The Holistic Curriculum, Third Edition [3 ed.] 9781487519506

Table of contents :
Contents
List of Figures and Tables
Foreword
Preface
Part One: Holistic Curriculum: The Context
1. Holistic Curriculum
2. The Philosophic Context: The Perennial Philosophy
3. The Psychological Context: The Unconditioned Self
4. The Social Context: An Ecological/Interdependent Perspective
5. Historical Background
Part Two: Holistic Curriculum: Practice
6. Intuitive Connections
7. Body–Mind Connections
8. Subject Connections
9. Community Connections
10. Earth Connections
11. Soul Connections
12. Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum
Appendix: To Name the World: A Dialogue about Holistic and Indigenous Education with Four Arrows and Jack Miller
Credits
Index

Citation preview

THE HOLISTIC CURRICULUM

First published in 1988, The Holistic Curriculum addresses the problem of fragmentation in education through a connected curriculum of integrative approaches to teaching and learning. John P. Miller, author of more than seventeen books on holistic education, discusses the theoretical foundations of the holistic curriculum and particularly its philosophical, psychological, and social connections. Tracing the history of holistic education from its beginnings, this revised and expanded third edition includes new material on Indigenous approaches to education while also expanding upon the six curriculum connections: subject, community, thinking, earth, body–mind, and soul. This edition also includes an introduction by leading Indigenous educator Gregory Cajete, as well as a dialogue between the author and Four Arrows, author of Teaching Truly, about the relationship between holistic education and Indigenous education. JOHN P . MILLER teaches courses on holistic education and contemplative education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, where he is a professor.

This page intentionally left blank

JOHN P. MILLER

The Holistic Curriculum Third Edition

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London

© University of Toronto Press 2019 Toronto Buffalo London utorontopress.com Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 978-1-4875-0413-7 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-4875-2317-6 (paper)

Printed on acid-free paper with vegetable-based inks. Publication cataloguing information is available from Library and Archives Canada.

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Funded by the Financé par le Government gouvernement du Canada of Canada

Contents

List of Figures and Tables vii Foreword by Gregory Cajete ix Preface xv Part One: Holistic Curriculum: The Context 1 Holistic Curriculum 5 2 The Philosophic Context: The Perennial Philosophy 21 3 The Psychological Context: The Unconditioned Self 31 4 The Social Context: An Ecological/Interdependent Perspective 51 5 HistoricalBackground 65 Part Two: Holistic Curriculum: Practice 6 Intuitive Connections 89 7 Body–Mind Connections 115 8 Subject Connections 137 9 Community Connections 155 10 Earth Connections 173 11 Soul Connections 191 12 Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum 205

vi

Contents

Appendix: To Name the World: A Dialogue about Holistic and Indigenous Education with Four Arrows and Jack Miller 219 Credits Index

237 239

Figures and Tables

Figures 1.1 Yin and yang 10 1.2 Transmission position 14 1.3 Transaction position 15 1.4 Transformation position 15 1.5 A holistic stance 16 3.1 Assagioli’s concept of consciousness 41 3.2 Wilber’s integral approach 43 6.1 Metaphorical teaching 105 8.1 Integrated/holistic curriculum 139 8.2 The story model 149

Tables 3.1 The three positions and their psychologies 32 4.1 Transmission, transaction, and transformation in social contexts 62 6.1 Developmental integration of creativity and imaging 99

This page intentionally left blank

Foreword GREGORY CAJET E

One of the most important elements of holistic learning revolves around “learning how to learn.” Therefore, the cultivation of the human capacities for listening, observation, experiencing with all one’s senses, development of intuitive understanding, and respect for time-tested traditions of learning naturally form the basis for skills used in every process of holistic education. The work of Jack Miller in this volume “resonates” so well with both ancient and contemporary views of Indigenous education. His work has been one of the cornerstones of the contemporary holistic education movement. His work articulates aspects of holistic education that are at once spiritual, ecological, soulful, and practical. In this way his work parallels the tenets and orientations of Indigenous education. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, for example, developed a diverse variety of holistic approaches to teaching and learning. These approaches ranged from the loosely organized informal contexts for learning and teaching in hunter-gatherer tribes to the formally organized “academies” of the Aztecs, Maya, Inca, and other groups of Mexico, Central, and South America. Whatever the approach, there was a continuum of education that involved an array of ritual/initiatory practices that closely followed the human phases of maturation and development. In each phase of this continuum, an important aspect of learning how to learn was internalized. Traditional American Indian education historically occurred in a holistic social context that developed a sense of the importance of each individual as a contributing member of the social group. Essentially, education in a Tribal context worked at sustaining a life process. It was a process of education that unfolded through mutual, reciprocal relationships between one’s social group and the natural world. This relationship involved all dimensions of one’s being, while providing both personal development and technical skills through

x

Foreword by Gregory Cajete

participation in the life of the community. It was essentially an integrated expression of environmental education. Understanding the depth of relationships and the significance of participation in all aspects of life are the keys to traditional American Indian education. “Mitakuye Oyasin” (we are all related) is a Lakota phrase that captures an essence of Tribal education, because it reflects the understanding that our lives are truly and profoundly connected to other people and the physical world. Likewise, in Tribal education, knowledge is gained from first-hand experience in the world and then transmitted or explored through ritual, ceremony, art, and appropriate technology. Knowledge gained through these vehicles is then used in the context of everyday living. Education, in this context, becomes education for “life’s sake.” Education is, at its very essence, learning about life through participation and relationship to community, including not only people, but plants, animals, and the whole of nature. The expressions of Tribal education reflect traits that are shared by Indigenous cultures of the world. They are really expressions of the ancestral Tribal roots of all the families of humanity. In exploring the Tribal foundations of American Indian education, we are really tracking the earliest sources of human teaching and learning. What these foundations have to teach us is that learning is ultimately a subjective experience tied to a “place,” environmentally, socially, and spiritually. Tribal teaching and learning was intertwined with the daily life of both teacher and learner. Tribal education was a natural outcome of living in close communion with each other and the natural environment. The living place, the learner’s extended family, the clan, and the tribe provided both the context and source for teaching. In this way, every situation provided a potential opportunity for learning, and “basic” education was not separated from the natural, social, or spiritual aspects of everyday life. Living and learning were fully integrated. The ideals of such a process naturally became founded on the continuous development of self-knowledge, on “finding life” through understanding and participating in the creative process of living, on direct awareness of the natural environment, on knowledge of one’s role and responsibility to community, and on cultivating a sensitivity to the spiritual essences of the world. To attain such ideals required participation in a shared cultural metaphor and the continuity of knowledge, perception, experience, and wisdom afforded through the understanding and experience of Tribal elders. The cultivation of all one’s senses through learning how to listen, observe, and experience holistically by creative exploration was highly valued. In addition, the ability to use language through storytelling, oratory, and song was highly regarded by all tribes as a primary tool for teaching and learning. This

Foreword by Gregory Cajete

xi

was because the spoken or sung word expressed the spirit and breath of life of the speaker, and thus was considered sacred. A quality of informality characterized the greater part of American Indian teaching and learning, since most traditional knowledge had as context the day-to-day life experience of the people. However, formal learning was almost always required in the transfer of sacred knowledge. Therefore, various ceremonial practices formed a complex for the formal teaching and learning of sacred knowledge, which was founded upon experience and participation in a Tribal culture. Initiation rites occurred at graduated stages of growth and maturation. Important initiation ceremonies and accompanying forms of formal education were integrated with the natural physical and psychological transitions occurring at the end of early childhood, puberty, early, middle, and late adulthood, and old age. Ceremony was a lifelong process of introduction to sacred and environmental knowledge, and was graduated and programmed in such a way that individuals were presented new levels of knowledge when they were physically, psychologically, and socially ready to learn them. Hah ee is a Tewa word sometimes used to connote the process of “learning.” Its literal translation is “to breathe in.” Hah ee is an Indian metaphor that describes the perception of traditional Tribal education – a process of “breathing in” – which was creatively and ingeniously applied by each tribe. As a whole, traditional Tribal education revolved around experiential learning (learning by doing or seeing), storytelling (learning by listening and imagination), ritual/ceremony (learning through initiation), dreaming (learning through unconscious imagery), the tutor (learning through apprenticeship), and artistic creation (learning through creative synthesis). Through these methods, the integration of the inner and outer realities of learners and teachers was fully honoured, and the complementary educational processes of both realities were fully engaged. The legacy of the traditional forms of American Indian education are significant because they embody a “quest” for self, individual, and community survival and wholeness in the context of a community and natural environment. Tribal/Indigenous education is really “endogenous” education; that is, it is an educating of the inner self through enlivenment and illumination from one’s own being and the learning of key relationships. Therefore, the foundations of Tribal/Indigenous education naturally rest upon increasing awareness and development of innate human potentials through time. Based on this orientation, American Indians and other Indigenous groups used ritual, myth, customs, and life experience to integrate both the process and content of learning into the very fabric of their social organizations, thereby promoting wholeness in the individual, family, and community.

xii

Foreword by Gregory Cajete

This approach to educating is represented metaphorically in a phrase used by nearly all American Indians which, roughly translated, means “seeking life.” This metaphoric phase reflects the ideal purpose of education as a way to attain knowledge, and to seek truth, wisdom, completeness, and “life” as perceived by traditional philosophies of education around the world. A primary orientation of Indigenous education was that each person was in reality their own teacher, and that learning was connected to each individual’s life process. Meaning was looked for in everything, especially in the workings of the natural world. All things of nature were teachers of mankind; what was required was a cultivated and practised openness to the lessons the world had to teach. Ritual, mythology, and the art of storytelling, combined with the cultivation of relationship to one’s inner self, family, community, and natural environment, were utilized to help individuals realize their potential for learning and a complete life. Individuals were enabled to reach “completeness” by being encouraged to learn how to trust their natural instincts, to listen, to look, to create, to reflect and see things deeply, to understand and apply their intuitive intelligence, and to recognize and honour the teacher of spirit within themselves and the natural world. This is the educational legacy of Indigenous peoples. It is in its very essence holistic education. It is imperative that its message and way of educating be revitalized “for life’s sake” at this time of ecological crisis. Jack Miller’s work over these many years provides the philosophical foundation and inspiration needed as we collectively face the very real and pressing challenges of the twenty-first century. Cultural historian and philosopher Thomas Berry (1987) proposes a new context for education which is essentially a reinvention of the roles and contexts which are inherent to Indigenous education: The primary educator as well as the primary law giver and primary healer would be the natural world itself. The integral earth community would be a self-educating community within the context of a self-educating universe. Education at the human level would be the conscious sensitizing of humans to the profound communications made by the universe about us, by the sun, the moon, and the stars, the clouds, the rain, the contours of the earth and all its living forms. All music and poetry of the universe would flow into the student, the revelatory presence of the divine as well as insight into the architectural structures of the continents and the engineering skills whereby the great hydrological cycle functions in moderating the temperature of the earth, in providing habitat for aquatic life, in nourishing the multitude of living creatures would be as natural to the educational process. The earth would also be our primary teacher of sciences, especially biological sciences, and of industry and economics. It would teach us a system in which we

Foreword by Gregory Cajete

xiii

would create a minimum of entrophy, a system in which there is no unusable or unfruitful junk. Only in such an integral system is the future viability of humans assured. (79)

Berry’s comments mirror what might be termed a contemporized exposition of the Indigenous education processes of Tribal societies and the need for holistic education which Jack Miller so eloquently advocates. It is exactly within the light of such a vision that this story must unfold for Native and non-Native alike. If our collective future is to be one of harmony and wholeness, or if we are to even have a viable future to pass to our children’s children, it is imperative that we actively envision and implement new ways of educating for ecological thinking and sustainability. The choice is ours, yet paradoxically we may have no choice. Gregory Cajete is a professor in the division of Language, Literacy, and Socio-Cultural Studies in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico and author of several books on Indigenous education, including Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education (Durango, CO: Kivaki Press, 1994).

REFERENCE Berry, Thomas. 1987. “The Viable Human.” Revision 9 (2): 79.

This page intentionally left blank

Preface

The first edition of this book was published in 1988 and has been in print for thirty years. It was one of the few books included in the education section of the Whole Earth Catalogue. I believe holistic education has grown and expanded since the first edition. In recent years there have been several important developments in the field. For example, important conferences have taken place around the world. Under the leadership of Professor Yoshiharu Nagakawa, the Asia Pacific Holistic Education Network has held annual meetings in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia where holistic educators have come together to present their work. In North America, conferences have been held at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, the University of Manitoba, and Southern Oregon University. Southern Oregon University has also established a Center for Holistic Education. There is also the Holistic Special Interest Group (SIG) at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), where research is presented on an annual basis. In response to growing interest in the field, Information Age Publishing has initiated a book series entitled Current Perspectives in Holistic Education. An International Handbook of Holistic Education was published by Routledge in 2018, which includes contributions from holistic educators from around the world. This new edition includes several changes. In 2009, Equinox Holistic Alternative School opened and based part of its curriculum on this book. This school shows how the ideas here have been implemented in a public elementary school. Currently, this school has long waiting list of parents who want their children to attend. I have included examples from Equinox in the book’s second part, which deals with curriculum connections. Also included is more material drawn from Indigenous education, and the appendix includes a dialogue between Four Arrows and myself on the relation between Indigenous education and holistic education. I have updated the text with current examples

xvi

Preface

of holistic education practice, including contributions from teachers who have been in my classes at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. In 1985, I began teaching a course entitled The Holistic Curriculum, and the students in that course have contributed so much to this text, for which I am very grateful. I also want to express my gratitude to Doug Hildebrand, former acquisitions editor at U of T Press, who suggested that I revise The Holistic Curriculum, and Meg Patterson, the current editor, who has guided the book through the editorial and review process. I am very grateful to the University of Toronto Press for all the work they have done on the four books of mine they have published.

THE HOLISTIC CURRICULUM

This page intentionally left blank

PART ONE Holistic Curriculum: The Context

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter One

Holistic Curriculum

The Why and the What Holistic education attempts to bring education into alignment with the fundamental realities of nature. Nature at its core is interrelated and dynamic. We can see this dynamism and connectedness in the atom, organic systems, the biosphere, and the universe itself (Capra 1996). Unfortunately, the human world since the industrial revolution has stressed compartmentalization and standardization. The result has been fragmentation. This fragmentation permeates everything (Senge et al. 2004, 190). First, we have divided economic life from the surrounding environment and the result has been ecological devastation. We seem to have poisoned everything, including the vast expanses of the oceans, because we see ourselves as separate from the organic processes that surround us. This separation has also resulted in global warming. There is also social fragmentation. Most people in industrialized societies live in large cities where they feel afraid and cut off from others. Although crime rates have dropped, violence in urban areas is still a concern in North American cities. People are afraid to walk alone at night even in areas that used to be considered “safe,” such as the suburbs. The fragmentation can also be seen in the various forms of abuse that we witness today. We abuse ourselves with smoking, alcohol, and drugs. We abuse others, including the elderly, spouses, and children. This abuse, I believe, arises from people feeling unconnected to each other and cut off from valid forms of community. Another form of fragmentation is within ourselves. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1990, 54) wrote, “The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is because man is disunited with himself.” We find ourselves disconnected from our bodies and our hearts. Education specifically has done much to

6

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

sever the relationship between head and heart. Anything that is not part of academic discourse is labelled “touchy-feely.” As result, in industrialized society we live in our heads. One indicator of this we see in the media is people drawn with large heads and tiny bodies. This is symbolic of the way we see ourselves and how we live in our heads, denying our deeper knowing and intuitions. Finally, Joseph Campbell (1986) described another form of fragmentation in our culture – a lack of shared sense of meaning, or mythology. In North America there seem to be no shared values; the media constantly refers to the “culture wars” in the United States. This lack of consensus becomes apparent when we try to deal with such issues as gun control, abortion, euthanasia, and gay rights. The closest we come to a worldview is scientific materialism, which is represented in the media and the education system. This worldview suggests that the only reality is physical, and that the only way we can understand and control this reality is through the scientific method. Materialism is connected to consumerism, which encourages us to collect as many material goods as possible. The more goods we have, the better we are supposed to feel. However, many people who have acquired material well-being don’t feel whole. Gregg Easterbrook (2003) documents how people live much better materially than their parents and grandparents did, but are not as happy. Some people sense something is missing and, for lack of a better word, we call this something “spirituality.” Here we define spirituality as a sense of the awe and reverence for life that arises from our relatedness to something both wonderful and mysterious. The fragmentation I have been describing is also found in our education system. We divide knowledge into subjects, units, and lessons. Yet students often cannot see the relationship between these subjects, the relationship between facts within a subject, or the relevance of the subject to life. The Batesons (1987) have summarized this point: The truth that the aborigine and the peasant share is the truth of integration. By contrast, we must be concerned today because, although we can persuade our children to learn a long list of facts about the world, they don’t seem to have the capacity to put them together in a single, unified understanding – there is no “pattern that connects.” (196)

It is clear that we live in a time of transition. The old industrial order is crumbling. The factory model is dying. Yet we are not sure what is replacing it. However, it is possible to identify certain images that reflect a new, emerging mythology. One image that has been cited by Joseph Campbell and others is the picture of the earth taken from the moon. This picture has enhanced a sense of global connectedness, as it shows a world without boundaries. Russell Schwiekart, a US astronaut, said, “You look down there and you can’t

Holistic Curriculum

7

imagine how many borders and boundaries you crossed again and again and again. And you don’t even see ’em … From where you see it, the thing is a whole, and it’s so beautiful” (cited in Senge 1990, 370). Looking at that picture can restore in us a sense of awe and wonder. Emerson (1990, 25), in the nineteenth century, suggested that human beings had lost their “original relation to the universe.” If this was true in that century, it is even more poignant today as the media has become our lens to the universe. One of the reasons for the interest in Indigenous peoples’ spirituality is that their worldviews help awaken in us our original relationship to nature. The images of the earth support a new mythology based on a sense of interdependence and connection. Rooted in the reality of nature itself and supported by various spiritual traditions, this vision of interdependence is at the heart of many changes in business, health, and education. The impetus behind the change, I believe, is to put our life and our institutions more in harmony with the way things are. If nature is dynamic and interconnected and our education system is static and fragmented, then we only promote alienation and suffering. But if we can align the institutions with this interconnection and dynamism, then the possibilities for human fulfilment increase greatly. Since the last edition of this book was published, the word “holistic” has been used more and more to frame issues and approach problems. People often ask about the root meaning of holistic. The word holistic comes from the Greek word holon, and makes reference to a universe made up of integrated wholes that cannot simply be reduced to the sum of its parts. Holistic is sometimes spelled as “wholistic.” I do not use the words interchangeably, but suggest that “holistic” implies spirituality, or a sense of the sacred, while “wholistic” is more material and biological, with an emphasis on physical and social interconnections. I believe Dewey argued for wholism, while Gandhi and Steiner were holistic in their perspective. Aims of Holistic Education What are the ultimate aims of holistic education? Below are what I believe are the goals that holistic educators strive to achieve.

Wholeness/Well-Being The vision of human wholeness is an ancient one, as most cultures have had some concept of The Whole. It can be found in the worldviews of Indigenous peoples, Greek culture, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, and the American transcendentalists. Each element in our body is interconnected and our bodies are connected to all that surrounds us. These interconnections form The

8

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Whole. Indigenous peoples also intuited The Whole. Dhyani Ywahoo (1987), a Cherokee, has written: The circle teachings represent the cycle of all things that spiral in the ever-moving universe, in a process of constant movement and subtle change in harmony together. Thus each one of us, within the circle of our own time and space, is ever spiraling with our thoughts, words, and actions toward realization of the whole. The circle represents complete harmony and balance. (37; emphasis mine)

Wholeness recognizes the interconnected nature of experience and the multidimensionality of human beings. Holistic education fosters this awareness in ourselves and in students. We see the relationship between the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of life. Wholeness gives rise to a sense of well-being and happiness. I believe that happiness is not a direct goal of holistic education, but can arise when we feel whole and connected. Today positive psychology has presented research on happiness, and some of this research is discussed in chapter 3. Nel Noddings’s (2003) book on Happiness and Education examines how happiness can be nurtured in educational settings. Wholeness also includes accepting the “shadow” within. It does not mean creating some ideal model of the human being and trying to live up to that model. Instead, it calls for acceptance for all that happens to us in the moment, which can include suffering, ignorance, and misunderstanding. The tendency in our culture has been to repress our shadow side. Acceptance does not mean glorification of our neuroses, just an awareness that they are there. This awareness can be the beginning of healing.

Wisdom and Compassion Wisdom is seeing deeply into the nature of things and acting on that understanding. As noted above, science and ecology shows us the interconnectedness of things or that everything exists in relationship. Spiritual wisdom also focuses on this interconnectedness in the perennial philosophy, which describes reality as multiplicity within a harmonious whole (Huxley 1945). A revisionist vision of the perennial philosophy (Ferrer 2017) is presented in the next chapter. When as human beings we experience this interconnectedness, a natural compassion can arise for all beings. I emphasize the word experience, as this is not just an intellectual realization but comes from deep within. Wisdom includes a critical perspective. This is the critical perspective of a Gandhi or King that sees injustice and acts to resist injustice. However, in the

Holistic Curriculum

9

struggle for justice there is still compassion for those who oppose – that is, the oppressors.

Awe and Wonder Michael Lerner (2000) has stated that awe and wonder should be the first goals of education. Einstein believed that awe and wonder about the mystery of the universe motivated him and other scientists in their inquiries. It is out of this original relationship that awe and wonder naturally manifest. Witnessing nature can give rise to this relationship: for example, watching the clouds move in the sky, seeing a starry night, or observing birds in flight. The arts can also open us to awe and wonder through music, dance, and poetry. Deresiewicz (2014, 158) paraphrases the poet Shelley, saying that “art burst the spirit’s sleep.”

Sense of Purpose/Mastery Dhyani Ywahoo (1987, 163) has written: “In the circle of life we each have special gift, a special function … The gift or function of each person are necessary for the benefit of the whole family of human beings and those that walk, crawl, swim or fly. We are all relatives.” Holistic education should help the student find a sense of purpose in life. Education should help the student discover what they are good at and how they commit themselves to working on those gifts or talents. Education should provide spaces for this to happen; a narrow curriculum that focuses on the “three Rs” is an obstacle to this discovery. Dhyani Ywahoo (1987, 104) writes how we can discover our life purpose: “Look at what comes easily … What are the areas you feel called to work in? … When do you feel the most clear flow of energy?” Of course, we may have more than one life purpose, and these can change as we grow and develop. So it is important to keep listening within and also hearing what the universe is saying to us. Holistic Education: Balance, Inclusion, and Connection To achieve these aims there are three basic principles in holistic education: balance, inclusion, and connection.

Balance The philosophical roots of balance come from the Tao and the concepts of yin and yang, which are seen as complementary and interconnected energies. Yin

10

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Figure 1.1 Yin and yang

and yang each contain the seed of the other, and thus each is transforming into the other. Laurence Boldt (1999, 27) describes the relationship between the two: “All things have arisen mutually and mutually supportive, in the sense that they require one another as a condition of their existence … the night requires the day; the day the night; the good, the bad; the bad, the good and so on.” The symbol for yin and yang, shown in figure 1.1, is well known. Yin and yang need each other for there to be health in the cosmos, the earth, cultures, institutions (e.g., schools and classrooms), and the individual. If one predominates to the exclusion of the other, sickness arises. One could argue that Western culture and education has been dominated by yang, which tends to emphasize the rational, the material, the masculine, and the individual to the exclusion of the intuitive, the spiritual, the feminine, and the group. This imbalance, one could argue, has led to sickness in the culture and institutions. Let’s look at the classroom in terms of yin and yang: Yang

Yin

Individual Content Knowledge Rational Quantitative Assessment Assessment/Evaluation Technology Techniques/Strategies

Group Process Imagination Intuitive Qualitative Assessment Instruction/Learning Program Vision

Holistic Curriculum

11

INDIVIDUAL/GROUP

Education in North America has tended to emphasize individual competition rather than group collaboration. Although this has changed somewhat, with greater emphasis being placed on cooperative learning, the current focus on testing and individual achievement strongly reinforces yang energy in schools. Students compete against each on standardized tests in order move through the system. CONTENT/PROCESS

Covering the content has often been at the centre of curriculum and teaching. However, with the knowledge explosion and a rapidly changing world, there has been interest in helping students to learn and to process information. KNOWLEDGE/IMAGINATION

Curriculum reformers such as Hirsch, Kett, and Trefil (1988) have argued that there is certain essential knowledge that children should learn, and that this should take priority in teaching. Another view is that knowledge is co-created as students construct their own meaning and ways of knowing. Imagination plays an important role in this process. Recent curriculum reforms, however, have tended to emphasize covering content and testing how well students have covered the content. RATIONAL/INTUITIVE

Our education system and the culture as a whole have emphasized rational and linear approaches to problems. A more holistic approach calls for a merging of reason and intuition. When these two elements are connected, student thinking is enriched. However, approaches that emphasize intuition seem to rarely enter the classroom. Iain McGilchrist (2009) has made a powerful case how we need to use both linear thinking and intuitive thinking, which are rooted in the two hemispheres of the brain. His research is discussed in chapter 6. QUANTITATIVE/QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT

Quantitative assessment is represented by the standardized test, which tends to dominate in the age of accountability. Qualitative assessment is seen in the use of portfolios, where a continuum of student work can be seen and assessed. Portfolios and other forms of qualitative assessment have made inroads, but students and teachers in elementary schools in the US have focused on the quantitative testing associated with the federal No Child Left Behind legislation (Abeles 2015).

12

Holistic Curriculum: The Context TECHNIQUE/VISION

In the West we have tended to focus on technique. In education this has meant an excessive emphasis on teaching and assessment strategies without a corresponding link to a broader conception of learning and a vision of the whole child. In contrast, educators such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner offered a balance between technique and a vision of the whole person. ASSESSMENT/LEARNING

Today we seem almost obsessed with testing and reporting. When this obsession becomes so strong we tend to lose our focus on learning, and particularly natural, organic learning processes. Curriculum becomes teaching to the test rather than the facilitation of learning. A balance needs to be restored between assessment and learning. Anne Quindlen (2005, 88), a commentator for Newsweek, has written: “Our education system is broken; accountability and standards will fix it. This is the mantra of government testing programs, from local certifications to the federal No Child Left Behind program, which might as well be called No Child Left Untested.” TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAM

Another current obsession is technology. Some educators argue that we need a computer or an iPad for every child in the classroom. Again, a broader programmatic vision is needed to set technology in a proper context. A technologydriven curriculum is ultimately a narrow and limited curriculum. There is also the relation between the whole and the part, as holistic teaching seeks to keep the two in balance. Generally, we have focused on the part as we have broken the curriculum into subjects, units, and lessons; yet we lack an encompassing vision that inspires us. In the holistic curriculum we attempt to link the unit and lesson to a larger vision. This vision can vary but it usually involves a sense of interdependence and personal wholeness. Tolle (2005) describes his vision of the whole: One the one hand, the whole comprises all that exists. It is the world or the cosmos. But all things in existence, from microbes to human beings to galaxies, are not really separate things or entities, but form part of a web of interconnected multidimensional processes. (276)

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (1997) also presented a vision of the relationship between the individual and the whole: Whether the universe is a concourse of atoms, or nature is a system, let this first be established: that I am a part of the whole that is governed by nature; next, that

Holistic Curriculum

13

I stand in some intimate connection with other kindred parts. For remembering this, inasmuch as I am a part, I shall be discontented with none of the things that are assigned to me out of the whole; for nothing is injurious to the part, if it is for the advantage of the whole. (77)

The holistic curriculum then seeks the “right relationship” between the part and the whole, where both are acknowledged and nourished. Inclusiveness Another way to look at holistic education is to link together various educational orientations. Three orientations – transmission, transaction, and transformation – are described here, together with how they might be viewed in a holistic manner (Miller and Seller 1985).

Transmission Position Transmission learning is characterized by the student receiving and accumulating knowledge and skills. Learning in this form can occur by reading a text or listening to a teacher’s explanation. Knowledge is seen as fixed rather than as a process, and is usually broken down into smaller units so that students can master the material. Transmission learning is common when we begin to learn a particular skill. For example, in order to drive we have to learn the basic laws and rules of driving, and thus we study the driving handbook so we can pass the written test. In learning to perform a skill, transmission learning tends to be imitative and repetitive. The young child learns to talk by imitating the speech of his or her parents. In learning a sports skill, such as hitting a golf ball, we watch the instructor and then repeat the skill over and over. Historically, the transmission position has a long history and has two strands. One strand is the behavioural; the second strand has focused on students studying the standard subjects taught in a traditional style (for example, lecture and recitation). In either case, the relationship between the curriculum and child is illustrated in figure 1.2. In the behavioural strand this relationship is known as stimulus–response (S–R), while in the traditional subject curriculum the teacher or text conveys information to the student. In both cases there is essentially a one-way flow, or transmission, of skills and knowledge. There is little or no opportunity to reflect on or analyse the information.

14

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Figure 1.2 Transmission position

Transactional Position The transactional position is more interactive, although the interaction is mainly cognitive. The student in transaction learning is often solving a problem or pursuing some form of inquiry. Knowledge is not viewed as something that is fixed in small units but as something that can change and be manipulated. The scientific method is often used as a model for transaction learning. John Dewey ([1938] 1969) noted that the scientific method is: The only authentic means at our command for getting at the significance of our everyday experiences of the world in which we live … Consequently, whatever the level of experience, we have no choice but either to operate in accord with the pattern it provides or else to neglect the place of intelligence in the development and control of a living and moving experience. (88)

The transaction position can be characterized by an emphasis on dialogue between teacher and student (figure 1.3). However, this dialogue stresses cognitive interactions, since analysis is stressed more than synthesis and thinking more than feeling. Teaching models which are based in the transaction position usually have some set of procedures for inquiry and problem solving. Sometimes these procedures are rooted in a particular discipline such as physics or history, or alternatively they are more generalized, as found in various thinking skills models. The learner is generally seen as rational and capable of intelligent behaviour, or as a problem solver.

Transformation Position Transformational learning acknowledges the wholeness of the child (figure 1.4). The curriculum and child are no longer seen as separate but connected. The aim of the transformation position is the development of the whole person. The student is not reduced to a set of learning competencies or thinking

Holistic Curriculum

15

Figure 1.3 Transaction position

Figure 1.4 Transformation position

skills but is seen as a whole being. Certainly, when we view the student as less than a whole person, we diminish the chance for authentic learning to occur. The teacher working from this position will use strategies such as creative problem solving, cooperative learning, and the arts, which encourage students to make various types of connections. These connections make learning personally and socially meaningful to the student. In the transformation position we are also concerned about links with the other forms of learning. This might be diagrammed as in figure 1.5. Here the transmission position is viewed as the smallest domain, while the transformation position is the most inclusive. Again, inclusiveness is another important factor in holistic learning. As long as the form of learning does not discriminate or diminish the individual in any way then it can be included. This diagram is certainly not the only way the positions can be related, but the one shown moves to a more holistic stance. I have described other diagrammatic relationships of the three positions elsewhere (Miller 2010). In my classes I ask the student to diagram or picture the way that they see the relationship between the three positions. I encourage the students to play with the three positions as a way of exploring holistic learning, rather than using them as a system to categorize various types of learning and curricula.

16

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Figure 1.5 A holistic stance

Connections Holistic education also involves exploring and making connections as it attempts to move away from fragmentation to connectedness. The focus of holistic education is on relationships: the relationship between linear thinking and intuition, the relationship between mind and body, the relationships among various domains of knowledge, the relationship between the individual and community, the relationship to the earth, and the relationship to our souls. In the holistic curriculum the student examines these relationships so that they gain both an awareness of them and the skills necessary to transform the relationships where appropriate. This definition centres on connection and can be explored in a number of different contexts. The connections/relationships are briefly outlined below.

Linear Thinking and Intuition The holistic curriculum attempts to restore a balance between linear thinking and intuition. Various techniques such as metaphor and visualization can be integrated with more traditional thinking approaches so that a synthesis is achieved between analysis and intuition.

Relationship between Mind and Body The holistic curriculum explores the relationship between mind and body so that the student senses the connection between the two. This relationship can be explored by movement, mindfulness, dance, and drama.

Holistic Curriculum

17

Relationships among Domains of Knowledge There are many different ways we can connect academic disciplines and school subjects. For example, Waldorf education connects subjects through the arts.

Relationship between Self and Community The holistic curriculum sees the student in relation to community. Community refers to the classroom, the school community, the community of one’s town and nation, and the global community. The student develops interpersonal skills, community service skills, and social action skills.

Relationship to the Earth This connection can involve listening to what Thomas Berry (1988) calls the voices of the earth. Western industrialized society can no longer hear these voices, which include the sounds of animals, the rippling of the stream, or even the roar of the wind. This connection involves seeing ourselves as part of the web of life rather than separating ourselves from the earth.

Relationship to the Soul Ultimately, the holistic curriculum lets us realize our deeper sense of self, our soul. For centuries various philosophic and spiritual traditions have discussed the two selves of human nature. One’s self is the ego, which is our socialized sense of who we are. It involves all the roles we play, such as wife/husband, father/mother, and daughter/son, as well as our job identity. Beyond this self is what has been called our soul, or what Emerson called the “big person.” The soul opens to us in moments when we hear a piece of music, see a child at play, are deeply involved in our work, or are simply being present to nature. Our ego sees self as separate from everyone else and often competing with others in a never-ending struggle. There is no struggle for the soul, since it senses a deep connection to others and all life. It realizes separation is an illusion exposed by a fundamental unity.

Equinox Holistic Alternative School Since the last edition of this book, a public elementary school in Toronto has used these connections to frame its curriculum. The Holistic Curriculum has been given to teachers in the school as a guide. Founded in 2009, Equinox is

18

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

the largest alternative school in the Toronto District School Board and has a long waiting list of families who would like to enroll their children (see https:// equinoxschool.ca). Equinox is a K–8 school with 200 students. It is housed in a building that contains another school, Roden Public School, and is located in the east end of Toronto in a neighbourhood known as Little India. It sits on a large lot with trees and grass. I have had the privilege of being connected with the school since a group of teachers and parents began developing the proposal for the school in 2007. In 2015, I conducted a qualitative study of the school in which I interviewed nine teachers and the principal, nine parents, and nine students including four former students who were in high school (Miller 2016). The study along with other data show that the holistic curriculum can support public schools in developing programs that not only educate the whole child but flourish. Last week (April 2018) I attended an event at the school where teachers and parents discussed the school’s vision. Again, I was impressed by the positive energy and strong sense of community that the school has been able to maintain since its inception. A principal from a prestigious private school visited Equinox and said “This school has soul.” There has been interest from people in different countries, including Spain, Korea, and Norway. In October 2017, I gave a talk on whole child education and Equinox in Oslo (you can see it at www.youtube .com/watch?v=3q4HVnAuQ6w&t=85s). In the second half of this book, which focuses on the six connections, I include examples of how Equinox has used these connections in the curriculum and the classroom. The last chapter finishes with a brief description of the school.

REFERENCES Abeles, Vicki. 2015. Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation. New York: Simon & Schuster. Aurelius, Marcus. 1997. Meditations. New York: Dover. Bateson, Gregory, and Mary Catherine Bateson. 1987. Angels Fear: Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred. New York: Macmillan. Berry, Thomas. 1988. The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. Boldt, Laurence G. 1999. The Tao of Abundance: Eight Ancient Principles for Abundant Living. New York: Penguin. Campbell, Joseph. 1986. The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion. New York: Alfred van der Marck. Capra, Fritjof. 1996. The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. New York: Doubleday.

Holistic Curriculum

19

Deresiewicz, William. 2014. Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. New York: Free Press. Dewey, John. (1938) 1969. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan/Collier Books. Easterbrook, Gregg. 2003. The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. New York: Random House. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1990. Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems. Edited by Robert D. Richardson, Jr. New York: Bantam. Ferrer, Jorge N. 2017. Participation and Mystery. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Hirsch, E.D., Jr, Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. 1988. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Huxley, Aldous. 1945. The Perennial Philosophy. New York: Harper. Lerner, Michael. 2000. Spirit Matters. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads. McGilchrist, Iain. 2009. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press. Miller, John P. 2010. Whole Child Education. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. – 2016. “Equinox: Portrait of a Holistic School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3–4): 283–301. Miller, John P., and Seller, Wayne. 1985. Curriculum: Perspectives and Practice. New York: Longman. Noddings, Nel. 2003. Happiness and Education. New York: Cambridge University Press. Quindlen, Anne. 2005. “Testing: One, Two, Three.” Newsweek, 12 June. https://www .newsweek.com/testing-one-two-three-119621 Senge, Peter M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday. Senge, Peter, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers. 2004. Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organization, and Society. New York: Doubleday. Tolle, Eckhart. 2005. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. New York: Dutton. Ywahoo, Dhyani. 1987. Voices of Our Ancestors: Cherokee Teaching from the Wisdom Fire. Boston: Shambhala.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Two

The Philosophic Context: The Perennial Philosophy

The “perennial philosophy” (Huxley 1945) provides the philosophic underpinnings of the holistic curriculum. The perennial philosophy holds that all life is connected in an interdependent universe. The Perennial Philosophy/A Relaxed Universalism The roots of holistic education can be found in a core wisdom underlying various spiritual traditions and teachings. This core wisdom is referred to as the perennial philosophy. It is possible to identify the perennial philosophy, or at least aspects of the philosophy, within the mystical thread of most religions and spiritual psychologies. In the West, the search for the perennial philosophy can be traced to thinkers such as Plotinus and Augustine. In the East it has its roots in the Upanishads, the Tao Te Ching, and the teachings of the Buddha. The term was first used by Agostino Steuco in referring the work of the Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino. Leibniz picked up this thread in the eighteenth century. In the last century, Aldous Huxley (1945) wrote a book on this topic; his brief definition of the perennial philosophy is: The metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man’s final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being – the thing is immemorial and universal. (vii)

More recently, Ken Wilber (1997) has written extensively about the perennial philosophy.

22

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

It is important not to approach the perennial philosophy in a reductionist manner (Ferrer 2007). The universality of the perennial philosophy must also respect the diversity of spiritual traditions and practices. Ferrer calls for a “more relaxed universalism” (156) that acknowledges the mysterious relationship between the one and many. It is in this spirit that I attempt to outline in more detail the major principles of the perennial philosophy. Although Ferrer is critical of the term “perennial” philosophy, I think it is possible to have a relaxed universalism while using the term “perennial” but bringing a stronger awareness and respect for pluralistic approaches to spirituality and spiritual practices. For this purpose I draw on the following individuals: Gandhi (Hinduism), the Dalai Lama (Buddhism), Ralph Waldo Emerson (transcendentalism), Dhyani Ywahoo (Cherokee native), Wagamese (Ojibway native), and Thomas Merton (Christian mysticism). Anna Lemkow (1990) has identified an important paradox in relation to the perennial philosophy when she writes: A paradoxical feature of the perennial philosophy is that it is perennial, a recurrent yet open-ended wisdom that develops commensurately with the evolution of human consciousness. For, as Lama Anagarika Govinda stated in another context, wisdom is not merely an intellectually formulated doctrine, proclaimed at a certain point in human history, but a movement which reveals its deepest nature in contact with different conditions and circumstances of human life and on every new level of human consciousness. (24)

The relaxed universalism of Ferrer and the perennial philosophy are not static but dynamic, and manifest in “different conditions and circumstances.” Lemkow’s book is an important foundational text in holism, and she explores the meaning of wholeness in relation to science, religion, and society. In my view of the perennial philosophy, it contains the following elements: 1. There is an interconnectedness of reality and a mysterious unity in the universe. 2. There is an intimate connection between the individual’s inner self, or soul, and this mysterious unity. 3. Knowledge of this mysterious unity can be developed through various contemplative practices. 4. Values are derived from seeing and realizing the interconnectedness of reality. 5. This realization can lead to social activity designed to counter injustice and human suffering.

The Philosophic Context

23

The Interconnected Nature of Reality and the Mysterious Unity of the Universe The perennial philosophy acknowledges diversity and that the universe is in process; however, underlying the diversity and change is a unity. Seeing this unity is one of the five wisdoms of the Cherokee people. Dhyani Ywahoo (1987, 95) writes of “the wisdom of existence, recognizing the fundamental unity of things, notwithstanding differences in external aspects.” This unity is not monistic; instead, the emphasis is on the relationships between the whole and the part, or the one and the many, which I described briefly in the previous chapter. In fact, it is these relationships that are at the heart of the perennial philosophy. Ferrer refers to Martin Buber (1970) and Paul Mendes-Flohr (1989) and to the realm of “the Between,” which is the place between objects. This is the mysterious nature of relationship and of the divine unity. Relationship is not static but dynamic. David Bohm (1980, 151) referred to this as “holomovement,” and stated that “holomovement is undefinable and immeasurable.” Indigenous peoples also intuited this movement. In Ywahoo’s (1987) words, already cited in the previous chapter: The circle teachings represent the cycle of all things that spiral in the ever-moving universe, in a process of constant movement and subtle change in harmony together. Thus each one of us, within the circle of our own time and space, is ever spiraling with our thoughts, words, and actions toward realization of the whole. The circle represents complete harmony and balance. (37)

For Gandhi (1980, 63), this unity reveals itself in the immediacy of daily life, and he claims that this unity lies behind all religions. He said, “The forms are many, but the informing spirit is one. How can there be room for distinctions of high and low where there is this all-embracing fundamental unity underlying the outward diversity? For that is a fact meeting you at every step in daily life. The final goal of all religions is to realize this essential oneness.” Gandhi’s position, that this unity is evident in everyday life, reflects the notion that the interconnectedness of reality should not be relegated to remote forms of mysticism. Interconnectedness and interdependence also lie at the heart of Buddhism. In speaking about concepts, The Dalai Lama (1995, 110) says: “We will find that many of our concepts indicate a very deep, very complex inter-connectedness. For instance, when we speak of ourselves as subjects, we can make sense of that notion only in relation to an object – the idea of a subject makes sense only in relation to an object.”

24

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Einstein (1984, 102) spoke of a cosmic religion which involves an awareness of the harmony of nature: “The individual feels the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought. Individual existence impresses him as a sort of prison and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole.” The Intimate Connection between the Individual’s Inner Self, or Soul, and the Mysterious Unity In his journal, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1913, 190) stated: “A man finds out that there is somewhat in him that knows more than he does. Then he comes presently to the curious question, Who’s who? which of these two is really me? the one that knows more or the one that knows less: the little fellow or the big fellow.” Emerson’s (1913) little fellow is our personal ego, which strives to impose its will on the universe. The big fellow, which is referred to as the Atman (Hinduism), Kingdom of God within (Christianity), and Buddha-nature (Buddhism), realizes the futility of such endeavours and merely seeks to be in tune with the unity. When we are in touch with the “big fellow,” we “are not to do, but let do, not to work, but to be worked upon” (190). With the little fellow, we strive and manipulate; with the big fellow, we listen and see and, according to Emerson, are subject to a “vast and sudden enlargement of power.” Emerson is referring to a creative power that is similar to Einstein’s cosmic religion that inspires the artist and the scientist. Dhyani Ywahoo (1987, 162, 26) writes, “We are all born pure; we all have the perfect mind of Creation within … The fire of clear mind is in everyone, and to remove any obscuration of its clarity is the duty of all people at this time, that each one may remember and fine our way again to the source of our being.” Richard Wagamese (2011, 169), an Ojibway, writes, “I believe that we carry moonbeams and stardust and the whirls of comet tails within, and we will merge into those elements when this physical life has ended. By greeting our universe with wonder, we prepare ourselves to receive its secrets.” Gandhi (1980) described the relationship between the individual soul and the cosmos in this way: I believe in the absolute oneness of God and, therefore, of humanity. What though we have many bodies? We have but one soul. The rays of the sun are many through refraction. But they have the same source. I cannot, therefore, detach myself from the wickedest soul nor may I be denied identity with the most virtuous. (72)

For Gandhi, the connection with God leads to the connection with all humanity.

The Philosophic Context

25

Wisdom or Knowledge of the Mysterious Unity Can Be Developed through Various Contemplative Practices A consistent thread in the perennial philosophy is that the rational mind, which focuses on analysis, cannot fully grasp the wholeness of existence. Instead, intuition should be cultivated in order to see more clearly the interrelatedness of reality. Gandhi (1980, 62) refers to intuition as that “still small voice within” that prods him to social action: “There are moments in your life when you must act, even though you cannot carry your best friends with you. The ‘still small voice’ within you must always be the final arbiter when there is conflict of duty.” Specific approaches have been advocated to cultivate intuition. These methods, which include contemplative practices (e.g., meditation), body work, and loving service, have been developed to help one to “see.” Again, this seeing is usually a gradual awakening to the interconnectedness of things. Emerson, for example, suggested that it was helpful to be quiet and to listen. In this quiet, we can gain access to the “infinitude” within each person. Gandhi (1980) believed that silence was helpful in seeking God. He said, It [silence] has now become both a physical and spiritual necessity for me. Originally it was taken to relieve the sense of pressure. Then I wanted time for writing. After, however, I had practiced it for some time, I saw the spiritual value of it. It suddenly flashed across my mind that that was the time when I could best hold communion with God. And now I feel as though I was naturally built for silence. (101)

The contemplation of Emerson, however, is different from Gandhi’s meditation. In Eastern practices meditation tends to be more focused (e.g., repeating a mantra or counting one’s breath) than contemplation, which is more unstructured. It is important to realize the diversity of methods used to come in contact with the unity and not assign priority to any one method or practice. Ferrer writes that there is a “deep correspondence between the embodied human being, the universe, and the Mystery out of which everything arises” (Ferrer and Sherman 2007, 40) He argues for a participatory engagement with a “dynamic and undetermined mystery, spiritual power and/or generative force of life or reality” (142). The goal of this participation in the great mystery of life is to overcome self-centredness and to realize a “blossoming of all dimensions of the person” (153). He believes that a participatory perspective does not privilege one perspective and can allow for the development of “more holistic knowledge” (152). The participation that Ferrer refers to usually involves

26

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

various contemplative spiritual practices that allow the person to engage the mystery. This participation includes our body, which in various traditions is seen as a microcosm of the cosmos. Indigenous peoples have used a variety of contemplative practices. One is the vision quest. Ywahoo (1987, 55) says, “Sit a bit and watch. We call this the vision quest. We may sit for many days as long it takes for peace to be recalled to our hearts.” Richard Wagamese (2011) uses silence to touch the spirit: Being spiritual in the Indian way means simply getting in touch with whatever moves your spirit. Silence is one tool I employ. A painting, a photograph, a good book, the words of a song, a blues riff, the touch of a hand, quiet talk, a walk with my dog: all of these things also move my spirit. When you learn to carry that feeling into everything you do, your life becomes a ceremony. (128)

Values Are Derived from Seeing and Realizing the Interconnectedness of Reality Values are derived from realizing the fundamental connectedness between individuals; in other words, values are linked to relatedness. Positive values enhance or realize relatedness, and negative values foster separateness and paranoia. Compassion, for example, is a central value in the perennial philosophy. The Dalai Lama consistently refers to the importance of compassion. If we experience interconnectedness and interdependence, a natural sense of compassion for all beings tends to arise. Not seeing ourselves as separate, we feel a basic connection to living beings, both human and non-human. According to the Dalai Lama (1995, 63), “Compassion is based on a clear acceptance or recognition that others, like oneself, want happiness and have the right to overcome suffering. On that basis one develops some kind of concern about the welfare of others, irrespective of one’s attitude to oneself. That is compassion.” He also refers to importance of compassion and loving kindness in all relationships, including teaching. At one point he says: “It is my experience that those lessons which we learn from teachers who are not just good, but who also show affection for the student, go deep into our minds” (60). He adds: “Compassion for the students’ lives or futures, not only for their examinations, makes your work as a teacher much more effective” (72). Thomas Merton ([1959] 2004, 135) also wrote about compassion that arises out of a sensitivity to another’s inner life. He said: “Compassion and respect enable us to know the solitude of another by finding him in the intimacy of our own interior solitude.”

