A words: active processing, actualisation, actualising tendency, affective learning

Active processing  The learner consolidates and internalizes information in such a way that it becomes both personally meaningful and conceptually coherent. In this process, the person's entire being is involved. The learner is affected 'globally' - the entire self is affected. The result is global or 'holistic learning'. 'Active processing' is defined as "the consolidation and internalization of information, by the learner, in a way that is both personally meaningful and conceptually coherent." (Caine and Caine 147)

Actualisation "In accordance with biological theory and the evolutionary process, self-actualization increases the person's autonomy and independence of the environment, defining full individuality and 'true' freedom." (Allport, Gordon. Becoming. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 1955

Actualising tendency The person instinctively tends towards the actualizing of their human potentialities, that is towards fulfilment or 'wholeness'. The actualizing tendency is the substratum of all human motivation. It is this organismic motivation which empowers the individual in the process of growth towards full functioning i.e. 'self-actualisation'.

The actualising tendency is facilitated by holistic educator or 'facilitator of growth' i.e. 'facilitative teacher'. The teacher as facilitator focuses on providing the conditions that permit the actualizing tendency for human growth. The direction of growth will come from within the organism. The actualizing tendency of the human organism is basic to motivation. The substratum of all human motivation is the organismic tendency toward fulfillment - the base that empowers the person  ('intrinsic motivation'). The healthy well-functioning person lives in close and confident relationship to their own ongoing organismic process, nonconcosious and conscious. Actualizing tendency tends towards an integrated wholeness. The condition necessary for harmonious growth is spiritual love or 'unconditional love'. Result of growth is the 'fully functoning person' or 'self-actualizing person'.

The  actualising tendency is the "directional tendency toward wholeness, toward actualization of potentialities..." (Maslow)

"Tendency toward actualization is primal." (Goldstein, Kurt. The Organism. New York, N.Y.: Zone Books. 1995 page 239)

Affective learning An individual who is intensely interested in a subject is affected both intellectually and emotionally. Learning which is stimulated at the emotional level is 'affective learning'. Affective learning involves comprehension of various perspectives and dimensions of the subject i.e. global or 'holistic perception'.... 'Reason' is  human faculty for understanding reality in all its conceivable perspectives and dimensions, and not only those which are of practical relevance.  The individual is motivated to think about it productively (affective learning). With respect for the subject they perceive it objectively in its uniqueness and in its totality.

 

B words: banking education, biological individuality

BANKING EDUCATION According to Freire's 'banking concept' of education, the passive student becomes a depository for storing bits of knowledge that he might then withdraw and make use of in later life. (Pedagogy of Oppressed 46) "In the 'banking' concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing." (Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder, 1971 -original Portuguese manuscript 1968, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos- 58).  Paulo Freire used the term 'banking' to describe educational practice which is conceived in terms of the bestowal of knowledge as a gift to those who know nothing from those who consider themselves knowledgeable. "In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing."  (Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. p.58)    (banking)

 BIOLOGY ...BIOLOGICAL INDIVIDUALITY "The looking within for the real self is a kind of 'subjective biology' for it must include an effort to become conscious of one's own constitutional, temperamental, anatomical, physiological and biochemical needs, capacities and reactions i.e. one's biological individuality. It is also the path to experiencing one's specieshood, one's commoness with all other members of the human species. That is, it is a way to experiencing our biological brotherhood with all human beings no matter what their external circumstances." (Maslow, A. Psychology of Being. 185)    The individual who makes an effort to become conscious of the various facets of their own nature - constitution, temperment, needs, potentialities - becomes aware of their biological individuality 'subjective biology'. Subjective biology is the biology of the self in terms of one's connectedness to other members of the human species i.e. one’s humanity or  ‘human nature’. Understanding of one's own humanity is the basis for understanding of others or compassion

C words: capitalism, career, character, circumstantial stimuli, cognition, cognitive-affective parallelism, conscientization, consciousness, concept, conceived values, cognitive psychology, conscience, consciousness disciplines, creativity, crisis ,curriculum, curiosity

CAREER Capitalists 'capitalised ' on the feminist movement. (See MacLuhan.) Women were made to think of their 'careers' as more important than their children.

CAPITALISM "Capitalism is identical with the pursuit of profit and forever renewed profit, by means of continous, rational, capitalistic enterprise....in a wholly capitalistic order of society, an individual capitalistic enterprise which did not take advantage of its opportunities for profit-making would be doomed to extinction." (Robert Green. Protestantism and Capitalism: The Weber Thesis and its Critics. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co.1959 p.2).

 CIRCUMSTANTIAL STIMULI Circumstantial stimuli are any stimuli, external or internal, which seem to force people to take action. These sometimes evoke spontaneous reaction and at other times seem to call for 'appropriate' responses. This is the 'reactive-responsive orientation'. Strategies are designed to avoid immediate unwanted circumstances. Longer range strategies are designed to prevent unwanted circumstances from happening in the first place. This is called the 'pre-emptive strike'. Response to circumstantial stimuli is defensive when the individual concerned is spiritually poor. The reactive response of spiritual poverty involves the calculation of strategies which are designed to avoid immediate unwanted circumstances.  longer range strategies are designed to prevent the unwanted circumstances from existing at all in the so-called ‘pre-emptive strike’. When  there is spiritual richness then the response to circumstantial stimuli is productive and ‘adaptive’. In the creative response, strategies are designed to enhance people's welfare and happiness.

