From Continental Congress to PSEC

Gerda Lerner challenges the admonition that “history repeats itself”, because details are never the same; her remedy is, instead, to lead by analogy, which is void of detailed comparison. In my opinion, her model makes it easier to perceive similar, relevant patterns in a wide array of processes, even when the details are seemingly very different and unrelated. It becomes possible to compare and contrast events such as the 1774 Continental Congress and the 2008 U.S. Presidential election with the governmental process of the Puget Sound Early College (PSEC) in Federal Way, Washington in 2008.

For example, when twelve of the thirteen very different British colonies came together and agreed on certain principles on which they could unite, and upon which they could create a plan of action, their action was of historic proportions, and proved to impact world history in monumental ways. Over two hundred years later, the election choice before U.S. citizens (the colonists’ ‘descendents’) is perceived by many to also have worldwide ramifications, and it is a decision to be made by people who have very different opinions, but they desire united action for the betterment of all. The details are extremely varied, but the concerns about liberty and taxation and personal identity and hope are obvious in both scenarios.

At PSEC, we students come from many feeder schools and varied life experiences. We are young as a group, inexperienced in the process before us, and not certain of the ramifications. If we misstep, we risk jeopardizing our ability to continue experiencing and experimenting with a relatively radical approach to education. But if we sit back and do nothing, we risk losing the opportunity for our personal growth and those who could benefit by following the direction of our footsteps. What each of us students most needs to do is to find the personal motivation to participate, to become leaders who inspire each other to be the courageous creative "colonists" of 2008.