The Philosophic Context

27

An Awareness of the Mysterious Unity of Existence Leads to Social Action to Counter Injustice and Human Suffering This last principle is usually not included in descriptions of the perennial philosophy, but I believe it arises from the other principles. If human beings realize they are part of a fundamental unity, then they naturally feel a connectedness and responsibility to others. Most important is the idea that social reform should start from within. According to Emerson (1903a, 272): “The origin of all reform is in that mysterious fountain of the moral sentiment in man, which, amidst the natural, ever contains the supernatural for men. That is new and creative. That is alive. That alone can make a man other than he is.” (Emerson’s “moral sentiment” is analogous to his “big fellow,” which is connected to something bigger than himself or herself. Although Emerson was not a social activist, he spoke out against slavery and particularly against Daniel Webster’s support of the Fugitive Slave Law. He also opposed the exclusion of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia and supported women’s rights. Gandhi, of course, was a social activist who used ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (soul force) as vehicles for social change. For Gandhi (1980), religion and politics cannot be compartmentalized: I could not be leading a religious life unless I identified myself with the whole of mankind, and that I could not do unless I took part in politics. The whole gamut of man’s activities today constitutes an indivisible whole. You cannot divide social, economic, political and purely religious work into watertight compartments. I do not know any religion apart from human activity. It provides a moral basis to all other activities which they would otherwise lack, reducing life to a maze of “sound and fury signifying nothing.” (63)

Based on his holistic perspective, Gandhi did act to relieve the suffering of his people and to help India become independent of British rule. What is instructive about Gandhi is that his social activity tended to be soul-based rather than ego-based. The famous salt march to the sea is good example of this, as the idea for the march came to him in a dream one night after months of meditation and reflection. Some people (see Fischer 1954) have argued that the salt march was the most important event leading to Indian independence. Merton ([1959] 2004, 129) wrote about a “theology of love” which must address injustice in the world. He said this theology “must seek to deal realistically with the evil and injustice in the world, and not merely to compromise

28

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

with them … Theology does not exist merely to appease the already too untroubled conscience of the powerful and the established.” If the perennial philosophy focuses solely on spiritual practices without reference to the relief of suffering then there is the danger of narcissism. Ultimately, the perennial philosophy and related practices should lead to an active and dynamic love. This love arises from a deep sense of connection to the earth, all living beings, and the cosmos. Conclusion It is fitting to close this chapter with Gandhi’s (1980) conception of education, since I relied on his work in outlining the perennial philosophy. It is, I believe, one of the best definitions of holistic education: I hold that true education of the intellect can only come through a proper exercise and training of the bodily organs, e.g., hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc. In other words an intelligent use of the bodily organs in a child provides the best and quickest way of developing his intellect. But unless the development of the mind and body goes hand in hand with a corresponding awakening of the soul, the former alone would prove to be a poor lopsided affair. By spiritual training I mean education of the heart. A proper and all round development of the mind, therefore, can take place only when it proceeds pari passu with the education of the physical and spiritual faculties of the child. They constitute an indivisible whole. According to this theory, therefore, it would be a gross fallacy to suppose that they can be developed piecemeal or independently of one another. (138)

Here is a vision of education that is radically different from the one we see proposed by governments and the media today. Based in the core wisdom of the perennial philosophy, I find it to be deeply inspiring

REFERENCES Buber, Martin. 1970. I and Thou. Translated by Walter Kaufman. New York: Scribner. Bohm, David. 1980. Wholeness and the Implicate Order. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Dalai Lama. 1995. The Power of Compassion. San Francisco: Thorsons. Einstein, Albert. 1984. “Cosmic Religious Feeling.” In Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World’s Great Physicists, edited by K. Wilber, 101–5. Boulder, CO: Shambhala. (Reprinted from Ideas and Opinions, by A. Einstein [New York: Crown, 1954])

The Philosophic Context

29

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1903. The Complete Works, vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. – 1913. The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, vol. 9. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Ferrer, Jorge N., and Jacob H. Sherman, eds. 2007. The Participatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religious Studies. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Fischer, Louis. 1954. Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. New York: Mentor. Gandhi, Mahatma. 1980. All Men Are Brothers: Autobiographical Reflections. Edited by K. Kripalani. New York: Continuum. Huxley, Aldous. 1945. The Perennial Philosophy. New York: Harper. Lemkow, Anna. 1990. The Wholeness Principle: Dynamics of Unity with Science, Religion, and Society. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. Mendes-Flohr, Paul. 1989. From Mysticism to Dialogue: Martin Buber’s Transformation of German Social Thought. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Merton, Thomas. (1959) 2004. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Wagamese, Richard. 2011. One Story, One Song. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. Wilber, Ken. 1997. The Eye of the Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Boston: Shambhala. Ywahoo, Dhyani. 1987. Voices of Our Ancestors: Cherokee Teaching from the Wisdom Fire. Boston: Shambhala.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Three

The Psychological Context: The Unconditioned Self

The perennial philosophy is based on the concept that within each human being there is an unconditioned self, or soul. This is the deepest part of being, which at the same time is connected to the highest principle of the universe – God, or the Tao. In Hinduism there is the reference to the Atman (individual consciousness)–Brahman (universal consciousness) connection. Before examining the soul in more detail, let’s review briefly the three positions and their psychologies, as presented in table 3.1. Behavioural psychology ignores the inner life of the person and is only concerned with environment and behaviour. Stimuli and reinforcements are designed to influence how a person acts; for example, positive reinforcement is used to increase the frequency of a particular behaviour while negative reinforcement is designed to decrease the frequency of a behaviour. Cognitive psychology focuses on cognition and intelligence. In most cases, it has centred on what Gardner (1983) calls logical-mathematical intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is what the French psychologist Jean Piaget studied in his own work. No mention is made of spiritual intelligence, or wisdom, which is one of the main goals of transpersonal psychology. Wisdom is intelligence rooted in the soul. The ancients call this the “thinking heart.” Wisdom links intuition and intelligence in order to deal with the large questions: What is our role in the universe? How can we deal with human suffering? Transpersonal psychology has two sources. One source is the mystical traditions within the major faiths – Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. The other source includes psychologies such as Jungian psychology and psychosynthesis, which include a spiritual element. We will now turn to the conceptions of the soul within the major spiritual traditions.

32

Holistic Curriculum: The Context Table 3.1 The three positions and their psychologies Position

Psychology

Location

Focus

Transmission

Behavioural

Body

Behaviour

Transaction

Cognitive

Mind

Intelligence

Transformation

Transpersonal

Soul

Wisdom

Christianity Jesus continually referred to the Kingdom of God; but what are the characteristics of this Kingdom? First of all, it is within us (Luke 17:21). Jesus used parables to elaborate on the meaning of this Kingdom. He said: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field” (Matthew 13:44). The Kingdom, then, is something that is discovered within. In order to discover it one needs a certain way of seeing. One needs to drop all conditioning and become like a child (Mark 9:35–7). Jesus was critical of the Pharisees, who followed elaborate rules and laws; instead, he advocated a radical awakening. He said: “For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Here, Jesus is clearly referring to profound inner transformation. Once this transformation has begun, he compares the growth of soul (the Kingdom of God) to other images of growth: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches. (Matthew 13:31–2; see also Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18–19) The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through. (Matthew 13:33; see also Luke 13:20–1)

When realized within us, the Kingdom of God leads to wholeness. Jesus often said, “Your faith has made you whole.” Different mystics and sages have elaborated on Jesus’ conception of the kingdom within us. Augustine, Eckhart, Teresa, John Wesley, and Thomas Merton are among those who have referred to the spiritual centre. They have

The Psychological Context

33

called it the soul, the eye of the soul, the ground of being, the heart, or the transcendental Self (McNamara 1975). Generally, Christians hold that our soul is not God, but the point within us where God touches us. In other words, it is where we and God meet. Merton ([1959] 2004) develops the concept of the unconditioned self in an unpublished manuscript called The Inner Experience. Merton calls this the “inner self” and contrasts it to our ego, or the exterior “I.” He says: But the exterior “I,” the “I” of projects, of temporal finalities, the “I” that manipulates objects in order to take possession of them, is alien from the hidden, interior “I” who has no projects and seeks to accomplish nothing, even contemplation. He seeks only to be, and to move (for he is dynamic) according to the secret laws of Being itself, and according to the promptings of a Superior Freedom (that is, of God), rather than to plan and to achieve according to his own desires. (5)

In contrast, the inner self or “I” is characterized by the capacity for the deepest connection with others: The inner “I” is certainly the sanctuary of our most personal and individual solitude, and yet, paradoxically, it is precisely that which is most solitary and personal in ourselves which is united with the “Thou” who confronts us. We are not capable of union with one another on the deepest level until the inner self in each one of us is sufficiently awakened to confront the inmost spirit of the other. (22)

How can we awaken the inner self? Merton ([1959] 2004) suggests that we can awaken the inner self through contemplation and love. He also argues that the two are closely related: In fact, contemplation is man’s highest and most essential spiritual activity. It is his most creative and dynamic affirmation of his divine sonship … Solitude is necessary for spiritual freedom. But once that freedom is acquired, it demands to be put to work in the service of a love in which there is no longer subjection or slavery. Mere withdrawal, without the return to freedom in action, would lead to a static and death-like inertia of the spirit in which the inner self would not awaken at all. (34, 24)

Merton, then, refers to a balance between contemplation and service to others. If we become too inward-oriented, we lose touch with others; however, if we become too caught up in the external world, then we can become lost in the exterior “I” and the delusions of our ego.

34

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Judaism The unconditioned self is also found within Judaism. When Moses saw the burning bush on Mount Horeb, he encountered his soul: And Moses said unto God: “Behold when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them: The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me: What is His name? what shall I say unto them?” And God said unto Moses: “I AM THAT I AM”; and He said: “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:13–14)

In a common interpretation of the passage, “I AM” is another name for our soul. There is also an ancient mystical strand within Judaism known as the Kabbalah (Hoffman 1980), which acknowledges that there is a part within us that is connected to the Divine. The Kabbalah states that there are three aspects to each person: (1) nefesh, a type of biological energy; (2) the ruah, or spirit, which is another name for the individual’s psyche; and (3) neshamah, or the Self, which unites the person with the universal divine essence. The Kabbalah recommends techniques similar to various Eastern spiritual practices in the attempt to reach this unity. For example, according to Abraham Abulafia, a Kabbalist of the thirteenth century, advocated Yogic postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. Other Kabbalistic practices have involved the recitation of special rhythmic prayers that are similar to Hindu mantras. For example, it is recommended that the person meditate on the inner sound of “Aleph,” the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Rabbi Naomi Levy (2017) has written a book about the soul. She writes: “Invisible threads of connection run through us and through the entire universe. The soul’s consciousness links us to the blade of grass beneath our feet and to the majesty of the high peaks and to the souls of the living and the dead” (26). Buddhism Buddhism posits that our selves or egos are an illusion; instead, Buddhists refer to our true nature as Buddha-nature. Bodhidarma, the Indian Buddhist sage who brought Buddhism to China in the sixth century AD, said: “If you wish to seek the Buddha, you ought to see into your own Nature for this Nature is the Buddha himself” (cited in Suzuki 1956, 87). As in the other spiritual traditions, the person needs to look inwards. Bodhidarma said: “If, instead of seeing into your own Nature, you turn away to seek the Buddha in external things, you will never get at him” (88).

The Psychological Context

35

Chih, a Chinese Buddhist monk of the eighth century AD, described one’s true self in this way: This Nature is from the first pure and undefiled, serene and undisturbed. It belongs to no categories of duality such as being and non-being, pure and defiled, long and short, taking in and giving up; the Body remains in its suchness. To have a clear insight into this is to see one’s Self-nature. Therefore, seeing into one’s Selfnature is becoming the Buddha. (Cited in Suzuki 1956, 206)

Generally, Buddhists see the unconditioned self as empty and interconnected with all things and all life. Many Buddhists don’t even like to use the word self or soul. It is important to realize that when one uses the term self or soul, it is simply a metaphor for relinquishing our sense of separateness and acknowledging that we exist without boundaries. Chogyam Trungpa (1984, 30) described Buddha-nature as a basic goodness. He says, “Every human being has a basic nature of goodness, which is undiluted and unconfused. That goodness contains tremendous gentleness and appreciation.” Trungpa goes on to describe how this goodness can unfold: The basic point is that, when you live your life in accordance with basic goodness, then you develop natural elegance. Your life can be spacious and relaxed, without having to be sloppy. You can actually let go of your depression and embarrassment about being a human being, and you can cheer up. You don’t have to blame the world for your problems. You can relax and appreciate the world. (32)

How can we access this basic goodness? Again meditation is the main vehicle: Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road. Our journey consists of constant ups and downs, hope and fear, but it is a good journey. The practice of meditation allows us to experience all the textures of the roadway, which is what the journey is all about. Through the practice of meditation, we begin to find that within ourselves there is no fundamental complaint about anything or anyone at all. (84)

Hinduism As mentioned earlier, Hinduism discusses the connection between individual and universal consciousness as Atman–Brahman. The purpose of spiritual practice is to discover the Atman within oneself. When this is done, union with

36

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Brahman is also realized. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita describes the Atman in the following manner: Know this Atman Unborn, undying, Never ceasing, Never beginning, Deathless, birthless, Unchanging for ever. How can It die The death of the body? Knowing It birthless, Knowing It deathless, Knowing It endless, For ever unchanging, Dream not you do The deed of the killer, Dream not the power Is yours to command it. Worn-out garments Are shed by the body: Worn-out bodies Are shed by the dweller Within the body. New bodies are donned By the dweller, like garments. Not wounded by weapons, Not burned by fire, Not dried by the wind, Not wetted by water: Such is the Atman, Not dried, not wetted, Not burned, not wounded, Innermost element, Everywhere, always, Being of beings, Changeless, eternal, For ever and ever. (Cited in Johnson 1971, 56–7)

The Psychological Context

37

How does one realize the Atman? The mystic literature of Hinduism, or the Vedanta, describes four methods by which a person can attain union (yoga) with God. One form is karma yoga. Karma yoga is the path of selfless service where we offer the fruits of our work to God. In their daily life the person offers his or her work to God and thus becomes pure in heart. Jnana yoga is the way to God realization through the intellect. The person learns to discriminate between the Eternal and the non-Eternal. By learning to discriminate between the Eternal and non-Eternal, the individual focuses his life on the Eternal and thus realizes the Atman within. The path of devotion is Bakhti yoga. People who follow this path fill their hearts with love for the Divine. For example, the devotee may repeat the name of God in order to merge with the Divine. Raja yoga is a fourth path, where the individual focuses on meditation as vehicle for union. Here the yogi develops one-pointedness of mind so that he or she can concentrate fully on God. It is possible that a yogi may use all these methods, but probably the person will concentrate on one method as the main vehicle for union. The choice will depend to some extent on the temperament of the yogi. Islam To examine the unconditioned self in Islam, I would like to turn to Sufism, which is a mystic form of the Islamic faith. Sufism was a reaction to intellectualism and legalism in some forms of Islam. Sufism claims that God can be experienced by light, knowledge, and love. Divine union, or Tawhid has two main stages: (1) Fana, or the extinction of the ego; and (2) Baqa, or reintegration in God. Al-Ghazali, an Islamic theologian of the twelfth century AD, made Sufism more acceptable within orthodox Islam. Jalaudin Rumi, the thirteenth-century AD Sufi, was a famous poet who also founded the Melvlevi order of “whirling dervishes.” The dervish uses the dance, as well as repeating the Name of God, Allah, to realize Self. Rumi said this about the search for God: Cross and Christians, end to end, I examined. He was not on the Cross. I went to the Hindu temple, to the ancient pagoda. In none of them was there any sign. To the uplands of Herat I went, and to Kandahar. I looked. He was not on the heights or in the lowlands. Resolutely, I went to the summit of the (fabulous) mountain of Kaf. There only was the dwelling of the (legendary) Anqu bird. I went to the Kaaba of Mecca. He was not there. I asked about him from Avicenna, the philosopher. He was beyond the range of Avicenna … I looked into my own heart. In that place, I saw him. He was in no other place. (Cited in Shah 1970, 105)

38

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Indigenous Spirituality Indigenous peoples believe that all things are invested with spirit. Thus religion, or more appropriately spirituality, infuses all aspects of life. There is no separation of life into compartments; everything is seen as related and connected. Knudston and Suzuki (1992, 13), in their book on native wisdom, make this point: “The Native Mind tends to view the universe as the dynamic interplay of elusive and ever-changing natural forces, not as a vast array of static physical objects. The landscape itself, or certain regions of it, is seen as sacred and quivering with life.” Because the Indigenous person sees spirit in everything, they are imbued with a deep sense of reverence for nature. They see themselves in a mutual relationship with earth and its habitants and feel a responsibility to help preserve and care for both: The Native Mind tends to emphasize celebration of and participation in the orderly designs of nature instead of rationally “dissecting the world” … It tends to reveal a profound sense of empathy and kinship with other forms of life rather than a sense of separateness from them or superiority over them. (15)

The Inuit who live in northern Canada believe that each being, including animals, has a soul. Knudston and Suzuki (1992, 41) write, “They envision the soul as a tiny being, a minute version of the creature that it animates and transforms.” Like in other religions, the soul is viewed as indestructible and thus survives death. As we face large environmental challenges such as global warming and pollution of the oceans, the Indigenous worldview is now seen as something very important and relevant to help heal the planet. Religions and the Soul This review of how the major faiths articulate their conception of the soul is not an attempt to gloss over differences in conceptions. Even within the various faiths there are disputes about the nature of the person and his or her relationship to God. For example, in Christianity the monastic and contemplative traditions have not been predominate. Yet there do seem to be more similarities than differences among the mystical strains of the faiths. Again, these commonalities have formed the core of the perennial philosophy.

The Psychological Context

39

Transpersonal Psychology and the Unconditioned Self Transpersonal psychology developed as a field in the 1960s, and was an outgrowth of humanistic psychology. Carl Jung is often cited as a foundational figure in the field. Carl Jung For Carl Jung (1968, 161), the soul lies at the centre of the psyche and is the “inventor, organizer, and source of dream images.” Jung suggests that the soul can send images to the ego and that these images are important to the person’s spiritual development. The person needs to turn inward to hear the messages of the soul. Jung (1933) suggests that an image can surface when an individual is confronting a problem or can provide inspiration for artistic activity. The soul is also closely linked with what Jung called the “collective unconscious.” The collective unconscious is the source of universal archetypes and images that often can arise within the soul and reveal issues and themes in our lives. Again, there is no boundary between the soul and the collective unconscious. Like the Atman–Brahman connection, one is simply a microcosm of the whole. Thomas Moore Although he does not consider himself a Jungian, Thomas Moore has read the collected work of Jung three times and keeps these volumes near as he writes. Thomas Moore’s work has focused on the soul and his writing has been crucial to bringing a discussion of soul into psychology and education. Care of the Soul was his first major contribution, and was based on his work as a therapist. His writing is also influenced by Renaissance philosophers such as Marsilio Ficino and Paracelsus. Soul for Moore (1992) is not easily defined but involves, genuineness, depth and imagination. “Soul is revealed in attachment, love, and community, as well as in retreat on behalf of inner community and intimacy” (xii). Caring for the soul is not about “curing, fixing, changing or adjusting,” which is found so much in self-help books. Instead, “it remains patiently in the present, close to life as it presents itself day by day, and yet at the same time mindful of religion and spirituality” (xvii). Moore believes that “psychology and spirituality need to be seen as one” (xviii). Instead of adjustment, care of the soul leads to being “connected in the heart to ancestors and to living brother and sisters in all the many communities that claim our hearts” (xxi).

40

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

This means not dismissing the darkness that can arise in life, sometimes called the dark night of the soul. In considering one’s work, Moore (1992) writes: We like to think that we have chosen our work, but it could be more accurate to say that our work has found us. Most people can tell fate-filled stories of how they happen to be in their current “occupation.” These stories tell how the work came to occupy them, to take residence. Work is a vocation: we are called to it … finding the right work is like discovering your own soul in the world. (272–3, 279)

Moore (1992) also writes about love as “an event of the soul … Does the experience lead to a broader vision or an awareness of divine things?” (117) As we experience the tragedies of our loves, Moore writes that “we are being initiated into the mysterious way of the soul. Love is the means of entry and our guide. Love keeps us on the labyrinthine path” (128). Moore (2018) has also recently written about the soul in education. Psychosynthesis Robert Assagioli, the founder of psychosynthesis, articulated the concept of the Higher or Transpersonal Self. Figure 3.1 is a diagram of Assagioli’s (1965, 17) conception of consciousness. The lower unconscious (1) represents the person’s psychological past in terms of repressions and distant memories. Psychosynthesis attempts to tap these memories. If they are ignored, the repressed energy can lead to neurosis and dysfunction. The middle unconscious (2) is our present state of mind and is applied to our field of consciousness (4). Our field of consciousness is what we perceive at the present moment. Our potential future is represented by the superconscious (3). Here we receive our highest intuitions and inspirations: “artistic, philosophical or scientific, ethical imperatives and urges to humanitarian and heroic action. It is the source of higher feelings, such as altruistic love; of genius and the states of contemplation, illumination and ecstasy” (Assagioli 1965, 17–18). These three levels of consciousness can be viewed in a developmental or evolutionary sense where the lower unconscious is seen as an early stage of development and the superconscious as a more evolved form of awareness. Assagioli was influenced by Jung and saw the individual psyche surrounded by the collective unconscious (7). All individuals, then, are connected through this collectivity. Assagioli makes the distinction between our personal self and our Transpersonal Self. The former is our ego, which is defined by our personal desires

The Psychological Context

41

Figure 3.1 Assagioli’s concept of consciousness

and our social role. The Transpersonal Self, however, is not bound by personal ambition but has a holistic vision that connects the psyche with the universal. Psychosynthesis has developed a number of techniques to work with different parts of the psyche. Piero Ferrucci (1982) describes a number of these techniques in What We May Be. One of the techniques is visualization; below is one example: The Diamond Vividly imagine a diamond. See all its shining facets, perfectly integrated into one whole. See the perfection of its shape. Hold the diamond in front of your inner eye, and let yourself be pervaded by its crystalline beauty. The word “diamond” comes from the Greek adamas, “unconquerable.” As you identify with this diamond, sense it connecting you to that part of you which is likewise unconquerable, your Self.

42

Holistic Curriculum: The Context Your Self is unconquerable by fear, by obscurity, by the pulls and the pushes of everyday conditioning. It is untouched by the shadows of the past, the monsters of worry, the phantoms of the future, the demons of greed, the dictatorship of social conformity. It is your very essence, shining through innumerable facets and yet one. Realize that you are that Self, and, as the image of the diamond fades away, let this sense of Self strengthen and grow ever clearer in you. (123–4)

Other exercises include identifying one’s subpersonalities and dialoguing with these personalities; disidentification with subpersonalities; dialoguing with one’s inner guide, or Self; working with one’s will; focusing attention and contemplating on ideal qualities (e.g., joy, gratitude, love, etc.). Some of these techniques will be described more fully in the second part of this book. Ken Wilber Ken Wilber has become one of the principal figures in transpersonal psychology. His output has been voluminous and he has presented various models of human and spiritual development. In his early work he developed what he called a spectrum of consciousness. Later he focused more on hierarchical growth, where one develops through stages and the self is realized through this progression. Wilber has developed what he calls an integral approach where there are four aspects to the human being: the interior and the exterior, which are subdivided into the individual and the collective. Wilber (1997) elaborates on the four quadrants: The point is that every human being has a subjective aspect (sincerity, truthfulness), and objective aspect (truth, correspondence), an intersubjective aspect (culturally constructed meaning, justness, appropriateness), and interobjective aspect (systems and functional fit) … The integral vision attempts instead to include the moment of truth in each of these approaches – from empiricism to constructivism to relativism to aestheticism – but, in stripping them of their claims to be the only type of truth existence, releases them from their contradictions – and places them, as it were, into a genuine rainbow coalition. (29)

Figure 3.2 elaborates on the four quadrants. Tobin Hart (2002) has explored Wilber’s four quadrants in relation to education. Wilber suggests that each quadrant represents a different form of truth and that the four quadrants provide a needed multidimensional approach. Hart

The Psychological Context

INDIVIDUAL

INTERIOR

EXTERIOR

• Interpretive • Hermeneutic • Consciousness

• Monological • Empirical, positivistic • Form

Sigmund Freud C.G. Jung Jean Piaget Aurobindo Plotinus Gautama Buddha

B.F. Skinner John Watson John Locke Empiricism Behaviourism Physics, biology, neurology, etc.

intentional cultural

COLLECTIVE

43

Thomas Kuhn Wilhelm Dilthey Jean Gebser Max Weber Hans-Georg Gadamer

behavioural social Systems theory Talcott Parsons Auguste Comte Karl Marx Gerhard Lenski

Figure 3.2 Wilber’s integral approach

suggests how looking at the solar system from the four quadrants could broaden the learning experience: Asking about the empirical facts of the moon phase looks to the exterior-individual quadrant of knowledge and truth; considering various systems (e.g., solar, earthmoon) in interaction, including casual mechanisms (e.g., gravitational influence), touches on the exterior-systemic; inquiring about the student’s subjective experience of sitting under the moon and perhaps asking for poetry, asking openended questions, or fantasizing touches the individual-interior; and digging into our shared attitudes about the moon, for example, by comparing cross-cultural stories about the moon and its mythology, we peek into the interior-cultural. Each has validity, each is true in its own domain, and each serves the development of knowledge. The development of structures such as the liberal arts curriculum is an attempt to respect different domains. (9)

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens (2005) has written about how Wilber’s ideas have inspired faculty at John F. Kennedy University to develop a graduate program that includes many of the principles of integral education.

44

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Critiques of Wilber’s work are numerous. Ferrer (2002, 56) makes the point that Wilber endorses a reductionist methodology when he suggests that art, science, and religion “can be brought together under one roof using the core methodology of deep empiricism.” Despite his efforts to build an integral vision, Ferrer argues instead that Wilber has confined “spiritual inquiry within an epistemic straightjacket” (57). Wilber has made a few comments about education, but I find them rather disturbing. In his book One Taste, Wilber (1999, 259) endorses the standards movement and attacks progressive education, which he suggests is based on “idiot compassion.” I find these sweeping generalizations about progressive education and an unqualified endorsement of the standards movement puzzling to say the least. Jorge Ferrer/Participatory Spirituality Ferrer (2017) has developed what he calls a participatory spirituality. The approach holds that human spirituality essentially emerges from human cocreative participation in an undetermined mystery or generative power of life, the cosmos or reality. More specifically, I argue that spiritual participatory events can engage the entire range of human epistemic faculties (e.g. rational, imaginal, somatic, vital, aesthetic) with both the creative unfolding of the mystery and the possible agency of subtle entities or energies in the enactment – or “bringing forth” – of ontologically rich religious worlds. (10)

Ferrer (2017) defines three basic principles of the participatory approach. First is the equiprimacy principle, which means not privileging a single religious or spiritual tradition as superior. It also takes a holistic approach to the human being and avoids cognicentrism (i.e., a mind-centred attitude), which gives priority to the intellect. Embodied practices are integrated into this holistic perspective. A second principle, equipotentiality, acknowledges that “we are all teachers and students,” which means that “human beings cannot be ranked in their totality or according to a single criterion, such as brainpower, emotional intelligence or contemplative realization” (12). This principle is nurtured through deep dialogue, intellectual and spiritual humility, and relational approaches to spiritual growth. The third principle, equiplurality, fosters multiple spiritual enactions that are equally holistic and emancipatory. This principle opens the way to a genuine spiritual pluralism. It also encourages a spirit of inquiry with regard to spirituality.

The Psychological Context

45

These principles encourage a creative approach to spirituality that involves a critical engagement that can lead to “the cocreation of novel spiritual understandings, practices and even expanded states of freedom” (Ferrer 2017, 15). What arises from this approach is spiritual individuation. In traditional religious approaches there is a tendency to follow closely the teachings of the main teacher, which can lead to a certain conformity of practices and behaviours. The participatory approach leads to a greater diversity of spiritual expressions: “It aims at the emergence of a human community formed by spiritual differentiated individuals” (Ferrer 2017, 15). This spiritual individuation is not the “modern hyperindividualistic mental ego” but a person who “has an embodied, integrated, connected, and permeable identity whose high degree of differentiation, far from being isolated, actually allows him or her to enter into a deeply conscious communion with others, nature and the multidimensional cosmos” (15). Spiritual individuation then leads to participatory pluralism and to a variety of spiritual expressions and ultimate states. There is no attempt to conflate or reduce ultimate spiritual states to one overreaching goal. In Ferrer’s words, the participatory approach is creative and “lets a thousand spiritual flowers bloom” (Ferrer 2017, 17). As mentioned in the previous chapter, there still is an underlying unity or dynamic that forms what Ferrer calls a “relaxed universalism.” Finally, Ferrer (2017) proposes three tests for critically assessing different spiritual approaches. One is the egocentrism test, which assess whether the approach frees the person from self-centred and narcissistic tendencies; another is the disassociation test, which assesses whether the approach develops the whole human being. There is also the eco-socio-political test, which assess “the extent to which spiritual systems foster ecological balance, social and economic justice, religious and political freedom, class and gender equality, and other fundamental human rights” (18). Positive Psychology One development since the last revision of The Holistic Curriculum has been the growth of positive psychology, which focuses on happiness and well-being. Martin Seligman (2002) and Barbara Fredrickson (2013) have been leading theorists in the field. They have done research on the benefits of positive emotions including joy and love. One of Seligman’s studies found that college students gained deeper satisfaction from acts of kindness than pleasurable activities such as going to a movie. Matthieu Ricard (2003) has also written about happiness in holistic manner that is congruent with the themes of this book. He acknowledges the

46

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

unconditioned self, “Buddhism says that we are all born complete, since each being holds within him a treasure that needs only to be actualized” (264). He defines happiness in the following manner: “By happiness I mean here a deep sense of flourishing that arise from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, fleeting emotion or a mood, but an optimal state of being” (19). Ricard uses the Sanskrit word sukka to elaborate on well-being. Sukka is where we free ourselves of delusions and see things as they are. Finally, “It is the joy of moving toward inner freedom and the loving-kindness that radiates toward others” (25). Meditation practice is central to realizing the deep goodness within. “Meditation is a skill that requires resolve, sincerity, and patience far more than it does intellectual panache” (Ricard 2003, 261). Ricard also writes that the fruits of meditation, which include “patience, inner strength, serenity, love and compassion” need to be brought into one’s daily life and work with others. Sustainable Happiness Catherine O’Brien (2013) has written about sustainable approaches to happiness. She writes, “After several years of monitoring happiness research, I became convinced that environmental education and sustainability efforts would be enhanced by incorporating lessons from happiness studies” (230). She has developed the concept of sustainable happiness, which is “happiness that contributes to individual, community and or global well-being without exploiting other people, the environment or future generations” (232). She gives an example of the relationship between sustainability and happiness in drinking a cup of coffee. The immediate taste of the coffee brings us pleasure and warmth. However, we also need to consider how the coffee came to us. If we are drinking fair-trade or direct coffee, that means that coffee producers have been compensated justly, and the coffee was grown with regard for the environment. The coffee cup may be reusable or instead destined for a landfill. The positive emotions are indeed important and contribute to happiness and well-being, but it is also important to reflect on whether the positive emotions derived from the coffee have come at the expense of other people or the natural environment. (232)

O’Brien teaches at Cape Breton University, and her students keep a sustainable happiness chart. On this chart students log activities such as drinking coffee and then how it affects themselves, other people, and the environment. This lets student see the impact of the actions on themselves and others. She also

The Psychological Context

47

asks them to develop interdependence charts where they explore the interconnections around people and objects. O’Brien has also developed teacher guides for use in elementary schools in Canada (see http://sustainablehappiness.ca/ teachers). One activity is to develop an interdependence map for the school: Guide them to consider the materials that were used to build the school, the source of energy for heat, lights, cooling; the water for washrooms and drinking fountains (and connect this further back to water treatment, rivers, rain, etc.). Consider all of the materials that are used (paper, books, pencils, rulers, gym equipment, etc.). Consider machines within the building, desks and other furniture. Invite them to think about where computers have come from and the materials that are needed for them. Consider the footprint of the school. How large is the schoolyard? The parking lot? Is the school located where some or all students can actively commute to school or are most bussed? (O’Brien 2010, 67)

Students then look at ways that the school could reduce consumption. This might look at the power sources and whether there are options for renewable energy. Conclusion The focus in this chapter has been on the unconditioned self or soul. The latter part of this book will focus on some strategies that nourish this part of ourselves. However, the holistic curriculum attempts to facilitate the development of the whole person, including the ego. One way of seeing life is as the dance between our ego and soul. We want to support a healthy ego that can manage our daily affairs and social relations. It is also important that we acknowledge what Carl Jung called the “shadow” or darker aspects of our psyche. The soul can help us witness and ultimately accept our shadow and all aspects of ourselves. Simply put, it can help us be whole.

REFERENCES Assagioli, Robert. 1965. Psychosynthesis. New York: Viking. Esbjorn-Hargens, Sean. 2005. “Integral by Design: How Integral Theory Informs Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum in a Graduate Program.” Revision 28 (3): 21–9. Ferrer, Jorge N. 2002. Revisioning Transpersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. – 2017. Participation and the Mystery. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

48

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Ferrucci, Piero. 1982. What We May Be. Los Angeles: Tarcher. Fredrickson, Barbara. 2013. Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection. New York: Plume Books. Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books. Hart, Tobin. 2002. “Truth, Values, and Decompressing Data: Seeing Information as Living Words.” Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 15 (1): 4–10. Hoffman, Edward. 1980. “The Kabbalah: Its Implications for Humanistic Psychology.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 20 (1): 33–47. Johnson, Clive, ed. 1971. Vedanta: An Anthology of Hindu Scripture, Commentary, and Poetry. New York: Bantam. Jung, Carl. 1933. Modern Man in Search of a Soul. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. – 1968. Man and His Symbols. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co. Knudston, Peter, and David Suzuki. 1992. Wisdom of the Elders. Toronto: Stoddart. Levy, Niomi. 2017. Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul. New York: Flatiron Books. McNamara, William. 1975. “Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition.” In Transpersonal Psychologies, edited by Charles Tart, 395–436. New York: Harper & Row. Merton, Thomas. (1959) 2004. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Moore, Thomas. 1992. Care of the Soul. A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. New York: Walker. – 2018. “The Care of Soul in Education.” In International Handbook of Holistic Education, edited by John P. Miller, Kelli Nigh, Marni J. Binder, Bruce Novak, and Sam Crowell, 51–6. New York: Routledge. O’Brien, Catherine. 2010. Sustainable Happiness and Health Education: Teachers Guide for Ontario. http://sustainablehappiness.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ SHTeachersGuideON.pdf – 2013. “Happiness and Sustainability Together at Last: Sustainable Happiness.” Canadian Journal of Education 36 (4): 228–56. Ricard, Matthieu. 2003. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. New York: Little, Brown & Co. Scholem, Gershom. 1961. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken. Seligman, Martin. 2002. Authentic Happiness. New York: Free Press. Shah, Idries. 1970. The Dermis Probe. New York: Dutton. Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1956. Zen Buddhism. Edited by William Barrett. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

The Psychological Context

49

Trungpa, Chogyam. 1984. Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, Ken. 1997. The Eye of the Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Boston: Shambhala. – 1999. One Taste: The Journals of Ken Wilber. Boston: Shambhala.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Four

The Social Context: An Ecological/ Interdependent Perspective

We have tended to think non-contextually in education; that is, we have not linked the school curriculum to the surrounding social milieu. One of the assumptions of this book is that a particular curriculum approach can often be linked with a parallel social context. With regard to the three positions, the following links can be made: transmission position – laissez-faire economics; transaction position – rational planning; transformation position – an ecological approach. In this chapter, I would like to briefly refer to the first two positions and then outline the transformation perspective in more detail. Transmission Position – Laissez-Faire Economics Atomistic economics is founded in Adam Smith’s laissez-faire approach, where individuals compete in the marketplace. The market is the regulating mechanism for setting the price and quality of goods. Robert Heilbroner (1980) has described the atomistic world of Smith very well: The world of Adam Smith has been called a world of atomistic competition; a world in which no agent of the productive mechanism, on the side of labor or capital, was powerful enough to interfere with or to resist the pressures of competition. It was a world in which each agent was forced to scurry after its self-interest in a vast social free-for-all. (56)

Milton Friedman picked up the banner of Smith when he claimed, “In its simplest form, such a society consists of a number of independent households – a collection of Robinson Crusoes, as it were” (Friedman and Friedman 1980, 13). For Friedman the principal link for these individuals is the marketplace. Friedman argues that “the key insight of Adam Smith's Wealth of the Nations is

52

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

misleadingly simple: if an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it” (13). One of the problems with this perspective is that it divorces or fragments economic activity from the rest of life, and has made it so easy for the capitalist to ignore the social and ecological costs of economic activity. When economic activity is reduced to individual self-interest and competition, then it is easy to excuse the dumping of toxins into rivers, or the use of abusive labour practices. Laissez-faire approaches have led to excessive individualism, particularly in the United States. Individualism has promoted fragmentation, as there is little attempt to define the common good, much less work towards such a goal. Robert Bellah (1986) has explored this problem in his work. Paul Krugman (2008), a columnist for the New York Times, has been a consistent and powerful, critic of this approach as well. Unregulated capitalism and the focus on the individual has made it impossible for the United States to develop a coherent approach to health care. Transaction Position – Rational Planning The transaction position is based on the assumption that humans can rationally intervene to improve their affairs. Particularly helpful in this intervention process is the scientific method. John Dewey believed that the social sciences had progressed to the point where men could make “intelligence and ideas the supreme force for the settlement of social issues” (cited in Morris 1986, 9). Pragmatists influenced the growth of social improvement schemes, particularly city planning. For example, Robert Park, a contemporary of Dewey’s at the University of Chicago, believed that one could control the physical environment of the city so that the people would experience better physical and mental health. Charles Morris (1986) believes that Dewey and Park were forerunners of the social engineering that pervaded the Kennedy-Johnson years: The social-engineering bias was identical in its rationalist premises to the concepts of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society forty years later. Society was like a machine. With enough research, you could understand how the parts fit together – “model” it, in latter-day jargon – then, by adroitly manipulating the social inputs, you would produce predictable improvements in the outputs: people would be healthier, friendlier, more industrious. (10)

In the early 1960s, social engineering seemed to work. The economy boomed with low inflation and the social programs during the early Johnson years were carried out with great enthusiasm. Social engineering was applied to foreign

The Social Context

53

affairs in the form of the intervention in Vietnam. Here the assumptions of pragmatism and social engineering began to founder. The Vietnamese resistance to American force was much greater than the technocrats had predicted. Both the tactical and moral failure of the Vietnamese adventure contributed greatly to the counterculture and planted the seeds of present-day transformational perspectives. Paul Warnke, upon leaving the Pentagon in 1969, stated that the problem with the North Vietnamese was that they did not behave like reasonable people (Morris 1986, 100). The rationalist model can never fully anticipate how an individual or a group of individuals will act. The more recent experience of American military intervention in Iraq is further evidence of how such planning can also go awry. Not only did rational planning and intervention break down in Vietnam, it also foundered in economics. Ever since the 1930s, governments had tended to rely on Keynesian theory, which used deficit spending to stimulate the economy. However, inflation in the 1970s eroded the Keynesian consensus. Supply-side economics replaced belief in government intervention to stimulate the economy. In general, “New Deal” liberals became discredited and liberalism searched for alternatives, particularly those associated with new technologies. Yet the faith in technology holds the same difficulties as the belief in rational planning. Kirkpatrick Sale (1980) calls this belief in technology “technofix.” As an example of technofix thinking he cites former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Glenn T. Seaborg, who said, “We must pursue the idea, that it is more science, better science, more wisely applied that is going to free us from (our) predicaments … and to set the underlying philosophy for a rationale for the future handling of our technological and social development” (35). The technofix solution for anxiety is Valium, and for the oil shortage, it is coal liquification. The limitations of technology continue to alarm us, however. In 1986 there were the shuttle disaster and the meltdown at Chernobyl to remind us that technologies are only as good as the bureaucracies that run them. In short, technology does not operate in a socio-political vacuum. Only when we begin to look at problems in a connected, holistic way can we move beyond the fragmentation of laissez-faire thinking and the naivete of technofix. In the last ten years we have seen the growth in the internet and social media. Nigel Ferguson (2018) recently argued that the internet and Facebook threaten democracies. He cites Antonio Garcia Martinez, the former Facebook engineer and author of Chaos Monkeys, who put it starkly: “I think there's a real question if democracy can survive Facebook and all the other Facebook-like platforms,” he said in an interview. “Before platforms like Facebook, the argument used to be that you had a right to your own opinion. Now, it's more like the right to your

54

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

own reality” (6). The internet has allowed people to stay in their own bubbles, which has led to greater polarization politically. The creators of today’s technologies acknowledge that they can be addictive. Adam Alter (2017) has documented this form of addiction in his book Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. Engineers at Apple and Instagram are acknowledging the dangers of the tools they have created: “Greg Hochmuth, one of Instagram’s founding engineers, realized he was building an engine of addition. ‘There’s always another hashtag to click on. Then it takes on its own life, like an organism and people can become obsessive’” (3). Transformation Position – An Interdependent Perspective An interdependent perspective regarding social-economic-political thinking starts with the assumption that all human activity is interconnected and, thus, a change introduced in one area can have effects in other areas. As much as possible, this perspective asks that we see how the economy interacts with all phases of life and cannot be separated. This approach is based on several principles: 1. 2. 3. 4.

An ecological sense and the bioregion; Human scale organizations; The slow movement; and Non-violence. An Ecological Sense and the Bioregion

An ecological sense starts with the premise that human life is only part of a much larger fabric that includes plants, animals, and the entire biosphere in which we live. We have many examples of how humans, both today and in the past, have ignored this ecological awareness. One example comes from the Roman Empire, which overharvested the lands around the Mediterranean to feed its large urban populations. These farming techniques led to a runoff of topsoil and eventually the desertification of much of the land, particularly in North Africa. It was the Roman Empire’s lack of ecological sense that was mainly responsible for the Sahara desert. Today the focus is on climate change due excessive carbon emissions around the world. The earth is getting warmer and subject to greater extreme weather events. Rising oceans threaten cities. There have been significant improvements in our relationship to the environment. Gregg Easterbrook (2003) documents these changes, particularly with regard to cleaner water and air in North

The Social Context

55

America and Europe. Easterbrook does acknowledge, however, the global problem of greenhouse-gas accumulation as the main environmental challenge of our times. What are examples of an ecological sense? Indigenous peoples have given us beautiful descriptions of how nature is interconnected. Gregory Cajete (1994) writes, “We are all related,” is a metaphor used by the Lakota in their prayers. It is a metaphor whose meaning is shared by all other Indian people. It is a guiding principle of Indian spiritual ecology reflected by every tribe in their perception of Nature. It is deeply spiritual, ecological and epistemological principle of profound significance … Based on this understanding, American Indians symbolically recognized their relationship to plants, animals, stones, trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, streams and host of other living entities. (74)

Related to the previous chapter on soul, Greg talks about the Indigenous relation to the natural world as “ensoulment.” Native people experience “Nature as part of themselves … They understood themselves as literally as born of the Earth of their Place” (83). “Indigenous means being so completely identified with a place that you reflect its very entrails, its soul” (87). Different tribes such as the Sioux lived in the same place, so that the “landscape became a reflection of their very soul” (84). When Native people were uprooted from their land, the people suffered “a form of soul death” (8). Ohiyesa, a Santee Dakota physician, writes about how a Native person greets the day: Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone! Whenever, in the course of the daily hunt, the red hunter comes upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful or sublime – a black thundercloud with the rainbow flowing arch about the mountain, a while waterfall in the heart of a green gorge; a vast prairie tinged with the blood-red sunset – he pauses for an instant in the attitude of worship. He sees no need for setting apart one in seven as a holy day, since to him all days are God’s. (cited in McLuhan 1972, 38)

The work of Fritjof Capra (1996, 32) is also helpful as he writes about an interconnected web which is central to an ecological perspective: “The web of life consists of networks within networks. At each scale, under closer scrutiny, the nodes of the network reveal themselves as smaller networks … In nature there is no ‘above’ or ‘below,’ and there are no hierarchies. There are only networks nesting within networks.” According to Capra (1982, 280), nature

56

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

is composed of interconnected systems that form multilevel structures. At each level there are “integrated, self-organizing wholes consisting of smaller parts and at the same time, acting as parts of larger wholes.” The person is an organism that is made up of organ systems (e.g., respiratory system), that is composed of organs (e.g., the lungs), which are composed of tissue (lung tissue), which is, in turn, composed of cells. However, each of these levels is a subsystem. Arthur Koestler described such a subsystem as a holon which has both independent properties of a whole and related properties because it is part of a system. In this context, it is possible to view the universe as a related set of minds: “Individual human minds are embedded in the larger minds of social and ecological systems, and these are integrated into the planetary mental system – the mind of Gaia – which in turn must participate in some kind of universal or cosmic mind” (cited in Capra 1982, 292). Bioregions. One example of networks at an ecological and geographical level is the bioregion. Thomas Berry (1988) has proposed that human activity be grounded in biological regions such as river valleys, plains, mountain ranges, and other natural geographic areas. Berry states that each bioregion “is coherent within itself and intimately related to others. Together they express the wonder of this garden planet of the universe” (163–4). Human beings need to see themselves in this localized context where they are woven into the ongoing processes of nature. Berry argues that there are six main functions of the bioregion. First is self-propagation, which requires that humans recognize and respect the rights of each species living within the region. The second function is self-nourishment, which means that members of the community sustain one another. This function refers to commercial and economic activity, which should be modeled on the natural world, which is much more economical with regard to how it deals with waste. The third function is “self-education through physical, chemical, biological, and cultural patterning” (167). From this perspective evolution is seen as a self-educational process, as the earth and each of its bioregions have “performed unnumbered billions of experiments in designing the existing life system” (167). Self-governance is the fourth function of bioregions. Each region should be able to look after its own affairs through participatory activity. The fifth function is self-healing. Bioregions experience natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes but have the capability of regenerating themselves. Berry notes that humans can find healing through submission to the earth community and acceptance of its natural healing powers. Finally, self-fulfilling activities are another function of the bioregion. These happen “in religious liturgies, in market festivals, in the solemnities of political assembly, in all manner of play, in music and dance, in all the visual and performing arts. From these come the cultural identity of the bioregion” (168).