COGNITION Cognition is gaining knowledge through the process of thinking... putting things together or relating events - an active connecting process...in an act of imagination, is the opening of the system so that it shows new connections...  the discovery of likenesses between  two things which were thought unlike.... Cognition which is incomplete ('incomplete cognition') is the limited recognition of things as they are or rather as the culture maintains them to be... The individual with incomplete cognition is unable to enliven their perception from within...  They can see all there is to be seen of the surface features of phenomena but they  are quite incapable of penetrating below the surface to the essential and of visualizing what is not yet apparent....they have the ability to see the details but not the whole, the trees but not the forest... Their perception  of 'reality' consists of the sum total of what has already materialized... The individual with incomplete cognition uses a calculating imagination to combine the factors which are known and in existence and to infer their future operation.
Cognition is gaining knowledge of the essential aspects of a system with the discovery of new connections and relationships in a process of imaginative and creative thinking. Cognition is complete when perception is global or 'holistic'. The inability for holistic perception results in incomplete cognition... seeing the trees but not the forest. The individual with incomplete cognition must depend on a calculating imagination to combine the factors of the reality they know and then infer their future operation. "Cognition as most clearly reflected in thinking means  putting things together or relating events - an active connecting process." (Kohlberg. Stage and Sequence: The Developmental Approach to Socialization 1969)

COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE PARALLELISM "What is being asserted is that...the existence of moral stages implies that moral development has a basic structural component. While motives and affects are involved in moral development, the development of these motives and affects are largely mediated by changes in thought patterns...age-development trends in moral judgement have a formal structural base parallel to the structural base of cognitive development." (Kohlberg, L. Stage and Sequence: The Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Socialization. In In D.A. Goslin (ed.) Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research. Chicago: Rand McNally 1969, 390)

COGNITIVE STRUCTURE Cognitive structure "refers to rules for processing information or for connecting experienced events." (Kohlberg, L. Stage and Sequence: The Cognitive - Developmental Approach to Socialization. In In D.A. Goslin (ed.) Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research. Chicago: Rand McNally 1969, 350)  

COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO MORAL EDUCATION...COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL VALUE EDUCATION "The cognitive-developmental approach was fully stated for the first time by John Dewey. The  approach is called 'cognitive' because it recognizes that moral education, like intellectual  education, has its basis in stimulating the active thinking  of the child about moral issues  and decisions. It is called 'developmental' because it sees the aims of moral education  as movement through moral stages." (Lawrence Kohlberg The Cognitive Developmental Approach to  Moral Education" chapter 12 in Moral Education...It Comes With the Territory (Ed) David Purpel and Kevin Ryan, Berkeley,CA: McCutchen Publishing Co. 1976, 176-195)

"Moral education should not be aimed at teaching some specific set of morals but should be concerned with developing the organizational structures by which one analyzes, interprets and makes decisions about social problems" This is known as 'cognitive-developmental value education'. (Rest, James. "Developmental Psychology as a Guide to Value Education: A Review  of 'Kohlbergian' Programs." in Moral Education: It Comes With the Territory David Purpel & Kevin Ryan (eds.) Berkeley CA: McCutchan Publishing Co. 1976 254) 

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Science of the mind The process of acquiring knowledge, 'cognition'. Cognitive psychology is the science of the mental processes involved in the acquisition of knowledge – cognition.

 CONCEIVED VALUES are value choices made on the basis of symbolized concepts. They are made in anticipation of the outcome, of the chosen behavior. As an example, a human being can choose one of two possible paths of action on the basis of a concept which he has been told to value such as 'honesty is the best policy'. The choice is a 'conceived value'.   A conceived value is a value choice which is made on the basis of a symbolized concept which the individual is taught to value such as pursuing happiness. The so-called 'pursuit of happiness' is a conceived value.   (See Morris, C.W. Varieties of Human Value. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956.1)                            

 CONCEPT Concepts are the guideposts for thinking and for interpretation of new experiences. Man is the only animal able to formulate concepts. Thoughts and concepts color our perception of the outer world. Our perceptions of outer reality are influenced by our upbringing, culture and past experiences. These all help to create a mental framework for our thoughts. The mental frameworks are called 'concepts'. They become our guideposts in life and help us to interpret events and circumstances in our environment.  Concepts are the guideposts for thinking about and interpreting life experiences. Everything is compared to how we think the world is or should be and we react accordingly. The person with inner freedom is able to adapt to the environment as it is rather than as he thinks it should be. The ability to to formulate concepts is the basis for the individual's perception of reality. Each person's reality is based on concepts formulated in the context of cultural influences, educational environment and life experience. (William James).

 CONSCIENCE 'conscience' from Latin 'conscientia' which means knowledge within oneself. The human conscience is the natural expression of a biologically based interest in the properly integrated functioning of the whole personality - the guardian of the integration of the human personality... the guardian of the individual's true self-interest. "Conscience is a reaction of ourselves to ourselves. It is the voice of our true selves, which summons us back to ourselves, to live productively, to develop fully and harmoniously - that is to become what we potentially are. It is the guardian of our integrity...of our love for ourselves. ..a reaction of the whole person to its functioning, the human conscience has a strong influence on the affective (emotional) as well as intellectiual (reason) components of the personality. "Actions, thoughts, and feelings which are conducive to the integration of our whole personality produce a feeling of inner approval, of 'rightness' characteristic of the 'good conscience'. On the other hand, acts, thoughts, and feelings injurious to our total personality produce a feeling of uneasiness and discomfort, characteristic of the 'guilty conscience.' (Erich Fromm Man For Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics 159) .   The word conscience is derived from the Latin word 'conscientia' which means 'knowledge to within oneself'. The human conscience is the natural expression of a biologically based interest in the integrated functioning of the total personality. The conscience is the guardian of the individual's wholeness or 'integrity'  (conscience) 

