winning at any cost, concentrate on the truth of the facts, and be glad to be found in error. This statement suggests the importance to create learning environments where, on the one hand, people learn the method and pace of building an argument, and on the other, understand that a progressive self-correcting process for old positions is a kind of personal and intellectual enrichment. Admitting error is not an admission of defeat, but a collective improvement through the ethics of democracy and the appreciation of different positions. It’s easy to understand that the acknowledgement of our errors is strictly linked with the fundamentals of quality control processes. Self-assessing and discovering by lessons learned about wrong approaches or procedures isn’t an admission of guilt, but the prologue to the actions you’ll take to make improvements.

Openness to Different Identities: The Trainer’s Role As Bridge

Zagrebelsky’s reasoning is mainly dedicated to the symbols that strengthen identity, both civil and religious. As far as the trainer’s task in schools and organizations is concerned, the key word is “bridge.” The trainer should always try to be a bridge between the different cultures. This is valid either in multiethnic schools or in organizations where various competences often are in conflict.

Distrust the Idea of Ultimate Decisions: Training and Experimental Approaches

Democracy means that every decision can be revoked, even the apparently unanimous ones. This means that trainers should help learners to avoid the idea that a decision equals a victory of one party over another. In fact, what decisions do is prepare the groundwork for innovative, experimental approaches, be they in schools or organizations.  

Leave No One Behind: A Task Trainers Know Well

As in the civil context, nobody should be left alone with his or her problems and suffering. So trainers know very well that their task isn’t to select the best pupils, but to deploy the conditions that allow everyone to get the practical and intellectual tools to fully take part in civil or organizational life.

To Be Continued…

Zagrebelsky also dedicates a specific section of his essay to the importance of words in democracy. He believes that “the number of known words is directly proportional to the development of democracy.”  The importance of words is a critical topic for trainers, and worth another post.