The Social Context

57

As mentioned earlier, the model for an ecological sense comes from nature itself. Nature can be a reminder of the connectedness of all beings, as in Lewis Thomas’s (1975) discussion of bacteria in his body: There they are, moving about in my cytoplasm … They are much less closely related to me than to each other and to the free-living bacteria out under the hill. They feel like strangers, but the thought comes that the same creatures, precisely the same, are out there in the cells of seagulls, and whales, and dune grass, and seaweed and hermit crabs, and further inland in the leaves of the beech in my backyard, and in the family of skunks beneath the back fence, and even in that fly on the window. Through them, I am connected: I have close relatives, once removed, all over the place. (86)

Human Scale Organizations Kirkpatrick Sale (1980) has written a book entitled Human Scale, in which he describes how human beings need to live and work in organizations that are reasonable in size. “Man is the measure” has been the guide for centuries. Human scale is a term originally associated with architecture, where buildings are built that do not dwarf the individual or the surroundings. Human scale means that buildings allow the natural world to coexist with the human-made world. Sale argues that human scale can be applied to economics, health care, education, and, in fact, most areas of human activity. Sale argues that there are already many examples of human scale communities, including the solarpowered community of Davis, California; the Quaker meeting; the communes in Israel; the town meetings in New England communities; and the restructuring of many corporations along non-authoritarian lines. The central values of human scale include individual fulfilment, community cooperation, harmony with nature, decentralization of power, and self-sufficiency. Today we call this the “sharing economy,” which involves person-to-person exchange, often via the internet. Human Scale Schools. Sale also argues for human scale educational institutions. He refers to research done by Barker and Gump (1964), which studied the variable of size and its effect in secondary-school settings. Barker and his colleagues spent three years studying thirteen high schools in eastern Kansas. The schools ranged in size from 40 to 2,000 students, and Barker focused on how size was related to student participation in athletics, class discussion, and extracurricular activities. In such activities as music, drama, journalism, and student government, participation was highest in the schools with enrolment between 61 and 150. With regard to classroom activities, while the bigger school can offer more subjects, the students in the larger

58

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

schools participated in fewer classes and variety of classes than the students in smaller schools. In the music classes, which were studied in detail, Barker and Gump found that musical education and experience was more widely distributed in the small school. There has been further research that supports the finding that students in small schools actually do better academically (Cotton 1996; Lee and Smith 1994; Wasley 2000; Johnson, Howley, and Howley 2002). In reviewing studies that examine different institutions dealing with children, the World Health Organization concludes that institutions should be small, for example, no larger than 100 children (US Department of Education, 1999). According to the WHO, when organizations are larger than this informal discipline based on personal contact is replaced by impersonal, institutional authority. In general, North American school systems have focused on consolidation of programs and moved toward larger schools. For example, in the United States, between 1950 and 1975 the average size of elementary schools rose from 153 to 405 students. At the same time, violence and vandalism in schools has skyrocketed. Of course, other factors in society have contributed to the violence in the schools, but it could be argued that the increasing size of schools has contributed to the trend of violence. A study by the US Department of Education (1999) found that large schools had 825 per cent more violent crime; 394 per cent more physical fights; and 3,200 per cent more robberies. Further, a teacher in a large school is five times more likely to be a victim of student violence. Larger schools are usually justified on the basis of economies of scale; that is, savings arise from joint administration and the use of one plant as opposed to several buildings. However, there are the costs of bussing, larger bureaucracies associated with larger school systems, and the social costs that can come from schools closing in small communities where the school is often integral to the social life of the town. Another supposed advantage of the larger school is efficiency. However, one study in Vermont (Sher 1977) indicated that the larger schools were often more efficient because of administrations which are isolated from the community and the students. The same study indicated that, in Vermont, six of the top ten schools in percentage of graduates entering college were small schools (fewer than sixty in the graduating class), and that they were able to produce these results with operating costs, on a per pupil basis, of $225 less than the large schools. The Slow Movement Carl Honoré (2004) has written about what he calls a “worldwide movement that is challenging the cult of speed.” This movement started with the slow food movement, which began in Italy as an alternative to consuming fast food. It has a spread to other areas of life besides eating including medicine, work,

The Social Context

59

education, sex, and leisure. There is now even a “slow city” in Italy, which in its founding manifesto declared: “A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life” (cited in Holt 2002, 266). Slow education, a form of holistic education, is opposed to the mechanical product orientation of standards-led school reform. Maurice Holt (2002, 268) suggests that the accountability movement, which emphasizes the use of quantitative measures to validate education, creates “a system of schools geared solely to the product – test results – and not to the process of creating educative experiences.” Holt concludes: “The result of creating fast schools is institutional indigestion, and signs of discomfort are now appearing,” where “courses crammed in too much material at the expense of understanding.” In contrast, slow education encourages students to pursue questions in depth and not skip quickly through a curricula of unrelated facts. Holt suggests: One takes time to see what Newton’s concepts of mass and force might imply, to appreciate their abstract nature and the intellectual leap they represent. Then the usual algorithms fall into place quickly and securely. The slow school offers the intellectual space for scrutiny, argument and resolution. (269)

Holt believes that the increase of home-schooled children is also a form of slow education, as parents want to children to have a more flexible approach to learning. When our approach to teaching and learning slows down, then students can actually have moments where time stops and they experience timeless learning. Many spiritual teachers have encouraged the spiritual practitioner to “slow down.” Eknath Easwaran (1989) has written about what he calls “hurry sickness” in our society, which can be met through patience and slowing down. David Elkind (1989) wrote about the “hurried child” whose day is constantly crammed with planned activities. He calls for a more relaxed childhood that is congruent with the slow school movement. Non-Violence The tenets of non-violence have been articulated by Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King. Non-violent change is based on the principle that one’s opponent should not be objectified. Erikson (1969) discusses this in Gandhi’s Truth, which is about the strike at the textile factory in Ahmedabad. Gandhi never reduced his opponents, the mill owners, to objects of hate and condemnation. In Erikson’s terms, he always left room in the encounter so that a degree of mutuality might develop between the opponents. Central to the notion of change here is respect for the person’s individual conscience. Thoreau, in particular, believed that morality should rest on

60

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

personal conscience. In his famous essay, Civil Disobedience, Thoreau (1986) argues for resistance to unjust laws and governments through non-participation and non-cooperation. Non-violence does not mean passivity. Thoreau calls for non-payment of taxes that support war and slavery. Thoreau also suggests that, in an unjust society, the appropriate place for the just person may be jail. This idea was adopted by Gandhi and King in their protests. Richardson (1986) connects this strand in Thoreau’s thinking to Stoicism, noting that Ellery Channing, Thoreau's contemporary, said that Thoreau was a natural stoic. Stoicism contains many of the principles of holism. The Stoic Marcus Aurelius (1964, 73) said, “Always think of the universe as one living organism, with a single substance and a single soul … there is a law that governs the course of nature and should govern human actions.” Richardson (1986, 190) claims that “in contrast to Epicureanism, which held that the universe is made up of atoms and empty space, the Stoics held that God is immanent in all created things, but has no separate existence outside them.” The Stoics believed strongly in the individual and personal conscience. Thoreau was able to link his concern for the individual with his love of nature and his ethics. Richardson concludes: Thoreau is probably the greatest spokesman of the last two hundred years for the view that we must turn not to the state, not to a God, and not to society, but to nature for our morality. He stands as the most attractive American example as Emerson was the great proponent of the ageless Stoic principle of self-trust, selfreverence, or self-reliance, as it is variously called. Thoreau’s life can be thought of as one long uninterrupted attempt to work out the practical concrete meaning of the Stoic idea that the laws ruling nature rule men as well. (191)

Related to the issue of non-violence is reverence for life. It is difficult to injure a living thing if one sees all life as part of a connected whole. How can you injure someone when you see the person as part of yourself? In contrast to Marxism, change is viewed more organically and as connected to one’s inner being. The goal in non-violent change is not just to reform society with more appropriate laws and institutions but to seek more fundamental change within the person. So often political revolution has often replaced one form of repression (right-wing dictatorship) with another form (totalitarian communism). One type of elite replaces another. People often try to become “good Marxists” and thus they give up their own subjectivity; in other words, they adopt a social role rather than listening to the deeper part of themselves. This is also a problem in so-called “New Age” movements, as people try to conform to some ideal (e.g., the good Waldorfian). From a holistic perspective it is important to work from the inside out (Hunt 1987). Change, then, should be congruent with our centre, not according to

The Social Context

61

some external set of expectations. King and Gandhi were able to reach the deepest part of the person and thus were able to bring about non-exploitative change. I have written more extensively about non-violence in Love and Compassion: Exploring Their Role in Education (Miller 2018). The Movement without a Name Paul Hawken (2007), in his book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, describes the global context for transformative change. Hawken travels around the world and, speaking to hundreds of different groups, he developed the hypothesis that there is an “emerging global humanitarian movement arising from the bottom up” (3). It involves tens millions of people and grassroots organizations whose activities do not make the news cycle but are part of what Gary Synder calls “the great underground.” The movement is characterized by “ideas, not ideologies … ideas question and liberate, while ideologies justify and dictate” (17). This movement is not another “ism.” Rather than isms, this movement offers “processes, concerns and compassion” (18). Hawken writes that the heart and soul of this movement is Indigenous cultures and how they relate to the earth. He writes, “Every single particle, thought, and being, even our dreaming is the environment, and what we do to one another is reflected on earth just as surely as what we do to the earth is reflected in our diseases and discontents” (23). The values that are the core of this movement are “the Golden Rule and the sacredness of all life.” Compassion is central, and he writes that “to salve the world’s wounds demands a response from the heart” (188). This involves “receiving sorrow, hearing admissions, allowing reparation and participating in reconciliation, [through which] people and tribes whose ancestors were abused give new life to all of us in the world we share” (188). With this, the healing of the earth can begin. I believe that holistic educators and groups trying to establish holistic schools and programs are part of this movement. They are part of the great underground. Compassion and love are among the ultimate aims for holistic education (Miller 2006, 2018). They are providing a different narrative to the current one of standardization. Summary The social context for the holistic curriculum focuses on an environment where wholeness is valued and people can interact in human scale communities. Table 4.1 summarizes the characteristics of social contexts associated with each of the three positions.

62

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Table 4.1 Transmission, transaction, and transformation in social contexts Transmission

Transaction

Transformation

Laissez-faire

Rational planning

Economic activity linked to ecological awareness

Conservative

Liberal

Transcending traditional polarities

Competition

Regulated competition

Cooperation/regulated competition

Big business tends to dominate marketplace

Big business and big government dominate

Human scale economies

Decisions based on profit/ loss

Centralized decisionmaking, often by bureaucracy

Decentralized decisionmaking that includes social and ecological costs

Nature and economic activity viewed as separate

Nature and economic activity linked through rational planning

Nature and economic activity seen as interconnected

Hard data

Quantitative data used (e.g., mathematical models)

Emphasis on quality; hard and soft data integrated

Human needs determined by marketplace/ advertising

Needs influenced by rational planning

Needs viewed organically; appropriate consumption

Individual roles linked to market (e.g., specialization)

Roles linked to liberal, democratic fulfilment theory (e.g., inalienable rights)

Roles linked to connection to community

Narrow sex roles

Flexible roles linked to equal rights legislation

Androgyny/transcending sex roles

Change determined by market fluctuations

Rational/planned change

Non-violent change responding to inner needs

Short-term view

Longer-term view linked to planning

Evolutionary, organic view of change

Top-down organizations

Democratic organizations; rational consensus

Consensus includes awareness of spiritual and emotional needs

REFERENCES Alder, Adam. 2017. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. New York: Penguin Aurelius, Marcus. 1964. Meditations. New York: Penguin.

The Social Context

63

Barker, Roger B., and Paul V. Gump. 1964. Big School, Small School. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. Bellah, Robert N. 1986. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York: Harper & Row. Berry, Thomas. 1988. The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. Cajete, Gregory. 1994. Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education. Durango, CO: Kivaki Press. Capra, Fritjof. 1982. The Turning Point. New York: Simon & Schuster. – 1996. The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. New York: Anchor. Cotton, Kathleen. 1996. Close-Up #20. School Improvement Research Series. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Lab. Easterbrook, Gregg. 2003. The Paradox of Progress: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. New York: Random House. Easwaran, Eknath. 1989. Original Goodness: Strategies for Uncovering Your Spiritual Hidden Resources. Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri Press. Elkind, David. 1989. The Hurried Child. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. Erikson, Erik. 1969. Gandhi’s Truth. New York: W.W. Norton. Ferguson, Nigel. 2018. “What Have We Done?” Globe and Mail, 20 January, 1, 6–7. Friedman, Milton, and Rose Friedman. 1980. Free to Choose. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Hawken, Paul. 2007. Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being. New York: Viking. Heilbroner, Robert L. 1980. The Worldly Philosophers. New York: Touchstone Books. Holt, Maurice. 2002. “It’s Time to Start the Slow School Movement.” Phi Delta Kappan 84 (4): 265–71. Honoré, Carl. 2004. In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. San Francisco: Harper. Hunt, David E. 1987. Beginning with Ourselves: In Practice, Theory, and Human Affairs. Toronto: OISE Press. Krugman, Paul. 2008. Conscience of a Liberal. New York: Norton. Lee, Valerie, and Julia B. Smith. 1994. Effects of High School Restructuring on Size and Achievement. Madison, WI: National Center for Organization and Restructuring of Schools. McLuhan, T.C. 1972. Touch the Earth: A Self-Portrait of Indian Existence. New York: Pocket Book Miller, John P. 2006. Educating for Wisdom and Compassion: Creating Conditions for Timeless Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. – 2018. Love and Compassion: Exploring Their Role in Education. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

64

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Morris, Charles R. 1986. A Time of Passion: America, 1960–80. New York: Penguin Books. Richardson, Robert D. 1986. Henry David Thoreau: A Life of the Mind. Berkeley: University of California Press. Sale, Kirkpatrick. 1980. Human Scale. New York: Perigee Books. Sher, Jonathan P. 1977. Education in Rural America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Thomas, Lewis. 1975. The Lives of a Cell. New York: Bantam. Thoreau, Henry David. 1986. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: Penguin Classics. US Department of Education. 1999. Violence and Discipline Problems in US Public Schools: 1996–97. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Wasley, Pat. 2000. Small Schools and the Issue of Scale. New York: Bank Street College of Education.

Chapter Five

Historical Background

The holistic curriculum is not new. Educators and philosophers have articulated its principles and used it for centuries. However, each age has had to redefine the holistic curriculum in its own terms. The major problem confronting holistic educators has been integrating its two strands. One strand has focused on personal growth. Within this strand there has been a further division between psychological growth (humanistic educators) and those individuals who focus on spiritual growth (transpersonal educators). Of course, the line between these substrands is not always clear, as transpersonal educators usually include psychological development as a component of spiritual growth. The other strand has focused on social change. From this position educators have developed programs that encourage student involvement in the community. This involvement can take the form of service to the community or social action. The latter is somewhat more radical, as the student tries to effect some change or improvement in the life of the community. The holistic curriculum has been most effective when these strands have been integrated, as in the Modern School of New York and Stelton and the work of Miles Horton. Indigenous Education Indigenous peoples were the first holistic educators. They saw the interconnectedness of life, which is referred to as the “web of life.” One of the best descriptions of Indigenous education comes from Gregory Cajete’s (1994) book Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education. He argues that “American education must move from a focus on specialization to holistic knowledge; from objective science to systemic science, and building to

66

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

networking” (27). Cajete identifies several characteristics of Indigenous education. Some of these include: • A sacred view of Nature permeates its foundational process of teaching and learning. • Integration and interconnectedness are universal traits of its contexts and processes. • It unfolds within an authentic context of community and Nature. • It recognizes that learning is about seeing the whole through the parts. • We learn through our bodies and spirits as much as through our minds. (29–31) These characteristics are also fundamental to holistic education. I conducted a dialogue with Four Arrows about the relationship between Indigenous education and holistic education (Four Arrows and Miller 2012). In our dialogue, there was agreement around three principles. The first one is bringing to awareness the deep interconnectedness of life. Seeing how we are intimately connected to all life and the processes of the earth is shared by both Indigenous peoples and holistic educators. A second principle that is shared is a sense of the sacred. The cosmos, the earth, and its inhabitants are viewed as sacred and imbued with wonder. No one has expressed reverence for the earth better than Indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, this has been lost today in the materialistic, consumerist mindset. We have forgotten how to be enchanted by looking at the stars, feeling the wind on our face, or smelling grass after it has rained. The third principle is educating the whole person, which includes body, mind, and spirit. Today, education focuses almost solely on the mind with some lip service paid to the body. The soul is almost completely ignored (Kessler 2000; Miller 2000). Four Arrows, however, pointed out that Indigenous peoples have embodied these principles and thus have “walked the talk.” It could be argued that although holistic educators are committed to these principles, they sometimes remain intellectual concepts rather than deeply embodied ways of being in the world. Holistic educators can look to Indigenous educators as guides on the path of holistic learning and teaching. Four Arrows’s book Teaching Truly is one guide for integrating an Indigenous perspective into the curriculum. Our dialogue about the relationship between Indigenous education and holistic education is included in the appendix. The Greeks There has been research (Hadot 2002; McEvilley 2002) which suggests that Greek philosophers viewed philosophy not as a narrow intellectual endeavour but as a holistic, contemplative practice. Hadot (2002) states that the Platonic

Historical Background

67

dialogues were not just an intellectual exercise but were a form of spiritual practice that demanded self-inquiry and self-transformation: “To live in a philosophical way meant, above all, to turn toward intellectual and spiritual life, carrying out a conversion which involved ‘the whole soul’ – which is to say the whole of moral life.” Hadot describes various spiritual exercises that Greek philosophers pursued in their work; they practised various forms of contemplation such as being fully present in the moment. For example, the Roman poet and philosopher Horace wrote: “Let the soul be happy in the present, and refuse to worry about what will come later … Think about arranging the present as best you can, with serene mind. All else is carried away as by a river” (cited in Hadot 2002, 196). Being in the present requires constant attention. This constant awareness was particularly stressed by the Stoics. Hadot (2002) notes: For them, philosophy was a unique act which had to be practiced at each instant, with constantly renewed attention (proshoke) to oneself and to the present moment … Thanks to this attention, the philosopher is always perfectly aware not only what he is doing, but also of what he is thinking (this is the task of lived logic) and of what he is – in other words, of his place within the cosmos. (138)

Buddhists practice something very similar. This practice is called mindfulness, which involves moment-to-moment awareness. Hadot (2002) makes the connection of Greek philosophy to ancient Asian philosophy when he cites his colleague, Solere, who writes that “the ancients were perhaps closer to the Orient than we are” (cited in Hadot 2002, 279). Important to both the Greeks and Indians was the presence of the teacher. Hadot (2002, 70) writes: “Philosophy then becomes the lived experience of a presence. From the experience of the presence of a beloved being, we rise to the experience of a transcendent presence.” This is similar to concept of darhsan in India, which involves being in the presence of an enlightened or realized person. Again this relationship between teacher and pupil is not just intellectual but is based on affection and love. Hadot argues that the Greeks believed that even the study of science or geometry engages the entire soul and is “always linked to Eros, desire, yearning, and choice” (70). Socrates’s “know thyself” can be viewed as one of the first guidelines for holistic education. Socrates, with his relentless questioning, forced the individual to examine his or her own assumptions. Self-examination is based, in part, on the premise that all knowledge lies within and that we can discover it by contemplation. Socrates and Plato believed that the soul existed before birth and that by being put in a physical body it had forgotten its true identity. This is called the “Doctrine of Reminiscence” (Ozman and Craver 1981, 5). Socrates,

68

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

then, acted as a midwife to draw out ideas that lay within the person. Plato, in the dialogue Meno, describes how Socrates extracts the Pythagorean theorem from a slave boy with questioning. Plato described his approach to education in The Republic. He suggested a comprehensive educational system run by the state, which would develop people to their full potential. Education, in Plato’s view, should teach the person to see beyond the impermanence of the material world to intuit the “real world” of ideas. Plato’s allegory of the cave could also be seen as a metaphor for education. In this allegory, prisoners are in darkness and in chains and they see only shadows on the walls of the cave. However, one of the prisoners walks up a steep slope and eventually into the sunlight. He realizes that he has been living in a world of illusion and returns to the cave to explain to his fellow prisoners his discovery. However, explaining his discovery to the prisoners involves risk because they may not believe that they are living in a world of shadows. Plato felt that the philosopher-teacher takes the risk and shares his or her knowledge with others. Thus, the teacher cannot remain in contemplation but must enter into the world and engage in dialogue with others.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau One of the most important historical figures in relation to the humanist strand in holistic education is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His book, Emile, was published in 1762, and in it he described his approach to education. Rousseau ([1762] 1955) advocated a natural approach to child-rearing, as he believed the soul of the child was good and must be protected from civilization. He said: “From the outset raise a wall round your child's soul,” or it will be overcome by “the crushing force of social conventions” (6). This romantic view of the child has continued to inspire humanistic and alternative school educators. In Emile, Rousseau ([1762] 1955) describes four stages of development – infancy, childhood, youth, and adulthood. These stages are described in four parts of the book, and in the last part Rousseau describes the education of Sophie, the wife of the fictional central character Emile. At the heart of his approach is negative education. Rousseau states: Nature provides for the child’s growth in her own way and this should never be thwarted. Do not make him sit still when he wants to run about, nor run when he wants to be quiet. If we did not spoil our children's wills by our blunders their desires would be free from caprice. (50)

Historical Background

69

Give him no orders at all, absolutely none. (55) Give your scholar no verbal lessons, he should be taught by experience alone; never punish him, for he does not know what it is to do wrong; never make him say, “Forgive me,” for he does not know how to do you wrong. Wholly unmoral in his actions, he can do nothing morally wrong, and he deserves neither punishment nor reproof. (56) There the education of the earliest years should be merely negative. It consists, not in teaching virtue or truth, but in preserving the heart from vice and from the spirit of error. (57)

Rousseau believed that the heart of the child was good, and the soul of child should be allowed to unfold according to its own natural pattern. The child, then, should be allowed to explore the world and make his or her own discoveries. Of course, it is impossible to devise an education that is totally negative and unsupervised. There is, then, a contradiction within Rousseau’s work and in the work of most romantic educators, such as A.S. Neill. At one point Rousseau says, “Take the opposite course with your pupil; let him always think he is master while you are really master … No doubt he ought only do what he wants but he ought to want to do nothing but what you want him to do” (84–5). Here Rousseau describes the teacher as manipulator as he devises situations to seduce the child into learning. For example, Rousseau describes a complicated situation with a conjurer at a country fair who teaches Emile about magnets. Emile learns about measuring distance without instruments by playing games in the dark. Negative education, then, is not so easily practised and raises fundamental questions about the role of the teacher. In a comprehensive biography of Rousseau, Leo Damrosch (2005) draws the following conclusion about Emile: What was truly original was his claims that each person has a unique temperament that needs freedom to flourish … His intention was to show how a person might prepare for life in society without sacrificing integrity, “seeing with his own eyes, feeling with his own heart, and governed by no authority except his own reason.” (333–4)

Rousseau’s phrase that the most useful rule in all of education is not “to gain time but to lose it” has inspired many holistic educators, such as George Dennison.

70

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Pestalozzi and Froebel Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, the Swiss educator, was influenced by Rousseau, British philosopher Locke, and Czech educator Comenius and, thus, his work shows both transactional and transformational influences. He also differs from Rousseau in that he taught most of his life and attempted to put his beliefs into practice. He cared about poor children and devoted much of his life to their education. Morf (cited in de Guimps 1889, 154–5), summarizes the major principles of Pestalozzi’s approach to education: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Intuition is the basis of instruction. Language should be linked with intuition. The time for learning is not the time for judgment and criticism. In every branch, teaching should begin with the simplest elements and proceed gradually according to the development of the child, that is, in psychologically connected order. Sufficient time should be devoted to each point of the teaching in order to ensure the complete mastery of it by the pupil. Teaching should aim at development and not dogmatic exposition. The educator should respect the individuality of the pupil. The chief end of elementary teaching is not to impart knowledge and talent to the learner, but to develop and increase the powers of his intelligence. Power must be linked to knowledge; and skill to learning. The relations between the master and the pupil, especially as to discipline, should be based upon and ruled by love. Instruction should be subordinated to the higher aim of education.

Principles 7 and 10 reflect the Rousseauian influence. Many educational historians (see Bayles and Hood 1966) have argued that the real genius of Pestalozzi was his empathy for children and how he could adjust his instructional methods to the unique needs of each student. John Ramsauer, one of Pestalozzi’s students, describes the informality of his classroom technique: There was no regular school plan nor order of lessons; and Pestalozzi did not limit himself to any fixed time, but often went on with the same subject for two or three hours. We numbered about sixty boys and girls from eight to fifteen years of age; our lessons lasted from eight o’clock in the morning till eleven; and in the afternoon from two o’clock till four, and the teaching was limited to drawing, arithmetic and exercises in language.

Historical Background

71

There was neither reading nor writing; the pupils had no textbooks nor copy books and they learned nothing by heart. We had neither drawing models nor directions but slates only and red chalk, and whilst Pestalozzi made us repeat sentences about natural history as language exercises, we could draw whatever we liked; some drew little men and women; others houses; others again traced lines and arabesques according to their fancy. Pestalozzi never looked at what we drew or rather scribbled; but by the cuffs and elbows of our coats one could see that the scholars had made use of the red chalk. As for arithmetic we had between every two scholars a little frame divided into squares in which were points that we could count, add, multiply, subtract, and divide. (cited in de Guimps 1889, 104–5)

Friedrich Froebel was influenced by both Rousseau and Pestalozzi; however, he was more mystical in his conception of education, and is quoted in the first chapter of this book. Froebel developed the kindergarten and focused on play as an important factor in the young child’s development. He said, Play is the first means of development of the human mind, its first effort to make acquaintance with the outward world, to collect original experiences from things and facts, and to exercise the powers of body and mind. The child indeed recognizes no purpose in it, and knows nothing, in the beginning, of any end which is to be reached when it imitates the play it sees around it, but it expresses its own nature, and that is human nature in its playful activity. (cited in Von MarenholzBulow 1895, 67)

Froebel, like Rousseau, believed in the inherent goodness of the child. Froebel (1887, 121) claimed: “Therefore, a suppressed or perverted good quality – a good tendency, only repressed, misunderstood, or misguided – lies originally at the bottom of every shortcoming in man.” The natural play of the child, then, allows this goodness to unfold. Bronson Alcott Bronson Alcott (1799–1888), a friend of both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau, devoted much of his life to education. The father of the writer Louisa May Alcott, he struggled throughout his life to support his family, and Emerson frequently came to his aid. In the 1840s Alcott helped found two cooperative communities – Brook Farm and Fruitlands. Fruitlands was a vegetarian community where the members even avoided wearing leather shoes. This community barely lasted a year, and could not make it through the winter of 1844.

72

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Alcott believed in the pre-existence of the soul. He thus saw the child as coming into the world not as a tabula rasa but as charged with a divine mission. He wrote a manuscript entitled Observations on the Spiritual Nurture of My Children, which was based on the idea that each child has a soul which needs to nurtured and developed. He observed his children and their behaviour and then speculated on the reasons for their behaviour. For example, he wrote: “Anna is apt to theorize both for herself and Louisa; whereas Louisa, intent solely on practice, is constantly demolishing Anna’s ideal castles and irritating her Spirit with Gothic rudeness. The one builds; the other demolishes; and between the struggle of contrary forces, their tranquility is disturbed” (cited in Bedell 1980, 83). While Alcott lived in Philadelphia, he taught at the School of Human Culture, where he tried to nurture the spiritual development of the children. Although short-lived, letters and documents from the school inspired Alcott’s friend, Elizabeth Peabody, to help him start a new school in Boston in 1834. Named the Temple School, this school has its place in the history of holistic education. It was called the Temple School because it was housed in the two rooms at the top of the Masonic Temple, which was directly across from the Boston Commons. Elizabeth Peabody was instrumental to the work of the school. She helped recruit students, taught there, and also recorded many of the “conversations” that Alcott held with the students there. The school opened in September 1834, and eighteen students were there the first day. The students were between the ages of five and ten and came from some of the most famous families in Boston. Alcott taught them both reading and writing simultaneously. He had them print the letters first before writing script, “understanding – as no one had before him – that coordination between hand and eye in writing script was too difficult for young children to master” (Bedell 1980, 94). In writing he wanted the students to express their thoughts and feelings, and not just copy something from a book. In discussions Alcott also encouraged the students to stand up and speak out. One student stated “I never knew I had a mind till I came to this school” (96). Alcott did not use corporal punishment but instead used abandonment or the threat of abandonment. By the winter the enrolment had doubled. Elizabeth Peabody, who had first contracted to work just two hours a day, now stayed for the entire school day and began to keep her record of the school. According to Bedell, “The Record of a School remains today probably the best exploration of Bronson Alcott’s theories on education” (102). Published in 1835, the book was part of larger movement of social change that included women’s rights and antislavery activities. Bedell suggests that Record of a School became a “symbol

Historical Background

73

of a whole new era in American thought” (103). Alcott himself had never been happier or felt more fulfilled; he wrote that he had found “a unity and a fullness” in his existence. The most unusual feature of the school was the conversations that Alcott held with students regarding spiritual matters. Elizabeth Peabody wrote once that “Education depends on its attitude toward soul.” Alice Howell (1991) discusses how Alcott was able to incorporate this attitude into his teaching: That the child is not a tabula rasa Alcott proves without a doubt. As we read we rediscover that children are far more capable of philosophical insights and intuitions than we usually think, that indeed they take delight in being taken seriously as individuals whose opinions are worthy of respect … Alcott’s secret, and I believe, his success consisted in his approach to children; he worked from his own innermost center toward the same one he knew existed in each of them. A bond of trust, mutual respect, and affection was established at that level, so that the usual ego-to-ego tussle between teacher and student was avoided. (xxxii)

Below is an example of one of his conversations recorded by Elizabeth Peabody in her book Record of a School: Exemplifying the General Principles of Spiritual Culture. This conversation between students took place after Alcott had read passage from the Bible about John the Baptist in the desert. He asked the students: “What came to mind while I was reading?” JOSIAH : The deserts seemed to me a great space with sand, like that in the hourglass. The sun was shining on it, and making it sparkle. There were no trees. John was there alone. EDWARD J : I thought the deserts mean woods, with paths here and there. LUCY : I thought of a space covered with grass and some wild flowers, and John walking about. CHARLES : I thought of a prairie. ALEXANDER : I thought of a few trees scattered over the country, with bees in the trunks. GEORGE K : I thought of a place without houses, excepting John’s; and flowers, trees and bee-hives. (Peabody 1835, 61)

Martin Bickman (2004), who cites this passage, compares this discussion to creative visualization, which is discussed in chapter 6. Bickman also comments that Alcott lets the conversation go on without acting in the traditional role of being the “central switchboard.” Bickman acknowledges that sometimes Alcott could be manipulative in his teaching, but mainly he tried to encourage

74

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

students to find their own imagery and develop their own line of thinking. Bickman cites Dahlstrand (1982) to support his conclusion: Alcott’s paradigm gave the children a means of experiencing their minds. It served as structure on which they could build ideas. In one sense the paradigm limited them, but in another important way it freed them – it freed them from the tyranny of disorganization. In time they could cast away the paradigm, but the thought processes it helped them develop could stay with them forever … Almost despite himself, his methods succeeded. (Cited in Bickman 2004, 127)

Another book entitled Conversations with Children on the Gospels was published in 1836. This book received very negative reviews. One writer called Alcott “either insane or half-witted,” while preachers felt that the conversations showed no respect for Christ’s divinity. These attacks, and debts during an economic recession, led to the closing of the school. Alcott in the Temple school also developed an approach to learning that was holistic. Martin Bickman (1999, xxiii) comments: “The education was what we would now call ‘holistic,’ since skills like spelling, grammar, and vocabulary were integrated into larger lessons on ethical and spiritual matters.” Alcott felt that all teaching and learning should be connected to the spiritual centre, the soul. Other transcendentalists, such as Elizabeth Peabody and Margaret Fuller, taught and wrote about education. As a group, the transcendentalists offer a redemptive vision of education that includes: • • • • • • • • •

educating the whole child-body, mind, and soul, happiness as a goal of education, educating students so they see the interconnectedness in nature, recognizing the inner wisdom of the child as something to be honoured and nurtured, a blueprint for environmental education through the work of Thoreau, an inspiring vision for educating women of all ages through the work of Fuller, an experimental approach to pedagogy that continually seeks for more effective ways of educating children, a recognition of the importance of the presence of teacher and encouraging teachers to be aware and conscious of their own behaviour, a vision of multicultural and bilingual education through the work of Elizabeth Peabody. (Miller 2011, 6)

Historical Background

75

Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy, like Froebel and Pestalozzi, was influenced by Rousseau. He felt that children, and peasant children in particular, should be left untouched so that their goodness can unfold. Tolstoy (1967) was very critical of school: School justly presents itself to the child’s mind as an establishment where he is taught that which nobody understands; where he is generally compelled to speak not in his native patois, Mundart, but a foreign language; where the teacher for the greater part sees in his pupils, his natural enemies, who, out of their own malice and that of their parents, do not wish to learn that which he has learned; and where the pupils, on their side, look upon their teacher as their enemy. (12)

To provide an alternative Tolstoy established his own school at Yasnaya Polyana, his estate in Russia, and here he taught the peasants according to his own theories. He let the children decide whether they would attend the lessons or not. If they did attend, he had them write stories based on their own experience. Troyat (1980) has given us the flavour of Tolstoy’s school: At eight in the morning a child rang the bell. Half an hour later, “through fog, rain, or the slanting rays of the autumn sun,” the black silhouettes of little muzhiks appeared by twos and threes, swinging their empty arms. As in the previous years, they brought no books or notebooks with them – nothing at all, save the desire to learn. The classrooms were painted pink and blue. In one, mineral samples, butterflies, dried plants and physics apparatus lined the shelves. But no books. Why books? The pupils came to the classroom as though it were home; they sat where they liked, on the floor, on the window ledge, on a chair or the corner of a table, they listened or did not listen to what the teacher was saying, drew near when he said something that interested them, left the room when work or play called them elsewhere – but were silenced by their fellow pupils at the slightest sound. Self-imposed discipline. The lessons – if these casual chats between an adult and some children could be called that – went on from eight-thirty to noon and from three to six in the afternoon, and covered every conceivable subject from grammar to carpentry, by way of religious history, singing, geography, gymnastics, drawing and composition. Those who lived too far away to go home at night slept in the school. In the summer they sat around their teacher outdoors in the grass. (227)

76

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

A.S. Neill Perhaps the most famous proponent of humanistic education in the twentieth century was A.S. Neill. Neill founded an alternative school in Germany in 1921, which was later moved to England to become the famous Summerhill School. Like Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel, Neill disliked moralizing or instilling guilt in children. At Summerhill, children had the choice of going to class or staying away. Teachers tended to run their classes very informally. Croall (1983, 206) comments that Neill “took virtually no interest in teaching methods, and gave no sort of guidance to his teachers as to what they should be doing.” Neill was primarily concerned about the emotional life of the child. Parents often sent problem children to Summerhill and Neill excelled in responding to their needs. Because they were not forced to learn, and because of Neill’s caring presence, these children often overcame their difficulties to become healthy individuals. Croall, in his biography of Neill, comments: Neill’s greatest achievement, however, undoubtedly lay in his ability as “a curer of souls.” A considerable number of adults now leading ordinary unexceptionable lives, owe the fact that they do so to Neill. He himself in later life liked to argue that it was the environment of freedom rather than his individual work with problem children that was responsible for so many startling “cures.” Many former Summerhill pupils thought otherwise as did several of the adults who worked alongside Neill over the years. To them, it was Neill's humanity and understanding which produced the results. As one former problem child said, looking back over his time at Summerhill: “I feel almost certain that, had it not been for Neill, I would have ended up in a mental hospital long ago.” (407)

Neill compared his approach to education with Bertrand Russell, who had established Beacon Hill school in 1927. Neill once commented to Russell that if a child were with them, Russell would want the child to tell him about the stars while Neill would prefer to leave to the child with his own thoughts. Croall (1983) concludes that “while Neill aims to release the emotions, Russell wants to train the mind” (159). Neill believed that if “the emotions were free, the intellect will look after itself” (219). Neill was the benign authority at Summerhill. Although students did have a great deal of freedom, Neill drew limits in some areas, such as the health and safety of the children and the hiring and firing of teaching staff. For example, he made rules about where the children could climb.

Historical Background

77

One of the central features of the school was the meeting, where each person had one vote, including Neill. Here his influence was more subtle. Croall (1983) comments: Nona Simon, who came to Summerhill at the age of 4, and was virtually brought up by the Neills, recalls: “Most little kids would only vote with the majority, and you’d get just as much hero worship of the older children as of Neill. But he would affect the voting – he was an authority without having to say too much.” Branwen Williams takes a similar view: “Though he would say that we ran the school, that he had no more say at the meetings than anyone else, I think in practice we still looked to him for a lead – certainly when we were very little. We used to outvote him occasionally, just to prove that his theories were right; but I think we were a little uneasy about it. So there was a subtle kind of guidance.” Cynthia Allen reinforces this idea: “His very withdrawal from a conflict, his departure to his workshop or desk, made an impact,” she remembers. (181)

Neill, like Rousseau and other romantics, was faced with the dilemma of where and how to intervene in children’s lives. Neill’s influence beyond the school was immense. By 1969 his book Summerhill was selling at a rate of more than 200,000 copies a year. This book was a Bible to many free-school educators in the 1960s and 1970s as they attempted to set up their own versions of Summerhill. According to Graubard (1972), the number of free schools reached approximately 500 by 1972. Graubard claims that these schools did away with all of the public school apparatus of imposed disciplines and punishments, lockstep gradings and time-period divisions, homework, frequent tests and grades and report cards, rigidly graded curriculum, standardized classrooms, dominated and commanded by one teacher with 25 to 35 students under his or her power. (40)

Unfortunately, these schools did not have Neill as their head. Neill’s intuitive genius with children was at the heart of Summerhill’s success and could never be replaced in the free schools. Humanistic theory dating back to Rousseau has never been strong, and has left zealous educators groping for strategies for dealing with kids. Ron Miller (2002) has written an extensive analysis of the free school movement. He comments on the long-term legacy of the movement: The free school movement, like all human endeavors, contained its own flaws, excesses, and blind spots, but it represented a serious effort to turn society away

78

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

from the path of sprawling technocracy toward more democratic, holistic, personcentered values. More than opposition to public schooling as such, free school ideology represented conscious deliberate resistance to the spread of technocracy, and this essential element of the 1960’s radical education critique continues to resonate in the literature of alternative, progressive, and holistic education. (179)

Humanistic Education/Transpersonal Education In the 1960s and 1970s, humanistic education was an immediate forerunner of holistic education. Other terms that were used included affective education, psychological education, and confluent education. It arose out of humanistic psychology, and particularly the work of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Rogers’s (1961) book, On Becoming a Person, contained a chapter entitled “Personal Thoughts on Teaching,” which included the following statements: • My experience has been that I cannot teach another person how to teach. • It seems to me that anything that can be taught to another is relatively inconsequential, and has little or no significant influence on behavior. • I have come to feel that only learning, which significantly influences behavior, is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning. • I realize that I have lost interest in being a teacher. (276) These claims clearly challenged traditional conceptions of teaching. In 1969 Rogers expanded on his notions of education in Freedom to Learn, where he applied some of the assumptions of humanistic psychology to classroom practice and presented his vision for “self-directed change” in schools. Rogers (1969, 5) develops the concept of “significant” or “experiential learning,” which has “a quality of personal involvement – the whole person in both his feeling and cognitive aspects being in the learning event. It is self-initiated … It is pervasive. It makes difference in the behavior, the attitudes, perhaps even the personality of the learner … Its essence is meaning.” Maslow (1968) argued for valuing the “peak experiences” of the child. These are experiences where we have direct experience of world that often leads to awe and wonder. He writes, We must learn to treasure the “jags” of the child in school, his fascination, absorptions, his persistent wide-eyed wonderings, his Dionysian enthusiasms. At the very least, we can value his more diluted raptures, his “interests” and hobbies, etc. They can lead to much. Especially can they lead to hard work, persistent, absorbed, fruitful, educative.

Historical Background

79

And conversely I think it is possible to think of the peak-experience, the experience of awe, mystery, wonder, or of perfect completion, as the goal and reward of learning as well, its end as well as its beginning. If this is true for the great historians, mathematicians, scientists, musicians, philosophers and all the rest, why should we not try to maximize these studies as sources of peak-experiences for the child as well? (695)

Two leading humanistic educators were Gerry Weinstein and Mario Fantini, who were funded by the Ford Foundation to conduct a major project in developing curriculum materials that included affect. They wrote about this work in Toward Humanistic Education: A Curriculum of Affect (1970), drawing as one of their conclusions: Significant contact with pupils is most effectively established and maintained when the content and method of instruction have an affective base. This is, if educators are able to discover the feelings, fears, and wishes that move pupils from any background, whether by adapting traditional content and procedures or by developing new materials and techniques. (10; emphasis in the original)

Weinstein and Fantini developed a “curriculum of concerns” that included student interests and concerns. These were integrated with the traditional curriculum of language, math, social studies, science, and the arts. They note that “concerns” go beyond feelings and sometimes involve an “inner uneasiness” (37). The book contains a number of activities that allowed students to express their concerns and feelings. The project was conducted with mostly AfroAmerican children in the inner city, so the concerns often focused on issues such as power and self-image. Gerry Weinstein taught at the University of Massachusetts, which became a major centre for humanistic education. Another major centre was the University of California at Santa Barbara, which focused on confluent education. George Brown was one of the leaders of this approach, and wrote Human Teaching for Human Learning: An Introduction to Confluent Education. He writes, “Confluent education is the term for the integration or flowing together of the affective and cognitive elements in individual and group learning – sometimes called humanistic or psychological education” (Brown 1971, 3). There are examples of confluent education in chapter 8. Transpersonal education appeared in the mid to late 1970s and grew out transpersonal psychology, which included the spiritual dimension of experience. Much of the work was published in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. Gay Hendricks and Jim Fadiman (1976) wrote Transpersonal Education:

80

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

A Curriculum for Feeling and Being, published by Prentice Hall as part of a series in transpersonal education. My book, The Compassionate Teacher: How to Teach and Learn with Your Whole Self, published in 1981, was included in this series. It contains the following quotation: Why transpersonal education? For many it has been natural development from humanism. For example, Abe Maslow, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, toward the end of his life wrote about self-transcendence as a stage beyond self-actualization. A transpersonal perspective allows us to see ourselves and our students not as isolated egos but as interdependent beings in a connected and dynamic universe … Transpersonal education acknowledges our spiritual identity without sacrificing intellectual sensibilities … the focus is on inner work, such as meditation, visualization, and movement so that we develop our “inner authority.” (ix)

Transpersonal education never gained traction as the term was too esoteric for most practitioners. Holistic education as a term and movement arose in the 1980s and has continued to today. Some people originally connected holistic education to the New Age movement, but it has gained more credibility as a holistic perspective has been taken up in a variety of fields. More and more we hear individuals in business, health care, government, education, and other fields adopting a holistic perspective. Such a perspective is inclusive and recognizes interconnectedness as a fundamental reality. Social-Change Education Social change educators believe that society needs changes, often of a radical nature, and that schools have an important role to play in bringing about the change. It is possible to view Plato’s Republic as one of the first social change documents, which outlined the importance of education in Plato’s vision of a new society. Karl Marx believed that education had been used by the capitalists to keep the status quo and to maintain their economic interests. Neo-Marxists have claimed that the hidden curriculum of the school reinforces passivity so that workers will accept their role on the assembly line (Apple 2012). Textbooks avoid controversial issues and help in the development of the “good citizen” who does what he or she is told. However, Marx also saw the potential of education in bringing about fundamental change by making people more conscious of their exploitation and raising their social consciousness. In the twentieth century, Francisco Ferrer, George Counts, and Theodore Brameld argued for social change or reconstruction.

Historical Background

81

Francisco Ferrer In 1901 Francisco Ferrer began the Escuela Moderna for the workers’ children of Barcelona, Spain. Ferrer developed an approach called “Rational Education,” where the teachers develop the children’s critical faculties through inquiry and scientific investigation. Ferrer stated: The distinction between justice and injustice is perhaps the first moral distinction which a child can and does grasp and it would be ridiculous to pretend it lies outside the proper sphere of education. Our intrinsic plea that it is not fair to prejudice the mind of a child on subjects he cannot fully understand is nothing but a fallacy of bourgeois self defence. (Cited in Archer 1911, 48)

Ferrer, unlike Rousseau or Tolstoy, was not content to leave children to their own devices. Instead, he felt that they should be immersed in social issues so that they can develop a critical awareness of social forces. Ferrer suggested that critical literature can help raise the child’s consciousness: “It penetrates to their intelligence and implants in them a rooted conviction of the possibility of a new order of things in which peace and happiness shall reign supreme, very unlike our present condition of social injustice, strife and unhappiness” (cited in Archer 1911, 40). Ferrer particularly liked The Adventures of Nono by Jean Grave, which builds revolutionary ideas into a fantasy tale. In this tale a ten-year-old boy goes through a series of adventures in places such as “Autonomy” and “Solidarity” and meets people such as “The Capitalist” and “The Workers.” When Nono receives a gift from his parents, Grave draws the following point: “Not an expensive one, of course, for the parents of Nono were working people, and the rich people squander money on frivolities to such a degree that scarcely anything is left over for the working people to buy their children what they require” (cited in Archer 1911, 40). Ferrer encouraged parents to participate in his school. He also edited a magazine that focused on syndicalism as well as articles on radical education. Ferrer’s work had a strong impact on radical schools in France and Italy, and eventually the Modern School in New York. The Modern School of New York and Stelton, 1911–1915 This school was founded on the ideals of Leo Tolstoy and Francisco Ferrer. Ferrer was executed in 1910, and this provided the impetus to found a Ferrer Association in New York. The Association founded the Ferrer Center, the

82

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Modern School, and the journal, The Modern School. The Association consisted of workers, socialists, anarchists, and libertarians. Some of the more militant leaders included Emma Goldman and Alexander Berman. The school opened in 1911, and the founders believed that libertarian and socialist principles could be combined. The school was based on the belief that children “raised in freedom would refuse oppressive working conditions and become political revolutionaries” (Trager 1986, 401). The Modern School was housed in the same building as the Association and contained portraits of Ferrer, Tolstoy, Whitman, Ibsen, and William Morris. Sometimes the children would go to the office where the radical magazine, Mother Earth, was being published. Initially, the pedagogy was Tolstoyean, according to Florence Trager (1986): The classroom methodology was libertarian in the Tolystoyean sense. Children arrived at the school when they wished and worked and played at their own pace on the subjects that interested them. The curriculum was often defined by the children themselves. A typical day at the Modern School was described by Will Durant, the teacher at the school in the winter of 1912–1913. According to Durant, the children arrived at different times. When he arrived the children ran to tackle him and continued their friskiness for the next half hour. Then some children studied and worked while others continued rough-housing. Those that were ready for work went into the quiet room where they did lessons in reading and mathematics or did encyclopedia work. The eight older children were given lessons every day while the younger children received their individual instruction approximately every other day. When the weather permitted, the children would have a picnic lunch in the park and spend the afternoon outside playing and telling stories. (402)

Trager (1986) points out that there were inevitable conflicts about the philosophy of the school between the political radicals and the libertarians. Although Ferrer remained the guiding image of the school, the day-to-day life in the school was more Tolstoyean. However, the Ferrer Center, which attracted political radicals, influenced the children and the school in a more informal way. Thus, a synthesis of the revolutionary and libertarian strands was effected. One student said, “As much as the Day School meant to me, the center meant more … That’s where things were happening! I got to know people from all parts of the world and all parts of the radical spectrum” (404). Members of the Ferrer Association taught at the school and children attended adult classes which were held at the centre. This was also a period of political activity, with strikes and demonstrations occurring frequently in New York. This overall climate also had an impact on the school.