 CONSCIENTIZATION The word 'conscientization' originates in the word 'consciousness.' "Comprehension of the process of conscientization and its practice is directly linked to one's understanding of consciousness in its relations with the world." Conscientization involves a dialectic between objectivity and subjectivity, reality and consciousness, practice and theory." (Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder, 1971 (original Portuguese manuscript 1968, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos 168) The mechanistic frame of mind "sees" a dichotomy between consciouness and reality, subjectivity and objectivity, practice and theory.

 CONSCIOUSNESS DISCIPLINES in Asia and India, the consciousness is considered to be the primary constituent of 'reality' and the material world is a reflection of thought. Emphasizing the need for disciplining and training the individual's capacities for altering his consciousness states, these 'psychologies' or 'psycho-spiritual systems' are known as 'consciousness disciplines.' Their doctrines claim that there is a broad range of mental states which include the more profound and more adaptive 'higher' states of consciousness. These lead to the most profound insights of the mental processes which constitute 'reality,' indivisible from matter and the material world. Psychologies or psycho-spiritual systems known as consciousness disciplines emphasize the need for disciplining and training the individual's capacities for altering his consciousness states.   Many Eastern psychologies are based on the premise that the consciousness is the primary constituent of reality. Furthermore the individual's material environment is a reflection of thought and can therefore be changed by altering the state of consciousness. In order to adapt to environmental changes, the individual depends on the need to train the mind to alter its state  of consciousness. Hence the term 'consciousness disciplines'. The consciousness disciplines account for the important function of the so-called 'higher states' of consciousness which are the source of insights into both mental and material reality. 

CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE can be defined in terms of curiosity, cognition and intuition. The natural learning function of the brain - creative intelligence' - can be understood in terms of three interrelated functions - first, alertness to incoming environmental stimuli or 'information' which affects the senses and arouses the desire for inquiry and understanding i.e. 'curiosity'; second, processing of the information i.e. thinking or 'cognition'; third, intelligent decision making for responsive action which is creative and adaptive i.e.   'intuition'. Curiosity stimulates.. awakens cognition and cognition activates intuition. 

CREATIVE STRATEGY The individual focuses all  their energy on what they do want. People using it are positive and creative... they accomplish things which enhance the welfare and happiness of others as well as their own.  Characteristic of spiritual richness as opposed to spiritual poverty which is characterised by 'defensive strategy'. The individual focuses all their mental energy on what they do not want. People using it are continually in a position of potentially compromising whatever they may truly want in their lives for the sake of safety, security and sense of peace.

CREATIVITY   Human creativity is a process of adaptation. Creativity is the manifestation of the innate capacity of the organism to adapt to the environment in its constant endeavour to be itself... to maintain its wholeness or 'integrity'. Creativity is the expression of the urge to form new relationships and  thus to expand one's nature, to extend one's capacities, to develop one's potential, to mature one's character, to be oneself, to be whole or 'self-actualised'. The tendency towards self-actualization is intrinsic to the organism and the primary motivation for creativity. The creative force is activated with an education which provides the right conditions for its release."The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy..man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities. By this I mean the directional trend which is evident in all organic and human life - the urge to expand, extend, develop, mature - the tendency to express and activate all the capacities of the organism, or the self. ...it exists in every individual and awaits only the proper conditions to be released and expressed. It is this tendency which is the primary motivation for creativity as the organism forms new relationships to the environment in its endeavor most fully to be itself." (Rogers, C. On Becoming a Person. Cambridge, MA:: Riverside Press 1961. 351)

CRISIS The Chinese symbol for 'crisis' consists of two characters which represent the concepts of 'danger' and 'opportunity'. A crisis situation results from trying to apply the concepts of an outdated worldview or 'paradigm'- outdated concepts - to a reality that can no longer be understood or explained in terms of those concepts. This is the dangerous aspect of a crisis situation. Since new concepts are needed, the same crisis situation offers new opportunities. By the same token, the present educational crisis is an opportunity for change if outdated concepts of the traditional paradigm are not replaced by new concepts of the holistic paradigm. 

CRITICAL OBJECTIVISM A person who perceives reality with critical objectivism sees the world as a reality in process, in 'transformation.' Their actions are based on their perception of the reality of their world. He sees his situation, not as fated but as limiting and therefore challenging. He can reflect on his situation critically and objectively and then act on his objective perception of a reality in process. He can  make decisions on the basis of this  objective perception and move and work to change his situation and transform his world. People behave according to the perceptions which they have of the reality of their world. The person who is critically objective perceives their world as a reality in the process of transformation and then acts accordingly. They perceive their own situation in terms of its limits and opportunities and this challenges their capacity to make decisions and create  solutions to the problems of life.

