Holistic Education by Ron Miller
This came my way over a year ago- just sharing!
What is Holistic Education?
by Ron Miller
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Throughout the two hundred year history of public schooling, a widely
scattered group of critics have pointed out that the education of young
human beings should involve much more than simply molding them into future
workers or citizens. The Swiss humanitarian Johann Pestalozzi, the American
transcendentalists Thoreau, Emerson, and Alcott, many of those in the
³progressive² education movement, and pioneers such as Maria Montessori and
Rudolf Steiner, among others, all insisted that education should be
understood as the art of cultivating the moral, emotional, physical,
psychological, artistic, and spiritual‹as well as intellectual‹dimensions of
the developing child. During the 1970s, an emerging body of literature in
science, philosophy, and cultural history provided an overarching concept to
describe this way of understanding education‹a perspective often termed
³holism.² A holistic way of thinking seeks to encompass and integrate
multiple layers of meaning and experience rather than defining human
possibilities narrowly. Every child is more than a future employee; every
person¹s intelligence and abilities are far more complex than his or her
scores on standardized tests.
Holistic education is based on the premise that each person finds identity,
meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the
natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace.
Holistic education aims to call forth from young people an intrinsic
reverence for life and a passionate love of learning. This is done not
through an academic ³curriculum² that condenses the world into instructional
packages, but through direct engagement with the environment. Holistic
education nurtures a sense of wonder. Montessori, for example, spoke of
³cosmic² education‹help the young person feel a part of the wholeness of the
universe, and learning will naturally be enchanted and inviting. There is no
one best way to accomplish this goal, there are many paths of learning and
the holistic educator values them all; what is appropriate for some
children, in some situations, in some historical and social contexts, may
not be best for others. The art of holistic education lies in its
responsiveness to the diverse learning styles and needs of evolving human
beings.
This attitude toward teaching and learning inspires many homeschooling
families as well as educators in public and alternative schools. While few
public schools are entirely committed to holistic principles, many teachers
try hard to put many of these ideas into practice. By fostering
collaboration rather than competition in classrooms, teachers help young
people feel connected. By using real-life experiences, current events, the
dramatic arts and other lively sources of knowledge in place of textbook
information, teachers can kindle the love of learning. By encouraging
reflection and questioning rather than passive memorization of ³facts,²
teachers keep alive the ³flame of intelligence² that is so much more than
abstract problem-solving skill. By accommodating differences and refusing to
label children as ³learning disabled² or ³hyperactive,² teachers bring out
the unique gifts contained within each child¹s spirit.
The community learning center model is not necessarily bound to a fully
developed ³holistic² philosophy of education‹any given community could
decide to set up a resource center with an emphasis on helping people
acquire job skills, for example. Even so, any transition from a
hierarchically managed system of mass schooling to local,
participant-controlled places of learning is likely to foster more
experiential, more cooperative, more personal forms of learning, and would
thereby produce a more holistic educational system, in the broad sense of
the term.
For further reading on holistic education, see:
Krishnamurti, Education and the Significance of Life (orig. 1953; San
Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1981.)
David Marshak, The Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness (New
York: Peter Lang, 1997)
Jane Roland Martin, The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families
(Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1992)
John P. Miller, The Holistic Curriculum (2nd edition; Toronto: Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education Press, 1996) and Education and the Soul:
Towards a Spiritual Curriculum (Albany: State University of New York Press,
1999)
Ron Miller, What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture
(3rd edition; Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press, 1997).
James Moffett, The Universal Schoolhouse: Spiritual Awakening Through
Education (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1994)
Parker Palmer, To Know as We are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey
(orig. 1983; San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993)
Holistic Education Press carries additional books and publishes the journal
Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, the primary periodical
in holistic education. Contact them at P.O. Box 328, Brandon, Vermont 05733;
800-639-4122; www.great-ideas.org
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Table of Contents
© Copyright 2000. Ron Miller - All Rights Reserved.
milleron@together.net
Posted on June 26th, 2009 by karen
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