Historical Background

83

Some parents expressed concern about the relaxed curriculum and atmosphere of the school and as a result more academic subjects were added, with a stress on history. Classroom activity became less individualistic and more group oriented. Students contributed to a children’s magazine and the decoration of the classroom (Trager 1986, 407). Eventually the school moved to Stelton, New Jersey, where under the leadership of Alex and Elizabeth Ferm the school again adopted a more Tolstoyean stance. In general, it was during the New York years that real synthesis of romantic and political education took place. George S. Counts George S. Counts knew John Dewey and was influenced by Dewey’s social activist side. Counts was most famous for his book Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order? which was published in 1932. Counts was horrified by the Depression and unemployment. He went to Russia in 1930 and felt the United States should deal more constructively with the problems that faced it. Counts was critical of progressive education, which he felt attempted to avoid controversy under the guise of value neutrality. Counts (1932) claimed: If Progressive Education is to be genuinely progressive, it must emancipate itself from the influence of this class, face squarely and courageously every social issue, come to grips with life in all of its stark reality, establish an organic relation with the community, develop a realistic and comprehensive theory of welfare, fashion a compelling and challenging vision of human destiny, and become less frightened than it is today at the bogies of imposition and indoctrination. (9–10)

Critics said that Counts was a communist sympathizer, and his call for fundamental change was not accepted by mainstream educators. However, his plea for teachers to become involved in social change continues to prod the consciences of educators. Myles Horton Perhaps no person better represents a holistic approach to social change education than Myles Horton. Horton was associated with the Highlander Folk School from its founding in 1932 till his death in 1990. This school was involved in number of social change initiatives, including the civil rights movement. In his autobiography, Horton (1998) describes the Citizenship School, which was connected to Highlander. It helped educate Blacks so that they could

84

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

vote. Horton describes the first Citizenship School, and its teacher Bernice Robinson: Bernice began the first class in the back room of the cooperative store by saying. “I am not a teacher, we are here to learn together. You’re going to teach me as much I’m going to teach you.” She had not textbooks or teacher’s manuals. Her only materials were the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the state constitution … Bernice and the students developed the curriculum day by day. They learned to write letters, order catalogs and fill out money orders. They made up stories about the vegetables they grew and the tools they used. “They tell me a story,” Mrs. Robinson told us, “a story which I write down, then they learn to read the story. It’s their story in their words, and they are interested because it’s theirs.” She gave priority to their immediate interests so they could experience the usefulness and joy of learning. (103)

These Citizenship schools started to spread throughout the South and helped many Blacks participate in the voting process. The educational approach to literacy is similar to Sylvia Ashton-Warner’s approach to teaching Maori children in New Zealand, which is described in chapter 8. Horton (1998) articulates his view of holistic education in his book The Long Haul: I have a holistic view of the educative process. The universe is one: nature and mind and spirit and the heavens and time and the future all are part of the big ball of life. Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise that they’re already together and you try to keep from destroying life by segmenting it, overorganizing it and dehumanizing it. You try to keep things together. The educative process must be organic, and not an assortment of unrelated methods or ideas. (130)

The Long Haul is an inspiring document, and makes it’s clear that Horton embodied an approach to social change that was rooted in a holistic perspective. Conclusion Waldorf education and Montessori education have been among the most prominent examples of holistic education in the twentieth century and continuing to today. They are discussed in the second part of this book. Waldorf education and the main lesson are presented in chapter 8 and Montessori’s concept of

Historical Background

85

cosmic education is discussed in chapter 11. Reggio Emilia is also holistic in its conception and is briefly discussed in chapter 9. The definitive work on the history of holistic education is Ron Miller’s (1997) book What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture, and I strongly recommend the reader consult that work. He has also written an important book on the free school movement, Free Schools, Free People: Education and Democracy after the 1960s (2002).

REFERENCES Apple, Michael. 2012. Knowledge, Power, and Education: The Selected Works of Michael Apple. New York: Routledge Archer, William. 1911. The Life, Trial, and Death of Francisco Ferrer. London: Chapman & Hall. Bayles, Ernest E., and Bruce L. Hood. 1966. Growth of American Educational Thought and Practice. New York: Harper & Row. Bedell, Madelon. 1980. The Alcotts: Biography of a Family. New York: Crown. Bickman, Martin. 2004. Minding American Education: Reclaiming the Tradition of Active Learning. New York: Teachers College Press. Bickman, Martin, ed. 1999. Uncommon Learning: Henry David Thoreau on Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Brown, George. 1971. Human Teaching for Human Learning. New York: Viking. Cajete, Gregory. 1994. Look to Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education. Durango, CO: Kivaki Press. Counts, George. 1932. Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order? New York: Day. Croall, Jonathan. 1983. Neill of Summerhill: The Permanent Rebel. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Dahlstrand, Frederick C. 1982. Amos Bronson Alcott: An Intellectual Biography. East Brunswick, NJ: Associated University Presses. Damrosch, Leo. 2005. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Giant. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Four Arrows. 2013. Teaching Truly. New York: Peter Lang. Four Arrows, and Jack Miller. 2012. “To Name the World: A Dialogue about Holistic Education and Indigenous Education.” Encounter 25 (3): 1–11. Froebel, Friedrich. 1887. The Education of Man. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts. Graubard, Allen. 1972. Free the Children: Radical Reform and the Free School Movement. New York: Pantheon. de Guimps, Roger. 1889. Pestalozzi: His Aim and Work. Syracuse, NY: C.W. Bardeen. Hadot, Pierre. 2002. What Is Ancient Philosophy? Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

86

Holistic Curriculum: The Context

Hendricks, Gay, and James Fadiman, eds. 1976. Transpersonal Education: A Curriculum of Feeling and Being. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Horton, Myles. 1998. The Long Haul: An Autobiography. New York: Teachers College Press. Howell, Alice O. 1991. “Introduction.” In Amos Bronson Alcott, How Like an Angel Came I Down, xvii–xliv. Hudson, NY: Lindisfarne Press. Kessler, Rachael. 2000. The Soul Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion, and Character at School. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Maslow, Abraham. 1968. “Some Educational Implications of Humanistic Psychologies.” Harvard Educational Review 38 (4): 685–96. McEvilley, Thomas. 2002. The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. New York: Allworth Press. Miller, John P. 1981. The Compassionate Teacher: How to Teach and Learn with Your Whole Self. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. – 2000. Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. – 2011. Transcendental Learning: The Educational Legacy of Alcott, Emerson, Fuller, Peabody, and Thoreau. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Miller, Ron. 1997. What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture. 2nd ed. Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press. – 2002. Free Schools, Free People: Education and Democracy after the 1960s. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Ozman, Howard A., and Samuel M. Craver. 1981. Philosophical Foundations of Education. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. Peabody, Elizabeth. 1835. Record of a School: Exemplifying the General Principles of Spiritual Culture. Boston: James Munroe. Rogers, Carl. 1961. On Becoming a Person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. – 1969. Freedom to Learn. Columbus, OH: Charles Merrill. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. (1762) 1955. Emile. New York: Everyman’s Library. Tolstoy, Leo. 1967. Tolstoy on Education. Translated by Leo Weiner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Trager, Florence. 1986. “Politics and Culture in Anarchist Education: The Modern School of New York and Stelton, 1911–1915.” Curriculum Inquiry 16 (4): 391–416. Troyat, Henri. 1980. Tolstoy. New York: Crown Publishers, Harmony. Von Marenholz-Bulow, Bertha. 1895. Reminiscences of Friedrich Froebel. Boston: Lee & Sheppard. Weinstein, Gerry, and Mario Fantini. 1970. Toward Humanistic Education: A Curriculum of Affect. New York: Praeger.

PART TWO Holistic Curriculum: Practice

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Six

Intuitive Connections

At the beginning of the book I offered the following definition of holistic education: The focus of holistic education is on relationships: the relationship between linear thinking and intuition, the relationship between mind and body, the relationships among various domains of knowledge, the relationship between the individual and community, the relationship to the earth, and the relationship to our souls. In the holistic curriculum the student examines these relationships so that he or she gains both an awareness of them and the skills necessary to transform the relationships where appropriate.

The second part of this book explores these connections and examines teaching strategies associated with them. Linear Thinking and Intuition: The holistic curriculum attempts to restore a balance between linear thinking and intuition. Iain McGilchrist’s (2009) work is very helpful in providing a framework for discussing this balance. In this chapter I discuss intuition and how we can attempt to link it with linear forms of cognition. Intuition is a complex phenomenon, and I devote considerable space to discussing its nature and how we can use various techniques such as metaphor and visualization to enhance its role in the classroom. Critical thinking is also explored in this chapter. Relationship between Mind and Body (Chapter 7): The holistic curriculum explores the relationship between mind and body so the student can sense the connection between the two. The relationship can be explored by mindfulness, movement, drama, dance, and yoga. Relationships among Domains of Knowledge (Chapter 8): There are many different ways we can connect academic disciplines and school subjects. For

90

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

example, Waldorf education connects subjects through the arts. The relationship between self and subject matter is also examined, as well as the connection between subject matter and community. I also discuss holistic approaches to thinking that can link subjects. Relationship between Self and Community (Chapter 9): The holistic curriculum sees the student in relation to community. Community refers to the classroom community, the school community, the community of one’s town or city, and the global community. The student develops interpersonal skills, community service skills, and social action skills. Restorative justice is included in this chapter. Relationship with the Earth (Chapter 10): One of the most important connections is with the earth and related organic processes. Unfortunately, we find ourselves seeking to reconnect, as many ecologists argue that we have lost this connection. By being in nature and also studying the writings of those who have not lost their “original relation to the universe” we can gradually begin to see ourselves as part of the web of life. Schools that focus on connections to the earth are discussed as well. Relationship between Self and Soul (Chapter 11): Ultimately, the holistic curriculum lets us realize our true nature. In this chapter, I explore ways that the student’s soul can be nurtured particularly through a curriculum for the inner life. Rachael Kessler’s (2000b) work on the soul is also discussed. Logic-Intuition

Two Sides of the Brain/McGilchrist The work of Iain McGilchrist (2009) has provided a broad perspective on the two sides of the brain and how they have influenced Western culture. He believes the West has been dominated by the left side, which he describes in the following way: The left hemisphere is always engaged in a purpose; it always has an end in view, and downgrades whatever has not instrumental purpose in sight … The world of the left hemisphere, dependent on denotative language and abstraction, yields clarity and power to manipulate things that are known fixed, static, isolated, decontextualized, explicit, disembodied, general in nature, but ultimately lifeless. (174)

In contrast, he believes that the right hemisphere has no designs on anything. It is vigilant for whatever is, without preconceptions, without a predefined purpose … It yields a world of individual, changing,

Intuitive Connections

91

evolving, interconnected, implicit, incarnate, living beings within the context of the lived world, but in the nature of things never fully graspable, always imperfectly known – and to this world it exists in a relationship of care. (174)

McGilchrist (2009) does not a take reductive approach to the brain. He does not see it as a machine but as part of nature that is open to what is and ultimately cannot be completely known. He argues that seeing the world from the left side of the brain contributes to fragmentation, with the world “appearing to its inhabitants as if a collection of bits and pieces apparently randomly thrown together” (431). He also states that “over history intuition has lost ground to rationality” (437). Holistic education seeks to restore that lost ground and a balance between rationality and intuition. In her book My Stroke of Insight, Jill Bolte Taylor (2008), a brain scientist, describes her stroke experience and how it made her aware of the importance of right-brained thinking. Her stroke affected her left brain, which is the seat of logical thought and language. She refers to this as “brain chatter” or that “calculating intelligence that knows when you have to do your laundry” (31). It is also home of our “ego center.” The right hemisphere sees things in relationship and in the large context of the whole: Our right mind perceives each of us as equal members of the human family. It identifies our similarities and recognizes our relationship with this marvelous planet, which sustains our life. It perceives the big picture, how everything is related, and how we all join together to make up the whole. Our ability to be empathic, to walk in the shoes of another and feel their feelings is a product of our right frontal cortex. (30)

Taylor (2009) also suggests that it is the place where we experience inner peace. For a time, her life was dominated by the right brain, and here she experienced moments of deep peace and a feeling of being connected to the cosmos. Before the stroke, like most people living in the industrialized world, Taylor was caught up in “do-do-doing lots of stuff at a very fast pace” (70). This stressful existence also led to frustration and anger. Her stroke allowed her to experience a different world. She writes, “In absence of my left hemisphere’s negative judgment, I perceived myself as perfect, whole, and beautiful just the way I was” (74). Through rehabilitation therapy Taylor (2009) has recovered the use of her left brain, but she has learned to use both sides of the brain to live more fully and realize a deeper happiness. Now when she begins to feel stress she “shifts right” and thus slows down and listens to her body and trusts her instincts. She

92

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

breathes deeply and repeats to herself, “In this moment I reclaim my JOY, or In this moment I am perfect, whole, and beautiful, or I am an innocent and peaceful child of the universe, I shift back into the consciousness of right mind” (178; emphasis in the original). The holistic curriculum seeks, then, a balance of right- and left-brain thinking. Right-brain thinking has mostly been ignored in schools with the stress on standardized testing. One avenue to support right-brain thinking is developing our intuition.

What Is Intuition? Intuition is a direct knowing. In contrast, linear cognition involves a sequential, observable process. Noddings and Shore (1984, 57) characterize intuition as “seeing without glasses, hearing without filters, touching with ungloved hand. The immediate character of intuition does not imply accuracy, rightness, or moral goodness. It does imply commitment and clarity.” In the intuitive mode there is no mediator.

Levels of Intuition Frances Vaughn (1979) has described four levels of intuition: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. The physical level of intuition is characterized by a strong bodily response – for example, the awareness that people in the jungle can have when they sense physical danger. Intuition, however, differs from instinct in that the person is fully conscious, while instinct is more unconscious. Intuitions at this level are also related to the body–mind connection. For example, the body will give the first clues that a person is experiencing stress. Muscle tension or muscle spasms can indicate that the person needs to examine the sources of stress in their life. Vaughan argues that we should learn to trust the responses of our body. A study by Charles Tart (1975) supports this conclusion. In this experiment a subject in a soundproof chamber was asked to tap a telegraph key when he felt he had received a “subliminal stimulus.” This subject was not given a direct stimulus, but in another soundproof room, a person was receiving a low-level electric shock. This second person tried to send a telepathic message to the first person each time he received a shock so that he or she would strike the telegraph key. Interestingly, the key taps were unrelated to the mental messages but bodily responses were related to the mental messages. Brain-wave and heart-rate measurements indicated that the first person was responding to the messages, although the person was not conscious of it.

Intuitive Connections

93

At the emotional level, the person experiences intuition through feelings. For example, we can pick up “vibrations” from people we meet. Sometimes these feelings can be quite intense; other times they can be more subtle. Vaughan claims that what is referred to as woman’s intuition is the emotional level, although this is largely a culturally imposed view of intuition. An example of emotional intuition is given by Vaughan (1979): When I was in graduate school a friend of mine had told me how much he wanted to get to know one of our professors whom he greatly admired. One night he dreamed that he was talking to him, but the professor did not say much, and refused to take off his overcoat. As my friend reflected on what the dream was telling him, he realized that he had felt intuitively that this man had wanted to keep his distance ever since they met. Repeated attempts to get better acquainted were of no avail. He later regretted the time and effort expended, for he had “known” all along that it would be fruitless. (71)

Sometimes emotional intuition can be the source of artistic expression, even though it is difficult to describe the connection between the original intuition and its final expression. Elizabeth Herron (as cited in Vaughan 1979), a contemporary poet, describes the difficulties of expressing her intuitive insights: I was depressed. The world had gone flat and colorless. I had withdrawn. I was a tiny kernel inside my body, adrift amid necessities and obligations, oppressed by my separateness, cut off from the wellsprings of my soul. I walked up to the pond, took off my clothes and plunged into the water a sudden shock, cold against my skin. Floating to the surface, I heard a bird call across the meadow. Suddenly, I was at the stillpoint. The bird’s call was my voice. We were separate and yet one. I was out there and in here … All things converged in me and radiated from me. “The center of the circle is everywhere, the circumference nowhere.” I recognized this, knowing it had always been so, though I had been cut off from my experience of it. My head filled with poetic images. The dimension of the infinite was everywhere. This was a repetition of similar experiences. It is a paradoxical awareness. In these moments I know. But my knowing is not enough. I must struggle to comprehend what I know. My intuitive knowledge must be expressed in order to be communicated. I cannot share my experience merely by telling you about it. As a poet, I seek words for my experience, but words alone are not enough. There are realities nuances of feeling and meaning, for which words are inadequate. (72)

94

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

At the mental level, intuition is often expressed through images. Here we may have flashes of insight that can lead to scientific inquiry. David Bohm describes a high level of mental intuition as insight. For Bohm (1984, 15) insight is “an act of perception permeated with intense energy and passion, that brings about great clarity … This perception includes new forms of imagination and new orders of reason.” Bohm states, “Those who knew Einstein will agree that his work was permeated with great passion” (54). Einstein’s passionate insight led him to move beyond the existing Newtonian paradigm to develop the theory of relativity. One of the vehicles for intuitive insight is the mental image. Einstein said, “The words or the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The physical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be ‘voluntarily’ reproduced and combined” (as cited in Vaughn 1979, 72). Einstein believed that objective reality can only be truly grasped by intuition, not by empiricism or logic. Muller-Markus (1976, 154) says, “An idea like Planck’s quantum of action was not logically entailed by experiment, nor could it be derived from previous theories. Planck conceived it out of his own self.” Vaughan claims that the “aha” experience of insight is another example of mental intuition. Sometimes the “aha” experience can involve an insight into one’s own behaviour or, alternatively, it can involve a creative solution to a problem. Melvin Calvin (1976), a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, gives the following example of mental intuition: One day I was waiting in my car while my wife was on an errand. I had had for some months some basic information from the laboratory which was incompatible with everything which, up until then, I knew about the photosynthetic process. I was waiting, sitting at the wheel, most likely parked in the red zone, when the recognition of the missing compound occurred. It occurred just like that quite suddenly and suddenly, also, in a matter of seconds, the cyclic character of the path of carbon became apparent to me, not in the detail which ultimately was elucidated, but the original recognition of phosphoglyceric acid, and how it got there, and how the acceptor might be regenerated, all occurred in a matter of 30 seconds. (2)

The highest level of intuition is the spiritual. Here intuition is independent from feeling, thoughts, and sensations. Vaughn (1979, 77) comments: “Paradoxically, the cues on which intuition depends on the other levels are regarded as interference at this level.” James Bugental (1976, 296) has said, “Man knows God in his deepest intuitions about his own nature.” At the spiritual level

Intuitive Connections

95

intuition moves beyond dualism to experience unity directly. The following statement by Teilhard de Chardin (1965) is an example of spiritual intuition: The farther and more deeply we penetrate into matter, by means of increasingly powerful methods, the more we are confounded by the interdependence of its parts. Each element of the cosmos is positively woven from all the others … It is impossible to cut into this network, to isolate a portion without it becoming frayed and unraveled at all its edges. All around us, as far as the eye can see, the universe holds together, and only one way of considering it is really possible, that is, to take it as a whole, in one piece. (43–4)

Meditation is a technique designed to quiet the mind so that spiritual intuition can arise. One type of meditation is visualization, which is discussed in this chapter.

Intuition and Education Why should we focus on intuition in education and seek to balance analytic thought with intuitive insight? First, there is some evidence that intuition is integral to creativity. Wallas (1926) describes four basic elements in the creative process. The first step is preparation, where the individual gathers information relevant to the problem or project. At the second stage, incubation, the individual relaxes and does not make an effort to work consciously on the problem. Instead, it is suggested that the images realign themselves in the individual as he or she consciously attends to something else. In the illumination state the solution will occur, often spontaneously and unexpectedly as in case of the chemist, Melvin Calvin. The second and third stages, then, are intuitive, while the first and fourth stages are more analytical. The fourth stage is verification, or revision, where the individual puts the idea into use and consciously works with the idea in a more detailed manner. The Wallas model, and other models of creative thinking (Judkins 2015; Lucas and Spencer 2017), are useful for the educator in balancing analysis and insight in classroom pedagogy. Visualization, meditation, and various aesthetic experiences can be used to enhance incubation and illumination, while logical problem-solving models can be used to facilitate preparation and verification (Beyer 1991). Effective thinking, then, involves both intuition and analysis. Einstein and Mozart are examples of individuals who were able to effectively relate both analysis and insight at the highest level. If our thinking is dominated by one mode, it is much less effective. If the emphasis is on linear,

96

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

analytic thinking, we can become plodding in our approach and lose spontaneity in dealing with problems. If we stress the intuitive, then we can lose our ground. Our ideas can become irrelevant if we make no attempt to verify them. Schools have not emphasized the teaching of thinking skills (Ross and Maynes 1982, 2), and when they have, it has usually been linear problem solving rather than a more holistic approach. Another reason for an intuitive pedagogy is the research by Jerome Singer (1976, 32), which suggests that the risks of an undeveloped imagination include “delinquency, violence, overeating and the use of dangerous drugs.” According to Singer’s research, this tendency appears early in children who are impulsive, who are excessively dependent, and who lack a developed inner life. Children who can use their imagination tend to be more relaxed and independent in their behaviour. This trend continues into adolescence. Another study revealed that in a child guidance clinic, imaginative children were less likely to be violent. Like the other children in the clinic, they were emotionally troubled, but they exhibited their difficulties in less aggressive ways than their unimaginative peers. These studies indicate that those individuals with an underdeveloped inner life seem to be more vulnerable to external stimuli. Thus, a developed inner life connected to intuition and imagination can be a source of autonomy. Singer (2006, 2015) has continued this research, which confirms these earlier findings Andrew Weil (1972) also did research that supports Singer, and comes up with an even more radical hypothesis when he argues that intuitive consciousness, or what he calls nonlinear consciousness, is “an innate, normal drive, analogous to hunger or the sexual drive” (19). According to Weil, if there is no chance to express our nonlinear consciousness, we can resort to drug and alcohol abuse. He suggests that the need to explore nonlinear consciousness begins early in life: young children often like to “whirl themselves into vertiginous stupors” (19). Children also hyperventilate and have other children squeeze them around until they almost faint. They may even choke each other to lose consciousness. As they get older, children become interested in dreams and the space between waking and sleeping. They can also begin to explore non-rational states of consciousness through chemical means. This can involve sniffing glue and cleaning fluids. An operation, with its introduction to anesthesia, can also trigger interest in nonlinear consciousness, becoming one of the most vivid memories of early childhood. As children sense that the culture does not accept their interest in nonlinear consciousness, they may take the interest underground. Exploring the inner life becomes a private experience, which is shared only with their most intimate friends.

Intuitive Connections

97

Intuition in the Classroom There are several ways in which we can build intuition into our pedagogy, and in the rest of this chapter I discuss two methods: visualization, and metaphor/ poetry.

Visualization Visualization uses a set of images in either a directed or undirected manner, and is sometimes referred to as guided imagery. Using the mind’s eye, the person follows a particular set of images; for example, the individual can imagine himself or herself climbing a mountain. The mountain climb is often symbolic of psychological and spiritual growth. In undirected visualization, the person may start with a few general guidelines and wait for images to appear. Undirected visualization can be used in problem solving. Research indicates the positive effects of visualization. For example, Michael Murphy (1992, 372) claims that “studies have shown that imagery practice can facilitate relief from various afflictions, among them depression, anxiety, insomnia, obesity, sexual problems, chronic pain, phobias, psychosomatic illnesses, cancer, and other diseases.” The Simontons (Simonton and Matthews-Simonton 1978) conducted research indicating that visualization has helped cancer patients. Their studies show that visualization increases quality of life, lengthens life expectancy, and, in a small percentage of cases, may have contributed to remission of the disease. Other studies (Samuels and Samuels 1975) indicate that visualization is helpful in overcoming the effects of stress. Systematic desensitization is a technique that employs visualization to help people overcome phobias. The person will imagine themselves in the stressful situation (e.g., the dentist’s office), but dealing with the stress in a more relaxed manner. Visualization has been used a great deal in sports. Studies have indicated that it is helpful in improving performance. Richardson (1969) has conducted a study that shows the effects of visualization on the free throws of basketball players. There were three groups in the study, and none of the individuals had practised visualization before. One group practised free throws every day for twenty days. A second group made free throws only on the first and twentieth days, with no practice in between. The third group made free throws on the first and twentieth days, but spent twenty minutes each day visualizing sinking baskets. The results are interesting. The first group, the one that actually practised, improved 24 per cent between the first and last days. The second group, the one that did not practise, did not improve at all. However, the third group,

98

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

the one that did the visual practice, improved 23 per cent between the first and last days. Richardson found that it was important for the visualizer to control the image. For example, one subject who had trouble visualizing bouncing the ball did not improve as much as the others did. Recent research by Judith Beck (2005) and Victoria Menzies, Ann Gill Taylor, and Cheryl Bourguignon (2006) have shown the positive effects of the use of mental imagery and visualization. As noted earlier, undirected imagery can be helpful in the creative process. In Wallas’s model, the illumination phase often occurs through imagery. Ainsworth-Land (1982) has described the relationship between imagery and creativity in a developmental manner. Ainsworth-Land describes firstorder imaging as sense-related and arising from physical need. The creative product at this level is usually realistic and concrete. Second-order imaging is more predictable, and often involves improvement of an existing idea or artistic product. Analysis and evaluation are often second-order imaging processes. The goal is also clear and may involve curing cancer, stopping smoking, or overcoming the effects of stress. Synthesis is usually found in third-order creativity and imagery. Here the product is not just a revision or modification, as in second-order creativity, but involves something novel. Thus, there is a breakthrough to a new level of thinking. The fourth and final level of creativity and imaging involves the “ultimate form of relatedness” (17). Ainsworth-Land states, “One’s whole being comes into play with the conscious and unconscious minds, reason and intuition, inner and outer, subsumed into a kind of meta-consciousness.” The poet William Blake called this order “four-fold vision,” as the person sometimes feels that he or she is being guided by a force greater than themselves. The four levels of imagery and creativity are shown in table 6.1.

Visualization and the Classroom Visualization can be used to facilitate relaxation, help motivate student interest in the subject matter, facilitate creative writing, and enhance creativity. Below I give examples in each of these areas. In doing visualization in the classroom, you should let the students know that they are in control of their own images. There is no “right” image for the visualization, since the images will differ for each person. If students find it hard to visualize, they should just relax and listen to the visualization. If an image appears that makes the students frightened or tense, they can just open their eyes.

Intuitive Connections

99

Table 6.1 Developmental integration of creativity and imaging Imaging

Creativity

Orders

Self-Involvement

Product

Processes

1st order: Spontaneous, sensebased, concrete, direct representation, realistic

Non-awareness of self, creating out of need, survival motivation, “selfcreating”

Realistic, concrete representation, discovery learning, memory building, invention

Perceiving, exploring, spontaneous acting

2nd order: Comfortable, predictable, aware of ability to manipulate and control, analogical, comparative

Belonging, selfextension, goal directing, ego building and verifying, selfconsciousness

Improvements and modifications, impression, strengthening and enhancing, analogical

Categorizing, comparting, analysing, evaluating

3rd order: Abstract, symbolic, super-imposing, metaphorical, controlled, and spontaneous

Sharing differences, “selves” realization and reintegration, giving up rigid control, opening to “flow”

Innovation, integrated synthesis of old and new abstractions, symbols

Abstracting, synthesizing, metaphorical thinking, intuiting

4th order: Renunciation of control, chaotic, psychedelic, illuminating receptivity to unconscious material

Self as part of larger reality, “metaconsciousness,” disintegration of barriers: conscious– unconscious

Invention of new order, new paradigm, philosophical shifts, new pattern formation, “inspired” creations

Disintegrating, surrendering, accepting, opening, building new perceptual order

RELAXATION

Here is one exercise: Lie down on the ground and close your eyes. Focus for a few seconds on your breath, feeling relaxed with each exhalation. We then begin to relax each part of the body and we start this process by tensing the muscles in the body and then relaxing them. Begin first with the feet: tense the muscles in the feet, hold the tension for a few seconds, and then let go. Now repeat this with the ankles and calf muscles: tighten, hold, and let go. Feel the body becoming relaxed as you do this. Now concentrate on the thigh muscles, tighten, hold, and let go.

100

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Move to the buttocks, tighten, hold, and let go. Focus now on the abdomen, tighten, hold, and let go. Now move to the chest muscles, tighten, hold, and let go. Focus on the shoulders: tighten, hold, and let go. Feel the body relax. Tighten the arms now, hold and let go. Move to the neck, tighten, hold, and let go. Now tighten the facial muscles, hold, and let go. Finally, tighten the whole body, hold, and let go. Now visualize yourself on an elevator that is descending. As the elevator goes down, feel yourself becoming calm and relaxed. I will count down from five to one and as I count down see yourself in the elevator, descending and relaxing. Five … Four … Three … Two … One. Now you emerge from the elevator and you walk into an open field. It is warm and sunny. You walk for a while and then decide to lie down in the soft, fresh grass. As you lie there, visualize around your heart a pure white light. This light is full of warmth and energy. Now see the light expand gradually throughout your body and as it expands you feel relaxed and energized … Know that anytime you can connect with this light and energy. Open your eyes now, feeling refreshed and energized. MOTIVATION/SUBJECT MATTER

Beverly-Colleene Galyean (1983) wrote a book that is filled with visualization activities for different subjects. She claims that research indicates the following benefits from visualization, as students: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Are more attentive Enjoy the learning experience more Do more original and creative work Get along better with their classmates Feel more confident Are more relaxed Do better on tests (25)

One example of using visualization in science is to have students imagine magnetic fields around a transformer. The students can see themselves as electrons in the wire of the coil and experience the movement generated by the rapidly changing force field. Then the students can visualize themselves as electrons moving faster and faster as the two fields surrounding the coils are interacting and coming closer. In my class I use a visualization about the water cycle. One of my students, Ana Neves (2009), then used it with her class in elementary school. She wrote about it in her master’s thesis:

Intuitive Connections

101

After learning about the water cycle students can be led through Jack Sequist’ s visualization, “The Water Cycle” (cited in J.P. Miller, 2000, pp. 58–9). Guided imagery activities allow students to connect abstract subject matter with their own inner experience (J.P. Miller 2000). I used this visualization with my students in Grades 3 and 4 when we studied the water cycle in connection with the Science and Technology curriculum and found that it helped many of them understand the different states of matter as well as the process of evaporation and condensation. John Miller states that visualizations allow “abstract subject matter” to “become part of the student’s inner life” (J.P. Miller, 2000, p. 60). The visualization about the water cycle helped my students understand some rather abstract notions in Science such as matter and changes in states of matter. The use of this visualization or guided imagery placed them in the natural world and allowed them to become the water of a large, calm lake and experience what happens as water evaporates and becomes absorbed in the clouds, moves across the sky and eventually returns full circle to join the lake where it started. This imagery complemented the Science curriculum and made it far more accessible to my young students. In holistic education, this is a key principle: for learners to engage with learning to the point where they become the object of study. Through contemplation exercises such as visualization, children can be encouraged to become the object that they study. (68–9)

It is also possible to have students use imagery in language and the social studies. In social studies the students could imagine themselves as an historical figure facing a particular choice and visualizing the thoughts and emotions that accompanied the decision. The students could also visualize themselves as a Loyalist coming to Canada and imagining their thoughts and feelings as the Loyalist begins his/her life in a new country. Other subjects where visualization has been used successfully include mathematics (Arcavi 2003; Wheatley 1998), geography (Chatterjea 1999), and reading instruction (Eisenwine, Fowler, and McKenzie 2000). CREATIVE WRITING

One of the best uses of visualization in the classroom is to use it in connection with creative writing, as it can be a rich source of ideas. Below is one example from Williams (1983): Select a piece of music that evokes strong images for you. Play it for the class (after a relaxation exercise and suitable introduction) and ask them to let the music suggest images, moods, feelings, and sensations to them. Tell them to be receptive to whatever comes to them as the music plays. Afterward, ask them to

102

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

talk or write about the experience in either prose or poetry. You can start with prose and select the strongest images to form the basis for poetry; or one or two strong images may serve as the basis for a longer prose piece. This fantasy can also be used as a stimulus for an art project. If you use it for both visual and verbal expression, you might devote some class time to discussing how the experiences differed (some students will prefer writing, others painting; it’s a matter of personal style). (133)

Visualization improves with practice. Generally, the more students use it, the more varied their ideas become and the more comfortable they feel with the process. A good source of visualization exercises for elementary school children is Spinning Inward by Maureen Murdock (1987). Below is one that can be used for creative writing: Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath. Gently breathe in … and … out. As you breathe quietly and calmly, your body becomes more and more relaxed. Now imagine that you are sitting outside in the grass and it’s a beautiful warm sunny day. You enjoy looking at all of the new spring flowers. You enjoy their colors and smells. All of a sudden you see a little person in front of you, climbing up the stem of a lovely white daisy. This person is no bigger than your middle finger and turns to you and motions to you to follow. You realize that you, yourself, have become little and you hurry to follow your new friend. You now have three minutes of clocktime equal to all of the time you need to have an adventure with this flower fairy (after three minutes). Now it is time to say goodbye to your friend and to come back here filled with the memories of your adventure. I will count to 10. Please join me at the count of 6 and open your eyes feeling alert and refreshed at the count of 10. (106)

Ben Porter, a student in my Spirituality and Education class in 2018, teaches grade 5 students, and found that visualization helped his students with their writing, which he wrote about in his final paper: I have been inspired by Professor Miller’s course to use visualization to help develop my students’ inner life and imagination. I have found that writing is a serious area of need for a lot of my students. I have several students who have openly told me that they hate writing and find it to be a horrible chore. Using some of the guided exercises from Education and the Soul (Miller 2000), I led my students through visualizations in order to spark their imaginations and get them to write stories that mean something to them. The process has been very successful. My students told me that they loved the quietness of the process and their work

Intuitive Connections

103

has become a lot deeper and more personal. The breadth of detail that some of my students were able to capture was astonishing. Whereas before most of their narrative stories would be a race from plot twist to plot twist, now they were slowing down and describing what they were seeing in detail. The visualization helped them become more present in their own imaginations. SELF-MASTERY

Jennifer Day (1999) has written a book on Creative Visualization for Children that contains a variety of exercises. Some of these are devoted to selfmastery, with exercises that can help with tensions, anger, and irrational fears. Here is one exercise that helps with dealing with pain that arises from tension: I want you to see before you a large glass. Now see this glass filling up with drinking water until it is full. Know that in this water there are a million invisible magic crystals that are going to take away your ____ache. Now take a deep breath and then let all the air out again. Now see yourself placing the glass of water to your lips and drinking the water. As the water runs down your throat and into your stomach, feel your ____ache running down and out of your body as the magic crystals in the water wash it away. Know that as soon as you have finished drinking the water, your _____ache will be completely gone! (brief pause) Your ___ache is now gone and you are feeling much better than before! (66)

Other visualization exercises can be found in my books Education and the Soul (Miller 2000) and The Holistic Teacher (Miller 1993). Ellen Handle Spitz (2006) writes more generally about children’s imagination. She argues that the emphasis on accountability has meant that education has continued to ignore the inner life of children. She writes: Against the grain of current educational fetishes for testing children’s cognitive abilities, measuring their factual knowledge, and quantifying their skills acquisition, I plead for the according of a higher priority to children’s inner lives. I ask us to uphold their birthright to wonder and to question and to make up their own “superheroes.” Let them experiment and be wrong but in their own terms so that is they who want to find better answers (this how Socrates does it in the Meno). (227)

Sptiz’s book contains examples of how the child’s imagination can be nurtured in music, math, writing, and art.

104

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Metaphor Iain McGilchrist (2009, 179) believes that metaphor, which arises in the right hemisphere, “can generate new thoughts or understanding … all understanding depends on choosing the right metaphor.” Metaphor or mythos for McGilchrist is deeply connected to spirituality and “gives us something other than material values to live by” (442). Art and music are examples of metaphoric thinking that bring us closer to spirit. Metaphorical thinking involves making connections between two words or ideas that are not normally related to each other, but do share some commonalty. For example, the human kidney is like a fuel filter in that both screen out certain molecules. Of course, there are significant differences between the fuel filter and the kidney, but a discussion of similarities and differences can lead to a more complete understanding of both. Other examples of metaphor include how “a revolution can be compared to a volcano (pressure building toward explosion), narrative writing to a chain with the transitions being the links, theme and variation to the Thanksgiving turkey and the endless ways of preparing its leftovers, and electricity to water running through pipes” (Williams 1983, 56). Metaphorical teaching asks the students to explore connections and make intuitive leaps in making these connections. W.J.J. Gordon (1966) has described different levels of role-taking that can take place in metaphoric thinking. At the first level the person merely describes an object by drawing out the obvious similarities between two objects or ideas. At next level the person describes emotions that arise from identifying the similarities. At the third level the student makes an empathetic identification with a living thing. Gordon (1966) gives the example of a student imagining himself or herself as a crab: O.K. I’m a fiddler crab. I’ve got armor all around me – my tough shell. You’d think I could take it easy, but I can’t. And that big claw of mine! Big deal! It looks like a great weapon, but it’s a nuisance. I wave it around to scare everyone, but I can hardly carry it. Why can’t I be big and fast and normal like other crabs? No kidding! That claw doesn’t even scare anyone! (24)

The fourth level involves empathetic identification with a non-living object. There are several advantages to using metaphor. The most obvious, from a holistic perspective, is that it encourages the student to draw connections between ideas and subject matter. Williams’s graph of metaphor (see figure 6.1) is congruent with the diagram of holistic education given in figure 1.4. Here she contrasts the traditional approach, which can be compared to the transmission

Intuitive Connections

105

Figure 6.1 Metaphorical teaching

position, with the metaphorical approach, which is similar to the transformation, or holistic position. In the traditional approach seeds and eggs are seen as unrelated, while in the holistic approach the intersecting circles represent the points where we can make connections. Metaphor encourages the student not only to make connections but also to see patterns. In comparing revolutions to volcanos, the student must examine the patterns and principles common to both and then make the connection between the two. The most powerful connections between the components of a metaphor are not similar details but similar principles, as in the example of the kidney and the fuel filter. The student must understand the underlying function of each object to see the connection. Another advantage of metaphor is that it is open-ended and provokes inquiry. Metaphors by their very nature encourage questions, since there are rarely ready-made answers to metaphoric inquiry. For example, in comparing X and Y we first have to inquire into the nature of each and then draw comparisons. Metaphors can sometimes be used at the beginning of a lesson to stimulate interest in the material. One teacher began his class on the French Revolution by examining the power structure of the school (Williams 1983). Once the students saw how power functioned in their own institution they were then more interested in the power struggles in eighteenth-century France. Williams (1983) notes: “Instead of memorizing the Three Estates and the roles each played, students looked for analogues in the school, explored the power relations between groups, and related them to the situation in France” (69). Metaphors can also be used in testing. Again, the answer to a metaphoric question on a test will not be scorable with a simple checklist, but instead will

106

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

ask the teacher to assess the student’s reasoning and the connections that he or she draws. Below is an example: 1. List the major events leading up to the French Revolution and explain their importance. 2. How was the period leading up the French Revolution like the building up of a thunderstorm? Be sure to include in your analogy the major events leading up to the Revolution. (Williams 1983, 71) Metaphor can also be used to stimulate creative writing. The following questions are from Gordon’s (1968, 8–9) synectics approach: 1. 2. 3. 4.

What MACHINE acts like a SPLINTER GOING INTO YOUR FINGER? How is a BEAVER CHEWING ON A LOG like a TYPEWRITER? What ANIMAL is like a PARACHUTE? What THING IN THE KITCHEN is like a BEAVER?

Metaphor can also be combined with imagery to encourage creative thinking. For example, Williams suggests the following activity where the teacher begins by taking the students on a guided fantasy where they are in a garden of roses. The students visualize seeing, touching, and smelling the red rose. While their eyes are still closed the teacher then reads Robert Burns’s “A Red, Red Rose.” After the reading, the students discuss the experience and how it might differ with a different flower or even a different-coloured rose. Finally, metaphors can be used in teaching science. Russell Stannard (2001), who has written books such as The Time and Space of Uncle Albert and Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest, believes that stories are a good way to explain complex ideas in physics. In these stories he uses dreams to explore central ideas in modern physics. He also refers to the work of Gamow (1965), who wrote books about Mr Tompkins to explain physics concepts.

Poetry Poetry is a beautiful form of metaphor. Booth and Moore (2003) and Carl Leggo (1997) have written about the various ways poetry can be used in classrooms. Booth and Moore’s work is at the elementary level, while Leggo’s examples are from secondary schools. Like metaphor, Booth and Moore (2003) write that poetry “lets us see differently, develop new insights and new ways of understanding our world. It appeals to both thought and feeling, and has the power to call up rich sensory images in the reader and evoke deep emotional

Intuitive Connections

107

responses” (18). They also present a broad picture of what poetry is, including some prose. They cite Emily Dickinson, who wrote, “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head is taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?” (23). Some teachers may feel uncomfortable with poetry. Booth and Moore provide a long list of ideas of how to introduce poetry to overcome this discomfort. Here are just a few of their ideas of ways of introducing poems: • By teaching the poems we enjoy ourselves; • By reading poems aloud to children with energy, passion, and delight; • By joining in with children, clapping along, tasting the words, sitting inside the circle; • By encouraging children to write in a poetic fashion, using all of the tools that poets use, from models, shapes, and patterns to ideas and concepts; • By inviting poets to share their poems with children in an artists-in-theschools program; • By not demanding a single response to a poem, but rather observing and listening to the responses of children and building on them; • By collecting poetic language to share with children from ads, stories, novels, songs, or magazines – letting the children learn from living language about the power of words. (47) Their book is filled with so many ideas about how the teacher can use poetry, including having children write their own poetry. Carl Leggo (1997) has written about how to introduce poetry at the secondary level. Leggo explores with students the question, “What is a poem?” He explores a number of approaches to teaching poetry at the secondary level. He also challenges us to live poetically which include being in touch with our body and feelings. He writes, “As a poet, I know that I live consciously and constantly in my emotions. I am seeking to live poetically, and that means living emotionally with my feelings in motion and commotion” (77). Leggo’s vision of living poetically is beautiful and can be seen as an ultimate goal of holistic education.

Critical Thinking Some holistic educators, such as Kathleen Kesson (1993), have argued that tools such as visualization can be used in different ways. Kesson suggests that techniques such as visualization are neutral and can “either work to emancipate

108

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

consciousness, sustain the status quo, or open us up to ever more subtle forms of domination” (103). Kesson argues that holistic education must be infused with a more critical perspective that allows students to examine societal institutions, particularly those institutions such as capitalism that tend to separate and oppress people. I agree with Kesson, but also agree with Steiner’s position that such analysis is best done during adolescence, when the natural critical and analytic abilities of the person begin to flower. A good example of such a curriculum can be found at Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS) in New York. The curriculum tends to focus on central themes and questions that allow for integration and critical thinking. For example, in grades 7 and 8, students study contemporary political issues with an emphasis on United States history. Below is a list of essential questions that drive student inquiry: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What is political power? Who has it? How did they get it? How does power change hands? What gives laws their power? How do people respond to being deprived of power? (Wood 1992, 180)

Students and teachers can also add their own questions. For example, when students were studying the 1988 election in the United States they added the following questions: Does your vote count? How does one go about getting the agreement of the majority of a country? Are voting blocs really blocs? How does the media influence elections? How does one achieve political power? Is this the best way to choose a leader? (Wood 1992, 180)

Literature is used to explore the central question of power and powerlessness in order to complement the historical investigation. For example, Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is used to explore the issue of powerlessness. Besides studying the issue of power, the Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum at CPESS also looks at different political systems around the world. Students look at concepts such as “justice, fairness, conflict resolution” in terms of how the United States government and other countries’ governmental systems address these issues. Essential questions include: “How is authority

Intuitive Connections

109

justified? Who has it? How are conflicts resolved?” This curriculum also examines non-European traditions in selected Asian, Central American and African countries. The curriculum focuses on “clashes between non-Western and Western societies and ideas” (Wood 1992, 169). The central focus here is on essential questions that help integrate the curriculum and address fundamental issues. In Waldorf education students study revolutions from different countries in grade 8 just as they begin to question authority in their own lives. However, this is done after a curriculum that has focused on the integration of the emotional life of the child from age seven to eleven or twelve. Myth and story are used to help this process. As children develop a healthy sense of self, they are then ready to question and analyse the world around them.

Socratic Circles Matt Copeland (2005), who teaches at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kansas, advocates the use of Socratic circles in middle schools and high schools. These are circles where the inner circle discusses a text or question while the surrounding circle observes the discussion. During the discussion the outside circle just listens until the discussion is completed. Once the inner circle has completed the discussion the outer circle then gives the inner circle feedback. After the feedback is given the outer circle moves to the inner circle and the process is repeated. Copeland argues that Socratic circles develop the following skills: • Critical thinking and reflection as students examine language and ideas more carefully; • Creativity in writing; • Wanting to read more as the circles stimulate students to interest a subject that leads to further reading.; • Speaking with more confidence; • Listening, as this skill is fundamental to the whole process, in listening in the inner circle as well as in the outer circle so that the feedback can be helpful; • Team-building skills as the students learn to respect others’ points of view; • Conflict resolution skills. In summary, Socratic circles seem to provide a forum that integrates both critical and creative thinking as well as important interpersonal skills.