CRITICAL THINKING "Each day be open to the world, be ready to think; each day be ready not to accept what is said just because it is said, be predisposed to reread what is read; each day investigate, question, and doubt. I think it most necessary to doubt." (Paulo Friere. Pedagogy of the Opressed. p.181)

 CURRICULUM "When the school is seen as the major part of the environment in which the child becomes an adult, and when it is accepted that the environment should be supportive of all-round growth, the meaning of 'curriculum' must be extended to encompass all that the child experiences." (Goble The Changing Role of the Teacher, Paris: UNESCO, 1977. Function of Teaching ch 3 page 63)

CURIOSITY Curiosity is the brain's natural capacity for observation and inquiry... curiosity is essential for the wholistic learning process which is necessary for survival of the human organism in a complex social environment...modern methods of instruction strangle the curiosity - observation and inquiry - requires stimulation and freedom... without freedom and stimulaton, curiosity is destroyed. 956.)  Curiosity is the brain's natural capacity for observation and inquiry and depends on conditions of stimulation and freedom. Without freedom, natural curiosity is strangled and holistic learning is not possible. Curiosity is natural common sense inquiry – the source of scientific endeavour or ‘science’  - which is rooted in the human instinct for self-preservation. "It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to rack and ruin without fail." (Einstein) curiosity is essential for the wholistic learning process which is necessary for survival of the human organism in a complex social environment..

  D words: declarative knowledge, deduction, democracy, dialogical knowledge, dichotomy, discipline, double planeness,

 DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE factual knowledge

DEDUCTION According to the CLASSIC THEORY OF INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION a general idea is built up in the following way: simple perceptions are acquired first and then associations are made. Comparisons uncover common factors and gradually reveal concepts of genus, species, class, and higher and more universal charateristics. One goes from the parts to the whole, from the simple to the composite or the complex. Deduction is a thought  process considered to be 'logical' because it is based on a premise  which is presumed to be 'self-evident'. Even though the given premise might in fact be untrue, conclusions are deduced nevertheless. In the debate on educational theory, deductive reasoning is valid  only if the premise upon which it is based is also valid. The validity of theoretical discussion of education depends on the holistic  perception of the human individual as a biological organism. The human organism is a social organism which depends on an education offering the right conditions for the proper development of human potential i.e. humanity or ‘self-actualisation’.                                                                   

 Deduction:  (Webster Collegiate Dictionary) "...meaning in logic: reasoning from the general to the particular, or from given premises to their necessary conclusion; also, the conclusion so reached. The principle of passing from the elements to the ensemble, is applied in the traditional methods of teaching natural sciences, languages, grammar, music, mathematics, history etc. as well as reading and writing. Most methods of teaching reading first present the symbols, letters and sounds, in order for tHe child to be able to read the different combinations in words and sentences. Most methods of teaching writing first present the symbols in order for the child to be able to combine them in words and sentences. Similarly before presenting the funcioning of the biological organism as a whole, the child is first taught the functions of the parts. In similar fashion, the child is taught the elements of matter, the words of a language, the grammatical parts of speech, musical notation, properties of numbers, chronological facts of human history and so on."

Logical deduction leads to a conclusion regardless of the truth or untruth of the premises. Conclusions are drawn on the basis of given 'self-evident' premises. If the premise is false, conclusions are nevertheless deduced from the false premise through a process of logical proof. The logical thought process which leads to the conclusion is known as 'logical deduction'. In this way, a conclusion is logically deduced from a given premise, regardless of whether or not the premise is true. In this way impeccably logical philosophies can be built on false premises. 

          INDUCTION, (Webster Collegiate Dictionary) meaning in logic: act or process of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal; the inference so reached.)

DEMOCRACY from Greek 'demokratia' from 'demos' the people, from Indo-European 'damos' a division of the people, from 'da' meaning to cut, divide plus 'kratein' to rule. 'Democracy' in the real sense is the right of the individual to the psychic development which belongs within their own psychic life. In this sense, it is undemocratic to impose external constraints on the individual's inherent psychic development...it is undemocratic to attempt to control an individuals's psychic development... Democracy used in the sense of American political ideology is the right to choose political candidates etc...

DEMOCRATIC treating persons of all classses the same way.. not 'snobbish'.

 DIALOGICAL KNOWLEDGE knowledge acquired from using dialogue   Dialogical knowledge is the knowledge one acquires in the process of contemplation of dialogue. 

DICHOTOMY  Considered from a higher consious state... 'holistic perception'... the so-called 'dichotomy' between  'freedom' (as personal freedom) and social responsibility disappears when it is understood that the individual must be responsible in order to be free and vice versa. With the understanding that personal freedom is not possible without a sense of social responsibility there is in fact no dichotomy. Freedom of the individual is not possible without a sense of responsibility to themselves and to others of the society in which they live.The responsible individual is responsible to himself in his 'freedom' and automatically responsible to society. Freedom and social responsibility are complementary. Education for the responsibility of freedom is 'holistic education'.

 "How is a social life possible for man if each one is only striving to assert his own individuality? This objection is characteristic of a false understanding in moralism. Such a moralist believes that a social community is possible only if all men are united by a communally fixed moral order. What this kind of moralist does not understand is just the unity of the world of ideas. He does not see that the world of ideas working in me is no other than the one working in my fellow man....A moral misunderstanding, a clash, is impossible between men who are morally free. To live in love towards our actions, and to let live in the understanding of the other person's will, is the fundamental maxim of free men. Persons who are free in this sense only obey themselves. Persons who are not free in this sense are 'unfree' - they submit themselves to control". (Rudolph Steiner Philosophy of Freedom)

