When Knowledge and Ability Cooperate

Author: Ashot Tigranyan 

The project “Alternative History” expands like events after world shocking volcanos.

What does “Alternative History” mean?

From the point of view of the people striving for discovery of the reality (in its past-present-future system) alternative history comprises the facts, points of views and theories which have been neglected, distorted or discredited by science nicknamed academical and its financial and political supporters because of ideological, psychological and world ruling claims. Perceptions about reality appear to be in the area of fraud without an alternative as the biggest lie is the truth told partially.          

Why do the learners participate in the project?

The motivations of their participation are numerous, and the clarification of each of them is a topic for a separate article, therefore, I will only enumerate them without claiming for the completeness of that list. So the learners are participating in this project because:

1.      There is an inner demand for self-education

2.      They don′t want to miss another opportunity of practicing a foreign language.

3.      They want to collaborate with their friends in a new field.

4.      It is the soul of competitiveness that speaks.

5.      Each learner can claim for a higher mark in History.

6.      They display a strive for self-assertion in one more field (when the learner himself applies for participation in the project).

7.      They respect the teacher′s word (when the learner doesn′t refuse my offer to take part in the project, and, by the way, there have been cases when the learners have refused to do so bringing serious excuses).

8.       They are interested in revealing the reality of the past.

9.      They consider it to be useful to communicate and work with me.

      The patient reader who has reached this line of mine has the right to ask:

Who are the project beneficiaries?

Naturally, first of all, the project participants are, especially those who will be the co-authors of the electronic text-book content, the process of which will start during the spring educational camp. The stage of accumulating electronic text-book materials, or in other words, the translational stage will continue in parallel.      

The next group of beneficiaries is formed of the learners whose creative or critical mind is seeking for alternatives to history templates.  

However surprising it might seem to be, the third group of beneficiaries is formed of the learners who need to be self-established by making their controversial way of thinking and its results their target. So the realization of the project has a particular difficulty: it passes through struggle. That is an indubitably useful factor for the learners’ will formation process. 

The next unavoidable question is this:

What is the procedure of the project?

The project “Alternative History” has some kind of prehistory. In 2014 I compiled and published a History syllabus with a group of learners for the high school students who are interested in History. For some objective and subjective reasons that syllabus wasn’t put to life, but the idea remained, I was taught a lesson due to that failure.

Now the project implementation steps are definite and real:

1.      The first step: to be sure that the learners will not leave me alone (accomplished).

2.      The second step: formation of the working group and starting the translations (It is being carried out better than I expected)

3.      The third step: narration of the electronic text-book, and at the same time continuing the translational activity which may later give birth to a new project.

4.      The fourth step: the start of publishing the first part of the text-book (August 14, 2016).

What results are there now?

The results of implementing the project “Alternative History” are divided into two groups: expected (initially calculated) and unexpected (encouraging as a surprise). The calculated result is the nonstop process of the project and the increasing number of the project participants. The following facts are encouraging:

1.      The number of participants is increasing with unexpected tempos.

2.      The number of foreign languages used while carrying out the project is more than it was expected (translations from Spanish, Japanese and Bulgarian were not expected)

3.      New initiatives are born (teaching the learners Japanese on the initiative of a learner who knows this language).

nd And an unknown philosopher said: “Lower your speed before looking beyond horizon.”