110

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Equinox Holistic Alternative School The staff handbook for Equinox describes the school’s approach to this connection: Intuition Connections A major focus at Equinox is the inquiry-based approach to learning. The educator poses intentional, open-ended questions that encourage students to be curious and inquire about the answers. This forms the basis of inquiry, develops intuition and independent thinking, sparks curiosity, develops imagination and encourages deep thinking. Students regularly work in cooperative groupings, learning how to communicate with others, listen and respect other points of view and negotiate. In the outdoor education program, teachers and leaders develop an approach called The Art of Questioning (Coyote Guide: Art of Mentoring), to pose inquiry-based questions to their students. An inquiry-based approach helps to connect intellect and intuition. Students are encouraged to rely on their own knowing. This process of discovery helps students to take ownership of their learning and to trust their inner knowing. As students become familiar with this process they access their intuition to solve problems. Many of the mindfulness activities practiced in the school help to develop the intuition. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2018, 6)

One example of this approach is the knowledge-building circle. The teacher sits outside the circle introduces a question, for example, “Should we go to the zoo?” The students then raise other questions and take responsibility and control of the process while the teacher takes notes. In the primary grades, the inquiry centres on elements such as water, air, and fire that young children can wonder about. The children develop their own questions and write down the questions and answers in their own books. The students document the inquiry in these books. One of the graduates who is now in high school commented on the impact of the intuition/inquiry-based approach: “They found interesting ways to teach us. This really got the information into your brain and [it stayed] there, rather than forgetting it in two days. I liked the focus on the arts” (Miller 2016, 294). REFERENCES Ainsworth-Land, Vaune. 1982. “Imaging and Creativity: An Integrating Perspective.” The Journal of Creative Behavior 16: 5–28. Arcavi, Abraham. 2003. “The Role of Visual Representations in the Learning of Mathematics.” Educational Studies in Mathematics 52: 215–41.

Intuitive Connections

111

Beck, Judith S. 2011. Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems: What to Do When the Basics Don’t Work. New York: Guilford. Beyer, Barry K. 1991. Teaching Thinking Skills: A Handbook for Secondary School Teachers. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bohm, David. 1984. “Insight, Knowledge, Science, and Human Values.” In Toward the Recovery of Wholeness, edited by Douglas Sloan, 8–30. New York: Teachers College Press. Booth, David, and Bill Moore. 2003. Poems Please: Sharing Poetry with Children. Markham, ON: Pembroke. Bugental, James. 1976. The Search for Existential Identity. San Francisco: Josey Bass. Calvin, Melvin. 1976. “Dialogue: Your Most Exciting Moment in Research?” LBL Newsmagazine (Fall): 2. Chatterjea, Kalyani. 1999. “Use of Visual Images in the Teaching of Geography.” Geographical Education 12: 49–55. Copeland, Matt. 2005. Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle and High Schools. Portsmouth, NH: Stenhouse. Day, Jennifer. 1999. Creative Visualization for Children: A Practical Guide. Rockport, MA: Element Books. Eisenwine, Marilyn J., Elaine Danielson Fowler, and Gary R. McKenzie. 2000. “Visual Memory and Context Cues in Reading Instruction.” Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 15 (Winter): 170–4. Equinox Holistic Alternative School. 2018. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Staff Handbook (2018–19). Available from the school, 151 Hiawatha Rd., Toronto, Ontario. Galyean, Beverly-Colleene. 1983. Mind Sight: Learning through Imaging. Berkeley, CA: Center for Integrative Learning. Gamow, George. 1965. Mr Tompkins in Paperback. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gordon, William J.J. 1966. The Metaphorical Way of Knowing. Cambridge, MA: Porpoise Books. – 1968. Making It Strange. New York: Harper & Row. Judkins, Rod. 2015. The Art of Creative Thinking. London: Sceptre. Kesson, Kathleen. 1993. “Critical Theory and Holistic Education: Carrying on the Conversation.” In The Renewal of Meaning in Education, edited by Ron Miller, 92–110. Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press. Leggo, Carl. 1997. Teaching to Wonder: Responding to Poetry in the Secondary Classroom. Vancouver: Pacific Educational Press. – 2004. “Living Poetry: Five Ruminations.” Language and Literacy 6 (2): 14. Lucas, Bill, and Ellen Spencer. 2017. Teaching Creative Thinking: Developing Learners Who Generate Ideas and Can Think Critically. Bancyfelin, Carmarthen, UK: Crown House Publishing.

112

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

McGilchrist, Iain. 2009. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Menzies, Victoria, Ann Gill Taylor, and Cheryl Bourguignon. 2006. “Effects of Guided Imagery on Outcomes of Pain.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 12 (1): 23–30. Miller, John P. 1993. The Holistic Teacher. Toronto: OISE Press. – 2000. Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. – 2016. “Equinox: Portrait of a Holistic School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3-4): 283–301. Moore, Thomas. 1992. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. New York: Walker. Muller-Markus, Siegfried. 1976. “The Structure of Creativity in Physics.” In Vistas in Physical Reality, edited by Ervin Laszlo and Emily B. Sellon, 133–54. New York: Selon Press. Murdock, Maureen. 1987. Spinning Inward: Using Guided Imagery with Children. Boston: Shambhala. Murphy, Michael. 1992. The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolution of Human Nature. New York: Jeremy Tarcher. Neves, Ana. 2009. “A Holistic Approach to the Ontario Curriculum: Moving to a More Coherent Curriculum.” Master’s thesis, University of Toronto. https://tspace .library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/18107 Noddings, Nel, and Paul J. Shore. 1984. Awakening the Inner Eye: Intuition in Education. New York: Teachers College Press. Richardson, Alan. 1969. Mental Imagery. New York: Springer Publishing. Ross, John A., and Florence J. Maynes. 1982. Teaching Problem Solving. Toronto: OISE Press. Samuels, Mike, and Nancy Samuels. 1975. Seeing with the Mind’s Eye: The History, Techniques, and Uses of Visualization. New York: Random House. Simonton, O. Carl, and Stephanie Matthews-Simonton. 1978. Getting Well Again: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Cancer of Patients and Their Families. Los Angeles: Tarcher. Singer, Jerome. 1976. “Fantasy, the Foundation of Serenity.” Psychology Today, July, 32–7. – 2006. Imagery in Psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. – 2015. Daydreaming and Fantasy. New York: Routledge. Spitz, Ellen Handle. 2006. The Brightening Glance: Imagination and Childhood. New York: Pantheon. Stannard, Russell. 2001. “Communicating Physics through Story.” Physics Education 36: 30–4.

Intuitive Connections

113

Tart, Charles. 1975. “The Physical Universe, the Spiritual Universe, and the Paranormal.” In Transpersonal Psychologies, edited by Charles Tart, 115–51. New York: Harper & Row. Taylor, Jill Bolte. 2008. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey. New York: Penguin. Teilhard De Chardin, Pierre. 1965. The Phenomenon of Man. New York: Harper Torch Books. Vaughn, Frances. 1979. Awakening Intuition. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books. Wallas, Graham. 1926. The Art of Thought. London: Watts. Weil, Andrew. 1972. The Natural Mind. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Wheatley, Grayson H. 1998. “Imagery and Mathematics Learning.” Focus on Learning Problems in Mathematics 20 (2–3): 65–77. Williams, Linda V. 1983. Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wood, George H. 1992. Schools That Work: America’s Most Innovative Public Education Programs. New York: Plume.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Seven

Body–Mind Connections

Wilder Penfield, the Canadian neurosurgeon and brain researcher, found that our awareness (the mind) is not located in any particular part of the brain but, in fact, directs the brain. According to Penfield (1975, 75–6), our mind “seems to focus attention. The mind is aware of what is going on. The mind reasons and makes new decisions. It understands. It acts as though endowed with an energy of its own. It can make decisions and put them into effect by calling upon various brain mechanisms.” However, it is also possible for the brain to run on “automatic pilot” without the conscious awareness of the mind. When this happens, the body–mind connection can be broken. James Lynch (1985) has studied the relation between mind and body, and he has found that many people suffering from hypertension are not aware of their body messages. For example, when their heart is beating at a high rate, they will not be conscious of their heart pounding. Lynch also found that people who suffer from migraines often experience a drop in blood pressure and have cold hands before the onset of a migraine; however, the patient will be unaware of the bodily changes (e.g., the cold hands). The hypertensive’s mind does not hear the messages (e.g., muscle tension, pounding heart) the body is sending. The hypertensive also has a hard time listening, as they are preoccupied with what they will be saying next. Consequently, the blood pressure does not go down as much as when a normal person is listening. Lynch found that human dialogue is characterized by a rhythm of increased heartbeat and blood pressure while talking and lower heartbeat and blood pressure while listening. This coincides with the model of the active-ego-based mind and the listeningsoul-based mind. Often in talking we are trying to persuade, to manipulate, and to bring the other person in line with the ego’s view. While listening, we are less likely to be planning and manipulating, but instead simply relating to the world as it is.

116

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

In summarizing this research, Lynch (1985) concludes that the psychosomatic patient seals himself or herself from others, or what he calls the social membrane. For Lynch, real speech involves an invitation of the speaker to enter into his or her consciousness, “that is, into his or her body and ultimately into his or her mind’s heart” (243). For the psychosomatic, this invitation becomes a threat, as “their speech becomes an act of battering or hiding, rather than an invitation” (243). Lynch (1985) argues that there are two primary reasons for the modern problem of hypertension, and particularly for the large number of people who are cut off from their feelings and their bodies. One is the seventeenth-century movement led by Descartes that tended to see the person as a soul trapped in a machine: Descartes removed the Greek idea of logos from living bodies and limited it to a soul that was restricted to the human mind. By separating soul from body, Descartes, in essence, created two realities for humans; one, a machine body; and the other, a mind or soul which interacts both with the machine body as well as with other human beings. Thus, human beings relate to each other in dialogue only through their minds. (289–90)

Lynch notes that it was significant that Descartes’s fundamental statement was “I think therefore I am,” rather than “I feel therefore I am.” If we relate to each other only through our minds, then, human dialogue becomes strictly rational dialogue. According to Lynch (1985), “In this new view, the feeling of love is merely an imprecise thought; loneliness has nothing to do with physical health … Descartes made the human body utterly irrelevant to human dialogue” (291). David Abram (1996) also points to Descartes’s work as contributing to our alienation from the body. He believes this has led to our disconnection from the environment, as the body and the earth are intimately connected. Indigenous people have made this connection. Abram describes how the native peoples of Australia walked the routes of their ancestors and in this process the body and the land would become one. Abram states: “He virtually becomes the journeying Ancestor, and thus the storied earth is born afresh” (170). Abram (1996) refers to the French philosopher Merleau-Ponty as someone who saw the connection between our body and the land. Referring to MerleauPonty’s concept of language, he writes: The complex interchange that we call “language” is rooted in the non-verbal exchange always already going on between our own flesh and the flesh of the world … Experientially considered, language is no more the special property

Body–Mind Connections

117

of the human organism than it is an expression of the animate earth that enfolds us. (90)

Another reason for body–mind divisions is our educational system. Lynch (1985) argues that school systems emphasize calculus and physics, which require a great deal of training, while feelings are taken for granted. There is “no training, no exercising, no sensitizing – except, that is, for a rational discussion of these human feelings” (271). Lynch concludes: For many students, school systems can become a training ground where they are taught not to understand but rather to control their feelings. For those individuals who are already predisposed to be particularly insensitive to their feelings, and who will subject themselves later in life to serious psychosomatic disorders, the entire experience in schools serves to reinforce their problems. Feelings are seen as an irrational force, a dark side of human nature that must be controlled. The academic lesson is that if you cannot control your feelings, then at least you ought to hide them. Since those attitudes and beliefs coincide with and amplify similar parental dispositions, psychosomatically prone individuals often do well in school. Not sensing feelings and compulsively following structure and rules is precisely the type of behavior that prepares one to do well on objective tests. It allows one to spend endless hours learning minute details from texts while simultaneously denying one’s anxiety and anger at having to spend so much time competing with fellow students. (271)

Wilfred Barlow (1975) has done research that indicates that most children have a number of physical defects that increase as they grow older. Barlow conducted his research in secondary schools and colleges in England and reached the following conclusions: Seventy percent of all boys and girls show quite marked muscular and postural deficiencies. Mostly these defects appear as passing inefficiencies and difficulties in learning; they become accentuated in emotional situations, and they presage an uneasy adolescence in which childhood faults become blown up into full-fledged defects. By the age of eighteen, only 5 percent of the population are free from defects, 15 percent have slight defects, 65 percent have quite severe defects, and 15 percent have very severe defects. These figures are based on my published surveys of boys and girls from secondary schools, and students from physical training, music and drama colleges, some of whom might reasonably be expected to have a higher physical standard than the rest of the population. (15)

118

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

We have no reason to believe these figures would be any different in North America. Even physical education programs that are aimed at developing the body can contribute to a lack of integration. Today cell phone addiction certainly contributes to the problem identified by Lynch and Barlow. People using a cell phone tend to lean forward, causing bad posture. Sian Beilock (2015) in her book How the Body Knows the Mind summarizes much of the recent research on the how the body influences the mind. She also writes about how the body impacts learning: Both moving your foot and understanding the word kick are governed, in part, by an area of the motor cortex that controls the leg. It’s hard to separate the reading mind from the doing mind. Teaching words estranged from the objects and actions they refer to doesn’t reflect how the brain is organized. Because our body and mind are tightly connected, the body is an important part of the learning process. (50)

Beilock (2015) describes a program called Math Dance, which is a series of whole-body mathematical activities. This program is “designed to give people the physical experience of an abstract idea” (57). She also refers to Maria Montessori, who wrote that “mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it” (56). Beilock argues that today schools ignore the impact of the body on learning and gives many examples of how movement can be incorporated into the learning process. Richard Davidson (2012) has done extensive research on the mind– body relationship. He has found that there is a bidirectional relationship between the mind and body, so that “the state of the mind influences the body, and the state of the body influences the mind” (136). He suggests that the body “can become an ally in transforming emotion, meaning practices that emphasize the body, such as hatha yoga, have the potential to modulate emotion” (136). He works in the field of behavioural medicine or health psychology, and states that “the emotional state itself predicts the health problems” (115). Mindfulness Davidson (2012) has also done research on mindfulness and found that it reduces anxiety. He sees mindfulness as a “form of mental training, where you practice observing your thoughts, feelings, and sensation moment by moment and nonjudgmentally, viewing them simply as what they are: thoughts, feelings, sensation; nothing more or nothing less” (235).

Body–Mind Connections

119

Davidson also did studies on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Trained as a molecular biologist and working at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Kabat-Zinn saw the potential of mindfulness practice for patients at the Center. He developed MBSR for patients, running the program in the basement of the Center. The program consisted of one day-long session and two-hour sessions conducted over eight weeks. In 1990 Jon’s book, Full Catastrophe Living, was published; it reported on his program and some of the early research showing the positive impact of the program. Three years later Bill Moyers on his PBS program, Healing the Mind, interviewed Kabat-Zinn; this was when his work became widely recognized. Barry Boyce (2011, xiii) writes, “This was the beginning of what we now can call the ‘mindfulness revolution.’” The MBSR program has now spread around the world, and is given a variety of settings. Boyce writes that these variations include “MindfulnessBased Childbirth and Parenting, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training, and Mindfulness-Based Art Training for Cancer Patients” (xiii). Other mindfulness-based programs included the Mindfulness Awareness Research Center (MARC) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Susan Smalley and Diana Winston, who work there, have written one of the best books on mindfulness, Fully Present (2010). Another important figure is Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk, whose book The Miracle of Mindfulness was published in 1976 and introduced mindfulness practice to North America. Below is an exercise from that book which shows how mindfulness can be applied to daily life. Mindfulness While Making Tea Prepare a pot of tea to serve a guest or to drink by yourself. Do each movement slowly, in mindfulness. Do not let one detail of your movements go by without being mindful of it. Know that your hand lifts the pot by its handle. Know that you are pouring the fragrant warm tea into the cup. Follow each step in mindfulness. Breathe gently and more deeply than usual. Take hold of your breath if your mind strays. (Hanh 1976, 85)

Education Mindfulness has also been adopted in a variety of educational settings. I met Linda Lantieri at Findhorn in 2000 at a conference on Education and the Soul. She had been working in New York City schools for several years around

120

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

confliction resolution and peace education. The next year was 9/11, which happened near her office in New York. Since then she has developed the Inner Resilience Program. This program combines mindfulness meditation with social emotional learning (SEL) to help children and adolescents cope with stresses in their lives, as well as enhance their ability to focus and learn in school. At the invitation of Congressman Tim Ryan, she brought the program to the Youngstown and Warren school districts in Ohio. Several studies have been conducted on the program indicating its positive impact. One study was included 57 teachers and 855 students in New York City classrooms (grades 3–5). Linda’s website reports the following results. Between-group analyses indicated several interesting and notable results with regard to teacher wellness, including reduced stress levels (as measured by one scale), increased levels of attention and mindfulness, and greater perceived relational trust among treatment teachers. Additionally, third-grade students of treatment teachers perceived that they had significantly more autonomy and influence in their classes at the end of the school year than at the beginning, and analyses of student wellness indicated that the program had a significant positive impact on reducing third- and fourth-grade students’ frustration levels (see www.lindalantieri.org/links_irp.htm). The Mind–Body Awareness (MBA) program in Oakland, California, developed by Noah Levine works with inner city youth, often gang members. The director of the MBA, Chris McKenna, introduces mindfulness activities through martial arts movies and songs to engage young people. McKenna says, “I’ve experienced many different approaches to working with people in these kinds of extreme circumstances and mindfulness is by far the most powerful intervention I’ve ever worked with” (cited in Boyce 2011, 257). Another program that is being used in North America is the MindUP program developed by the Goldie Hawn foundation. The website describes the program: “MindUP is a family of social, emotional, and attentional self-regulatory strategies and skills developed for cultivating well-being and emotional balance. Among the various MindUP™ skills taught to students, focused attention and nonreactive monitoring of experience from moment to moment display the potential to have a long-term impact on brain function and social and emotional behavior” (see www.thehawnfoundation.org/mindup). Studies have shown some of the following self-report changes from students: • • • •

Increased empathy Significant rise in optimism Increased emotional control Improved focused attention

Body–Mind Connections

121

• Works more collaboratively with classmates (see www.thehawnfoundation .org/mindup-studies). Besides MindUP, several other programs have been developed for schools. These include: Elementary School Programs • • • •

Inner Kids (https://www.susankaisergreenland.com/inner-kids-model) Modern Mindfulness for Schools (https://modmind.org) Mindfulness for Schools (https://mindfulschools.org) A Still Quiet Place (http://www.stillquietplace.com)

Secondary School Programs • Mindfulness without Borders (https://mindfulnesswithoutborders.org) • Mindfulness Everyday (http://mindfulnesseveryday.com) • Bringing Mindfulness to Schools (https://mindfulnessinschools.org)

Happy Teachers Thich Nhat Hanh has conducted retreats for teachers around the world entitled Happy Teachers Change the World. I was fortunate enough to be asked to be on a panel at the retreat held at Brock University in St Catharines, Ontario, in 2013 that focused on mindfulness in teaching (the panel can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ6arS3OlF0&feature=c4-overview&list =UUcv7KJIAsiddB2YRegvrF7g). Thich Nhat Hanh has also coauthored a book (Hanh and Weare 2017) by the same name, which is one the best guides for teachers who want to introduce mindfulness practices into their teaching. This book helps teachers develop their own practice. There are chapters on sitting meditation, walking meditation, eating mindfully, and taking care of emotions. There is also a chapter on introducing mindfulness to students. Ideas are presented on how to integrate mindfulness activities with various subjects such as art, science, and physical education. He suggests ten mindful movements that children can do – arm raises, stretching the arms, opening the arms, circling the arms, circling the waist, stretching the body through squats (like a frog!), stretching the legs, circling the legs, and side lunges with arm stretch. Here are the instructions for squats: • Start with hands on hips, heels together, feet in a V. • Breathing in, rise up, on the toes, heels still together.

122

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

• Breathing out, stay on the toes, and bend the knees to come down, back straight • Repeat two or three times. (300) Meena Srinivasan (2014) was also on the panel mentioned above and has written a book entitled Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness in and out of the Classroom that also contains many helpful ideas that teachers can use. MINDFULNESS IN MY TEACHING

Since 1988 I have required students to meditate in my two of courses and thus have introduced meditation and mindfulness practices to over 2,000 teachers. I have described this work in The Contemplative Practitioner: Meditation in Education and the Workplace (Miller 2014). I would like to cite the examples of two students who integrated mindfulness into their teaching and their life. Nadia. I have had several Muslim students in my classes who have found mindfulness practice helpful. Here is the experience of one student, Nadia (a pseudonym), who came from Kuwait. Since she came to Canada, she has taught ESL for people in her community. Now she is focusing on learning to play piano and music theory. She uses walking meditation and breathing meditation, and repeats mantras and tries to bring mindfulness into daily life. Much of her practice focuses on mindfulness, and she has found it very helpful in practising the piano. Nadia comments: The mindfulness really helps, because it is simple and can be an integral part of whatever I’m doing, even in cooking. I do the cutting, I focus on the smell of the vegetable, it brings me joy, even when I wash the dishes, it makes me happier when I focus. I drift off, of course, but then I bring myself back. (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 47)

In her personal life, she points out that her family was influenced by her meditation practices as she and her husband have learned mindfulness together. She said, “My husband was enlightened by many of the things I learned and I passed on to him. He helps me a lot in his own way … we learned the mindfulness together. He easily incorporates it in his daily activity” (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 47). Her husband said that she is changing a lot from what she used to be, as he has been observing the changes through time. She used to worry a lot and now she is trying to focus on the moment rather than being absent-minded and anxious. When she went back to Kuwait, a few of her family members noted that she seemed more

Body–Mind Connections

123

relaxed and happier. She was amazed and wondered how she was different from before. It changed my life a lot in many ways from inside. I know I’m less anxious and worried, and whenever I let my mind work in the future or in the past, I get upset again and down, and then I have to bring myself back. When I’m thinking of the past or the future, and they’re equally painful … I can simply bring myself to the present with a few breaths, breathing deeply, and then focusing on the moment and just doing it without letting thought distract me; that’s very helpful for me. (Miller and Nowzawa 2002, 47)

Nadia is more mindful now, and finds it easier to be present. She reminds herself whenever her mind drifts off to come back to the present. The more she becomes mindful, the easier it gets to include mindfulness in her daily activities. She thinks that it is our nature to be in the moment, as young children are naturally mindful. As people get older, they change because of many factors, such as trying to meet the expectations of others. She explains that the element of the practice is simplicity, which we cannot complicate by using a lot of words. The next comment describes that the important lesson is in the experience itself: I don’t need to even describe it, that’s the good part. We understand it and we do it. Quieting the mind, actually, is very important. I don’t think we have to, though. It’s not, “have to,” because that’s what brought me to trouble in the first place. The “have to,” or “I should do this or that” … If any thought comes in, you don’t force it out, you let it smoothly go out. It’s not having to or forcing something. (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 47)

Nadia also talks about accepting herself, “It’s OK … that’s one of the things I’m beginning to tell myself. It’s very powerful thing for me. When I make a mistake, I am very critical about myself, and this is what I’m changing, and I know it’s in the process. I’m telling myself it is OK when I make mistakes” (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 48). Meditation seems to help in the process of accepting herself. Finally, Nadia comments on the relation between her faith and the mindfulness practice: In Islam, there are many instructions that Muslims are encouraged to do. For example, when we want to enter a room, it’s encouraged to enter with the right foot first, and say a kind of short prayer … I believe that these little prayers and acts are a way to stay present, to be mindful of what we’re doing.

124

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

So, I think that mindfulness is an integral part of any religion. (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 48)

For Nadia, then, her meditation and mindfulness support her religious practices. Many students have found that during practice a deep sense of gratitude arises. Here are the comments one woman shared with me from her personal journal: There was more gratefulness today. Despite awaking from sleep not quite satisfied and greeted by the thought of a fairly busy day I approached the meditation with much eagerness and gratefulness for the opportunity, in anticipation for the clarity and groundedness it would provide. The experience was marked by light and a warm breeze wafting in through the window. I was very much aware of my body and how my breathing was shaping it, of the rhythm of my breathing. My body and mind felt very content and at ease engaging and connecting in this way. They seemed at peace and grateful. I myself was grateful.

Astrid. While Nadia focused on how mindfulness has affected her personal life, Astrid wrote about how she brought mindfulness into her teaching day. I have cited her account in my other works (Miller 2006, 2007, 2014), and I cite it again here because it is such a beautiful example of how mindfulness can bring a deep sense of gratitude throughout the day: I began each day marveling at the miracle of life, of falling asleep and awakening to a wondrous world. With this thought, I began my morning rituals. Thinking of my daily routines as rituals actually helped me in attaining a more aware state as I washed my face, took my shower, ate my breakfast and walked (or drove) to work. Upon entering the school, I decided to go to my classroom first. I had previously been going into the office to sign in and say good morning, etc. but this took away from the oneness that I needed in my “mindfulness” training. I ritualized all my tasks – walking up the stairs, putting the key into the classroom door, hanging up my coat, etc. It was actually amazing how being mindful of these simple tasks allowed me to begin my day in a calm, clear, and less cluttered way. How many times had I come into this room, dumped my coat, hat and mitts on my chair, ran to the photocopy room and back, spent another half hour looking for the photocopying I had laid down somewhere, not to mention the frantic search for mitts when it was time go out on duty? Instead, I began to become aware of my mornings in the classroom and in turn they became calm and focused. My most favorite part of this pre-school ritual is writing the schedule on the board. My team teacher had tried to talk me out of this last June (she writes the

Body–Mind Connections

125

daily schedule for each day on the sheets of chart paper and laminates them). At the time, I explained to her that writing of the schedule on the board had many different purposes for me. The most important one was that it allowed me to center myself in the classroom. I look back now on how intuitive I had been and I am amazed. Being mindful of this particular ritual has made me fully aware of the “here” during the hectic day. I stand at the front of the room and feel the smooth texture of the chalk in my hands. I think about where I am and I observe my surroundings – the plants, the books, the desks, the children’s slippers – I am, for the second time that day, amazed at the miracle of life. The days begins, I stand outside the classroom fully aware of each individual as they enter the room. I interact with them, I say hello, it feels good. This is new, until now, I had never made it to the door when the children entered – I was always too busy! I try to maintain this sense of awareness – aware of my feelings (physical and emotional) and my reactions to the things that are happening “now.” Of course, the craziness of the classroom day begins and it becomes more and more difficult to maintain this awareness as the day wears on. However, now instead of working through recess, I take the time to visit with colleagues in the staff room. When I can, I take a walk down to the beach at lunch and look out across the lake, mindful of the beauty of the world around me. When the day ends, I recapture this mindful state and fully participate in the end-of-day ritual with my students. After the children have left, I sweep the floor, being mindful of my movements and the sound of the broom. I often begin by thinking that I am sweeping the day’s events away and that I am focusing on the “now” – the actual act of sweeping. The pleasure of being here, and being able to fully participate reminds me again of the miracle of life. (Miller 2006, 79–80)

Yoga One of the biggest changes since the previous editions of The Holistic Curriculum were published has been the increasing use of yoga in schools. This reflects the growing popularity of yoga in North American culture. There have been several books published for introducing yoga to children and adolescents (Kiss 2003; Lark 2003; Luby 2000; Schwartz 2003). For young children in kindergarten and primary school, I still recommend Rachel Carr’s (1973) Be a Frog, A Bird, or A Tree: Creative Yoga Exercises for Children. Rachel Carr states that yoga exercises began in India when people tried to imitate the movements of animals and insects to increase the strength and flexibility in their own bodies. Carr began teaching yoga to young children in her own home. Gradually more and more children came and her work

126

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

led to her book. She found that her approach also stimulated the children’s imaginations. When they learned to balance in the frog pose, they felt the need for continued motion and so organized frog races, croaking as they hopped with quick well-coordinated movements. This led to further imaginative play. The more agile children arched their back high up so that other could crawl under them. (78)

Carr (1973) also found that the children could help one another learn the poses. She also worked with children with various physical disabilities and describes an incident of how child helped another: When one boy in the group found the pose of the tree too confusing, tears sprang to his eyes. His jerky, unco-ordinated movements frustrated him. Rushing to his aid was a lithe youngster whose hearing and speech were so impaired that he communicated only in sign language. He gently led his friend to a wall for support, then moved the boy’s trembling limbs into the pose of the tree. The triumph bought spontaneous applause from the entire group. (80)

Using the images of animals helped the children remember the poses over time. Carr liked to use a circle to teach the poses and have child in the middle demonstrating the pose to the rest of the circle. She also suggests basic guidelines for doing the exercises, such as not doing them right after a meal and wearing loose flexible clothing. One student of mine, Nancy Zigrovic (2005), teaches at a secondary school in Oakville, Ontario, and uses both meditation and yoga with her students. She describes her experience with one grade 10 class of non-college-bound students: I have also had the pleasure to work with a Grade 10 Applied Canadian History class of 20 students, 14 of whom are boys. Many of these students provide the quintessential example of discouraged learners – they are adolescents who often find the traditional classroom a very difficult place to be. They find it hard to focus and listen attentively, and are often described by teachers as “behavioural problems.” However, from the first time that we tried both meditation and yoga together, they were receptive and open to new approaches. In our meditation, we began with short exercises in breathing and focus. They seemed at first reluctant to close their eyes in the presence of their peers; I explained that they could simply gaze downwards in front of them. When they could see that I felt comfortable in

Body–Mind Connections

127

the classroom and had closed my eyes, all began to follow what I was modelling. Even in our first debriefing, they talked about how they liked being still for a few moments. During my next and subsequent visits with the History class, we moved into a more physical form of hatha yoga, incorporating what we had already learned about breathing and focus. One of the initial responses from a boy in the class included, “I thought that this yoga was pretty good. If we did it a little longer, it would probably be better. And once we get past the stage of laughing it would be good.” We did work at sustaining our practice for longer periods of time and the students became more comfortable with the various asanas as well as with making space for silence. Most importantly, however, they began to trust each other, and the hurtful comments that seemed to be a regular part of the classroom vernacular were becoming less frequent. In their latest reflection, not one student expressed concern about doing yoga or wished to not participate in the practice. I have been meeting with this particular class two times per week during the past two months, and some of their comments include: At first when we were doing it, I didn’t think it would really work, but after doing the exercises, I felt really relaxed and good. My favorite one would be the Namaste. It really makes me stretch and relieve stress. Thank-you for doing it with us. Another student wrote: I like the yoga because it helps me concentrate a lot better because usually I can’t concentrate very well. It also helps me calm down and focus on what I am doing. And this student summarizes the soul connection: This isn’t the first time I’ve done yoga. We had to do this for hockey, before our championship game, our coach’s wife used to be a yoga instructor. We ended up winning the championship game because we were all refreshed from our little yoga session. My opinion on yoga is it soothes the soul. (Zigrovic 2005, 9–10)

Ana Neves (2009) uses yoga in working with students in elementary school. In her thesis she wrote about the impact of yoga on the student’s self-awareness: “By practising yoga students can gain greater self-awareness, which can lead to personal growth, and this increased self-awareness will also help them build self-assessment skills that are critical to effective learning and academic growth” (78).

128

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Movement/Dance Another vehicle for connecting mind and body is movement and dance. Movement education became more popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, particularly in primary-level classrooms. Geraldine Dimondstein (1971) has developed a holistic approach to dance for the elementary school classroom. The focus of her approach is on developing kinesthetic awareness. Kinesthetic awareness refers to children’s ability to control their movements and to feel the movements at the same time. With gestures they learn to give shape and form to their inner thoughts. Dance, then, is not just acting out, but giving form to inner feelings through visual images expressed through movement. For example, in exploring the concept of fear, the children find some movement to express their conception of fear. The students can first start with an unstructured visualization where they let images of fear come into their minds. They then can articulate these images or draw them, and finally they can express their image of fear through movement. Dimondstein describes three stages of movement and dance. At the first stage, the student explores various movements as they explore the physical self with basic movement patterns. The next level is improvisation, where students begin to connect inner feelings with movement. At this level they begin to use movement as a form of self-expression, although the students usually have not yet reached the level of dance in which there is definite form to the movements. At the dance level, children deepen their perception of inner feelings by giving shape to them through physical activity. In dance there is movement into patterns that express a particular idea or theme. Dance for Dimondstein (1971, 13), however, is not storytelling. It focuses instead on “metaphoric qualities which symbolize forces or objects.” The body is the centre in this symbolic process. Through dance, children develop “muscle sense” or kinesthetic perception of bodily movement. In dance they gain a sense of flow and rhythm, as movement is not isolated but is part of a whole. While dancing, the children develop a sense of fluency, as their bodies become more centred. As the children gain this “muscle sense” they learn to express their own feelings and they also learn which movement is appropriate. Dance, then, becomes a vehicle for expressing the inner life of the child. An excellent source of movement/dance experiences can be found in Teresa Benzwie’s (1987) A Moving Experience: Dance for Lovers of Children and the Child within. Focusing on the elementary-school-age child, she suggests activities in the following areas: range, space, rhythm, name games, language,

Body–Mind Connections

129

communication, movement games and warm ups, sculpting, art and movement, music and movement, fantasy, and props. Ellen Spitz (2006) describes how young children’s movements can reflect the environment they are in. She describes the movement of a six-year-old girl Alla at the Guggenheim museum. She has just completed climbing to the top of the museum with her mother: Little Alla now begins to do something quite surprising. Keeping her body as close to the railing, she starts spinning round and round as she slowly descends the ramp. Why is she doing this? What is she thinking? Watching her in puzzlement, her mother takes just a few moments to realize that, with the movements of her own body, the little girl is now recapitulating her kinesthetic experience of the entire architectural space created by Frank Lloyd Wright in the museum’s interior. Round and round she twirls until her mother asks her gently to be careful so that won’t become dizzy and fall down. (37)

Spitz believes the mother’s quiet response to the child’s movement was appropriate, rather than offering an interpretation of her daughter’s movement (155). Dalcroze Pedagogy, Music Education, and Holistic Education This section is by Sharon Dutton (2015), who wrote her doctoral thesis on Dalcroze pedagogy. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze was a Swiss musician, composer, and music educator, who taught music theory at the Geneva Conservatory of Music during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His approach to music education was unique in that he taught his students to move rhythmically, to become fully aware of their movements as somatic responses to musical stimuli, and to become sensitized to the movements of other students and to the use of space, time, and energy to convey musical meaning. He devised exercises wherein his students learned to use their own movements and heightened somatic awareness to inform their understanding of music concepts such as harmony, pitch, and rhythm. Jaques-Dalcroze understood rhythm to be the generating force of music – of all life, actually – and strove to give his students opportunities to experience rhythms in as many forms and somatic realizations as possible. As his méthode evolved, he became aware of the positive effects his exercises had on his students’ overall well-being. While Dalcroze students focus on embodying the

130

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

music they hear, they are also engaged cognitively, socially, and spiritually (Dutton 2015). Music and movement have deep and long-standing associations in historically and geographically diverse cultures and societies, and are demonstrated to have natural and neurological connections as well. When students experience musical concepts through movement, they become more centred, develop intuitive insights into their innate potential as musical artists, and acquire personal, communal, and global insights into the nature and meaning of artistic expression. Feeling yourself wholly involved – mind concentrating, body demonstrating, heart full of sensitivity, in synchronization with beautiful music – sets a condition of being that is accessible to all, transferable to other endeavours, and renewable throughout one’s life (Schnebly-Black and Moore 1997, 84). With purposefully embodied musical experiences, the possibilities for integrating kinesthetically informed musical nuance into our performances are endless – as embodied musical awareness deepens, musical performance becomes ever more sentient. Discovering musical concepts through somatic experience and embodied awareness engages students on a more personal level than the more prevalent rational-fact-processing style of education that is generally encountered in traditional public music classrooms. Dalcroze pedagogy is based on the premise that “experience precedes cognition.” However, our current Western societies are so much “in our heads” that adult newcomers to Dalcroze pedagogy often become confused because they try to apply rational thinking skills to determine what they are supposed to do, or they want clearer directions to follow. But to engage in embodied pedagogy, they first have to learn to let go of the analytical processing skills that they have come to rely on for learning. Children’s classes will often synchronize more readily than adult classes due to the adults’ reliance on cognitive processing skills. Dalcroze classes are often playful; the teacher creates “quick reaction” games, or challenges the students to perform more than one rhythmic movement at a time. Performing the task successfully requires that we attend to one or more cues. The classes are social in character, requiring students to quickly form partners or small groups. Our movements become synchronized with the music, and we start to move among and in harmony with each other, giving physical dimension to aural stimulation. A sense of play and social interaction happens spontaneously. Inhibitions dissipate as we become more comfortable in our interacting bodies, while self-awareness and personal control over body, mind, and music is ignited. Meanwhile, the teacher is prompting her students’ movements through music, while conversely, the students’ movements

Body–Mind Connections

131

motivate and inform their teacher’s music and ideas. Ideally, the students enter a state of flow, and as they embody the music, they become the music. While doing these exercises, the personal connections are felt somatically by the students and also by the teacher – as clearly as they are intuitively felt in any other musical ensemble – with everyone fusing into one well-oiled moving musical machine, within an ever-changing kaleidoscope of sounds, rhythms, and harmonies. All that we do and experience through rhythmic movement is re-lived in musical performance. As we move through and into music, we enter into an artistic reality where the whole is essentially different than the sum of its parts. In these moments, we are the music. Drama in Education (Dorothy Heathcote) Dorothy Heathcote, an English educator, developed a transformational approach to drama. This approach is called drama in education or process drama. Her approach focuses on problem solving or living through a particular moment in time rather than story or character development. Students use drama to “explore the world in which a novel is set, to understand a historical event, to experience conflicts between different cultural groups, to see what other walks of life feel like” (Wagner 1999, 1). Heathcote has used her approach in a variety of settings from primary school to the university classroom. She also worked with various occupational groups such as nurses or police officers, and she taught individuals with various challenges and difficulties. Wagner (1999) summarizes her educational approach: Heathcote does not use children to produce plays. Instead, she uses drama to expand their awareness, to enable them to look at reality through fantasy, to see below the surface of actions to their meaning … She does this not by heaping more information on them but by enabling them to use what they already know. (3)

Heathcote was interested in helping classroom teachers, not the drama specialist, to employ her methods. Her approach has been compared to the process of mental rehearsal, where we work with a difficult problem or new situation that is making us anxious. It can also be used to accept an experience that has been disturbing or traumatic. Wagner (1999) gives an example of Heathcote’s approach when she worked with a group of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds in Evanston, Illinois, who performed in front of a group of adults at Northwestern University. The students

132

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

decide to do a play about a ship at sea in 1610. They name the ship The Dreamer. Heathcote puts one chair facing away from the group and has one child sit there. She asks them imagine him as the ship’s figurehead at the head of the ship, and says, “Look at him carefully. He is the Dreamer; he’s supposed at this moment to be in wood. Stand there till you know he’s in wood” (5). She then goes on to say that ship is now being pulled out to sea by small boats, and asks them to imagine how they feel as crew members looking at the dreamer as they go out to sea. After thinking about this for moment, she asks them to go into the audience of adults and share their thoughts, which the adults write down. The ideas then are read back to the children without identifying who said what. Some of the thoughts include: “I’m afraid I’ll never get off this ship.” “It is strange to look at the figurehead up there because he seems to represent the whole crew.” “I’m very scared. I’m not sure not sure whether I’m every going to see the town again. It’s very exciting, and yet … and yet … I’m scared.” “There’s a feeling of mystery, wondering what the voyage will lead to.” “We all have a dream, the dream of our own. It could be dangerous, things we might encounter on the water. We’re scared, but we also dream of the riches and glory that we might achieve through discovery.” (7)

Heathcote then turns to the student who is captain and says, “That is your crew.” This is a moment to reflect, and Wagner suggests that no summary is needed because the students have captured the universal experience of leaving and embarking on the unknown. Heathcote relies on non-verbal awareness in work through silent moments where the student can just be with the experience. Wagner (1999, 163) comments: “The great advantage of a non-verbal approach is that it stays at the universal level of understanding. It introduces a class to holistic human experience that words haven’t broken up.” Heathcote liked to move back and forth between the verbal and non-verbal and not focus completely on one to the exclusion of the other. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Here is the statement in staff handbook about this connection: Mind-Body Connections Embodied learning is one of the central aspects of holistic education. Movement, body awareness, and kinesthetic intelligence are integral to learning. Increasing

Body–Mind Connections

133

amounts of research are revealing the benefits of mindfulness in education and the importance of developing a mind–body connection in children. The holistic curriculum emphasizes a natural connection between body and mind. Students are encouraged to explore connections between their body and emotions and to develop an understanding of what their bodies have to say. At Equinox, many teachers practice and teach a wide range of mind–body approaches which include mindfulness meditation, creative visualization, drama, role-play, dance, yoga, Qi Gong, Focusing, and Brain Gym. Like all aspects of the holistic curriculum, there is growth and variation from year to year. The goal is for children to experience balance in their lives through the connection between mind and body. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2018, 6)

In the morning circle students often do yoga or qi gong exercises. In the study I did, almost every teacher used some form of meditation or mindfulness activity. One teacher has the students lead the meditation, which is done every day. The teacher introduces the idea of meditation, and then the students take the lead. For example, he suggests focusing on the breath or a sound. In an interview I conducted he said: They look forward to it. It is great segue into calming and focusing when coming in from outside. During the morning circle we do it along with many other things: tai chi, yoga, some drama. We do games from yoga such as the downward dog, where they have to hold the pose. They get imaginative where they can integrate their learning into games. (Miller 2016, 294)

Another of the teachers has been doing mindfulness practices for years and it is integral to his teaching: We start with meditation and do mindful movements outside. We try to do noble silence. Coming in after lunch we do one minute. I also incorporate it into the health curriculum. I notice too when there is stress, like before Christmas and Halloween. So we do guided meditations then. We will lie on the ground for about ten minutes. I also use it for being attentive, mindful listening. (Miller 2016, 295)

One of the students in this teacher’s class suffered from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). He and his parents commented that the mindfulness was helpful to him and lowered his stress level. The father said, “It was wonderful. His OCD improved a lot.”

134

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Summary By exploring mindfulness, yoga, dance, Dalcroze, yoga, and drama, we can help the student connect mind and body. By connecting mind and body we facilitate human wholeness, a wholeness that is evident in the way James Lynch (1985), unlike the psychosomatic, listens to a fellow human being: At times I have found myself trembling when meeting the eyes of a patient – looking at me, searching, hoping earnestly to discover for the first time the emotional meaning of his or her elevated blood pressure, rapid heart rate, or freezing hands. At such moments I have felt Schrodinger’s reality – deeply felt it – for surely there is far more to their eyes than optical sensors whose only function is to detect light quanta. And I have trembled then precisely because I have caught a glimpse of the infinite universe behind those eyes and the reality of a universal Logos uniting us in dialogue. And it is at such moments, in the quiet sharing of reason and feelings in dialogue, that I have felt most alive and human. (310)

REFERENCES Abram, David. 1996. The Spell of the Sensuous. New York: Vintage. Barlow, Wilfred. 1975. The Alexander Principle. London: Arrow Books. Beilock, Sian. 2015. How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel. New York: Atria. Benzwie, Teresa. 1987. A Moving Experience: Dance for Lovers of Children and the Child within. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. Boyce, Barry. 2011. “Creating a Mindful Society.” In The Mindfulness Revolution, edited by Barry Boyce, 252–64. Boston: Shambhala. Carr, Rachel. 1973. Be a Frog, a Bird, or a Tree: Creative Yoga Exercises for Children. New York: Harper. Davidson, Richard J. with Sharon Begley. 2012. The Emotional Life of Your Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press. Dimondstein, Geraldine. 1971. Children Dance in the Classroom. New York: Macmillan. Dutton, Sharon E. 2015. “Education in Rhythm and by Rhythm: Exploring Holistic Experiences in Dalcroze Pedagogy.” PhD thesis, University of Toronto. https:// tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/70923/1/Dutton_Sharon_E_201511 _PhD_thesis.pdf Equinox Holistic Alternative School. 2018. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Staff Handbook (2018–19). Available from the school: 151 Hiawatha Rd. Toronto, Ontario.