DISCIPLINE The word 'discipline' when used in the context of education is commonly understood to mean obedience to rules ...expectations and codes of behaviour... imposed on the individual by an outside authority ...such as school teachers and administrations. In this context, the concept of freedom in the school is perceived as a lack of respect for authority, For many parents and educators the term 'freedom' in education implies a passive attitude, an abandonment of direction and supervision. They forget the dynamic concept of freedom, which implies direct involvement. Contrary to popular opinion, freedom is not synonymous with lack of discipline. Hence the commonly held notion that freedom and discipline cannot be worked out together in the same school environment. On the contrary, freedom is synonymous with discipline, specifically self-discipline. Discipline is derived from the process of concentrated attention on some activity which represents productive and creative interaction with the environment. Concentration involves  the individual's control over their own errors. For this reason discipline in the real sense is 'self-discipline'. Educators perceive a real predicament when the real source of confusion arises from a problem in semantics. The words 'freedom' and 'discipline' must be defined in the context of an educational environment in which freedom and discipline prevail together. "Discipline is born when the child concentrates his attention on some object that attracts him and which provides him not only with a useful exercise but with a control of error." (Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind p.264)

 DOUBLE PLANENESS 'Double planeness' refers to the personal aspect of the teacher. It stands for the degeree of congruence between the internal beliefs and values of the individual with the external behaviors. Double planeness operates below..at... the level of consciousness, closely related to 'congruence or 'empathy' ...refers to the degree of congruence between the internal beliefs and values of an individual and their external behaviours.                          Carl Rogers coined the term 'congruence' to refer to the exact correspondence between an individual's beliefs and their behaviours. 'Double plane-ness' is another term.  

  E. words: education, (banking eduation, liberal education), embeddedness,  ethical individualism, ethical relativism, ethics, evil, experience, experiential learning, epistomology, emancipation

 EDUCATION "Education is identical with helping the child realize his potentialities." (Footnote: the root of the word 'education' is 'e-ducare', literally to 'lead forth', or bring out something which is potentially present. Education in this sense results in 'existence' which means literally 'to stand out', to have emerged from the state of potentiality into that of manifest reality. Fromm Man for Himself, 207) "The opposite of education is manipulation, which is based on the absence of faith in the growth of potentialities and on the conviction that a child will be right only if the adults put him into what is desirable and cut off what seems to be undesirable. There is no need of faith in the robot since there is no life in it either."(Fromm Man for Himself, 207) 'Education' is futile if it involves the learning of material which has no personal meaning. Learning which does not involve the learner's feelings has no relevance for the whole person and is insignificant. Significant learning involves thought and feelings. Left to his own devices a child learns rapidly and effectively. He learns from experience. Learning with a quality of personal involvement - this is called 'experiential learning.' (Carl Rogers "Freedom to Learn" Charles Merrill Publishing Company, Columbus Ohio l969)

 EMANCIPATION is the principle of civilization. All else is intrigue. Emerson

 EMBEDDEDNESS Teaching is 'embedded' in learning. The two are not separate. The teacher and the student are not separate. Art, science, literature and music are 'embedded' in history. Each discipline can be understood in terms of the others. Human beings must not be considered in isolation. They are embedded in the environment and nature. Work is embedded in play and so on. Perceived in terms of the metaphor of 'embeddedness' opposites and dualisms disappear. Supposedly illogical paradoxes can be resolved when considered in the framework of this emerging worldview. With a holistic perspective, different subjects or aspects of  a subject are integrated so that dualities disappear. Each subject is 'embedded' in the others and can be understood in terms of the others. The metaphor of embedded-ness eliminates opposites and dualisms. In a discussion of education, teaching is embedded in learning, learning is embedded in work, work is embedded in play, play is embedded in development, development is embedded in learning and so on... teaching, human development and education. The human organism is embedded in nature in the environment.

EMPIRICISM The word comes from the Greek for 'experience' and 'trial'. The experiential approach to knowledge of reality is through sense data or 'empirical data'. Empirical data are based on observation, experiment and factual knowledge. In Western science, the groundwork  for empiricism was laid down by Galileo when he made observations which supported the  Copernican theory that the earth was round. He stressed the importance of observation, experiment and factual knowledge. He carried out experiments on the speeds of balls rolling down inclined planes and concluded that all objects fall to the earth's surface with the same speed regardless of their weight. With the telescope which he developed, he made observations on the planets. His observations supported the Copernican theory that the earth revolved around the sun, when the church was committed to the idea that the sun revolved around the earth. His belief that accurate observation and information supply useful information about the universe was considered 'heretical' in his day. He advocated looking at nature rather than Aristotle in order to learn the 'truth' about reality. The empirical approach to knowledge and the truth of reality is through the sense data. Galileo was the first to practise empiricism.  

EPISTOMOLOGY  The word 'epistomology' is derived from the Greek 'epiteme' meaning knowledge and 'logos' meaning study. Epistomology is the branch of philosophy which is concerned with the study or theory of the origin, nature and methods of knowledge, especially its limits and validity. Discussion of  the rationale for holistic education is an epistemological study.

ETHICAL INDIVIDUALISM "Acting out of freedom does not exclude the moral laws; it includes them, but shows itself to be on a higher level than those actions which are merely dictated by such laws. Why should my action be of less service to the public good when I have done it out of love than when I have done it only because I consider serving the public good to be my duty? The mere concept of duty excludes freedom because it does not acknowledge the individual element but demands that this be subject to a general standard. Freedom of action is conceivable only from the standpoint of ethical individualism." (Steiner, R. The Philosophy of Freedom. London: Rudolph Steiner Press. 138)

  EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING... 'Significant' or 'experiential' learning: the whole person in both his feeling and cognitive aspects is in the learning event. Learning of personal involvement is self-initiated, is pervasive, is evaluated by the learner and has meaning as its essence... 'experiential' or 'significant' learning involves thought and feelings...the whole person - in both his feeling and cognitive aspects - is in the learning event... learning from experience. Left to his own devices a child learns rapidly and effectively... Learning with a quality of personal involvement which is self-initiated, pervasive, evaluated by the learner and has meaning as its essence.

