Live

‘Education for Social Change’ has been the purpose of the Folk since its inception nearly a century
ago. Yet how it envisaged achieving that purpose has changed over time. Whilst many of the
practical activities – notably camping and international exchanges – have remained the same, how
they are envisaged and carried out have been modified not only to respond to changing times, but
also to achieve changed educational priorities.

Rich Palser recently self-published a book which looked at the Folk’s approach to ‘Education for
Social Change’ in the inter-war years, and argues that a major change took place in its educational
goals and methods during these years. ‘I only became aware of how eugenics had influenced the
early Folk at the turn of this century, despite growing up in the Folk from my birth in 1952. I can
remember Folk leaders when I was a teenager who had led the Folk in the inter-war years – people
like Basil Rawson and Teddy Hawkes – and who had joined in the 1930s like Margaret White. At the
age of 16 I was helping my brother run a Pioneer group, and using Rawson’s Woodcraft Way as a
text book for doing so – and I had a very different understanding of how the Folk sought to bring
about social change than that which I discovered in the Folk archives when researching my book’

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This event offers an opportunity for older Folk members to share their memories on how they
understood the Folk’s educational role in the post-war years. It will also provide an opportunity to
ask questions or comment on Rich’s interpretation of the changes in the Folk’s approach prior to the
war.

Two years ago, Woodcraft members attending the Symposium on Education for Social Change: the
many histories of the Woodcraft Folk were disturbed or even shocked by the argument of one of the
speakers. In his presentation Rich Palser argued that when the Folk was formed in 1925 its strategy
for achieving social change was informed by the ideas of eugenics, and that this shaped its
educational methods. This led a number of shocked DFs present to ask ‘What are we supposed to do
with this?’
This session provides an opportunity to discuss this issue in greater depth. Were the eugenic ideas of
the early Folk something we should accept as being just a product of their time, as eugenic ideas
were broadly held and influential in the early 20 th century? Should we ignore or down play that
phase of the Folk’s history lest it stand in the way of building the Folk today? Can we afford to ignore
it when eugenic ideas were often combined with racist and sexist ideas? Should we face up to that
past by, as it were, demolishing the statues of Leslie Paul and other Folk leaders of that time?
Introducing this session Rich Palser will argue that in facing up to our past we can also find a very
positive history of the Folk on which to build. Rather than a critical examination of our past being an
obstacle to how we educate for social change in the present, it can help us to reflect on our current
approaches to educating for social change so as to improve on them.