Body–Mind Connections

135

Hanh, Thich Nhat. 1976. The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation. Boston: Beacon Press. Hanh, Thich Nhat, and Katherine Weare. 2017. Happy Teachers Change the World: A Guide for Cultivating Mindfulness in Education. Berkeley, CA: Parallax. Kabat-Zinn, Jon. 1990. Full Catastrophe Living. New York: Bantam. Kiss, Michaeline. 2003. Yoga for Young People. New York: Sterling. Lark, Liz. 2003. Yoga: Essential Poses to Help Young People Get Fit, Flexible, Supple, and Healthy. New York: Sterling. Luby, Thia. 2000. Yoga for Teens. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers. Lynch, James J. 1985. The Language of the Heart: The Human Body in Dialogue. New York: Basic. Miller, John P. 2006. Educating for Wisdom and Compassion: Creating Conditions for Timeless Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. – 2007. The Holistic Curriculum. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. – 2014. The Contemplative Practitioner: Meditation in Education and the Workplace. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. – 2016. “Equinox: Portrait of a Holistic School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3–4): 283–301. Miller, John P., and Aya Nozawa. 2002. “Meditating Teachers: A Qualitative Study.” Journal of In-Service Education 28 (1): 179–92. Neves, Ana. 2009. “A Holistic Approach to the Ontario Curriculum: Moving to a More Coherent Curriculum.” Master’s thesis, University of Toronto. https://tspace .library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/18107 Penfield, Wilder. 1975. The Mystery of the Mind: A Critical Study of Consciousness and the Human Brain. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Schnebly-Black, Julia, and Stephen F. Moore. 1997. The Rhythm Inside: Connecting Body, Mind, and Spirit through Music. New York: Alfred Publishing. Schwartz, Ellen. 2003. I Love Yoga: A Guide for Kids and Teens. Toronto: Tundra Books. Smalley, Shannon, and Diana Winston. 2010. Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Cambridge, MA: DeCapo. Spitz, Ellen Handler. 2006. The Brightening Glance: Imagination and Childhood. New York: Pantheon. Srinivasan, Meena. 2014. Teach, Breathe, Learn. Berkeley, CA: Parallax. Wagner, Betty Jane. 1999. Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as Learning Medium. Portland, ME: Calender Islands. Zigrovic, Nancy. 2005. “Journey towards Spirituality.” Unpublished manuscript.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Eight

Subject Connections

Subjects have traditionally been at the centre of schooling. In the transmission curriculum they become central, as subject matter can be taught in a manner unrelated to the needs and interests of students. In the holistic curriculum we attempt to make a number of connections with subject matter. One of the most important is between self and subject. If we can relate subject matter to the inner life of the child, subjects become less abstract and more relevant. It is also important to explore connections between subjects; this can be done through various integrated approaches to curriculum as well as through holistic thinking models. Finally, subjects can connect the self to society. In this chapter we explore all of these connections. Self and Subject We have already touched on self and subject matter in chapter 6 when we looked at visualization. Some of the guided imagery exercises can motivate student interest as well as develop student understanding. Perhaps one of the best examples of connecting self and subject comes from the work of Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1964) in her book Teacher. Ashton-Warner acknowledges that her approach is not new, as she cites the work of Tolstoy and Anne Sullivan, the teacher of Helen Keller. For Ashton-Warner, organic reading is “the bridge from the known to the unknown; from the native culture to a new; and universally speaking, from the inner man out” (26). Ashton-Warner (1964) characterizes children as having two visions, an inner and outer, and she believes the inner is more powerful and must be reached if learning is to occur. Ashton-Warner reaches this inner vision through what she calls “key vocabulary.” These are words that have intense meaning to children and are “already part of the dynamic life” (32). Key vocabulary for the Maori

138

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

children she worked with consisted of such words as “Mummy,” “Daddy,” “kiss,” “frightened,” and “ghost,” which Ashton-Warner wrote down on cards for each child. Each student would then develop their own set of key words and Ashton-Warner would have the student read the cards back to her. The children also would read their words to other students in pairs; by doing this the students would quickly develop basic reading skills. After the student has developed about forty words in the key vocabulary, Ashton-Warner moved to organic writing. She says, “Whereas the Key Vocabulary is a one-word caption of the inner world, creative writing is a sentencelength or story-length caption” (47). These sentences and stories are usually autobiographical. For Ashton-Warner (1964), writing, spelling, and composition emerge holistically. She states that “spelling and composition are no longer separate subjects to be taught but emerge naturally as another medium” (49). Drawings are combined with the stories to form what Ashton-Warner calls “the most dramatic and pathetic and colorful things I’ve ever seen on pages” (49). The ideas for the stories always came from the students, as she did not give them something to write about; she calls that an imposition: I never teach a child something and then get him to write about it. It would be an imposition in the way that it is in art. A child’s writing is his own affair and is an exercise in integration which makes for better work. The more it means to him the more value it is to him. And it means everything to him. It is part of him as an arranged subject could never be. It is not a page of sentences written round set words, resulting in a jumble of disconnected facts as you so often see. It is the unbroken line of thought that we cultivate so carefully in our own writing and conversation. (Ashton-Warner 1964, 49–50)

Ashton-Warner (1964) taught the Maori children math in the same organic way. For her, nature and number are intimately linked, so she would take the children outside. She taught them about the “Golden Section,” which is the ideal proportion in nature and is “the division of a distance in such a way that the shorter part is to the longer part as the longer part is to the whole” (68). Ashton-Warner states that fern fronds make wonderful things for young children to count. The Golden Section “becomes inseparable from writing and reading and drawing and conversation. Three ducks on the wing we like better than three ducks on a number card with a static three beside them” (70). Ashton-Warner’s approach to subject matter is to start with the inner vision of the child and build on it. The inner vision becomes the key vocabulary, which in turn forms the basis for writing and reading. Her pedagogy, then, is

Subject Connections

139

rooted in the inner person and is connected to nature. As much as possible, she avoids artificial impositions on the child’s inner vision. Ashton-Warner (1964) quotes C.E. Beeby at the beginning of her chapter entitled “Organic Writing,” and it is worth citing here as a conclusion to this section because it sums up her holistic approach so well: “Life as a whole is too complicated to teach to children. The minute it is cut up they can understand it, but you are liable to kill it in cutting it up” (46). Connections among Subjects Connections among subjects is also referred to as integrated curriculum. This can occur at a number of levels (see figure 8.1). The first level is the multidisciplinary. Here the curriculum retains separate subjects, but establishes linkages between the separate subjects. For example, the history teacher might reference the literature and art of a specific historical period and explore how the art was representative of that period. At the interdisciplinary level, two or three subjects are integrated around a theme or problem. For example, in examining the problem of city traffic and other problems of urban planning, subjects such as economics, political science, design technology, and mathematics can be brought together and integrated. At the transdisciplinary level,

Figure 8.1 Integrated/holistic curriculum

140

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

several subjects are integrated around a broad theme. Issues such as poverty and violence in society lend themselves to this broadly integrative approach. At each level, connections between subjects and concepts become more numerous and complex. Interdisciplinary Level: Holistic Thinking At this level subjects are integrated through problems. Problem-solving approaches, such as the Wallas model described in chapter 6, can be used. I have made some modifications in the Wallas approach to include the following steps: • • • • • • •

Uncertainty/Ambiguity Problem Clarification Preparation/Frameworking Incubation Alternative Search Illumination/Alternative Selection Verification

Uncertainty/Ambiguity Most problem solving is prodded by an unresolved situation. For example, in writing this book, the lack of clarity about holistic education was a factor that encouraged me to explore this area in more depth. I had done some exploration in a course I teach entitled “The Holistic Curriculum,” but still there was a great deal of ambiguity in my mind about both the context and practice of the holistic curriculum. In a sense, this book was a chance to explore holistic education in a more complete way.

Problem Clarification In this step the person or group attempts to get some sort of handle on the problem. This might be done by writing out a problem statement. Unlike logical, mathematical problem solving, the problem statement is not a hypothesis in the technical sense; instead, it attempts to get at the root of the problem. Imagery and intuition can be used at this stage to help sort out the problem; by inner reflection the central issue may come forth. In writing this book, problem clarification involved settling on the definition presented in chapter 1. This definition was one I had been working with for two years in discussions with

Subject Connections

141

my students, although I reworked it again for this book. The definition has provided an initial framework for the book. I have modified the definition slightly for this revised edition of the book by using the word soul rather than Self.

Preparation/Frameworking Here one attempts to develop a more complete framework for the problem in order to see the problem from a broader perspective. For the book, this involved developing an outline in the form of chapter headings that were also congruent with the definition. This step tends to involve more linear thinking as each aspect of the framework is explored; however, imagery and intuition can still be at play here. It is possible, for example, for one to have either an image of part of the framework or a vision of the entire approach.

Incubation Incubation can occur throughout the problem-solving process. In fact, although these steps are presented in a linear order, the approach I am describing is really much more fluid and is not a step-by-step process Incubation involves a standing back and letting the elements work themselves through at a subconscious level. If we force the problem-solving process too much, then it will be much less productive. In working on this book as well as others I have written, I often find ideas popping into my head while meditating, walking, driving, or taking a bath.

Alternative Search This usually involves a more conscious search for alternatives, as well as an examination of the alternatives. Alternative courses of action are first explored and developed, and then judged against criteria. These criteria can be developed consciously and can include a number of factors, or only a few that are felt more intuitively. Ultimately, these criteria are usually related to the framework. It is also possible that examining alternatives can change the original framework. Again, this whole problem-solving process tends to go back-and-forth rather than being a logical sequence. For example, I reworked the original definition of holistic education after I began the second half of this book. With this book, I have also attempted to link ideas for each chapter to the overall conception of holistic education. With regard to metaphor I had to consider whether this topic was congruent with the overall conception and whether it would also stimulate teacher interest. Are the examples of metaphor in the

142

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

classroom adequate, or should I look for others? In this edition the idea of including poetry came to me.

Alternative Selection/Illumination Here the person settles on a course of action. This can involve a rational assessment of the alternatives against the criteria or it may involve the appearance of an image, as outlined in chapter 6. If an image or intuitive insight does occur, it can also be assessed against the criteria; but we have to be careful that our criteria and mindset don’t become too rigid. If the criteria are too inflexible, creativity will be stifled. If the vision is a powerful one, the criteria themselves may have to be reworked.

Verification Now the solution must be tested. In short, does it work, or must you search for other solutions? With regard to this book, it must be reviewed. The reviewers may recommend alternatives, which can range from reworking small sections of the text to reorganizing and rewriting a large amount of material. The reviewers are an important first step in verification of the book, and a second step in the verification comes from the type of readership the book develops. This model can also be applied to problems and projects that the student confronts in different subjects. For example, let’s examine the problem of whether a nation should be part of a larger trading bloc. This issue is still relevant as I write this edition, as the United States, Canada, and Mexico are attempting to negotiate a new NAFTA agreement. 1. Uncertainty/ambiguity. Here the uncertainty focuses on what issues are at stake in joining a trading bloc. Issues usually focus on loss of national control (e.g., tariffs) on some industries versus possible economic gains. However, issues are not just limited to economics, as culture is often affected. Thus, students could examine possible effects on the arts as well as economic implications. 2. Problem clarification. Should my country be part of a large trading bloc (e.g., NAFTA)? 3. Preparation/frameworking. In this step students attempt to see the underlying issues which affect the decision to be part of a large trading bloc. Some people see a conflict between two groups: business interests and environmental groups. Business and large corporations argue that free trade will enhance the economy and create more jobs. From another

Subject Connections

4.

5.

6.

7.

143

perspective, there is concern that large trading blocs override local interests, which include environmental concerns. Science, then, can be included in this unit to examine relevant environmental issues. Incubation. Let the students step back from the problem for a while. They can discuss the issues involved; but it can be helpful just to let things sit (e.g., for a few days) as they grapple with the issues and their vision of what interests are most important. Alternative search. Here the students deal with the issue more consciously as they develop their vision more clearly and examine what the consequences are of each position. The students approach this systematically by writing out their position and listing the advantages and disadvantages of having joined a free trade bloc. Their vision becomes the criteria for assessing being part of NAFTA. Alternative selection/illumination. The students decide whether they believe being part of a trading bloc is positive or negative. After the more systematic alternative search, the students can step back again and do some more reflection on the decision. After the inner reflection, there is a greater chance that the decision will not be an abstract one but one more connected to the whole person. The student can then write down their decision and the reasons for it. Verification. In this last step, the students can share their answers with other students and the teacher. They can also compare it to other student responses.

In this process, students looked at economics, arts, and science, although other subjects could be included as well. There are several problem-solving processes that are available to teachers that can allow for subject connections. By employing these models in different disciplines we can explore connections between the subjects. My purpose in presenting the above approach is to explore approaches to problem solving that are less linear and allow for intuition, incubation, and imagery. Transdisciplinary: Waldorf Education/Main Lesson In the Waldorf school, the morning’s instruction begins with the main lesson. The main lesson runs from approximately 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. In Waldorf education the same teacher stays with the children from grades 1 to 8, and one of their main responsibilities each day is the main lesson. The main lesson brings together English, mathematics, geography, history, and science. The main vehicle for integration is the artistic sense of the teacher.

144

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

The lesson can often start with singing or a speech chorus of poems that the students are learning. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, recognized that young children love ritual, and it is built into many aspects of the program. The singing might be followed by teacher presentation on the main theme. Central to each main lesson are the arts, as it is the artistic sense that integrates the main lesson. Each student has an unlined notebook where they draw in colour what they are learning. According to Richards (1980): Each Main Lesson will call upon the child’s powers of listening, of body movement, of thinking, and of feeling. Artistic activity is particularly related to the will: it is an experience of doing, of making. Artwork also invites the child’s feeling for expressiveness and encourages a kind of intuitive thinking about how to get things done. In the early grades, some teachers allow the children to copy what has been drawn on the board so that they may learn to draw in ways they would not otherwise know. Other times the children draw freely. Variety exists, according to teacher and grade. (25)

Wax crayons and coloured pencils are used as well as watercolours. The student is encouraged to feel the colour as he or she draws, so that the artistic experience is not abstract. In the early grades the colouring can follow the telling of a story, so that language is connected to art. The student may mix primary colours, such as mixing yellow and blue to make green. Again, a story is often told before the mixing of the colours, so the experience is connected to the child’s imagination. Black and white are not usually mixed at the lower grades because they are more abstract and not as dynamic for the younger child. Similarly, the children do not draw outline shapes but fill in shapes with colour. Shapes tend to come from the colour rather than from hard boundaries. Art is also connected to math, as painting, modeling, designing, and string constructions are used (Richards 1980). Storytelling can be used in teaching science; for example, Wilkinson (1975) suggests that the following story can be used to teach young children about the four elements: Once upon a time there was a big brown seed, with white edges and white stripes, which was lying on the ground. The gnomes who lived in that part of the garden knew that it was a seed and that they ought to look after it, so they quietly buried it. Then they told the water fairies about it and the water fairies came down in the rain to give it something to drink. Soon the fire fairies who live in the sun’s

Subject Connections

145

warmth came on a visit and the seed began to feel strange, as if some change were taking place. It seemed to be getting bigger and soon its jacket burst. One shoot went downwards into the earth and another shoot came up out of the ground. The little shoot that went downwards grew into a root and all the springtime the gnomes were busy looking after it and the soil around it. The rain and the fire fairies kept visiting the growing plant, and the air fairies also came and danced around it. For months it grew, taller than you, and as tall as I am, and then, at the top of the stalk something quite wonderful happened. A huge yellow flower appeared turning its face towards the sun. Some children came to look at it and they said, “What a big shining face, just like the sun. We will call it a sunflower.” (72)

In grade 5, one teacher made the following connection between botany, music, and poetry: As an introduction to our study of the plant kingdom, I led the children from a dramatic story of the seed’s awakening to their own creative expressions of this birth of life forces. Each child discovered a tonal harmony which we then moved to by using our cupped hands to be the seed. Then as the melody was played, our hands followed the opening of the seed, roots’ first search, uplifting of the seed-enclosed seed leaves, breaking into light and warmth, spreading of the seed leaves, upward striving of the stem and then the first true leaves. All this formed by a few notes! A poem-like expression followed. (Richards 1980, 114)

The students wrote a tune, which they then played on the recorder, and then wrote a poem. Richards (1980) argues that through art Waldorf education attempts to develop an intuitive seeing that is missing in our culture: It is an intuitive seeing, which comes about as a result of exercising and experiencing one’s physical senses imaginatively, wholeheartedly, and wholesoulfully. This is why artistic practice is so important in all learning and education. This is why neglect of the artist in each person is so impoverishing to society. Without this spiritual sense organ, this way of seeing the formative forces at work in a physical process, we are blind and duped by appearances. (73)

Steiner encouraged teachers to be creative and flexible in their approach. According to Richards (1980, 28), they “paint and draw, sing and play recorder, recite and tell stories, and cook and play with the children.” Steiner wanted the teacher to appeal to the interests of the child and to also use humour and surprise in the classroom. He wanted the teachers to teach from enthusiasm

146

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

rather than a rigid schedule. Steiner (1976) said to teachers at the first Waldorf school before it opened: The teacher must be a person of initiative in everything that he does, great and small … The teacher should be one who is interested in the being of the whole world and of humanity … The teacher must be one who never makes a compromise in his heart and mind with what is untrue … The teacher must never get stale or grow sour … During this fortnight I have only spoken of what can enter directly into your practical teaching, if you allow it first to work rightly within your own souls. But our Waldorf School, my dear friends, will depend upon what you do within yourselves, and whether you really allow the things which we have been considering to become effective in your own souls … I do not want to make you into teaching machines, but into free independent teachers … Let us in particular keep before us this thought which shall truly fill our hearts and minds: That bound up with the spiritual movement of the present day are also the spiritual powers that guide the Universe. If we believe in these good spiritual powers, then they will be the inspirers of our lives and we shall really be enabled to teach. (199–201)

James Beane James Beane (1997) is an advocate of interdisciplinary integrated curriculum. Beane believes that the curriculum should move away from fragmented approaches where knowledge is kept within the boundaries of separate subjects. For Beane, the central features of integrated curriculum include: First, the curriculum is organized around problems and issues that are of personal and social significance in the real world. Second, learning experiences in relation to the organizing center are planned so as to integrate pertinent knowledge in the context of the organizing centers. Third, knowledge is developed and used to address the organizing center currently under study rather than to prepare for some later test or grade level. Finally, emphasis is placed on substantive projects and other activities that involve real application of knowledge. (9)

The final key feature of Beane’s approach is the participation of students in curriculum planning. He suggests that students participate by identifying

Subject Connections

147

questions related to personal issues and those that are oriented towards society and culture. The former could include questions such as “What kind of job will I have when I become an adult?” and “Will I get married?” Societal-oriented questions might include “Why do people hate each other?” and “Will racism ever end?” After all the questions have been put up on the board or chart paper the teacher negotiates with the students themes, or organizing centres, based on the questions. These themes are usually broad and include “conflict and violence,” “living in the future,” and “money.” Beane suggests using a concept web with the central theme in the middle and with a number of subthemes surrounding the main theme. The students research the theme and subthemes and then can present their conclusions through some kind of activity or performance. For example, a class focusing on the environment decided to divide into five subgroups to create five large-scale biomes in their classroom. Another class working with the theme of living in the future developed a vision of what their city will be like in the year 2030. Susan Drake Susan Drake has written several books on integrated curriculum (Drake, Reid, and Kolohon 2014; Drake 1998, 2012; Drake et al. 1992). She and her colleague Joanne Reid (2018) have developed a model that focuses on knowing, doing, and being (KDB). Knowing involves content and concepts that ideally are interdisciplinary and include “Big Ideas” and “Enduring Understandings.” Examples of Big Ideas are sustainability, conflict, patterns, and systems. These concepts apply to more than one subject area and act as a connecting bridge. An Enduring Understanding is also universal and interdisciplinary. An example is “Individual consumer choices affect people everywhere, and the global environment.” Doing refers to skills and competencies. The example given is from the Asia Society (2013), which presents three broad competencies: • Cognitive: Academic mastery, critical thinking, creativity. • Interpersonal competencies: Communication and collaboration, leadership, global awareness. • Intrapersonal competencies: Growth mindset, learning how to learn, intrinsic motivation, grit. Being refers to “attributes that contribute to inner personal development (connection to inner self, well-being, mental health, socio-emotional learning, metacognition, self-actualization, and ethical behaviour) and learning how to

148

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

be in community (collaboration, inclusiveness, respect for our planet)” (Drake and Reid 2018, 122). The KDB model ensures a holistic approach.to integrating curriculum. Drake and Reid cite several examples of integrated curriculum that include the three dimensions, including Reggio Emilia, the International Baccalaureate program, and Indigenous education. They also cite examples from their own work and provide a step-by-step sequence developing integrated curriculum from a transdisciplinary perspective.

The Story Model Drake and several colleagues also developed a transdisciplinary model which they call the Story Model. It focuses on global, cultural, and personal change and uses the concept of story as the frame. It includes the following assumptions • • • • •

The world as we know it undergoing flux and change. We make meaning through story. Knowledge is interconnected. Knowledge is laden with cultural values, beliefs and assumptions. Most of these values, beliefs and assumptions are held at an unconscious level • Our actions are driven by these beliefs. • To change actions, we have to become conscious of our cultural values, beliefs and assumptions. • We can consciously create “new story” to live by. (Drake 1998, 100) The model acknowledges that there are levels of story, including personal, cultural, and global. The personal story is how we make meaning of our own lives. The cultural story focuses on the history of the culture or subcultures in which we live. Again, it is important to acknowledge that there is not one cultural story, but several versions of the story depending on the framework of the storyteller. Finally, there is the global story, which connects the personal and cultural story and places them in an even larger context (see figure 8.2). The student can start by identifying the present story. Often this story focuses on a large theme such as family, education, or the economy. Students identify what they see as the main elements of the present story. For example, if the students are focusing on education, the story can focus on such issues as the concern for greater accountability, the inclusive school, and school reform and restructuring. From the present story the students look at the past story of

Subject Connections

149

Figure 8.2 The story model

education, which has often been a conflict between traditional and progressive forces in education. Predominant, however, has been transmission learning, where information has been transmitted to students and feedback is gathered on paper-andpencil tests. Students list the characteristics of the past and present stories. After examining the past and present stories, the students are ready to look at a new story. They develop a new story by creating an ideal story and a projected story. The ideal is a vision of what they would like to see happen, although it is tempered by realism. For example, this might include a vision of holistic education. However, they also develop a vision of opposing trends that are part of the present story. For example, the concern for accountability could lead to a test-driven curriculum that is too rigid to account for individual or group differences. After developing the ideal story and the projected story, the students start to shape a new story, which is a synthesis of the two. From the new story, they also attempt to formulate their own actions and individual story in relation to the new story. Thus, the new story could be some sort of balance between accountability and a more global, holistic approach to education.

150

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

After this initial overview, students can develop a set of inquiry questions around the relevant issue (e.g., education). These should be open-ended questions that allow for reflection and deliberation. After developing the questions, the students do research on each question. Students can work in groups and once they have focused on the questions, they can develop some sort of presentation or exhibition around the issue and the questions that they have focused on. For more details on this approach, see Drake et al. (1992). Subject and Community Subjects can also provide a bridge to community. One example of this is using the community as a resource for the students to collect and write stories about former students and teachers from their schools. They can interview former teachers and students and then put together a book of stories and create an oral history of the school. Student artists can draw pictures or take photographs of the participants. This not only provides a bridge to the community, it also helps builds a school mythology (Miller 2000). Owen Valley High School in Spencer, Indiana uses a holistic approach to integrating its academic and vocational curricula. Students write stories on local history, which involves a collaboration of classes in creative writing, civics, child development, English, computer applications, Spanish, drama, and math. The stories are then published in book form (Kinzer 1997). This topic will be explored in chapter 10, as environmental education can provide a vehicle for connecting a school subject to the surrounding community. One example discussed in detail is how a principal in Japan used the project of planting a small forest on school property as way to connect a school activity to the surrounding community. Confluent Education I would like to close this chapter with a brief discussion of confluent education, which developed a number of strategies to facilitate connections between self–subject, subject–subject, and subject–community. As mentioned the chapter on history (chapter 5), confluent education began in the 1960s under the leadership of George Brown, initially focused on connecting the cognitive and affective domains, and was an important forerunner of holistic education. Below are some examples of confluent education exploring the various subject connections.

Subject Connections

151

Self and Subject This example by Jean Schleifer (1975) focuses on how students can make connections with a novel they have been reading, particularly a character who was important to the student: 1. Close your eyes. Get into your own private space. Now from the book you read, try to see the person who means the most to you. Put the person somewhere, either in a place he would naturally be according to the book or a place where you can imagine his being. Try to see every part of the person. What does the hair look like? What color? Length? Curly? Straight? Windblown? Neat? Notice the ears. What kind of nose? Notice the skin. Clear, pimply, tanned? How do you see the mouth? Full? Drooped? Clenched? What is the person doing with the hands? How does the person stand? Walk? What kind of clothes? See them distinctly – the colors, the style, etc. 2. When you are ready, open your eyes. Write a description of your person’s appearance. 3. Choose one word from what you have written that is the essence of the description of the person. Write it down. 4. Now write down what to you would be an opposite word – one word. 5. Tell your words. Talk about them. 6. Turn your paper over. Draw, in lines or colors, the way you see the person. Don’t try to draw a photographic picture. Show the person through shapes, colors, and lines. Talk to others. (252) This exercise also asks the student to use art (drawing), so it also makes a subject–subject connection.

Subject and Subject The following activity is from Gloria Castillo’s (1978) Left-Handed Teaching: Lessons in Affective Education; it makes connections between science, language, drama, and movement: Lesson 14. Solar System Conversations Be the sun. Talk as if you are the sun. Example: “I am the sun. I am a very large star. I have a great deal of heat. My heat gives energy to the earth.” Now, be the earth. Talk as if you are the earth. Example: “I am the earth. I have air, water, plants, and animals.”

152

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

One person be the sun and another be the earth. Create a conversation between the sun and the earth. What do you have to say to one another? Let this be an activity in improvisational theater as well as in science. Do not correct the students if they should offer incorrect statements. After the “play,” you can clarify points, give additional information, or assign further readings. Use this activity to assess what the students do and do not know about the sun and the earth. With advanced students, add other planets of our solar system to the “play.” Dance around as if you are the earth. Circle the room once to represent one day. Choose a partner. One be the earth, the other the moon. Earth and moon dance together, in time to one another. Now both join another partnership. Two of you become the sun. All of you dance together as if you are the sun (two students), moon, and earth dancing together. Depending on the ability of the class to do this, continue to add students to represent other solar bodies. (194–5)

Subject and Community Sandra Newby (1975) developed a program for her grade 9 English class that included a community component. She encouraged her students to organize a newspaper, record interviews, and produce videotapes based on contact with someone outside the school. Equinox Holistic Alternative School The teacher handbook has the statement about subject connections: Subject Connections Equinox strives to naturally integrate the subjects, with a holistic inquiry approach. Subjects are woven together around broad themes. This creates richer learning opportunities and strong cognitive links. For instance, the arts – storytelling, drama, visual arts, music and dance – are integrated into all of the language arts programs wherever possible so that children learn the curricular material in fun and creative ways. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2018, 5)

One example of how they integrate subjects was a yearlong study of salmon. There was a salmon hatchery in a junior classroom. Students could see the growth of salmon. Math and science inquiry activities were developed around the salmon. One parent commented that this project brought all the subjects

Subject Connections

153

together. She said, “They were learning different subjects without realizing that they were learning. It was magical. I have seen the development of critical thinking, inquiry and love of learning” (Miller 2016, 294). They created a large mural around the salmon. Another parent commented, “They did art around salmon and they learned so much about salmon. It was so integrated – they wrote, they thought, they measured. What a beautiful, holistic thing. This was an incredible year and the kids did the salmon dance at the end of the year” (294). In the spring the salmon were released into the river and students from both Equinox and Roden, the public school that houses Equinox, participated. There is a film documentary of the salmon run. Part of the experience also included a silent, meditative walk. The teacher commented that students in their written reflections on the whole project commented on the power of the silent walk.

REFERENCES Ashton-Warner, Sylvia. 1964. Teacher. New York: Bantam. Asia Society. 2013. Measuring 21st Century Competencies: Guidance for Teachers. https://asiasociety.org/files/gcen-measuring21cskills.pdf Beane, James. 1997. Curriculum Integration: Designing the Core of Democratic Education. New York: Teachers College Press. Castillo, Gloria. 1978. Left-Handed Teaching: Lessons in Affective Education. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston. Drake, Susan M. 1998. Creating Integrated Curriculum: Proven Ways to Increase Student Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. – 2012. Creating Standards-Based Integrated Curriculum: The Core State Standards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Drake, Susan M., John Bebbington, S. Laksman, Pat Mackie, Nancy Maynes, and Larry Wayne. 1992. Developing an Integrated Curriculum Using the Story Model. Toronto: OISE Press. Drake, Susan M., Joanne L. Reid, and Wendy Kolohon. 2014. Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. Drake, Susan M., and Joanne Reid. 2018. “Integrated Curriculum in the 21st Century.” In International Handbook of Holistic Education, edited by John P. Miller, Kelli Nigh, Marni J. Binder, Bruce Novak, and Sam Crowell, 118–28. New York: Routledge. Kinzer, Tom. 1997. “Spinning a Yarn.” Techniques: Making Education and Career Connections 72 (8): 18–20.

154

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Miller, John P. 2000. Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. – 2016. “Equinox: Portrait of a Holistic School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3–4): 283–301. Newby, Sandra. 1975. “Getting at Responsibility in a Ninth-Grade English Class.” In The Live Classroom: Innovation through Confluent Education and Gestalt, edited by George I. Brown, 198–205. New York: Viking. Richards, M.C. 1980. Toward Wholeness: Rudolf Steiner Education in America. Middletown, CN: Wesleyan University Press. Schleifer, Jean. 1975. “Listening to the Book.” In The Live Classroom: Innovation through Confluent Education and Gestalt, edited by George I. Brown, 252–4. New York: Viking. Steiner, Rudolf. 1976. Practical Advice for Teachers. London: Rudolf Steiner Press. Wilkinson, Roy. 1975. Common Sense Schooling. Hastings, England: Henry Goulden.

Chapter Nine

Community Connections

The holistic curriculum should foster connections between student and community. The most immediate community for the student is the classroom, and cooperative education with its emphasis on learning teams attempts to foster community within classrooms. Ideally, the school as a whole should be community, or a sanctuary, in Lance Secretan’s (1996) terms. In this chapter, some ways of creating community within the whole school are presented. It also important for the school to extend itself into the surrounding community, and there are programs which involve the student in community service activities or in social-change programs. Finally, global education attempts to connect the student to the global community. Building Community in Classrooms One of the keys to creating community in the classroom is for the teacher to create a psychologically safe environment. In the last chapter of this book I discuss some of the skills that are important to this process. Perhaps the most important factor is simply being present and mindful to students (see chapter 7). Cooperative Learning A teaching/learning strategy that is helpful is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning employs small groups where students learn to trust each other and work together. Cooperative learning can take many forms. Roger and David Johnson (1994) suggest cooperative learning encourages students to feel responsible for others’ learning as well as their own. For example, in a spelling lesson students would work in small groups to help each other

156

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

learn the words. For the Johnsons, cooperative learning includes the following elements: 1. Clearly perceived positive interdependence. 2. Considerable promotive (face-to-face) interaction. 3. Clearly perceived individual accountability and personal responsibility to achieve the group’s goals. 4. Frequent use of the relevant interpersonal and small group skills. 5. Frequent and regular processing of current functioning to improve the group’s future effectiveness. (2) Positive interdependence refers to idea that students believe that they “sink or swim together” as opposed to “every person for themselves.” This means the students are to learn the material or skills and also ensure that all members of the group learn the material as well. The element of positive interdependence is related to the concept of interconnectedness that is so fundamental to integrative teaching and holistic learning. The Johnsons suggest that this interdependence can be facilitated in different ways. One method is through positive goal interdependence, where students focus on a common goal. Another way is through positive reward that celebrates interdependence; for example, the group might receive bonus points if everyone meets the basic criterion on a test or assignment. A third way to foster interdependence is to encourage the group members to share resources. Finally, interdependence can be facilitated through assigning groups members various roles. Glasser (1986) identifies four roles for group members: 1. Encourager of participation. In a friendly way, encourages all members of the group to participate in the discussion, sharing their ideas and feelings. 2. Praiser. Compliments group members who do their assigned work and contribute to the learning of the group. 3. Summarizer. Restates the ideas and feelings expressed in the discussion whenever it is appropriate. 4. Checker. Makes sure everyone has read and edited two compositions and that everyone understands the general principles of writing thesis essays. (100) Face-to-face promotive interaction. This is an essential element in cooperative learning, as the students work together by encouraging one another, sharing ideas and resources, providing feedback to each other, challenging each other’s conclusions or assumptions to help reach the best conclusions and decisions, and demonstrating care for the other members.

Community Connections

157

Individual accountability is the third element of positive interdependence. This means that one or two members should not carry the group and let the others coast. Individual accountability can be facilitated through keeping the size of the group small, randomly calling on one of the group members to report on how the group is doing, observing group behaviour and individual participation in the group, and assigning one member the role of checker. Interpersonal and small group skills is the fourth element in cooperative learning. It is important that the students learn to communicate and listen effectively, resolve conflicts when they arise, and generally be able to support one another and the group process. Group processing is the final component of cooperative learning. This element focuses on examining how well the group has been working together. This can occur during the group task when members step back and ask how they are doing as a group, and at the end where there is more of a summative evaluation. Group members can simply ask, “What has been working well and where do we need to improve?” Teachers can also give the group feedback on what they have observed. The Johnsons refer to over 875 studies that have been done demonstrating the positive effect of cooperative learning on student growth and achievement. Cooperative learning has also facilitated higher-level reasoning, more frequent generation of new ideas, and greater transfer of learning from one situation to another. Circles of Learning Another vehicle for creating community is having the students form an entire circle. The circle has its roots in Indigenous cultures; for example, some First Nations people form a circle and pass the talking stick around to give each person a chance to share their thoughts and feelings. Black Elk said this about circles: Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours … The life of a (person) is a circle from childhood to childhood, and it is in everything where power moves. (Cited in Baldwin 1994, 80)

This can be used in the classroom as well, giving each student a chance to speak. The circle can focus on a specific topic or have an open agenda.

158

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

A circle that focuses on problem solving (Glasser 1969) can follow a specific step-by-step process. Glasser (1969) suggests six steps: (1) creating a climate of involvement; (2) exposing the problem; (3) making a personal value judgment; (4) identifying alternative courses of action; (5) making a commitment; and (6) behavioural follow-up. I use the circle in all my classes, more as vehicle for sharing stories than for problem solving. I find it an exceptionally powerful way to share important student experiences in the classroom. For example, in my spirituality in education class I ask students to share a soulful experience from their own life. As we go around I am always moved by the stories the students tell, which have included experiences in nature, the illness of a family member, and experiences with the arts. Baldwin (1994) believes that the circle can be an agent of societal transformation. She describes a process for adults to participate in what she calls the PeerSpirit Circle. She makes reference to the work of Jeanne Gibbs (1987), who has developed the concept of tribes for use in classrooms. The tribe is a small classroom group of five or six children who work together throughout the school year. Gibbs also uses the large classroom circle to allow students to share events in their lives. Baldwin (1994) summarizes Gibbs’s work when she says: Students in tribes have their contributions and feelings acknowledged throughout the process: they feel safe, they feel loyal, they feel loved and loving. In thousands of classrooms, the tribal community is preparing children to become adult citizens of the circle. (159)

Gardner (2016) has described several different types of circles that can be used in elementary school classrooms: • Check-in circle is usually done at the beginning of the day where the teacher will share the day’s agenda and also ask how students are feeling. • Sharing circle is where each student contributes something, usually in response to a question posed by the teacher. Sometimes a “talking piece” is given to the student when it is their turn to talk. Sometimes this can be a “risk” circle where a more challenging question is posed that involves more vulnerability. • Community building circles usually involve some type of activity to help build community. • Processing/debriefing circle can involve processing an event that has happened that needs to be addressed by the whole class. This allows feelings to be expressed about the event.

Community Connections

159

• Accountability circle focuses on addressing the behaviour of certain students that needs to be addressed. (85–6) Restorative Justice Circles are also central to restorative justice. Restorative justice is a community-based approach to deal with issues that can arise in classrooms and schools. According to the Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University, it “engages those who are harmed, wrongdoers and their affected communities in search of solutions that promote repair, reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships” (cited in Gardner 2016, 2). A sense of community is fundamental to implementing restorative justice in a school. It will not work where students and teachers do not feel part of a community. This form of justice has its roots in Indigenous practices (McCaslin 2005, 7). Trevor Gardner (2016) writes that community is the first principle necessary for restorative justice. This involves a shared sense of purpose and values in a school where people have sense of responsibility to other people’s well-being. A second principle is that restorative justice seeks to transform behaviour, and not just address individual incidents. Gardner (2016) writes, “Students who make bad or harmful choices should be held accountable to their actions through a process of reflection, communication, and action that makes right the harm they have done, not through punishment” (7). A third and related principle is that harm to the individual is harm to the community. A harmful action is seen as going beyond just the individual, and as something that can damage the entire community. The fourth principle is that participation in the process of restorative justice is a choice. Students should not feel forced into the process, or it will not work. This may mean in some cases that the student may be sanctioned in more traditional ways if they do not want to participate. However, if there a strong sense of community and trust in the process students usually choose to participate. Shifting the power dynamic in the school is the fifth principle. Discipline is no longer a top-down process but includes the student’s voice. Students get to tell their side of the story and can be even be involved in determining the consequences of their actions. Restorative justice seeks to find the root causes of problems. This sixth principle can involve seeking underlying causes of behaviour, which may range from “academic frustration to students dealing with trauma due to the death of a loved one” (Gardner 2016, 9). Restorative justice seeks equitable outcomes but may involve responding differently to student behaviour. It seeks “to understand the complexities of

160

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

students and why they make the choices and take the actions they do – and respond accordingly” (Gardner 2016, 10). The eighth and final principle is that all students want and deserve the chance to learn. Ultimately, restorative justice is an opportunity to learn more about one’s behaviour and how one can act responsibly in a community. Restorative Justice Practices Core values. Core values that the community agrees upon are central to the process. The East Bay Charter Academy identified these values: • Discipline. We discipline ourselves so that no one else has to. • Growth. We are committed to lifelong learning and personal growth. • Community. We work hard and take responsibility for the success of all members of our community. • Justice. We are empowered agents of change for social justice and equity. • Respect. We seek to see the best in each other and treat one another with dignity. We give respect in order to get respect. (Gardner 2016, 13) • Student justice panel. This is also called a student court, and involves students in assigning consequences to student behaviour. • Circles. At the secondary level, circles can sometimes involve as many as fifteen people, including family members, or a small number (e.g., the victim, perpetrator, and teacher). At the elementary level, Gardner describes several types of circles, which were outlined above in the section on circles. • Conferencing. This is a smaller group that usually includes those who are directly involved and sometimes a mediator. While the circle can usually take longer, the time line for the conference is usually shorter and the goal is to reach a decision. Different approaches to conferencing have been developed by Ron and Roxanne Claassen (2008), which they term the “4 Options Model.” • Peer mediation. Some students can be trained to be mediators. This allows students to address an incident without involving faculty. • Public apologies. An apology may be given in front of a classroom or the whole school, depending on the issue. It should acknowledge that the student violated a core value, takes responsibility for his or her actions, and states what the person will do as a consequence of his or her actions. The apology should not be shaming, and should be something that allows the individuals involved and the school to move forward. • Student support groups. These allow for appropriate follow-up to help the student meet the expectations of what he or she promised to do

Community Connections

161

as a consequence of behaviour. For example, a student who made a homophobic remark might attend Gay–Straight Alliance meetings. • Adult reflection. This process may involve either reflection of problematic behaviour committed by a teacher, or simply provide an opportunity for teachers to discuss how restorative justice is working in the school and if any adjustments are necessary. One school in Oakland, California, schedules one three-hour meeting a month for this purpose. School Community Restorative justice depends on building a sound community in the school. Lance Secretan (1996) has identified three types of organizations, and one of these is helpful in working towards real community. The first one he describes is the mechanistic school, where roles are strictly defined and people do not feel fully accepted. The second is the chaotic organization, where people have more individual freedom. Finally, there is the sanctuary, where people feel affirmed. For Secretan, the sanctuary is “not a collection of parts but an integrated system of souls – not so much a place but a state of mind in which they may flourish” (38). In the sanctuary, people’s feelings are acknowledged, as well as their thoughts. Both teachers and students look forward to being at school, as they feel that their souls are nourished by the environment they find there. This environment is one of respect, caring, and even reverence. People feel validated as human beings and can speak authentically from their hearts. Love predominates rather than fear. Most of all, there is a deep sense of community. In fact, in the sanctuary, people don’t just communicate or exchange ideas: they experience communion with one another. Communion is where soul touches soul. The sanctuary, like the chaotic organization, also includes spontaneity and fun. It nurtures creativity, and there is holistic learning that integrates body, mind, emotions, and spirit. There are no recipes for developing a sanctuary. However, we can begin to create conditions that allow for the development of a deep sense of community. Some of the things that a school staff can do include: 1. Recognize the importance of the non-verbal. When we focus on the nonverbal, or that silent space, we become aware of how we carry ourselves, how we engage others through eye contact, and the tone of our voice. We realize that the quality of our being and presence has as much impact on student development as anything that we say. When we become aware of the non-verbal, then a balance can develop between talk and silence. At all levels, education has focused on the head and verbal exchange. We have

162

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

forgotten about the rest of our bodies and how we can communicate in silence. A warm smile directed to a child can send a message of support and love. 2. Pay attention to the aesthetic environment of the school and classroom. We can help transform schools into sanctuaries by making the physical environment more beautiful. For example, plants can become part of the school decor in the halls and in the classrooms. Walls can be painted in soft, warm colours. Artwork, both student artwork and professional artwork, can be placed on the walls. However, there needs to be a balance between artwork that is put on the walls and the surrounding space. Sometimes school classrooms are completely covered so that we cannot really notice what is there. So don’t overdo it, and leave plenty of space around the art that is put up. In the Waldorf classrooms for the younger children, there are sometimes pictures of the Madonna and child, as they feel the warmth of this picture can have a healing effect on the children. As much as possible, we can soften the school environment. Some classrooms have couches where students can sit and read. 3. Tell stories about the school. Every school has a story or, more accurately, a set of stories. Teachers and students can collect these stories and put them together in a booklet or tell them on special school occasions. If stories are shared over time, teachers and students can begin to see the continuity and uniqueness of their school. The process of collecting stories can be helpful as students interview former students or members of the surrounding community. Sketches (both written and visual) can be constructed of former teachers and students. The set of stories eventually can create a mythology for the school. This mythology is a shared sense of meaning and values for the school. By telling stories about the school recurring themes will emerge that can form the heart of the school’s mythology. For example, do the stories tend to focus on academic achievement, sports, or community service, or some combination of the three? Private schools often engage in this practice of telling stories and creating a shared sense of meaning, but I see no reason that this cannot also happen in the public school, which also has its own unique history. These stories can reinforce the core values that are central to restorative justice. 4. Have celebrations and rituals. Rituals help give people a sense of connection to their communities. The most common ritual and celebration in schools is graduation. While this is one time when there is chance to share stories or the school, there is no reason to limit rituals and celebrations to this one event. Celebrations could be conducted to mark

Community Connections

163

changes in the seasons. These celebrations could include playing music, reading poetry, and telling stories. Rituals can be part of the daily life of the school, and the use of the circle in the classroom discussed above can also become a ritual. Equinox school has set rituals that are used throughout the year, which are described at the end of this chapter. 5. Truth and authenticity. Secretan argues that telling the truth is an important aspect of cultivating soul in the workplace. When we live in an atmosphere where people are not telling the truth, integrity and community break down. We should recognize that we are imperfect human beings, but also that our integrity comes from our ability to live authentic lives. We have certain clichés about this process, and one of the most frequently cited is that “he or she walks the talk.” One of the behaviours that helps build authenticity is promise-keeping. When we keep our promises, others can learn to depend on our word. Sometimes in schools, gaps can develop between what we espouse and what we do. For example, a principal might talk about the importance of collegial decision-making and then make all the important decisions on his or her own. When a gap develops between what a principal says and does, cynicism develops. Trust is almost non-existent. On the other hand, when we work with someone who we feel is trustworthy and authentic we can feel empowered. Energy seems to arise in a place of trust, while it dissipates in an atmosphere of non-trust. This energy can empower others to take risks and be creative. 6. Nourishing voice. Members of the school community should be able to share their concerns without fear. I would like to cite David Whyte (1994): Inhabiting the full body, the long body, as many North American Native traditions say, with the voice, may be one of the great soul challenges of adult life. If the voice originates and ends its journey in the bodies of the speaker and listener, it is also true that many part of our bodies are struck deaf or dumb from an early age. We walk through the door into organization every morning looking like full-grown adults but many parts of us are still playing emotional catch-up. (127)

Whyte (1994) suggests that one of the way we can reclaim our voice is to learn to say no. By saying no, we gradually learn to say yes to what we ultimately value and feel is important to our soul. Of course, the leaders in our schools must be comfortable cultivating an environment where voice can be heard. The principal needs to be aware, of course, of his or her voice. Each person needs to ask himself or herself, “Where I am speaking from? Am I speaking mostly from my head or from the deeper part of me?”

164

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Reggio Emilia Developed in Italy by Loris Malaguzzi after the Second World War, this approach to education uses community as a central feature of the learning environment. The parents and community are expected to participate and support their children’s education. Reggio Emilia focuses on preschool education and the primary level. Parents often volunteer in the school and are encouraged to take part in discussions with teachers about the curriculum. Parents are encouraged to use learning approaches in the home as well. Reggio Emilia is holistic in its approach and encourages students to use “100 languages,” which means children can express themselves in a variety of ways. For example, the arts are used frequently. Children are not viewed as passive receptors but as active and creative in their learning. They are often engaged in long-term projects developed with the teachers and parents. The teacher is a co-learner with the children, and one of the main responsibilities of the teacher is to observe and document the learning that is occurring (Wharton and Kinney 2015). Student–Community Connections

Service-Learning Service-learning involves students in community activity that is also linked to academic work in the school. Janet Eyler and Dwight Giles (1999, 4) have done extensive research on service-learning and define it as a “balance between service to the community and academic learning,” which includes the central role of “reflection in the process or learning through community experience.” In their research at the post-secondary level, they found that service-learning “engaged our students’ hearts as well as their heads,” and “creates connections – between feelings and thought, between studies and life, between self and others and between college and community” (xiv). They state that it is a “holistic approach involving values as well as ideas” (9–10). In their research on service-learning, Eyler and Giles found many positive benefits, including seeing others as similar to themselves or lessening a sense of the “other,” an increased sense of personal efficacy, and increased leadership skills. They also conclude that “participation in service-learning leads to values, knowledge, skills, efficacy, and commitment that underlie effective citizenship” (164).

Community Connections

165

Community-Based Work Lourdes Arguelles taught at Claremont Graduate School in California, and her work there is good example of service-learning. Her students ranged in age from mid-twenties to mid-fifties. As part of the curriculum she had them go into “grassroots communities,” which were often marginalized, either economically or socially. First, she had her students just be with people in these communities in informal situations such as “sharing meals and casual conversation, and doing manual labor” (Arguelles 2002, 294). Second, she encouraged “slow, non-deliberate, non-formal and sporadic ways of knowing,” which she calls “slow mind” (296). For some students, the shift to slow mind was a challenge. As one student said: When I first met my teacher, I was not as ready for sustained and formal interaction with her as I am now. My mind was too accelerated. The time I have taken just talking and being with people at a low-income housing project sort of settled me in, and I formed a bond with the other students and with the teacher in addition to the bonds with the people in the community. I also began to realize how some of the things that I do in my classroom and in my life can impact negatively on the lives of these people. That has made a real difference in my life and in my teaching. (Arguelles 2002, 295)

Lourdes offers a course that challenges her students in many different ways. Through these challenges they find ways to connect more deeply with themselves and others. The work of the late John Donnelly is an excellent example of service-learning at the secondary school level. Engaged service was the term that he used to describe the work he did with at-risk adolescents. The goal of this work was the development of compassion in students, or the ability to see that another person’s suffering is not separate from ourselves. The teachings of Ram Dass had a strong impact on Donnelly, and he quoted Ram Dass’s definition of compassion: Compassion in action is paradoxical and mysterious. It is absolute, yet continually changing. It accepts that everything is happening exactly as it should, and it works with a full-hearted to commitment to change. It sets goals but knows that the process is all there is. It is joyful in the midst of suffering and hopeful in the face of overwhelming odds. It is simple in a world of complexity and confusion. It is done for others but nurtures the self. (Cited in Donnelly 2002, 3–5)

166

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Engaged service, then, is a process of attempting to heal this suffering in others and ourselves. Donnelly liked to use nature and field trips to the outdoors to engage his students. Yet these were not just trips to see and observe nature; they also involved students helping one another. Donnelly (2002) described one of the activities that his students engaged in: On one occasion during field trip, ten of my students helped one student who was confined to a wheelchair gain mobility around a mountain camp that had not been adapted for children with specific physical needs. They assisted him off the bus, folded his wheelchair, set out his silverware at the table, and by splitting into three different teams, helped him hike on trails that were inaccessible to children with special needs. They finished a full day of these activities by helping him get ready and go to bed … I doubt if any more love or concern could be shown by a group of students. (310)

Many of the students in this program came from extremely challenging backgrounds. One of his students was shot on the streets of Los Angeles. Yet Donnelly (2002) with this love and commitment was able to bring hope to many of his students. He remained hopeful that we can offer an education that is truly life affirming. He wrote, “Look to the children and they will show us the way. Ask them what they need, do not explain to them what they want. Ask them how they can help do not tell them what is required. Make the subject of the day a life that can be enhanced” (314).