Learning is significant if the learner is free to learn from experience, hence 'experiential learning'. Experiential learning is self-initiated and pervasive and the learner is personally involved. The learning event engages the whole person. The person's learning involves their capacity for feeling or 'affectivity' as well as their capacity for thinking or 'cognition'.

"Every living creature, while it is awake, is in constant interaction with its surroundings. It is engaged in a process of give and take - of doing something to objects around it and receiving back something from them - impressions, stimuli. This process of interacting constitutes the framework of experience." John Dewey, How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation ofReflective Thinking to the Educative Process. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1933. 36)

                   

EDUCATION AND THE 'SCIENCE OF EDUCATION' The root of the word 'education' is derived from the Latin 'e-ducare' literally meaning 'to lead forth' or draw forth from within... bring out something which is potentially present... cultivate  human potential...the human potential for compassionate genius... creative intelligence which combine the understanding of reason with the kindness of compassion. "Education is an activity, an endeavour, an enterprise which is related to the notion of bringing up, rearing, leading forth. It is the human endeavour of self-development towards self-realization, self-actualisation, self-fulfilment, self-transcendence, the human endeavour towards happiness and the value life. Education is identical with helping the child realize his potentialities. Education in this sense results in 'existence' which means literally 'to stand out', to have emerged from the state of potentiality into that of manifest reality." (Erich Fromm. Man For Himself page 207)

  

      The term 'science of education' does not mean that education is a science or even a discipline in itself. The 'science' of education refers to the scientific nature of objective inquiry into education as a human activity. It is only recently that  the term 'education' has come to stand for a field of study which was once known as 'pedagogics'. It is in the sense of pedagogics that education is considered to be a subject of study which should be taught and developed by continued research. So what is education? Education is helping the individual to bring out their potential. The function of education is the provision of those conditions which are necessary for the actualization of potentiality and the cultivation of intelligence.  

 

ETHICS   According to Webster there are two definitions of the word 'ethics': one is the "science of moral values and duties" and the other is "the study of the of the ideal human character, actions and ends". The word 'ethics' is derived from the Greek word 'ethos' which originally meant both 'custom' and 'character'. Both the customs and the character of the individuals in a group were thought to be the basis of its ethos and therefore of its ethics. In the original broad sense of the word, ethics was concerned with the formation of the perfect human character. The term 'ethics' came to mean the 'science' of ideal human relatedness in terms f both 'custom' and 'character'. In American culture the 'word 'ethics' refers to codes of behaviour considered to be appropriate to particular situations. Thus 'medical ethics', 'business ethics' and so on. But according to the humanist traditions of philosophy there is only a universal 'human ethics’. Human ethics is natural or ‘rational ethics’. Rational ethics is a function of the proper development of moral consciousness or ‘conscience’. The human conscience is the inner core of human values which are common to all human beings.

 

 ETHICAL INDIVIDUALISM Ethical individualism is the moral action of freedom. "Acting out of freedom does not exclude the moral laws; it includes them, but shows itself to be on a higher level than those actions which are merely dictated by such laws. Why should my action be of less  service to the public good when I have done it out of love than when I have done it only because I consider serving the public good to be my duty? The mere concept of duty excludes freedom because it does not acknowledge the individual element but demands that  this be  subject to a general standard. Freedom of action is conceivable only from the standard point  of ethical individualism".(Rudolph Steiner).

 

EVIL 'Evil' is identified with the wickedness of human behavior...  The wickedness of human behavior is identified as 'evil'. What is the source of evil? Human behavior becomes evil only if the proper conditions for growth and development are lacking...evil human behavior results from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem...evil results from the failure to realize life...failure to achieve self-realization... Evil is the absence of good - the result of the failure to realize life. Man becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking.

Evil has no independent existence of its own... . Wicked human behaviour is the result of failure to achieve self-realization through proper growth and development i.e. the 'right education'.

 The creative energy for growth is blocked and that same energy is transformed to destructive ends. The individual remains  insecure with low self-esteem and attempts to compensate for this with feelings of sham dominance. The domineering attitudes which result are the source of wicked behaviour or  'evil'.

 The actualisation of a potentiality depends on the presence of certain conditions...the concept of potentiality has no meaning except in connection with the specific conditions required for actualisation. If the proper conditions are present, the 'primary' potentiality is actualized ('good') and if the present conditions are in contrast to those required by the primary potentiality, then the 'secondary' potentiality is realized. The primary potentiality is manifested under normal conditions. The 'secondary' potentiality is manifested under abnormal, pathogenic conditions... man is not necessarily evil but becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking. The human organism has a 'natural personality' which is not 'evil'...basically good... feelings of 'natural dominance' or 'self-esteem' lead to beneficial and creative behavior. Feelings of 'compensatory dominance' become 'overcompensatory' when they are derived from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem.The feelings of 'sham dominance' lead to domineering attitudes which result in wicked human behavior...manifestations of 'evil'...

