Maximum Size for Rounds?

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How large a group can effectively do rounds? The recommended maximum size for circles is 20-40 people so that would apply to the optimal maximum size for rounds as well. But rounds have been done in groups of 150 and even 400.Years ago, before I had heard of “rounds” I read the account of a round with 400 people. A mediator was working to resolve a community issue at a town hall meeting. She said… Read More . . . “Maximum Size for Rounds?”

Rounds or Discussion or Free for All?

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What’s the best practice ?  Is it better to have a free for all discussion, do what we do, or have complete rounds? “Better” is in the eye of the beholder. Understanding what rounds or discussion can do is a “better” question. Rounds are excellent for establishing and reestablishing equivalence in the room. They not only give each person a chance to speak they shine a spotlight on each person so everyone is aware of… Read More . . . “Rounds or Discussion or Free for All?”

Holon and Holarchy : Arthur Koestler

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The words holon and  holarchy were created by Arthur Koestler in The Ghost and the Machine, published in 1967. Koestler used holon to describe natural organisms as composed of semi-autonomous sub-wholes linked in a form of hierarchy, a holarchy,  to form a whole. Holons A biological organism is not an aggregation of simple parts but of other organs that are both independent and dependent. Biological holons are self-regulating, open systems that display both the autonomous… Read More . . . “Holon and Holarchy : Arthur Koestler”

Laws and Policies: The Differences

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Drop Cap Letter Q Won’t the prescriptive Norms in sociocracy and the Constitution in Holacracy impose the rule of law, which will quickly devolve into the rule of lawyers? The more arcane and opaque the law is, the more tyrannical that law becomes. My response to this requires a distinction between laws and policies. Laws and policies are the same in that both govern future actions and decisions. Laws  are made by governments to govern the actions of citizens… Read More . . . “Laws and Policies: The Differences”

The California Tenure Case, Part II: Sociocracy in Schools

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The California Tenure Case is evidence of just one of the systems failures in education that could be resolved with the use of sociocracy in schools. The adversarial nature of the administrative structure and imposition of standards  in education pits teachers, the school administration, unions, and state and federal governments against each other in a wars that none of them can win. Even the concept of winning ensures that the system will fail. Conflict weakens… Read More . . . “The California Tenure Case, Part II: Sociocracy in Schools”

Rainbow Community School, Asheville, NC

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Rainbow Community School is a private, independent school serving 42 preschoolers and about 120 students from kindergarten through eighth grade in Asheville, North Carolina. For more than 35 years, we have been a national leader in alternative, holistic and contemplative education. The essay by Renee Owen, “Educating the Innovation Generation, Part IV, How Can School Create and Innovative Culture” discusses the school’s reasons for using sociocracy (Dynamic Governance).