The Global Community Global education helps the student see themselves as part of the global community. Global education shares the same principles as holistic education, particularly with regard to the concept of interdependence. David Selby (2001) argues that holistic and global education are founded on the principle of radical interconnectedness, where everything is in constant change. He refers to David Bohm’s (1983) concept of holomovement as way of looking at life and the world in terms of processes rather than as static things or selves. Selby believes that a connection between holistic education and global education is the need to recognize the importance of the inner journey, and that this journey is closely linked to the outside world. He argues that the global/holistic curriculum should include the following strategies: • Cooperative, interactive learning • Children (not child) centred

Community Connections

• • • •

167

Mixed-paced learning Empathetic, embodied learning Spiritual learning Slow learning. (Selby 2001, 14)

Another important global educator is Robert Muller, who developed the concept of the World Core Curriculum (see http://robertmuller.org/rm/R1/World _Core_Curriculum.html). This curriculum has four main components: • • • •

Our planetary home and our place in the universe; Our place in time; The family of humanity; The miracle of individual life.

There are schools which have implemented Muller’s curriculum. The first one was established in 1979 in Arlington, Texas, and functions now also as the centre for World Core Curriculum work. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Community is central to this school. Here is the description in the staff handbook: Individual and Community Connections Equinox has put great effort into building a cohesive school community. Staff, parents and students all play an integral role in the day-to-day functioning of the school. Equinox prides itself on being communal, loving and inclusive. Celebration and ritual establish, nourish, and strengthen community. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2018, 6)

When I interviewed staff, parents, and students, there were several comments about the strength of the community. Here are the comments of two parents: One father said, “There is a special sense of community. When a father of one of the kids died it brought the community even closer together.” One mother talked about how being involved with the school had changed her life: “We look after each other helping with kids, picking them up at school, doing a dinner, etc. The school has given us a bigger picture of life. Rather than just working for survival we are working for a better world.”

168

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Community is developed through rituals, looping, and the use of circles. The school holds several rituals and ceremonies through the year to build community. These include: • Acorn ceremony. One of the first ceremonies of the school year is where the grade 8 students welcome the new kindergarten students with an acorn. The new students go under a rainbow bridge. There are a special set of chairs that are also included that help give a sense of continuity to the ceremony. It is held outside with lots of parents in attendance, and one of them tells a story. This ceremony is also used to welcome new teachers to the school. • Day of the Dead. Students go home and interview their parents and then they write biographies of past family members. On the Day of the Dead they bring pictures of some of these individuals. A table and altar are set up and there is Mexican music and food. • One teacher commented, “It was so beautiful when we honoured the father of one of the staff here.” After lunch the students go into their classes, sit in a circle, and read their biographies. One student brought in a song that connected with their grandfather. • A teacher commented, “They also can choose a public figure, and one student picked Robin Williams who died that year, and his description was very deep and beautiful.” • The students also honour a pet that has died. • Halloween. Students develop skits built around their costumes. Candy is not allowed, and one teacher commented that this is very popular with parents. • Winter Solstice. There is a lantern walk including the whole community and a concert. • Winter Fair. This is organized by one of the founding parents. Held in the gymnasium with special decorations before Christmas, there are performances from the children and singing. Again, it brings the whole community together. One of the parents said the Winter Fair is “magical, beautiful.” • Play Day. This an event that brings Roden, the public school where Equinox is housed, and Equinox together, and is run by kids in grades 7 and 8 from both schools. It is held in January or February. • Earth Day. This is another large event that includes the whole community; it is held on the beach at Ashbridges Park. Students are broken in to small groups – clans. Each clan does something special, such as dressing up as an animal. The older students go first and build a labyrinth in the sand.

Community Connections

169

The year the school focused on bees in the curriculum, and many students worked together to build a giant bee sculpture. A lot of thought and planning goes into the event, as there are activities and games all day. The day usually ends with singing. • Graduation. Students graduating from grade 8 commented on the last trip they did together, which involved going outdoors for two days and staying in tents. One night involved being on your own for the whole night. One parent commented that after the trip the students were asked what they learned, and they said that things do not always go the way you think they will – an important life lesson. One student who is now in high school said the experience was “amazing.” Looping is also used, as students stay with one teacher for more than one year. The mother of one student who was with a teacher for several years commented, “The teacher was able to work with each student and draw on their strengths and really make them part of a community.” A teacher who worked with students for more than one year could witness real growth in the students. Finally, circles were used in a variety of ways. Every morning the classes meet outside in circles, where they do meditation, yoga, qi gong, and other activities together. Circles have also been used to deal with behavioural issues. One teacher said, “I meet with students in a circle when there is a problem. We also do this as teachers. People actually practise what they preach here. It is wonderful.” The school also uses restorative justice to deal with behavioural issues. Here is statement of restorative justice in the staff handbook: Restorative Practices When facing interpersonal challenges in relationships, we rely on the wisdom and methods of Restorative Justice to develop a healthy school environment. In striving to operate as a community, with students taking ownership and responsibility for learning and relating, and teachers taking a power-with students approach, the major rewards include skill building, creative fulfillment and personal growth. Through this process, we all learn to be accountable for our actions in meaningful, direct ways. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2018, 11)

Conclusion Clearly, there are many levels of community; however, it is vital that students feel a sense of community in their classroom. If this is lacking, then students will not experience community on a day-to-day basis. When students

170

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

experience community in their classrooms, then they form connections with the other students, the teacher, and the learning process.

REFERENCES Arguelles, Lourdes. (2002). “How We Live, Learn, and Die: How a Teacher and Some of Her Students Meditated and Walked on an Engaged Buddhist Path.” In Nurturing Our Wholeness: Perspectives on Spirituality in Education, edited by John P. Miller and Yoshiharu Nakagawa, 285–303. Brandon, VT: Foundation for Educational Renewal. Baldwin, Christina. 1994. Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture. Newberg, OR: Swan & Raven. Bohm, David. 1983. Wholeness and the Implicate Order. New York: Ark. Claassen, Ron, and Roxanne Claassen. 2008. Discipline That Restores: Strategies to Create Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in the Classroom. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. Donnelly, John. 2002. “Educating for a Deeper Sense of Self.” In Nurturing Our Wholeness: Perspectives on Spirituality in Education, edited by John P. Miller and Yoshiharu Nakagawa, 304–17. Brandon, VT: Foundation for Educational Renewal. Equinox Holistic Alternative School. 2018. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Staff Handbook (2018/2019). Available from the school: 151 Hiawatha Rd., Toronto, Ontario. Eyler, Janet, and Dwight E. Giles, Jr. 1999. Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gardner, Trevor W. 2016. Discipline over Punishment: Successes and Struggles with Restorative Justice in Schools. Lanham, MD: Little and Rowenfield. Gibbs, Jeanne. 1987. Tribes: A Process for Social Development and Cooperative Learning. Santa Rosa, CA: Center Source Publications. Glasser, William. 1969. Schools without Failure. New York: Harper & Row. – 1986. Control Theory in the Classroom. New York: Harper & Row. Johnson, Roger T., and David W. Johnson. 1994. “An Overview of Cooperative Learning.” In Creativity and Collaborative Learning, edited by Jacqueline S. Thousand, Richard A. Villa, and Ann I. Nevin, 1–23. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Press. McCaslin, Wanda D., ed. 2005. Justice as Healing – Indigenous Ways: Writings on Community Peacemaking and Restorative Justice from the Native Law Centre. St Paul, MN: Living Justice Press. Secretan, Lance H. 1996. Reclaiming Higher Ground: Creating Organizations That Inspire Soul. Toronto: MacMillan.

Community Connections

171

Selby, David. 2001. “The Signature of the Whole: Radical Interconnectedness and Its Implications for Global and Environmental Education.” Encounter 14: 5–16. Wharton, Pat, and Linda Kinney, eds. 2015. Reggio Emilia Encounters: Children and Adults in Collaboration. London: David Fulton. Whyte, David. 1994. The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America. New York: Doubleday.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Ten

Earth Connections

Every day now, the oceans are becoming more acidic. Polar ice is melting. Droughts, floods, earthquakes and wildfires are increasingly commonplace. Bees are disappearing and there are fewer salmon in the spawning grounds. –Richard Wagamese (2011, 13)

Climate change has become the major environmental issue since the previous edition of this book. There is a major disconnection between the economy and the earth. Orr (1994) sums up this situation: These things are threads of a whole cloth. The fact that we see them as disconnected events or fail to see them at all is, I believe, evidence of a considerable failure that we have yet to acknowledge as an educational failure. It is failure to educate people to think broadly, to perceive systems and patterns and to live as whole persons. (2)

Thus, education has played an intimate part in destruction of the earth. Elie Wiesel, in speaking before the Global Forum in Moscow in 1990, referred to education in Germany in the early part of this century: “It emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstraction rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience” (cited in Orr 1994, 8). Our education system, with its concern for making citizens globally competitive, is guilty of the same emphases. We still stress cleverness over wisdom in our educational endeavours. Wisdom, or what Orr calls “true intelligence,” connects information to the broader picture. James Moffett (1994) argues that education should be truly inclusive by situating everything in the

174

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

largest possible context, which is the cosmos. By constantly situating education within a narrow economic frame of reference, we strip it of ultimate purpose and meaning. Closely related here is what we call career education, where people choose careers around economic factors. Career choice is thus reduced to some kind of economic model and, as a result, we have many people who feel alienated from their work and cannot wait until their retirement. Thomas Merton (1985, 11) once called this whole process, “the mass production of people literally unfit for anything except to take part in an elaborate and completely artificial charade.” Thomas Berry has argued that we are heading into a new period, which he calls the ecozoic era. The present industrial era he calls the cenozoic. Driven by advertising and consumerism, people are invited to take part in what he and coauthor Thomas Clark (1991) calls the “Wonderworld” where, even if we have the means to consume these goods, we find ourselves living in “Wasteworld.” Due to industrialization, competitiveness, and consumerism, we are no longer able to feel or sense the world around us. Berry and Clark (1991) comment: We are not even seeing what we are looking at. We are not even smelling the odors that are around us. Our senses are becoming deadened. Such diminishment of our sensitivities kills off our religious sensitivities and diminishes our understanding. It dulls our imagination. I sometimes say, “Don’t go to sleep, stay awake, stay awake!” (95)

In 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson began his first book, Nature, by expressing a concern that we can share today. He felt that people could not see the world around them and said, “Why should not we enjoy an original relation to the universe? … The sun shines today also. There is more wool and flax in the field” (Emerson 1966, 27). If Emerson felt that his fellow citizens had lost an original relation to the universe, what would he think of a world where consumerism, social media, technology, and industrialization have deadened our relationship to the natural world? Earth connections, then, can reawaken us to the natural processes of life. The wind, the sun, the trees, and the grass can help us come alive and waken us from the treadmill we find ourselves on. Environmental Education (David Orr) Environmental Education has become a part of the school curriculum. Unfortunately, in many cases it has focused on a problem-solving approach to the environment, where we can fix things through recycling or other technical

Earth Connections

175

solutions. What is needed is an environmental education that centres on how we are deeply embedded in the natural processes of the earth. It should also give students experiences with these processes. In this part of the chapter I rely heavily on the work of David Orr (1992, 1994). He suggests six principles for rethinking education. The first principle is that “all education is environmental education” (Orr 1994, 12). This argument is similar to Moffett’s in that all education must be part of the most inclusive context. We need to connect everything to its ultimate reference point, which is the universe itself. Anything less is simply not education. The second principle is that the goal should be mastery of one’s person and not mastery of subject matter. Subjects should be seen as means, not as an end, in this process of learning. The next principle is that knowledge carries with it a responsibility to use it. Many environmental disasters, such as Chernobyl and the Love Canal, were a result of technology that grew out of control and loss of responsibility. Orr claims that many of our projects have simply gotten too big, or beyond human scale. The fourth principle is that knowledge must be looked at from a very inclusive context, including how it impacts communities. Orr argues that our economic models never include social and economic costs, and the result is a society on the verge of collapse, with excessive violence, terrorist bombings, broken families, and unacceptable levels of unemployment and poverty. The fifth principle is the need for authentic examples. Orr (1994, 14) suggests: “What is desperately needed are (a) faculty and administrators who provide role models of integrity, care, and thoughtfulness and (b) institutions capable of embodying ideals wholly and completely in all of their operations.” The last principle is that the way we learn is as important as what we learn. For example, lecture courses induce passivity. Too much testing forces students to be receptacles of information rather than individuals who initiate their own forms of learning. Orr (1994) believes that we should educate for ecological literacy. This means that students would be able to see the connections that are inherent in the environment. They would study the basic laws of ecology and how these impact on our day-to-day lives. It would also involve a study of how we got ourselves into the present mess. This would involve a critical look at history and how industrialization and consumerism have contributed to the destruction of the planet. More importantly, ecological literacy focuses on how we can begin to reverse this process. For example, this could mean examining energy accounting and sustainable economies (Daly and Cobb

176

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

1990). Students can also look at a long tradition of sustainable living that includes studying such people as Thoreau, John Muir, Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Rachel Carson, E.F. Schumacher, and Wendell Berry. This tradition involves simplicity, decentralization of power, democratic processes, a sense of place, and human scale technologies. Orr (1994, 94–5) also states that it is a tradition that is “dedicated to the search for patterns, unity, connections between people of all ages, races, nationalities, and generations, and between people and the natural world. This is a tradition grounded in the belief that life is sacred.” At a more practical level, Orr argues for a sense of place. In other words, students should learn about the place in which they live. Studying their own place would mean dealing with some of the following questions: 1. What soil series are you standing on? 2. When was the last time a fire burned your area? 3. Name five native edible plants in your region and their seasons of availability. 4. From what direction do winter storms generally come in your region? 5. Where does your garbage go? 6. How long is the growing season where you live? 7. Name five grasses in your area. Are any of them native? 8. Name five resident and five migratory birds in your area. 9. What primary geological event or processes influenced the land from where you live? 10. What species have become extinct in your area? 11. What are the major plant associations in your region? (Co-Evolution Quarterly 1981, 1) Place-Based Learning (David Sobel) The questions above would be congruent with what David Sobel (2004) has called place-based learning. Some of basic principles of place-based learning include: • Learning takes place onsite in the schoolyard, the local community and environment. • Learning focuses on local themes, systems, and content. • Learning experiences contribute to the community’s vitality and environmental quality, and support the community’s role in fostering global environmental quality.

Earth Connections

177

• Learning is supported by strong varied partnerships with local organizations, agencies, businesses, and government. • Learning is grounded in and supports the development of a love of one’s place. • Local learning serves as the foundation for understanding and participating appropriately in regional and global issues. (https://promiseofplace.org/ what-is-pbe/principles-of-place-based-education) • Place-based learning is supported by research that is discussed in the work of Richard Louv. The Nature Principle (Richard Louv) Richard Louv’s (2008) book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder makes a powerful case for exposing children to the wonders of nature. In a more recent book, The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age (2012), he expands on this position. The nature principle “holds that a reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health, well-being, spirit, and survival” (3). One of the central features of this principle is the “mind/body/nature connection” (5). Louv (2008) summarizes research that shows the relationship between this connection and learning. In one study at the University of Michigan, it was found that participants’ memory performance and attention spans improved 20 per cent after just an hour interacting with nature (Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan 2008). The study found that walking in warm or cold weather did not change this finding. Another study conducted at the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois found that there was a significant reduction in symptoms associated with attention-deficit disorder when children engaged with experiences in nature (Taylor, Kuo, and Sullivan 2001). A study conducted in Canada found that experiences in nature not only improved the academic performance of children but also improved teachers’ attitude towards being teachers, as there were fewer discipline problems (Raffan 2000). A study conducted by the American Institutes for Research (2005) showed that at-risk students who went to a weeklong residential outdoor education programs showed enhanced cooperation and conflict-resolution skills, gains in self-esteem, and improvements in problem-solving behaviour. There is also research that connects being in nature to creativity. Louv refers to “loose parts theory,” which suggests people are more creative in loosely structured environments. “In a tree, a woods, a field, a mountain, a ravine, a vacant lot, the number of loose parts is unlimited. It’s possible, then that exposure to the loose but related parts of nature can encourage a greater sensitivity to patterns that underlie all experience, all matter, and all that matters” (Louv 2012, 34).

178

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Gardening Louv also suggests that gardening is one way of engaging students in nature. The most important aspect of environmental education is for students to have actual experiences with the earth. One example of this type of learning is gardening. Joseph Kiefer and Martin Kemple (1998), in their book Digging Deeper, describe how youth gardens can be integrated with schools and communities. They identify their vision at the beginning of the book: Growing gardens with children is a living testament to how to restore our ancient ties to the natural rhythms of the earth itself. It is in the learning of this lesson – flower by flower, child by child, season by season – that we will be able to reclaim the heritage that is rightfully ours: as the caretakers of a natural paradise where all species thrive. (xiii)

Kiefer and Kemple (1998) argue that growing a garden has several benefits for children: • Seeing the results of growing food with their own hands; • Working in harmony with the forces of nature; • Learning basic academic skills in science, math, language, and social studies; • Learning to work cooperatively with others. (xiii) Their book is part of the “Garden in Every School Campaign” that began in 1995 and has spread throughout North America. The process does not just involve schools and children, but includes “elders to share their experience, stories and practical wisdom; local historians, naturalists, farmers, artisans and other professionals willing to contribute their expertise” (Kiefer and Kemple 1998, xiv), as well parents and families. To begin the project the school needs to do a needs survey that looks at such questions as: • • • •

What sites are available for a garden? Are there sources of funding? What organizations can assist? Are there already projects for young people in the community that involve gardening? (4)

This survey can be done formally through questionnaires or informally through phone calls. After the needs survey, there usually is an organizing meeting.

Earth Connections

179

Kiefer and Kemple (1998) give detailed directions of how to organize such a meeting. Their book is also filled with case studies for each phase of the process. For example, they describe how San Antonio developed their program to become, in their words, the “Youth Garden Capital of America.” The leader of the work there has been Vernon Mullens, who introduced young people to different types of gardens such as the “Brains and Grains Garden,” the “Dietcise Garden, and the “Melting Pot Garden.” The next phase in the garden building process is to develop a team. There should be an “all-weather team,” which is the core group that does the basic planning and work, and a “fair-weather team” that contributes to specific aspects of the project. The book is filled with practical information such as an hour-by-hour sample day in the garden and a day-by-day week. They suggest weekly themes that can be used in working in the garden. For example, one sample theme is soil, as students examine how soil nurtures the plants in the garden. The case study for this phase is Philadelphia, as Kiefer and Kemple (1998) describe how a project called “The Village of Arts and Humanities” reclaimed parts of the city that had been abandoned and established eight community parks and gardens. The third phase involves garden design, and the authors identify several possible ideas for design. A few of the ideas include the nutrition garden and the heritage garden, which is based on approaches that have been used in the community over several generations. In the next phase the garden is brought to life. This phase includes identifying the appropriate site, tilling the soil, laying out the garden, and planting the garden. The authors describe how a composter can be built. The book even deals with issues of class and race, as some African-American families wonder why their children are doing work that was often a burden to their ancestors: We know quite a lot about how to value cultural differences and how to heal traumatic wounds. Although the garden has many negative associations, both with past evils and with current values, it also has the potential to heal some of those wounds … The garden can be a place where self-respect grows, and student who may not do well in the classroom can have a new chance in a different context. The garden can be a haven where no one is every shamed. Everyone can slow down. (Kiefer and Kemple 1998, 41)

The authors suggest having an opening day ceremony when the ground is first broken. Once the process is started students can keep a garden journal where they describe the plant growth, as well as the weeds and insects that also inhabit the garden. Over the summer activity shifts to tasks such as watering,

180

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

weeding, and mulching. In the fall, of course, there is the harvest. Students can save seeds for planting next spring, make edible jewelry, and can, cook, and freeze the vegetables. Finally, Kiefer and Kemple (1998) do not ignore the evaluation process. They suggest extensive procedures for ongoing assessment of the project and then for a more summative evaluation. They include checklists and sample portfolio contents. Some of the items in the portfolio include student products, student affective surveys, anecdotal observations and reflections, participation graphs, community impact scrapbooks, and culminating activity surveys. Environmentally Oriented Schools This section explores how different schools have attempted to approach environmental education. I discuss three examples. The first involves a public elementary school I visited in Japan, Ojiya school, and how the school forest movement has spread to Korea. The second is Head-Royce school in California, and the last is Equinox Holistic Alternative School in Toronto.

Ojiya School Ojiya school is a large elementary school which is near Nagaoka, a city in Western Japan. I have visited this school, but most of my description of the school is based on Ikue Tezuka’s (1994) book. In many ways this is a typical Japanese elementary school; but what distinguishes it is its focus on the relationship to the natural world. When you visit the school, you are immediately struck by the large number of animals. In North America our schools may have one animal (e.g., a gerbil) in the classroom. In contrast, Ojiya is like a little farm, with goats, rabbits, chickens, and turtles. Most of the time the animals inhabit an area called “Friendship Pasture,” where they are fed. The children like to go to the pasture to touch, hold, talk to, and take care of the animals. The children love to hold the animals, particularly the rabbits. When I was there, three children sat on a bench, each holding a rabbit in his or her lap. However, they also have the responsibility of cleaning up after the animals. With so many animals, this is an important responsibility. Also important to the school is a cluster of trees at the back of the school lot called “Yasho Homeland Forest.” Before the forest was planted, students surveyed the surrounding area and identified ninety-six types of trees and shrubs that were native to the area. After identifying the different types, the students, with the help of teachers and parents, planted 290 trees in an area of approximately 120 square metres.

Earth Connections

181

When planting the trees, the students considered the distribution of tall and short trees and the colours of the buds, flowers, and fruit. Tezuka (1994) comments: The result is beautiful to see. Spring is the season of the biggest change. Many of the trees burst forth in buds and blossoms at the same time. In May, the green grows deeper, and the red blossoms are brilliant against the green background. The red azaleas are especially beautiful. From early summer to autumn, the various trees flower one after another with their white, red, and purple flowers. In autumn the trees bend toward the earth under their load of delicious fruit. Then comes the season of autumnal coloring. (9)

The children love watching these changes. They also like to talk to the trees and write poems. Below are some poems written by children in the third grade: Trees in The Home Forest by Yukari Kazama I saw trees in the ground. They are moving as if they were dancing with snow. Don’t they feel heavy When they have snow on their branches? Big Red Buds by Rie Nagahashi Big red buds on a small tree. They look like candle lights, red candies, cherries, rubies Big, red, pretty buds. Nice buds. They seem to say, “I'm pretty.”

(10, 11)

At Ojiya school students develop a bond with the animals and the trees so that they do not see themselves as separate from the environment. Teaching and learning in the classroom also focus on the environment. Tezuka (1994) describes a grade 4 science class where the students are studying caterpillars. The class begins with the students becoming caterpillars as they roll around on the carpet. They also sing the “caterpillar’s song” that they composed as they sway and twist to the music. After this activity they observe the caterpillars and how they move. They also see the eggs change into larvae

182

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

and then butterflies. Eventually, students developed a play on caterpillars and one student reported on her experience: The Day I Became a Caterpillar by Tomoyuki Kanenaga We made a play about the caterpillars we had studied, and I was to be the caterpillar. On the day of the festival, I tried to be calm and turn my mind into a caterpillar. But I was very nervous and I thought: “How can I get over this tension and nervous feeling?” Then I remembered what our teacher said: “Think sincerely about what we have learned about caterpillars.” Then suddenly I began to see green color before my eyes and I felt as if I were in a cabbage field. (16)

Much of what has happened at Ojiya school is based on the work of Giichiro Yamanouchi, a former principal who is now retired. He has always believed in an integrated approach to learning. In his own words: Subjects in our present school systems are divided up into small parts. For example, science classes may include observation of fish and rice. But just overseeing them is not interesting or meaningful. Thus, in integrated activity, we connect the curriculum to carp raising and we say, “Let's raise carp as good as your fathers do!” Then they will be excited and eager to learn about science … The main contribution we, as teachers, can make to children’s learning is to make them excited and impressed with something. Such integrated experiences provide a base for comprehending science, arithmetic, language, etc. (Cited in Tezuka 1994, 44)

Parents also became convinced of the value of the forest project. Their enthusiasm prompted them to help raise money for the forest. In all the schools where he has served as principal, Yamanouchi worked with parents and community members to help the school. One of his schools was located in a community where raising carp was a local industry. He was able to persuade a person who raised the expensive fish to donate some to the school. The children again learned how to take care of these fish and the donation of the fish created a lot of community interest in the school. Yamanouchi’s work is an excellent example of the subject–community connection discussed in chapter 8. I have met and worked with Yamanouchi, and he is one of the most interesting and passionate educators I have ever met. Although he is retired now, he is still very active and extremely energetic. He won an award for his work, and a day was held in his honour in June 2004. My wife and I attended this day, where former students and parents commented on the impact of having a small forest on

Earth Connections

183

the school grounds. One parent got up and talked about how an experience with his daughter at the school had a profound impact on him. One day he went with her to school to look at the tree she was taking care of. There was a small vine growing around the bottom of the tree and the father started to remove it. His daughter got upset and said: “Don’t do that! The vine and the tree are friends.” The father said that his daughter’s words hit him like a hammer, and since that moment he has looked on the natural world in a different way. He said he is much more sensitive to the environment in his work in the construction industry. In concluding her book, Tezuka (1994) comments on Yamanouchi’s work: “Through the work of such dedicated people as Giichiro Yamanouchi, amazing things are beginning to happen … There is developing a ground swell movement toward holistic student-centered education in our country” (88).

School Forest Movement in Korea In 1999 members of the Korean Society for Holistic Education went to Japan to visit elementary and secondary schools that had forests. They also met with Yamanouchi. This led to the establishment of the first school with a forest in Korea, the Shingi Elementary School. Since then, the movement has led to the establishment of 762 schools in Korea that have a small forest on their grounds. Bokyoung Kim (2018, 189) writes, “The school forest movement emphasizes maximizing the potential of the space for environmental education by planting the trees on the playground and embracing a holistic perspective.” Several community agencies such as the Forest for Life organization and Green School Project have been involved in supporting the school forest movement.

Head-Royce School Michael Stone (2009), in his book Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability, writes about several schools in the United States that have focused on environmental education. One of these schools, Head-Royce School in Oakland, California, has worked with the Center for Ecoliteracy to develop their program. Their program began because a student went to the principal, Paul Chapman, and asked about possibility of making Head-Royce a Green School. Chapman persuaded his board to adopt the following goals: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Create a healthy environment; Use resources in a sustainable way; Develop an educational program; Pursue a nutritional health program.

(176)

184

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

This led an “explosion of activities initiated by students, faculty, staff, and administrators” (Stone 2009, 177). For example, four hundred solar panels were installed and a hill was turned into a “lush garden of native plants, fruit trees, and other edibles, for use as an outdoor classroom.” With the assistance of the Center for Ecoliteracy, the school developed a K–12 curriculum. For example, in second grade students study a local creek and also learn about a creek in another country. They compare the two creeks in terms of uses, appearance, and habitats. In fourth grade they pursue the question: “What is Massachusetts doing to protect the environment?” Sixth-graders study nature imagery in books such as The Pearl by Steinbeck. In tenth grade in Spanish, “students play indigenous tribes and city dwellers of Peru who clash over land use in Mario Vargas Llosa’s story ‘El Hablador’” (158). Smart by Nature is a very valuable resource in describing how schools can integrate environmental education into the school and the curriculum

Equinox Holistic Alternative School Established in 2009, this is a public school within the Toronto District School Board that has used The Holistic Curriculum and the six connections as framework for the program. I describe the school in more detail in the final chapter. The school has made the earth connection one of its main priorities. The teacher handbook has this statement about this connection: Earth Connections Equinox believes in the importance of children both understanding and connecting to the Earth. Exploring nature allows children to have awe-inspiring moments through realizing natural processes and instilling feelings of calm, allows for physical activity, and promotes risk-taking. Through regular experiences in nature, students develop a deep connectedness to the earth. The outdoor education program is a cornerstone of Equinox’s holistic curriculum. The most effective way to teach about the earth, environmental phenomena and processes and features of the natural world, is to actually be teaching and learning outdoors. The Kindergarten program is largely outdoors with weekly local nature hikes. Students in Grades 1–8 spend time outside each day. Through repeated hands-on experiences with a within a wide range of fields, students develop resiliency and the skills needed to safely reconnect with nature. From Kindergarten on, we are outside year-round, in all weather, requiring children to make good choices and experience the results. Students are given ample opportunities to stretch their comfort zones. By facing challenges outdoors, students

Earth Connections

185

discover more of their inner resources to adapt, problem solve, cooperate, inquire, and practise gratitude. (Equinox Holistic Alternative Schol 2018, 5)

The day at Equinox begins with classes first meeting outside in circles to do exercises, meditation, and some sharing. As mentioned in the handbook, the kindergarten students spend most of the day outside. Fortunately, there are many areas close to the school that allow for being in the nature – Ashbridges Estates, a ravine, and other parks. Another place that students have visited is the Evergreen Brickworks which is devoted to creating and sustaining healthy urban environments. Here they did a pond study in the spring. Parents again were involved and set up learning stations there. One station focused on plants, another on birds, and one on insects. At the end they had a scavenger hunt that also involved a mapping exercise that consolidated the whole experience. One parent commented that her child’s experience of pond study in a previous school was going to the pond and filling out a worksheet. She said, “It was different from the pond study at Equinox, where they were really engaged” (Miller 2016, 293). In all the outdoor experiences the students keep a nature journal. Students learn observation skills and to record their observations. There is also a lot of freedom to inquire, draw, and measure. Sometimes the students even write songs based on their observations. These journals become books that the students keep over several grades. One teacher said, “Their books have to feel authentic to me. So everything has to mean something. Our principal showed the books to other principals” (293). As mentioned in the first chapter, I did a qualitative study of the school (Miller 2016), and one parent commented how being outside allowed for positive interactions between students: I saw one boy who was known as bully in his previous school working with a girl. She was an artistic, creative person who had been bullied in her previous school. She was teaching him about knot tying and I saw all those barriers and labels falling away. How would they have interacted in a typical classroom setting? It is outside and they feel less exposed. I also saw kids working cooperatively on projects together. It seemed to happen so organically. It was amazing. (296)

Environmental Literature Of course, many classrooms do not have access to the outdoors as do the schools described above. Instead, they can focus on the environment of the school itself. Plants and animals can be brought to the school for the students to take care of. Gradually, they can begin to see the school itself as an environment

186

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

that needs to be taken care of. One of the most interesting examples of bringing animals into the classroom is a teacher who had a dog in her intermediate level classroom for several years. Bernadette Nicholls (2011) wrote her doctoral dissertation about how having an English springer spaniel, Gus, in her classroom improved the learning environment. Interviewing her students, she found that Gus helped create a classroom that was more relaxed and calm and improved interpersonal relationships among her students. She also found that students looked forward to being her class because of Gus and experienced more joy in being there. Literature that awakens our reverence for the environment can also have a place in earth education. Of course, Indigenous People’s literature is very helpful here. I particularly like a book entitled Touch the Earth (McLuhan 1972). For example, below are the words of Walking Buffalo, a Stoney Indian: Hills are always more beautiful than stone buildings, you know. Living in a city is an artificial existence. Lots of people hardly ever feel real soil under their feet, see plants grow except in flower pots, or get far enough beyond the street light to catch the enchantment of a night sky studded with stars. When people live far from scenes of the Great Spirit’s making, it's easy for them to forget his laws. We saw the great Spirit’s work in almost everything: sun, moon, trees, wind, and mountains. Sometimes we approached him through these things. Was that so bad? I think we have a true belief in the supreme being, a stronger faith than that of most whites who have called us pagans … Indians living close to nature and nature’s ruler are not living in darkness. Did you know that trees talk? Well they do. They talk to each other, and they’ll talk to you if you listen. Trouble is, white people don’t listen. They never learned to listen to the Indians so I don’t suppose they’ll listen to other voices in nature. But I have learned a lot from trees: sometimes about the weather, sometimes about animals, sometimes about the Great Spirit. (23)

Another helpful book is Earth Prayers (Roberts and Amidon 1991). Below is an Ojibway prayer : Grandfather, Look at our brokenness. We know that in all creation Only the human family Has strayed from the Sacred Way.

Earth Connections

187

We know that we are the ones Who are divided And we are the ones Who must come back together To walk in the Sacred Way. Grandfather, Sacred One, Teach us love, compassion, and honor That we may heal the earth And heal each other.

(95)

Richard Wagamese (1955–2017), an Ojibway from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, has written award-winning books. Here are a couple of excerpts from Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations (Wagamese 2016): On my own in the country of my people, and I feel the lure and the tug of the land as insistently as a lover’s grasp. This is where poems are born, where stories are nurtured within me, and it is here, among the cliff and stone and bush and waters, where I am most fully the creation that I am. I stand solid here. I am the moose and bear and pickerel. I am tamarack, pine and lichen. I am the rich brown of the earth and the eternal bowl of the sky. Home. Where I am articulated and defined in the context of geography. (50) Old Woman: You don’t need to be hard, like others may say. Hard things break. Soft things never do. Be like grass. It gets stepped on and flattened but regains its shape again once the pressure passes. It is humble, accepting and soft. That’s what makes it strong. (53)

Conclusion In working with earth connections our aim is to instil what Schweizter called “reverence for life.” We gradually awaken to the sacredness of all things. We begin to see the earth and its habitants with a new sense of joy and delight. For the very young children, we simply foster and stimulate their natural sense of wonder; for older students and ourselves, we reawaken the sense of awe that we have tended to lose in our mechanistic world.

188

Holistic Curriculum: Practice REFERENCES

American Institutes for Research. 2005. Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California. Palo Alto, CA: American Institutes for Research. https:// www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Outdoorschoolreport_0.pdf Berman, Mark G., John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan. 2008. “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature.” Psychological Science 19 (12): 1207–12. Berry, Thomas, and Thomas Clark. 1991. Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation between Humans and the Earth. Mystic, CN: Twenty-Third Publications. Co-Evolution Quarterly 32 (Winter 1981–2), 1. Daly, Herman E., and John B. Cobb, Jr. 1990. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1966. Emerson on Education: Selections. Edited by H.M. Jones. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. Equinox Holistic Alternative School. 2018. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Staff Handbook (2018–2019). Available from the school: 151 Hiawatha Rd. Toronto, Ontario. Kiefer, Joseph, and Martin Kemple. 1998. Digging Deeper: Integrating Youth Gardens into Schools and Communities. Montpelier, VT: Foodworks. Kim, Bokyoung. (2018). “The School Forest Movement in Korea from a Holistic Perspective.” In International Handbook of Holistic Education, edited by John P. Miller, Kelli Nigh, Marni J. Binder, Bruce Novak, and Sam Crowell, 186–90. New York: Routledge. Louv, Richard. 2008. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. – 2012. The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books McLuhan, T.C. 1972. Touch the Earth: A Self-Portrait of Indian Existence. New York: Pocket Books. Merton, Thomas. 1985. Love and Living. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Miller, John P. 2016. “Equinox: A Portrait of a Holistic School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3–4): 283–301. Moffett, James. 1994. The Universal Schoolhouse: Spiritual Awakening through Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nicholls, Bernadette. 2011. “What’s a Dog Got to Do with Education? Illuminating What Matters in Education and in Life.” PhD thesis, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. Orr, David W. 1992. Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Earth Connections

189

– 1994. Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press. Raffan, James. 2000. Nature Nurtures: Investigating the Potential of School Grounds. Toyota | Evergreen, https://www.evergreen.ca/downloads/pdfs/Nature-Nurtures.pdf Roberts, Elizabeth, and Elisa Amidon. 1991. Earth Prayers from around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. New York: Harper Collins. Sobel, David. 2004. Placed-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society. Stone, Michael K. 2009. Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability. Healdsburg, CA: Watershed Media. Taylor, Andrea Faber, Frances E. Kuo, and William C. Sullivan. 2001. “Coping with ADD: The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings.” Environment and Behavior 33 (1): 54–77. Tezuka, Ikue. 1994. “School with Forest and Meadow.” Edited by D. Bethel. Kyoto, San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press. Wagamese, Richard. 2011. One Story, One Song. Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. – 2016. Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations. Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre.

This page intentionally left blank

Chapter Eleven

Soul Connections

In defining the holistic curriculum, I have stressed connections and relationships as the main vehicle for realizing the student’s true nature. This is in keeping with Steiner’s (1976, 173) suggestion that “moving from one thing to another in a way that connects one thing with another is more beneficial than anything else for the development of spirit and soul and even body.” It is also possible to directly connect students with their inner life, or their soul (Miller, 2000). The soul is defined here as a vital and mysterious energy that gives meaning and purpose to one’s life. In my book Education and the Soul (2000), I have described my understanding of soul and how it can be nurtured in students, our schools, and ourselves. One element that can help in this process is a curriculum for the inner life, as well as studying the universe story, or what Montessori called cosmic education. Rachael Kessler’s (2000b) important work on the soul is also briefly discussed in this chapter. Many of the approaches discussed with the other connections also nurture the soul (e.g., earth connections, community connections, etc.). Curriculum for the Inner Life There are a number of ways to stimulate and nourish the inner life of the student. I believe that with TV, videos, and social media there is little opportunity for today’s children to use their imaginations. When I was growing up I listened to the radio, and I remember going to my room and listening to it sometimes with the lights turned out. As the program unfolded, I would create pictures in my own mind.

192

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Storytelling Before the radio there was storytelling around the hearth or campfire, and the story would also call on our imaginations. Storytelling can be a powerful way of nurturing soul and connecting with students. Frank McCourt (2005) told personal stories to connect with his high school students. In the beginning he told stories to survive in the classroom. He writes: “Instead of teaching, I told stories. Anything to keep them quiet and in their seats … My life saved my life” (19–20). He told stories of growing up in Ireland; for example, he told talked about his math teacher Mr O’Halloran: He’d say, Boys, you have every right to be proud of your ancestors. Long before the Greeks, even the Egyptians, your forefathers in this lovely land could capture the rays of the sun in the heart of winter and direct them to dark inner chambers for a few golden moments. They knew the ways of the heavenly bodies and that took them beyond algebra, beyond calculus, beyond, boys, oh, beyond beyond. (21)

McCourt’s text is a wonderful book about how teachers can use stories to connect with students in some of the most challenging situations. Teachers with younger children have told them nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Storytelling is art and teachers need to practise the story using their own language and mannerisms and developing their own style. You might first practise telling a story to a friend or partner before using it in the classroom. Meditation/Mindfulness Practices The use of imagery and visualization discussed in chapter 6 is one way to nurture the inner life of students. Mindfulness practices were also presented in chapter 7. Both meditation and mindfulness practices involve a quieting and focusing of the mind. When we quiet and focus the mind, we move to a more receptive mode of consciousness – the listening, intuitive mind. The listening mind is characterized by a still, concentrated awareness. In contrast, in the active mode of consciousness the mind is continually chattering, planning, and manipulating. There is ample research supporting the positive benefits of meditation/mindfulness practices (Smalley and Winston 2010). Mindfulness practices in schools have increased significantly since the last edition of this book. Focusing on the breath is one of the central practices for mindfulness and meditation practices. Below are two breath meditations which could be used with students: Sit comfortably in an upright position. You can sit in a chair or on a cushion; however, you should keep your back fairly erect. Close your eyes. Now begin to notice

Soul Connections

193

the flow of the breath coming in and out of the nose. This meditation involves counting the breaths to yourself as you exhale. You inhale, and then count one as you exhale. Inhale, and count two. You do this up to ten and begin over. Don’t worry if you lose track of the counting. Simply return to one and start over. Sit comfortably in an upright position and close your eyes. Now focus on the flow of the breath out of the nostrils. As you inhale, mentally note “in” and as you exhale mentally note “out.” If sensations arise, such as an itch, note the sensation and return to the breath. You will have thoughts, so again be mindful of the thought and then return to the breath. Do not try to shut out thoughts, merely be aware of them as they arise in your mind.

In using mindfulness with students, keep things simple. It is most easily integrated into health and physical education as relaxation exercises. Another meditation is the loving kindness, or mettā, meditation. In this meditation we focus on the heart area and attempt to move that heart energy gradually outwards to others. Since 1988 I have used this to start my classes. I say each phrase followed by a few seconds of silence. This is meditation which builds on the fundamental principle of holism: interconnectedness. May I be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this room be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this school be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this neighbourhood be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this region be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this hemisphere be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings on this planet be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings in this universe be well, happy, and peaceful.

Over the years I have had many student express their appreciation for starting the class with this meditation. One could also begin with just a minute focusing on the breath. Although there are challenges to using meditation in public school classrooms, more and more people are beginning to the make the case for meditation in the schools. Iris Murdoch (1992), the renowned English novelist and philosopher, wrote: The damage done to inner life, to aloneness and quietness, through the imposition of banal or pornographic or violent images by television, is a considerable wound. Teach meditation in schools. Some understanding of, and taste for exercises in detachment and quietness, the sense of another level, and another place, a larger space, might thus be acquired for life. Simply sitting quietly and calmly can be doing something good; subduing unkind or frenzied thoughts certainly is. Morality as the ability or attempt to be good, rests upon deep areas of sensibility and

194

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

creative imagination, upon removal from one state of mind to another, upon shift of attachments, upon love and respect for the contingent details of the world. (337; emphasis mine)

Gina Levete (1995), associated with the Interlink Trust in England, has written a document entitled “Presenting the Case for Meditation in Primary and Secondary Schools.” By encouraging students to sit quietly, they gain access to their inner life and begin to see their own thoughts. Some forms of meditation, such as the loving kindness meditation, encourage the development of compassion for all beings on the planet. Meditation can nourish the students’ souls and their relationship with other forms of life. One interesting example of using meditation comes from a high school math teacher, Naomi Baer (2003). She had a difficult class, so one day she asked them to sit still for one minute and then she would ring a bell when the minute was completed. She then asked the students to thank each other after the minute was completed. Over time the students began to look forward to the one minute, and even did it when the teacher left the room. She began to use the one minute with other classes, and one group asked to do five minutes every day. Some students from other classes would come and join the one-minute practice. Many students and some parents expressed their gratitude for the one minute: Last spring as a student handed in his final exam before leaving for the summer, with tears of appreciation in his eyes, he thanked me for the daily minute. He said it meant a lot to him. This year three students from a class next door come daily to join my class for the minute, afterward thanking their buddies before returning to their own classroom. Parents of former students have come up to me in the grocery store to tell me how much their son or daughter appreciated that minute. They thanked me. (21)

In 1988 I started introducing meditation to my graduate students, who are mostly experienced elementary and secondary school teachers. Since then I have introduced meditation to well over 2,000 teachers. Along with my colleague, Ayako Nozawa, I did a follow-up study (2002) with some of the teachers who had continued practising meditation after the course was over. Although I did not advocate the use of meditation in the schools, several of these teachers introduced it into their classrooms. For example, one teacher who teaches grades 5 and 6 along with grade 8 drama said: I’ve been doing it now since Jack’s course, so I’ve been doing it for three years, with all the kids, especially in drama, the meditation’s amazing, and they love it,

Soul Connections

195

they ask me now … They’ll come in … and now my students ask me, “Can we meditate, we’re really hyper.” Or “Can we meditate before the test?” (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 187)

This teacher has the students focus on the breathing as a way to focus and relax. She also has them visualize going to the beach or lying on a cloud. She also integrates the visualization with her teaching, so if they are reading a novel in class she will have them imagine some aspect of the story. In studying ancient civilizations she had them close their eyes and see the pyramids and feel sand blowing on their faces. She sees the impact in their art and poetry: “I mean I’ve never seen such poetry. Just with more colorful vocabulary. Colorful words, colorful language” (187). Another teacher at the high school has introduced meditation to more than 1,500 students. She teaches in the Catholic system, and in seven years she has never received a complaint from a parent. She explains how she introduces meditation: I first create a very safe environment in my class, so people feel very comfortable … And then we get to a point where I’m saying, “Now there’s a different way to pray. Usually, in our tradition, we mean we need to talk to God, or to the Higher Spirit, but sometimes we need to sit and listen … So this is a form to connect with your spirit” … And I have my students journal as well. So I ask for journal reflections and they’re very powerful. And now word gets around, because people come to my class the first day and say, “Are we going to meditate today?” (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 187–8)

A teacher who works with students training to be teachers has attempted to integrate mindfulness and loving kindness into his teaching. He says, “I’m encouraging my classes to take joy in the tasks that are not necessarily glamorous … and the whole loving-kindness notion is that any kind of direction you give is simply a suggestion in loving way” (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 188). Another individual who taught grades 4 to 8 in the Catholic system also introduced meditation to her students. Like the secondary school teacher, she connected the meditation to prayer. She found that if she missed a day of meditation the students would insist on doing it. She said that the supply teacher who took over her class told the principal that her classes were always very calm. And I’m not a very calm type of teacher. I’m a very active kind of teacher, and I have everybody doing different things … But I’m sure it’s meditation, I can’t prove it, but I’m sure it’s that thing that brings us together. And it connects – you

196

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

connect on a different level, you know not just the intellectual. But you connect on a spiritual level and when we were like that in our classroom the supply teacher would notice: This is a very calm classroom. (Miller and Nozawa 2002, 188)

Dreamwork Another tool that can be used is dreamwork. A graduate student, Marina Quattrocchi (1995), has written a thesis on how she used dreamwork at the secondary level. She had students keep journals about their dreams over the course of a year. She found that by working with the dreams the student gained nourishing insights. All the students who participated in her study commented positively about the experience and some indicated that the dreamwork had enhanced their creativity. Marina (Quattrocchi 2005) has also written a book entitled Dreamwork Uncovered: How Dreams Can Bring Inner Harmony, Peace and Joy. Journals Another part of a curriculum for the inner life is keeping a journal. Journal writing is already included in the curriculum of many schools. The reading response journal is used in the language classroom as students record their reactions to what they read. It is even used in other subjects, such as math, as students journal their feelings and thoughts about the subject (Cohen 2005). Alternatively, the student can keep a “soul journal” where the student explores his or her deeper thoughts and feelings. Of course, this journal is not for public viewing. The teacher in the movie Freedom Writers used student journals to help students from different gangs connect with each other. One of my students wrote that the movie inspired her to use journals in a similar manner and it helped her to connect with her students. Use of the journals enriched her teaching immeasurably, which she described in her paper for my course: Inspired by the film, I purchased sixty small notebooks from the local Dollarama and brought them to my classroom for the students. I explained to them that we would be starting each class with ten minutes of journal writing time, and I provided them each day with a prompt or question for them to reflect upon. When the students inquired if they would be graded on this task, I told them that everyone would get 100% on the task for completion and that I would read them each night. These journals created a space for quiet contemplation in the classroom

Soul Connections

197

and opened my eyes to the lives of the students. Through the journals I came to understand who they were, the challenges they each faced, and what brought them joy and sadness. I often responded to students in their journals and in this way the journals helped forge the first steps of dialogue and relationship building with my students. These journals were transformative – rather than feeling frustrated in the classroom, I began to look forward to those classes and I began to feel love and compassion towards my students. Miller (2000) states that when “students feel heard and affirmed in our presence this will support the development of their souls immeasurably” (p. 141). Indeed, our study of Night (Wiesel 2006) coupled with the journal writing became a turning point for me in the classroom and a window for me into the lives of these students.