 "If life's tendency to grow, to be lived, is thwarted, the energy thus blocked undergoes a process of change and is transformed into life-destructive energy. Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived life. Those individual and social conditions which make for the blocking of life-furtheriing energy produce destructiveness which in turn is the source from which the various manifestations of evil spring." (Fromm Man For Himself 216)

"To the extent that the individual is denying to awareness (repressing) large areas of his experience, then his creative formings may be pathological, or socially evil or both. To the degree that the individual is open to all aspects of his experience, and has available to his awareness all the varied sensings and perceivings which are going on within his organism, then the novel products of his interaction with his environment will tend to be constructive both for himself and others." (Rogers, C. On Becoming a Person. Cambridge, MA:: Riverside Press 1961. 352)

References:

Fromm, Erich. Man For Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics.

        

FACILITATIVE TEACHER The facilitative teacher is a self-empowered person who teaches for self-empowerment. Trusting their own power to control their life and their future - their own constructive potential- the facilitative teacher trusts the potential of others and feels no need to have power over them or to control their lives. He/she shares in decision making functions and makes responsible choices. The function of the facilitative teacher is to act as a catalyst in promoting... creating ...fostering a growth-promoting climate which will facilitate self-initiated learning ...in which the learner can learn to be free - exploring his own interests, making choices for his own learning direction and bearing the reponsibility for the consequences of those choices...The genuine person has a positive self-concept, is secure within himself and secure about his relationship with others... self-disclosing to their students and responsive to their feelings and their ideas... ready with praise... focuses on the continuing process of learning...the content of the learning process becomes secondary.......their approach to life and learning is person-centered.

FINAL INTEGRATION The final resolution of one's critical existential life crises after passing through numerous vocational problems and conflicts. In the integration process, one resolves oneself to one's life work... taking on the work responsibilty. The final integration is both a psychological and a spiritual accomplishment ..achievement (if it can be called that) in that one comes into one's own as a specific, distinct individual. Because of this one achieves a kind of spiritual health or wholeness which is a direct result of one's own truthfulness, courage, and conscious choices. First the achievement is psychological because in choosing one's work, one takes a conscious, responsible life direction and acts in such a way as to be psychologically 'there'... all of a piece, understandable, unique as an individual. One knows as the saying goes, 'what one wants to be when one grows up'. And knowing that, one grows up. Second it is a spiritual achievement because one's life is therafter dedicated to a conscious, intentional manner of living, rather than withdrawing or contracting oneself from life and being. One's steadfast functional effectiveness becomes a devotional act which consecrates everything it touches. This is because through the faculty of being, one is present in the moment. "The vocationally integrated person does not long for love: he has it. He does not yearn for happiness: he has it. He does not strive for completion: finality, satisfaction: he has these, and he has qualities in the very act and process of doing the work he enjoys. The healthier the personality, the more likely it is that the individual experiences his entire life (including his vocational life) in this abundant manner." Merton, Thomas. Contemplation in a World of Action. New York: Douleday and Co., Inc. l97l. pp. l75-l76) 

 The 'pursuit of happiness' is learning. "Flow experiences arise naturally from intrinsic motivation by virtue of the fact that we have a human mind which processes information." "Learning is time invested in yourself, in the growth and development of your own unique experience."

FLOW LEARNING  Flow learning  is learning which is intrinsically motivated or learning in the 'flow state'. The term 'flow learning' was coined by pioneer research in the field of happiness, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-SENT-mehi) head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Chicago and author of 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experiences.' Biochemical function of 'happiness': the opiates of the body called 'endorphins', influence the immune system. Make connection with high level wellness wholistic health and spiritual well being. World Press Review April 1993 page 22-23 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, University of Chicago."

The 'pursuit of happiness' is learning. "Flow experiences arise naturally from intrinsic motivation by virtue of the fact that we have a human mind which processes information."

"Learning is time invested in yourself, in the growth and development of your own unique experience."

 FORMALISM The combined effect of the Cardinal Principles and the emphasis on child diversity gave rise to the theory of 'educational formalism'. Born with "individual differences and capacities", children growing up in a democratic society were required to have access to different materials in order to attain literacy and numeracy. It was believed that "only under a formalistic concept" can all students command the same fundamental processes. Since children vary in their capacities, then the only way to achieve universal literacy and numeracy was to conceive of reading, writing and arithmetic as 'formal skills.' (E.D. Hirsch Cultural Literacy and the Schools. 120)

 FREEDOM   Ignorance breeds fear, suspicion, hatred, and confusion. As a result the individual lives in the prison of his own limitations, restricted understanding, emotions and activities...

'Freedom' is a frequently used word. There are two kinds of freedom corresponding to the inner and outer aspects of life - outer freedom and inner freedom. Outer freedom is freedom of action, political or social freedom. Inner freedom is freedom of the mind, freedom from restricted understanding and emotions of fear, suspicion, confusion, hatred, and  result from the ignorance of human nature and its potential... The bondage of ignorance breeds makes of the individual a prisoner of his own limitations. Inner freedom as 'freedom of thought' is essential for personality growth and development of intelligence which results from the realisation of one's personality and one's potential i.e. self-realisation or ‘self-actualisation’.

"Man is free in so far as he is able to obey himself  in every moment of his life." (Rudolf Steiner. Philosophy of Freedom.)

