Coercion occurs when we use pain or the threat of pain to force
people to act in ways they do not wish to, or when we do so to
prevent them acting in ways they do wish to. Granted the notion
of 'wishing to do something' is itself a cultural construction,
but the control of activity in this way has a very material side.
Pain here, of course, is what is felt as painful, or as more than
tolerably unpleasant and uncomfortable. It certainly includes
what we call emotional pain as well as sensory pain.
I believe that pain and the threat of pain are always used as
a part of community's shaping of members' behavior, but that
particular communities differ greatly in the extent to which
coercion is used. Of course they also differ internally as to
who is coercing whom (by social positionings).
I believe our present system of schooling is excessively
coercive (though often in rather baroquely indirect ways),
and that this coercion is mainly a means of imposing certain
adult views and interests on the younger humans of our
community. I believe its justification requires such an
incredible apparatus of rationalizations that the resulting
belief system about "children" and schooling makes it
very difficult for us to solve any of our educational
problems as a community. Until we completely rethink the
relations of older and younger humans, as we have been
trying to do those of races, genders, sexualities, etc.,
I do not expect any significant improvement in either
education or social justice. JAY.
JAY LEMKE.
City University of New York.
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