 "The ideas of freedom and democracy deteriorate into nothing but irrational faith once they are not based upon the productive experience of each individual but are presented to him by parties and states which force him to believe in these ideas." (Fromm Man For Himself 210)

 

 

GLOSSARY  G words:  genius, general systems theory, geocentric view of the universe, , good, global representation, global  

 GENIUS "All children are born geniuses...genius does its own thinking; it has confidence in its own exploratory findings, its own intuitions, in the knowledge gained from its own mistakes...." (An Appreciation of Montessori, Buckminster Fuller, 1975. Mario Montessori Education for Human Development, New York: Schocken Books, Ed. Paula Polk Lillard 1976.)

GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY:SYSTEM PHILOSOPHY The general systems theory is the scientific perception of the world in terms of 'whole' and 'wholeness'. The 'systems' approach is the 'wholistic' approach.The holistic approach to scientific methodology is also known as the 'systems approach'. The general system theory provides a philosophical framework for the orientation of scientific investigation.  A significant result of the introduction of a 'systems' or 'wholistic' approach to scientific methodology is the reorientation of thinking. The result is a new scientific paradigm known as 'system philosophy' which is based on the view of the world as a great organization or 'organism.' According to the system philosophy the sciences are systems of concepts - conceptual systems - which correspond with reality. For example, the human individual is an organized whole or 'organism'. System philosophy allows for the creation of new concepts regarding principles of education of the human organism i.e. 'holistic education'. 

 

GEOCENTRIC VIEW According to the geocentric view challenged by Galileo, the earth was thought to be at the centre of the universe and the sun to travel around it. This view has been replaced with the heliocentric view of the universe. The sun is a minor star at the edge of one of the many  galaxies in the universe and the earth is one of the planets which revolve around the sun.

 

GEOCENTREIC VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE According to the geocentric view of the universe (as opposed to the 'heliocentric' view of the universe) the earth is at the center of the universe and the sun revolves around the earth. According to the heliocentric view of the universe the earth is not at the center of the universe but one of the many planets circling the sun which is only a minor star at the edge of the galaxy.

GLOBAL REPRESENTATION or 'syncretism'. Ovide Decroly tcoined the term 'syncretic' to describe the thought process of the child (la pensee syncretique de l'enfant.) Named since Decroly's time as the 'syncretic' thought of the child  global representation is the perception of an object with fusion of all the details or qualities. In reality, instead of perceiving things by way of their qualities (Montessori's notion) the child begins to perceive things with all the qualities mixed and even his sensibilities are fused with the object being perceived. Syncretism (syncretisme) implies the fusion of everything belonging to the object, the fusion of details with the whole, of the whole with the details, of all the qualities, of the objective significance, of the child's emotional subjective significance and in effect the fusion of everything pertaining to the object.

GLOSSARY H words: happiness, heliocentric, hemispheric, hidden curriculum, human development, health or 'high level wellness', heliocentric, hemispheric specialization, holism, holistic, holistic education, holistic educator, holograph, human development, human nature

 

HAPPINESS Happiness is the response of the total personality to the productive orientation to itself and to its environment. Happiness results from the productive realization of one's potentialities. Characteristic of happiness are the simultaneous feelings of oneness with the world and integrity of the self i.e.'health' as wholeness or 'wellness'.  The happy person has found the answer to the problem of human existence ('existential isolation'). Happiness is virtue. Self-evaluation of personal achievement leads to contentment as serenity or 'happiness'. Happiness depends on a growth-promoting climate or 'learning environment' which encourages intrinsic motivation and self-evaluation."Happiness is the indication that man has found the answer to the problem of human existence: the productive realization of his potentialities and thus simultaneously, being one with the world and preserving the integrity of his self. (Fromm, Man For Himself p.189) "Happiness is man's greatest achievement; it is the response of his total personality to a productive orientation toward himself and the world outside."(Fromm Man For Himself p.191)  "Happiness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; nor do we delight in happiness because we restrain our lusts; but on the contrary, because we delight in it, therefore are we able to restrain them." (Spinoza, Ethic) The ultimate goal of human life is happiness.

 HELIOCENTRIC VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE According to the heliocentric view of the universe (as opposed to the geocentric view)  the earth is not the center of the universe but one of the many planets circling the sun which is a minor star at the edge of the galaxy. According to the geocentric view of the universe the earth is at the center of the universe and the sun revolves around the earth.

 HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION  'Hemispheric specialization' refers to specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. Specialization of the cerebral hemispheres is based on the way in which incoming stimuli are processed. The two hemispheres both process incoming stimuli but each is specialized to process them in different ways. The left hemisphere is specialized for logical and sequential processing of stimuli and is primarily engaged in those mental activities which involve the processing of words, numbers, and language. The right hemisphere is specialized for simultaneous and parallel processing or 'holistic',  and is primarily engaged in those mental activities which involve the processing of images, visual patterns and spatial relationships. The specialized functions of the two hemispheres are integrated by way of the large interconnecting fibres which relay information from one hemisphere to the other... the commissures, including the large corpus callosum. This is the biological basis for the brain's natural potential for holistic learning. Holistic learning is a function of the interdependent and integrated functioning of the two specialized hemispheres.    

HIDDEN CURRICULUM Philip Jackson coined the term 'hidden' or 'unstudied curriculum' to refer to ninety percent of what goes on in classrooms. "In his book Life in Classrooms (1968) Philip Jackson summarizes three central characteristics of school life: the crowds, the praise, the power. Learning to live in the classroom means first, learning to live and to be treated as a member of a crowd of same-age, same-status others.... second learning to live in a world in which there is impersonal authority, in which a relative stranger gives orders and wields power." (Kohlberg)

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