Literature Literature, mythology, and story allow the soul to emerge. Jonathan Cott (1981) argues that children’s literature can play an important role in this process: In his “Immortality Ode,” Wordsworth states that “our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting”; and the older we get, the harder it is for us to wake up. Children's literature – and what is that but tales and rhymes writ and drawn large or small? – helps us to wake up. It brings us back to experiencing our earliest and deepest feelings and truths. It is our link to the past and a path to the future. And in it we find ourselves. (xxii)

I agree with Cott (1981), who argues that children’s literature is a conveyor of “wisdom and wonder” (xxii). Fairy tales, myths, and all forms of children's literature from around the world can help nourish the child’s soul. We can draw on literature from all over the world. In Africa, for example, the young child is seen as a messenger from the other world. To make his point, Cott cites from Pierre Erny’s Childhood and Cosmos: The Social Psychology of the Black African Child: If an “angel” … is seen in the child, education takes a very specific direction. It becomes humble; it gives way to revelation of this being who comes to bring eternally young life to the living … The child brings along with it more than can be given to it. It renews those who welcome it, rejuvenates them, regenerates them. Child care is composed of piety, admiration, freedom, confidence, and gratitude more than authority or a spirit of domination and possessiveness. (Cited in Cott 1981, 189)

198

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

As children mature into young adults they need to be challenged with new forms of literature. In Holistic Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Integrated Studies (Miller, Cassie, and Drake 1990), there is an extensive discussion of how mythology can assist adolescents through the journey that they find themselves on. A piece of modern literature that I find particularly inspiring is The Famished Road by Ben Okri (1992), which won the Booker Prize. The ending of this novel is one the most powerful holistic visions that I have read: We can redream this world and make the dream real. Human beings are gods hidden from themselves. My son, our hunger can change the world, make it better, sweeter … It is more difficult to love than to die. It is not death that human beings are most afraid of, it is love. The heart is bigger than a mountain. One human life is deeper than the ocean … The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us … Listen to the spirit of things. To your own spirit. Follow it. Master it. So long as we are alive, so long as we feel, so long as we love, everything in us is an energy we can use. There is a stillness which makes you travel faster. There is a silence which makes you fly. (498–9)

Ben Porter, a teacher in my class whom I have cited in other chapters, found that novels can help in the development of compassion. His students read R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, and in a paper for my class he describes the impact of the book on his students: As a class, we read R.J. Palacio’s amazing young adult book Wonder, a book about a grade five boy with an extreme facial deformity going to public school for the first time. My students, who are just starting puberty, can sometimes be very preoccupied with their looks. Reading and having classroom discussions about a book like Wonder has helped them open up and talk about their questions and insecurities. They empathize and feel protective of Auggie, the main protagonist. We talk about how Auggie might feel when he’s picked on or ignored in the novel. This has led to students opening up about how they also feel insecure sometimes. The book is told from multiple perspectives, including that of Julian, the main antagonist and the bully of the story. Seeing the struggles that Julian went through has helped my students to begin to find forgiveness and compassion for even the most difficult people in their lives. Judging and name calling has been in a sharp decline in the class since we began reading the novel. We now have a quote from the book displayed proudly in the classroom “When given a choice between being

Soul Connections

199

right and being kind, choose kind” (Palacio 2012). As a class, we openly talk about how we can show kindness to those around us.

The Universe Story and Cosmic Education Finally, science can be a source for the soul. Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry (1992) make a powerful case for studying the story of the universe from the Big Bang to the present moment. This story allows us to awaken to the wonder of existence: Earth seems to be a reality that is developing with the simple aim of celebrating the joy of existence. This can be seen in the coloration of the various plants and animals, in the circling flights of the swallows, as well as the blossoming of the springtime flowers, each of these events required immense creativity over billions of years in order to come forth as Earth. Only now do we begin to understand that this story of the Earth is also the story of the human, as well as the story of every being of the Earth … The final benefit of this story might be to enable the human community to become present to the larger Earth community in a mutually enhancing manner. (3)

Swimme and Berry (1992) suggest that we are moving from a technological age – the technozoic era – to an ecological era – the ecozoic era. They call for a United Species that would transcend the United Nations. This new organization could be based on the World Charter for Nature passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982. Although the Universe Story is based on the observations of science, it also includes the humanities. Swimme and Berry (1992) argue that literature, myth, poetry, music, and all the arts can also express much of the mystery and wonder associated with the story of the universe. Besides the book by Swimme and Berry, there are also videos that can be used in classrooms to help students engage the Universe Story. In sum, the Universe Story could provide a powerful organizing theme for the whole curriculum. Maria Montessori developed the concept of cosmic education, which is similar to the Universe Story. Aline Wolf (2004) has written about Montessori’s vision of cosmic education. She argues: Essentially Montessori’s cosmic education gives the child first an all-encompassing sense of the universe with its billions of galaxies. Then it focuses on our galaxy, the Milky Way, our solar system, planet Earth and its geological history, the first

200

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

specimens of life, all species of plants and animals and finally human beings. Inherent in the whole study is the interconnectedness of all creation, the oneness of things. (6)

Wolf (2004) also makes reference to the work of Brian Swimme and the Universe Story. Cosmic education helps the child place himself or herself within the total framework of the universe. The image of the universe presented by Montessori and Swimme is one of order and purpose. Since human beings are part of the universe, it gives us a common reference point beyond the boundaries created by nations and religions. Wolf (2004) also points out that cosmic education can help children develop a sense of reverence for life and care for the earth. Seeing the miracle of life on earth within the vastness of the universe can help students appreciate more deeply life and the earth itself. Cosmic education can also give students a deep sense of gratitude as well: As examples, when we see a beautiful valley nestled in the mountains, we can reflect on the fact that it was formed by water that labored thousands of years to wear down the mountainous terrain, when we enter a car or train, we can look back and feel grateful to the first human being who constructed a wheel. Awareness of the long-term cosmic pattern, of which we are only an infinitesimal part, calls us to a deep humility and reverence for all the labors of nature and the work of human beings that preceded us. (16)

Wolf suggests that cosmic education can give children a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. Montessori felt that within the person lay a spiritual embryo which needs to be respected and nourished so that students can eventually find their purpose on earth. Rachael Kessler The late Rachael Kessler (2000b) wrote one of the classics in this area, The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion and Character at School. Rachael’s work was based on years of experience working with secondary school students. In this book, she describes seven gateways to the soul in education: 1. The yearning of deep connection. This refers to a “quality of relationship that is profoundly caring, is resonant with meaning and involves feelings of belongings, or of being truly seen and known” (17).

Soul Connections

201

2. The longing for silence and solitude. 3. The search for meaning and purpose. This involves exploring the big questions, such as “What is the purpose of life?” 4. The hunger for joy and delight. This can happen when students encounter “beauty, power, grace, brilliance, love, or the sheer joy of being alive” (17). 5. The creative drive can occur through arts, science, or any place where students pursue something that is deeply motivating. 6. The urge for transcendence. This includes the mystical realm as well as “experiences of the extraordinary in the arts, athletics, academics, or human relations” (17). 7. The need for initiation. This may involve a ritual or ceremony where adults welcome the adolescent into the adult community. Drawing on her years of teaching experience, her book is filled with classroom examples of how each of these gateways can be nourished. Rachael also wrote about important issues in holistic education such as teacher presence (Kessler 2000a) and the erotic shadow in teaching (Kessler 2002c). Equinox Holistic Alternative School The soul connection is outlined in the teacher handbook of this school. Soul Connections Connecting to the soul is central to the holistic approach at Equinox. The soul can be defined as a vital and mysterious energy that gives meaning and purpose to one’s life (Miller 2007). Time and guidance are offered for open-minded inquiry into the invisible. Singing and music are obvious ways to connect to the soul. Less obvious is oral storytelling and the telling of myths, legends and fairy tales from around the world – these stories connect us to our universal soul. These stories capture children’s imaginations and nurture a deep connection to age-old stories that have been passed down through all cultures and throughout time. Daily classroom routines and rituals as well as schoolwide celebrations connect children to the soul. The Earth connection, with its relationship to nature, also nourishes the soul. (Equinox Holistic Alternative School 2017, 7)

This connection is nourished by other connections, such as the earth connection described in the last chapter. The arts are used as well, and holding a play every

202

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

year supports this connection. For several years they did A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The older students performed Macbeth. One teacher talked about how a student grew through the experience of being in the play: In primary we have done A Midsummer Night’s Dream for five years. Also, we did a musical for junior level. We created a safe environment so it was not about who got the main part. Saw real growth in students. One girl wanted to perform a particular role and at first I could not see her in that role. She was special ed., ADD. She struggled with memory. She blew me away. She put her heart and soul into it. (Miller 2016, 295)

They also do meditation and mindfulness activities. One teacher described his use of these practices, which I cited in chapter 7: We start with meditation and do mindful movements outside. We try to do noble silence. Coming in after lunch we do one minute. I also incorporate it into the health curriculum. I notice too when there is stress, like before Christmas and Halloween. So we do guided meditations then. We will lie on the ground for about ten minutes. I also use it for being attentive, mindful listening. (Miller 2016, 295)

One of the students in this teacher’s class suffered from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). He and his parents commented that the mindfulness was helpful to him and lowered his stress level. As cited in chapter 7, the father said, “It was wonderful. His OCD improved a lot.” Another teacher described meditation activity that the students did before the holiday season: At holiday time, we had parents come too and we did a meditation around eating brown rice. We set up an altar with the rice on it. People reflected on the experience and were finding the world in their little rice. The bonding that happened was amazing. A transpersonal experience. We were connected. The kids and I know that we have been together in a special way. For 20–30 minutes there was silence. (Miller 2016, 295)

In the next chapter I will describe Equinox in more detail, since the school has been implementing its program based on the holistic curriculum and the six connections.

Soul Connections

203

REFERENCES Baer. Naomi. 2003. “Just One Minute.” Inquiring Mind: The Semiannual Journal of the Vipassana Community 20 (1): 21. Cohen, Rina. 2005. “Journal Writing in Mathematics Education: Communicating the Affective Dimensions of Mathematics Learning.” In Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education, edited by John P. Miller, Selia Karsten, Diana Denton, Deborah Orr, and Isabella Colalillo Kates, 145–52. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Cott, Jonathan. 1981. Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature. New York: McGraw Hill. Equinox Holistic Alternative School. 2017. Equinox Holistic Alternative School Staff Handbook (2017/2018). Available from the school: 151 Hiawatha Rd. Toronto, Ontario. Kessler, Rachael. 2000a. “The Teaching Presence.” Virginia Journal of Education 94 (2): 7–10. – 2000b. The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion, and Character at School. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. – 2002. “Eros and the Erotic Shadow in Teaching and Learning.” In Nurturing Our Wholeness: Perspectives on Spirituality in Education, edited by John P. Miller and Yoshiharu Nakagawa, 267–84. Brandon, VT: Foundation for Educational Renewal. Levete, Gina. 1995. “Presenting the Case for Meditation in Primary and Secondary Schools.” Unpublished manuscript. McCourt, Frank. 2005. Teacher Man: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster. Miller, John P. 2000. Education and the Soul: Toward a Spiritual Curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. – 2007. The Holistic Curriculum. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. – 2016. “Equinox: Portrait of a School.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21 (3–4): 283–301. Miller, John P., Bruce Cassie, and Susan Drake. 1990. Holistic Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Integrated Studies. Toronto: OISE Press. Miller, John P., and Aya Nozawa. 2002. “Meditating Teachers: A Qualitative Study.” Journal of In-Service Education 28 (1): 179–92. Murdoch, Iris. 1992. Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals. London: Chatto & Windus. Okri, Ben. 1992. The Famished Road. London: Vintage Books. Palacio, R.J. 2012. Wonder. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. Quattrocchi, Marina. 1995. “Dreamwork in Secondary Schools: Its Educational Value and Personal Significance.” PhD diss., University of Toronto.

204

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

– 2005. Dreamwork Uncovered: How Dreams Can Create Inner Harmony, Peace, and Joy. Toronto: Insomniac Press. Smalley, Susan L., and Diana Winston. 2010. Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. Steiner, Rudolf. 1976. Practical Advice for Teachers: Fourteen Lectures Given at the Foundation of the Waldorf School Stuttgart, from 21 August to 5 September 1919. London: Rudolf Steiner Press. Swimme, Brian, and Thomas Berry. 1992. The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era – A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos. San Francisco: Harper. Wiesel, Elie. 2006. Night. Translated by Marion. Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang. Wolf, Aline. 2004. “Maria Monstessori: Cosmic Education as a Non-Sectarian Framework for Nurturing Children’s Spirituality.” Paper presented at the ChildSpirit Conference, Pacific Grove, CA, 7–10 October.

Chapter Twelve

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

The holistic curriculum is rooted in the presence of the teacher. The first part of this chapter explores this critical variable along with other qualities, such patience and humility. I also examine how we can approach accountability in the holistic curriculum and the process of change. Presence In my view teaching involves three basic factors. First is the theory of assumptions underlying a teaching approach. Some researchers have referred to these underlying assumptions and theories as orientations (Eisner and Vallance 1974; Miller 1983). Second are the teaching strategies and practices that we employ in the classroom. The final factor is the presence of the teacher. It is this last factor which is often so critical. If we recall the teachers who have had an impact on us, it is often not their teaching techniques that we remember but their “presence,” which somehow touched us. The Zen priest Shunryu Suzuki-roshi tells a wonderful story about the presence of a teacher (Chadwick 1999, 128). He was the head of a temple in Japan and was looking for a kindergarten teacher for the temple school. He repeatedly tried to convince a woman to take the job but she refused. Finally, he said to her, “You don’t have to do anything, just stand there.” When he said that, she accepted the position. He was convinced that her presence alone would make a difference in the lives of the children. Of course, she did not just stand in the classroom, but Suzuki-roshi identified this important element in teaching. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in talking to teachers, emphasized the importance of presence in teaching: By your own act you teach the beholder how to do the practicable. According to the depth from which you draw your life, such is the depth not only of your

206

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

strenuous effort, but of your manners and presence. The beautiful nature of the world has here blended your happiness with your power … Consent yourself to be an organ of your highest thought, and lo! suddenly you put all men in your debt, and are the fountain of an energy that goes pulsing on with waves of benefit to the borders of society, to the circumference of things. (cited in Jones 1966, 227)

Emerson is arguing that our presence as teachers can be developed through drawing from our depth. I believe that meditation and mindfulness, described earlier in this book, are ways in which we can do this. This connection has also been summarized in a Buddhist quotation: The thought manifests as the word, The word manifests as the deed, The deed develops into habit, And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought And its ways with care, And let it spring from love Born out of respect for all beings.

(Source unknown)

To be fully present there must then be a fundamental awakening to our inner life – our thoughts and images and their connection to other beings. By being aware of how thoughts arise in our consciousness we can sense our connectedness to others. One teacher in my class caught how mindfulness enhanced her presence. As a teacher, I have become more aware of my students and their feelings in the class. Instead of rushing through the day’s events I take the time to enjoy our day’s experiences and opportune moments. The students have commented that I seem happier. I do tend to laugh more and I think it is because I am more aware, alert and “present,” instead of thinking about what I still need to do. (Miller 1995, 22)

Ben Porter, whose work with visualization and story I referenced in other chapters, wrote about the importance of presence in his final paper in my course. Being present for my students is extremely important to me. I now feel it is probably the most important part of my program. I teach grade 5 & 6 students … My students desperately need to be listened to. A lot of them come from very busy families, where parents are so busy with work they don’t have time to listen to a lot of their children’s thoughts and questions. I used to find myself getting agitated

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

207

when a student would come up to me and tell me a long winding story about his or her personal life, how much they had enjoyed a movie they had seen on the weekend, or how excited he or she was to have beaten the highest level in an online video game. After reading and discussing the importance of presence in our Master’s class, I have changed my attitude towards listening to students. Math can wait. These students are desperate for connection, and when I can give a few minutes of my time they light up. They are also a lot more likely to listen attentively to my lessons because we now have a deeper personal connection. I have also felt myself calming down in these situations. The more I spend time talking, laughing and really sharing myself with my students the more my own anxiety recedes.

Teacher presence is something that is often ignored in the education of teachers despite its importance. It is rarely addressed in pre-service or in-service education. I would argue that meditation and mindfulness practices are simple yet powerful ways that teachers can enhance their presence. By bringing complete attention to their work, teachers can be more effective. Caring Being present also is conducive to caring, for if we see the connectedness to others then naturally we care for them as well. Noddings (1984, 181), who has written about caring, claims that our schools are in a “crisis of caring” as “students and teachers are brutally attacked verbally and physically.” Again, this crisis reflects the atomization of society and of schools. How can the teacher care in this crisis? It is not the responsibility of the teacher to engage each student in a deep interpersonal relationship; of course, this is impossible and not even desirable. According to Noddings (1984, 180), “What I must do is to be totally and non-selectively present to the student – to each student – as he addresses me. The time interval may be brief but the encounter is total.” In short, teachers should simply learn to be with students. In being with students, we are fully present. We are not thinking about what we will be doing after school or even in the next class, but we engage each student directly. Students can sense when we are not with them, and if this sense becomes permanent a deep alienation can develop between student and teacher. Teachers can also show caring by relating subject matter to the interests of the student. If the teacher can make connections between subject matter and student interests, the student will often respond by engaging the subject matter more directly. As Noddings (1984, 181) notes, the student “may respond by free, vigorous, and happy immersion in his own projects.” In her book The

208

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

Challenge to Care in Schools, Noddings (1992) has described a variety of ways that teachers can bring care into classrooms. Marcia Umland (1984) also talks about how she cares for her kids in an elementary school classroom: Teaching in elementary school can be isolating. A teacher can always do badly – just assign things and get the kids to say them back and then make a good presentation when the principal visits the room. When I wanted to spend all that time with those little people in class, I found that the intimacy I had shared with my peers in college in the sixties was carried over into my classroom. I cared about the students and couldn’t stand to sit in the teachers’ lounge where they were gossiping about their students … I get exhausted, but not burned out. Sometimes I’m dropping my dream for a day or two, but most days I’m on, and stunned by the kids. Lately I’ve realized that in setting up a classroom at last I’ve given myself permission to form a society I’d like to live in. (155–61)

As Umland relates, caring can result in the classroom becoming a community. Patience We live in a society where we constantly witness impatience. Consider the roadways that are filled with impatient drivers and the exasperated individuals we see waiting in lineups in the grocery store. We see impatience in our children, who are used to watching television shows and videos that are geared to a short attention span. As teachers we need to cultivate patience. Children learn at different rates and in different ways. Some students can test our patience in that they seem to learn slowly while other students’ behaviour in the classroom can challenge our patience. However, if we can be patient and not be reactive, learning and behaviour can change. Every teacher has had the experience of a student’s behaviour irritating us, but if we do not react in a negative way there can be positive change. Once, in one of my graduate courses I had a young woman who did not seem to be attentive and missed some classes. I was somewhat irritated by her behaviour and I felt that she was getting very little out of the course. However, she wrote in her final paper that she had an eating disorder and how the class had been a healing experience for her. Recently I had a male student in one my classes who seem frustrated and unhappy in my class; yet

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

209

when I told the class that I would not be teaching next year because of administrative commitments he stated that he was upset that he could not take my class in the fall. In both cases I did not react to their behaviour and found that patience rather than reactivity was the best approach. Meditation and mindfulness cultivate patience. Sitting quietly for twenty or thirty minutes, we learn to sit with a range of emotions and thoughts without trying to change them. People say that meditation is boring, but learning to sit with and watch the boredom cultivates patience that can transfer into our daily life and our teaching. Love Do we love our work as teachers? This fundamental question is crucial. Love for our work manifests itself in enjoying the act of teaching. Most teachers have experienced what Annie Sullivan felt when she connected with her student, Helen Keller: “My heart is singing for joy …. The light of understanding has shone in my little pupil’s mind, and behold, all things are change” (cited in Howe 2003, 228). Ideally, we need to bring energy in the way that Emerson describes when he wrote: “When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality … Nothing great was every achieved without enthusiasm” (cited in Howe 2003, 235). This enthusiasm is closely linked with love for our work. Love also manifests itself in wanting the best for our students. We want them to do well and become whole human beings. Of course, teaching presents endless challenges and disappointment, but love for our work carries us through the difficult times. I have discussed the role of love in a recently published book, Love and Compassion: Exploring Their Role in Education (Miller 2018). Humility As teachers, we realize that learning never ends. We are constantly curious about the world, our subject matter, and how children learn. Our curiosity should match the curiosity of the child. Through this curiosity we can see ourselves in the students. Sometimes when we take on a major learning project (e.g., learning a new language) we can feel how the students must feel in learning something new and difficult. This curiosity keeps us humble; we realize there is never an end to the learning process. We are also humbled by the fact that we never can fully know the results of our teaching. Sometimes we will hear from a student years after they were

210

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

in our class about how much they learned from us. Yet this is an isolated incident and we can wonder about our effect on all the other students we worked with over the years. Clearly there is a mystery to teaching, and being aware of this mystery is truly humbling. Henry Adams wrote, “A teacher effects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops” (cited in Howe 2003, 238). Accountability This is clearly the age of accountability in education. One of the central features of the No Child Left Behind policy in the United States is the testing at every elementary grade level. Funding and staffing for schools are linked to scores in some jurisdictions in the US. If this is accountability, it is a distorted version. It reduces our vision of education and the human being to students who compete with one another to achieve on paper-and-pencil tests. In contrast, a holistic perspective can provide a broader and more inspiring approach to accountability. From this perspective, the person, or student, is viewed as a whole human being who both thinks and feels and whose physical being should also be honoured. I believe that this perspective means that first of all we are accountable to the whole student who sits or stands before us. He or she is not to be viewed as someone who simply “performs” a narrow set of skills. Our willingness and desire to be present are important to this process. Our ability to listen to students is fundamental to assessing where they are and how we can respond to their needs. To listen completely and fully is a difficult challenge in a culture that values multitasking and speed; yet it is the beginning of being accountable to our students. Second, we are accountable to the institutions we work in. This means that as much as possible we work with integrity, or what Parker Palmer (1998) calls the “undivided self.” We work and teach from inside out using what Abraham Lincoln called “the friend deep within” as our guide. By doing this we help create schools where people feel affirmed rather than alienated. Institutions that call for this type of accountability are different from the bureaucratic institution that forces people into limited roles. As much as possible, we try to help create a strong sense of community within our schools. Genuine community creates what we might a call an organic accountability. Because people are communicating with one another in an open and transparent manner, problems regarding student behaviour and performance can be dealt with directly and with a minimum amount of game playing. Yes, tests do have a role here, particularly from a diagnostic perspective. They can give us a perspective on how a student

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

211

is doing with regard to a specific set of skills and help create learning strategies that can improve performance. Next, we are accountable to our communities in which the schools reside. We make an effort to communicate openly with parents and invite them to participate where possible in the life of the school. The concept of the parent and community volunteer, I think, is an important one, particularly in the elementary school where adults can listen to students read or help with basic math skills. Parent and community involvement in the daily activity of the school is a better form of accountability than so-called advisory councils. Parent involvement in the life of the school is congruent with my notion of organic accountability. Organic accountability is interwoven with what is happening in each day, rather than some monthly or bimonthly meeting. Parents and community members who are working with students and teachers on a day-to-day basis have a much more complete view of the students and their behaviours than can be got from looking at a set of test scores. This day-to-day accountability is very much present in Equinox Holistic Alternative School. Douglas Reeves (2002) has developed what he calls a method of holistic accountability, which goes beyond test scores and includes such factors as community collaboration and leadership practices. He outlines a step-by-by step process for how schools and school systems can take a much more inclusive approach to accountability. At a more global level, we are accountable to the planet and the cosmos as a whole. To the planet we owe a sense a reverence and respect for the natural processes of the earth and the biosphere. I know of no better example than Yamanouchi’s work in developing the idea of planting small forests on the school grounds (see chapter 10). Students and teachers become accountable to the trees for their health and growth. Our continued focus on a narrow range of student skills is part of a larger societal obsession with achievement and competition at the expense of our relationship to planet. Emerson wrote that each person is entitled to an original relationship to the universe. This “original relationship” is another example of organic accountability. It means that each of us has the opportunity in our life to have our own unique and unmediated relationship with the cosmos. Unfortunately, the media and various forms of technology have come between ourselves and the natural processes of the earth. As a result, we have forgotten the simple pleasures of feeling a soft breeze on our faces, listening to the sound of rain on a rooftop, or witnessing the wonder of the first snow of winter. It is our responsibility as teachers to introduce our students to their “original relationship” to the universe. Michael Lerner has argued that the first goal of education should be the development of a sense of awe and wonder, and surely this occurs through

212

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

the relationship that Emerson is referring to. Nature itself provides its own method of accountability. The interdependence of ecological systems is an ultimate form of accountability, for if we do not respect these systems and the inherent relations within them life as we know it will be changed forever. As we witness the interdependence of nature, we gradually awaken to a holistic perspective that respects relationships and interconnections. From this perspective we develop and support organic accountability. An organic accountability naturally takes the long view. The pressure for short-term results puts needless pressure on our children. Equinox, I believe, meets many of these criteria. The school focuses on the whole child in its teaching and assessment. Parents are closely involved in the school, and so they see how their child is doing on an ongoing basis. One teacher made this comment about parent involvement in her classroom: “There is a real sense of community. Parental involvement is great and I have parents in my classroom every day. It is like we are one unit working together. It really works here. It really works naturally and beautifully in the younger grades. I like that the most” (Miller 2016, 290–1). Another teacher said, “My vision includes the parents and connecting with the community. Vision grows as we co-create it. An example of this is the pollinating garden. There is a group of parents that work together and wanted to help with the garden. We co-created the garden together.” A parent said this: “My concerns were welcomed by the teachers … Very welcoming environment for me and my family” (291). Parents also participate in the outdoor education and field trips at Equinox. In sum, I believe that much of what we have today is an artificial form of accountability removed from the fundamental rhythms of nature; but turning to a holistic and ecological perspective, we work towards an organic accountability that is rooted in a much more complete and affirming worldview. The Holistic Principal and Change How do we bring about the holistic curriculum in schools? Holistic education requires its own approach to change. The first important element here is for the principal to realize that change is inherent in the life of the school. This is self-evident from the fact that students are growing and teachers are going through changes in their personal lives (e.g., aging). Teachers come and go in schools. Even more deeply, we know that change is an organic part of life. From a holistic point of view, we simply try to be in harmony with this change; this perspective focuses on alignment or attunement. I believe that many approaches to implementation are problematic, as we are usually trying

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

213

to implement something abstract (e.g., a model or a curriculum) rather than focusing on aligning ourselves with the basic processes of life itself. My position regarding change is that the basic nature of reality is that it is interdependent and dynamic. The more that we can be attuned to this reality then the deeper and more powerful will be the change that occurs. We are no longer trying to resist or impose something artificial on the students and ourselves; instead, we give something that is life-sustaining and vital. Below I list some principles that are part of an organic approach to change. 1. Vision is an important catalyst for change. Vision is not a mission statement but a lived reality. The vision is implicit in the ongoing life of the school and comes from the hearts and minds of the people that work there. The vision includes some view of the whole and how each part relates to that whole. Of course, it is central that the principal lives the vision, since she or he is crucial to the actualization of the vision. 2. Vision is organic. There is nothing rigid or fixed about the vision, as it changes with our understanding of holistic education. Many teachers have told me that their conception of holistic education keeps changing and evolving. Certainly this has been true in my own thinking, and this book is evidence of that fact. 3. Have a focus, but avoid detailed plans. A vision is needed but not a detailed plan. Plans end up being contrary to the flow of life and do not allow principals and teachers to be open to the present moment. Of course, it’s important to have priorities and focus; but when we go beyond this with lots of fixed roles and details, trouble starts. We know what happened to the Soviet Union and its five-year plans, and I believe that our education system is suffering a similar fate from too many plans, commissions, and task forces. A teacher working from a deep sense of self is worth more than any recommendation from a task force. 4. Change occurs at the most basic level from inside out (Hunt 1987); in other words, deep change occurs when it arises from within the teacher’s being. Long-lasting change occurs when we feel a deep congruence with holistic principles and begin to live and teach according to these principles. In short, there has to be some form of inner transformation for holistic education to work. It can never be mandated or imposed. I have seen this happen with hundreds of graduate students I have worked with. The work in the classroom becomes an extension of their life and is often filled with a deep sense of joy and fulfilment. 5. Accept conflict. We know from nature that conflict is inherent in existence. When conflict or disagreement arises we know that people have

214

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

awakened from their apathy and have started the first stages of learning. Unfortunately, we fear conflict and confrontation. I am not saying that we should attempt to provoke or instigate conflict; but when it arises, don’t attempt to avoid or repress it. It is an important element in any change. 6. Change is not linear. The school can best be seen as a complex set of interacting relationships. It is important to understand the sets of relationships that exist within a school, as well as how the school is connected to the surrounding community. When we gain some understanding of these connections, we can bring this sensitivity into our awareness as we work with the staff or a group of teachers. For example, how the principal works with staff is an extremely important factor. If the principal has encouraged and modelled collaboration, then the chances are much greater that significant change can occur. 7. Acknowledge the nonverbal or tacit dimension. I believe that most change occurs not through language but at a nonverbal, tacit level. The unspoken has the greatest power to influence the direction of change. For example, the silent example of a principal or group of teachers deeply committed to a holistic vision can do a great deal to create a climate for change. We have become slaves to slogans and jargon on implementation. If we begin to acknowledge the importance of space and silence we awaken to the place from which language arises. By acknowledging the tacit dimension words take on a deeper meaning rather than just “head talk” which fills our ears. In silence we notice our thoughts and actions and begin to witness their effect on ourselves and others. If change is tied solely to language and models, it is doomed; when it acknowledges the silence dimension, it begins to unfold in powerful and sometimes wondrous ways. 8. See the school as a living organism, not as a factory. Here I would like to quote Peter Senge (1990): Many writers on organization have used the metaphor of “organization as organism” to suggest an entirely different image for organizational control from that of the traditional authoritarian hierarchy. It is the image of local control – countless local decision-making processes that continually respond to changes, so as to maintain healthy conditions for stability and growth. (293)

Holistic education, then, views the school as an organism and change as organic. Instead of seeing the school as a factory where people behave as if they are working on an assembly line, the school can be seen as a complex living organism that is evolving – changing through a sense of purpose, collaboration, and a deep sense of inner direction.

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

215

The primary focus in this whole process is teacher personal growth. Of course, the curriculum is important, as the second half of this book indicates; but a holistic curriculum in the hands of a transmission-oriented teacher will become a transmission curriculum. Ideally, the principal or head teacher will be holistic. The principal should support teachers in their efforts to develop and use the holistic curriculum; if not, holistic teachers will function alone or in small isolated groups in schools. The principal can use teacher learning teams and help establish a cooperative environment among teachers in the school. The principal can do this by caring for the staff as the teacher cares for the student; in other words, the principal is fully present to the teachers. The principal asks the same questions of himself or herself as he or she asks of the teachers. The principal takes risks and thus encourages risk taking in teachers; he or she encourages risk taking by being open and vulnerable. By being vulnerable, I don’t mean the principal is weak, just that she is not afraid. The holistic principal realizes that change is gradual and organic and thus approaches it from an ecological perspective. This means that interventions are made with an awareness of their possible effects. Narrow, mechanistic approaches to change are avoided because they do not recognize the interdependent nature of things. Thus, if the principal is establishing teacher learning teams she gives thought to the possible effects to each team rather than hurriedly preparing the groupings. Strategies for professional growth are introduced that are not too threatening for staff. The principal intuitively senses what each of the teachers is prepared to do and what opportunities are appropriate for their growth. The principal has a vision of holistic education and attempts to live out this vision in her actions. If the principal is able to do this to any degree, it is a powerful facilitator for teacher growth. The deeper the integration between thought and action, the more powerful the effect on teachers. The vision should provide a sense of direction for the school and be open enough so that teachers can share in the vision and contribute to its development. What might such a vision look like? Below is the vision that has been included in the earlier editions of this book and that also inspired Equinox: At this school we care about kids. We care about their academic work and we want them to see the unity of knowledge. In other words, we want to let students see how subjects relate to one another and to the students themselves. In relating subjects we find that the arts, or more generally the artistic sense, can facilitate these connections. We care about how kids think and, in particular, we try to encourage creative thinking. We want the students to be able to solve problems and use both analytical and intuitive thinking in the process.

216

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

We care about the physical development of the student and we devote part of the curriculum to activities that foster healthy bodies and positive self-image. We hope to connect the student’s body and mind so that they feel “at home” with themselves. We care about how students relate to others and to the community at large. We focus on communication skills and as the students develop we encourage them to use these skills in a variety of community settings. At the same time we encourage the community to come into the school, particularly artists who can inspire the students’ aesthetic sense. Most of all, we care about the students’ being. We realize that the final contribution that they make to this planet will be from the deepest part of their being and not just from the skills we teach them. We can try to foster the spiritual growth of the student by working on ourselves as teachers to become more conscious and caring. By working on ourselves, we hope to foster in our students a deep sense of connectedness within themselves and to other beings on this planet.

Equinox Holistic Alternative School I have referred to Equinox Holistic Alternative School throughout the book, because it explicitly bases its program on this book and the six connections. I will conclude with a few more observations about this school. The mission of the school is stated in the staff handbook: “To engage hearts, bodies, minds and spirits of students in a learning environment that instils a love, respect and understanding of what is around them, igniting their natural curiosity through mentorship, so they may choose to honour and value the world around them” (2). In my study of the school, teachers, parents, and students clearly support this mission. Both teachers and parents believe the vision is about the reaching the “head, hands, and heart” of the students. One parent said this about the vision: “It means encouraging kids to think in all different directions. Integrated subject matter. Also thinking about themselves and their communities. Selfknowledge, coming into your own as a person.” She added that “it worked well for [her] daughter” (Miller 2016, 288). One student who had attended Equinox and was in high school said that the school “focuses on the whole child. Not just teaching academics.” She added, “Really teaches the entire body” (289). I interviewed four students who attended Equinox and now were in high school and I was impressed by how thoughtful and articulate they were. I also asked whether the school was meeting the expectation of teaching the whole child. Everyone I interviewed felt that it was. One parent whose daughter was in high school said, “It surpassed my expectations because I see how well-adjusted she is” (289). Her daughter was on the honour role in high

Implementing and Evaluating the Holistic Curriculum

217

school. Another mother, whose son was bullied in another school he attended, said, “Equinox met my expectations. It was amazing, wonderful. I had peace of mind sending him there” (289). Another commented on how she witnessed compassion and empathy in the children at Equinox. A parent agreed with this, and said that her boys “care more about others and they care more about the planet.” Several parents commented on the quality of the teachers there. Finally, one parent said this: It was an incubator where they could mature at their own rate. So much emphasis on conflict resolution, experiencing the difference of others, and accepting others. Kids could grow up without experiencing the pressures in other schools that I hear about. Gaining the core sense of self is so important as you are gaining independence and going out into the world. Going into high school and not needing to be “cool.” All of her friends from Equinox are really different from each other but they all connect with each other and accept each other as being different. It is lovely. (298)

Students in high school whom I interviewed agreed with this statement. One girl said that it helped her develop self-confidence, while one boy said that at Equinox he learned that it was “OK to be different.” He added that he could build “his own platform as an individual. Equinox helps you do that” (298). The teachers generally agreed that the school was meeting expectations. One teacher who had been there for several years described it as a “journey” and said that the school was clearly developing in a “positive direction.” Another teacher said the school is “a harbour for parents and teachers who care about sustainable living” (290). One teacher commented about “the authenticity you see in the kids.” She added that “students are honoured for who they are” (296). Of course, there have been challenges. The principal is the head of two schools, Equinox and Roden (which houses Equinox), so she has additional responsibilities beyond a usual principal’s role. At times staffing has been a challenge as teachers go on leave (e.g., maternity). Because the school works within the framework of the board’s policies, the school does not have control of which teachers may be transferred into the school. Finally, there is a lack of diversity in the student body. This is ameliorated to some extent since the students do interact with the more diverse student body in Roden. In the original vision of the school it was seen as a potential model for other schools seeking to develop holistic programs. The parents agreed that it could serve as such a model. One said, “People are hungry for change.” The school has a long waiting list of parents hoping their child can enroll. One parent said that so many schools focus on the individual, while at Equinox students learn

218

Holistic Curriculum: Practice

to “care about other people”. At Equinox her children “were able to engage the world and were motivated to learn” (300). Equinox Holistic Alternative School shows that whole-child education not only can take place within public education, but it can flourish.

REFERENCES Chadwick, David. 1999. Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki. New York: Broadway Books Eisner, Elliot, and Elizabeth Vallance. 1974. Conflicting Conceptions of Curriculum. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1966. Emerson on Education: Selections. Edited by H.W. Jones. New York: Teachers College Press. Howe, Randy. 2003. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press. Hunt, David E. 1987. Beginning with Ourselves: In Practice, Theory, and Human Affairs. Toronto: OISE Press Miller, John P. 1983. The Educational Spectrum. New York: Longman. – 1995. “Meditating Teachers.” Inquiring Mind 12: 19–22. – 2018. Love and Compassion: Exploring Their Role in Education. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Noddings, Nel. 1984. Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. – 1992. The Challenge to Care in Schools: An Alternate Approach to Education. New York: Teachers College Press. Palmer, Parker. 1998. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Reeves, Douglas B. 2002. Holistic Accountability: Serving Students, Schools, and Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Senge, Peter M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday. Umland, Marcia. 1984. “Writing, Elementary School.” In Twenty Teachers, edited by Ken Macrorie, 149–61. New York: Oxford University Press.

Appendix

To Name the World: A Dialogue about Holistic and Indigenous Education FOUR ARROW S AND JAC K MIL L ER

Dialogue is the encounter between men, mediated by the world, in order to name the world. Paulo Freire (1970, 88) The ultimate aim (of “Indigenous education”) is not explaining an objectified universe, but rather learning about and understanding responsibilities and relationships and celebrating those that humans establish with the world. Gregory Cajete (2000, 79)

Four Arrows: Jack, I am honoured that you have invited me to co-author this dialogue about similarities and/or differences between “Indigenous education” and “holistic education.” My hunch is that we will spend more time agreeing than not, but for me the effort is worthwhile if only to validate the source of a way of learning that has largely been ignored or dismissed. Last week when the Tucson Unified School District implemented its new “ban on ethnic education” law and restricted the use of Paulo Freire’s book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), I was not surprised to see Bigelow’s text Rethinking Columbus targeted, as well as my own book, Unlearning the Language of Conquest: Scholars Expose Anti-Indianism in America (Four Arrows 2006). Such “anti-Indianism” has a long history in education. For example, contemporary Harvard archeologist Steven La Blanc (2003) writes that it is a complete myth to claim that remembering some ancient idea about being one with our natural environment will somehow restore ecological balance and minimize warfare. Similarly, British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (1965, 9) wrote in the 1960s about how “unrewarding is any serious study of the gyrations of barbarous tribes in picturesque but irrelevant corners of the globe, tribes whose chief

220

Appendix

function in history is to show to the present an image of the past from which, by history, it has escaped.” James Clifton (1990, 36), an anthropologist, argues in his book, The Invented Indian, that “acknowledging anything positive in the native past is an entirely wrongheaded proposition because no genuine Indian accomplishments have ever really be substantiated. Robert Whelan (1999), director of a pro-free-market think tank, in Wild in the Woods: The Myth of the Peaceful Eco-Savage also dismisses any positive contributions of Indigenous peoples from around the world. He writes, “Indigenous peoples of the earth have nothing to teach us about caring for the environment” (23). I am not sure holistic educators, perhaps including you and Ron Miller, two of my educational heroes by the way, have sufficiently acknowledged the links between holistic and Indigenous education, although I did write a regular column for Ron’s journal Paths of Learning, and wrote several pieces for his other journal, Encounter. For example, in Ron’s article entitled “Philosophical Sources of Holistic Education” (2005), he lists five sources, beginning with your book, The Holistic Curriculum (Miller 1988), and his journal, The Holistic Education Review, which followed on the heels of a few humanistic psychologists who used the term “holistic.” He says this official movement is a product of the 1960s and of the perspectives of such philosophers as Whitehead, Jung, Bateson, and von Bertalanffy and their emphasis on complementarity. He says a second source of holistic education is found in quantum mechanics; a third was the deep ecology movement; a fourth was a “transnationalist perspective associated with an ideology of pacifism”; and a fifth, though he admits it is subtle and seldom referenced, was the emergence of contemporary feminism. Well, if the women’s movement is barely credited in holistic education literature, then what can you say about referencing Indigenous sources? And, in light of your invitation to co-author this chapter, of what importance do you think it is to make the connections we make in this piece? If the roots of holistic education are as clearly rooted in the ways of knowing that Indigenous peoples practised successfully for tens of thousands of years as I assert, what advantage might there be for holistic educators to start making this connection explicit in light of the global ecological crises we face on Mother Earth today? Jack: It is an honour for me to participate in this dialogue. I have read your work for years, starting in the Holistic Education Review, and was delighted that you gave the keynote at our most recent Holistic Learning Conference. I believe that holistic education as a practice started with Indigenous peoples; in other words, the original vision of holistic education was an Indigenous one. Rather than focus on Ron’s “Philosophic Sources of Holistic Education” article, I would like to start by focusing on three central principles that I believe both Indigenous educators and holistic educators share. In my view these are

Appendix

221

fundamental to the practice of both Indigenous education and holistic education. The first one is bringing to awareness the deep interconnectedness of life, or realizing what some Indigenous peoples refer to as the web of life. Seeing how we are intimately connected to all life and the processes of the earth is vital to holistic education. So much of education has been about fragmentation and breaking knowledge into courses, units, and lessons that are unconnected. I believe both Indigenous educators and holistic educators seek an education that lets the student see relationships and connections. A second principle that I believe is shared is a sense of the sacred. The cosmos, the earth, and its inhabitants are viewed as sacred and with wonder. No one has expressed reverence for the earth better than Indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, this has been lost today in the materialistic, consumerist mindset. We have forgotten how to be enchanted by looking at the stars, feeling the wind on our face, or smelling grass after it has rained. The third principle is educating the whole person, which includes body, mind, and spirit. Today, education focuses almost solely on the mind with some lip service to the body. The soul is ignored. I think both holistic educators and Indigenous educators would agree with Gandhi’s view of education when he wrote in India of My Dreams: I hold that true education of the intellect can only come through a proper exercise and training of the bodily organs, e.g., hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc. In other words, an intelligent use of the bodily organs in a child provides the best and quickest way of developing his intellect. But unless the development of the mind and body goes hand in hand with a corresponding awakening of the soul, the former alone would prove to be a poor lopsided affair. By spiritual training I mean education of the heart. A proper and all round development of the mind, therefore, can take place only when it proceeds pari passu with the education of the physical and spiritual faculties of the child. They constitute an indivisible whole. According to this theory, therefore, it would be a gross fallacy to suppose that they can be developed piecemeal or independently of one another. (Cited in Gutek 1997, 363)

Today, ministries and departments of education have committed the gross fallacy that Gandhi refers to and which both holistic educators and Indigenous educators seek to redress. Although I believe that these basic principles are shared, there is still much for holistic educators to learn from Indigenous educators. Holistic education is often articulated but not embodied. We have conferences and courses on holistic education but often they do not move beyond talk. We may start a course or conference with a minute of meditation, but we

222

Appendix

are still seeking ways to integrate more deeply the principles of interconnectedness, wholeness, and sacredness. Four Arrows: First, I want to say how much I appreciate your saying that the original version of holistic education started with Indigenous peoples. This admission has more value on multiple levels than I can express, and I want to move directly to your ideas. If, as you say, holistic education embraces interconnectedness, “a sense of the sacred” and mind/body/spirit learning, it indeed coincides with Indigenous beliefs. Had you stopped there, we might have to end our dialogue here. However, you concluded with a most important observation that allows us to continue, i.e., this rhetoric is too seldom embodied in practice. Perhaps there is something in Indigenous wisdom that can help here, for although many Indigenous peoples around the world are also losing the will, ability, and/or cultures to assure such embodiment, one thing that makes us distinct in general is that we have managed to “walk the talk” in spite of the terrible barriers faced in doing so over the past millennium. Much of the Indigenous plight relates to a refusal to let go of these principles in spite of the hegemonic influences that prevail. So how can holistic educators integrate more deeply the principles of interconnectedness, wholeness, and sacredness? How can we move to the “naming of the world,” to establishing and celebrating our relationships and responsibilities? (Referring to our opening quotes.) You hinted that a minute of meditation before a conference is not enough, so let’s start with this ritual and see what Indigenous practice offers. Most classes in schools, most meetings of educations, and 99 per cent of all the presentations that will be given at the American Education Research Association Conference in Vancouver this year will not even open with the minute of meditation. When I was Dean of Education at Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, however, no meeting, class, or presentation ever started without a significant prayer, song, or ritual. When a traditional Indigenous speaker is about to share sacred knowledge – and all knowledge is considered sacred – he or she has a responsibility to acknowledge the many relationships that have bearing on the topic. It reminds everyone of our inherent contract and partnership with everything in the visible and invisible world that might influence outcomes. Greg Cajete (2000, 81) talks about such ceremonies as “choreographing situations to bring people in contact with the compacts.” An example of this occurred at your recent Holistic Education Conference that Greg and I keynoted at Geneva Park near Toronto. Recall that I found a local Indigenous elder to come up on stage before I spoke to honor the ancestors on whose grounds we were meeting

Appendix

223

and the wildlife that surrounded the sacred place? This simple act may have set a tone for the whole conference. It gave us new knowledge; reminded us of our responsibilities to the land; encouraged a more creative participation with the life around us; honoured the life energy of the cosmos and the influence of those who came before; and probably enhanced the cultivation of new relationships for many. Related to this implementation possibility (pre-teaching rituals) are dreams and visions. I wrote my first dissertation based on a vision, and a number of Indigenous educators refer to the role of dreams and visions when they talk about their dissertations and the struggles they had to get them past committees (Four Arrows 2008). I think there are a number of opportunities in holistic education to give more attention to or cultivate opportunities for vision and dream work. It is not necessary to bring peyote into the classroom, of course, but there are a variety of trance-inducing strategies we can discuss that Indigenous learners and teachers use that would be appropriate. In fact, I think several of the workshops at your conference actually used some of these. Maybe before we talk about specific ways to do this, you might speculate on the barriers that might emerge for Canadian educators. I know that in many US institutions, just mentioning “trance” could suspend a teacher. Also, I’m interested to learn if, and if so, how, holistic education has historically moved beyond mere cognitive realms of knowing. Jack: Two approaches which have been used by holistic educators that I think are congruent with Indigenous education are dream work and visualization. The use of dream work has been very limited, as our culture is generally not comfortable looking at dreams, particularly in educational settings. However, a former student at OISE, Marina Quattrocchi (1995), did her doctoral thesis on high school students keeping dream journals and working with these journals in her English class. A dream journal is simply a record of dreams recorded after the person awakens. In her study she identified several positive student outcomes from working with the journals: 1. Increased awareness and insight into their present problems, struggles, and emotions. 2. Problem-solving abilities increased, particularly with relationships. For example, one student had a dream that showed the chaos that resulted from her decision to “sneak around” with a boyfriend that her parents did not approve of. Images in her dream convinced her to end the relationship. 3. Better class rapport. Quattrocchi found that, as the dreams were discussed in class, rapport improved in three areas: “student–student, student– teacher and student–class” (147).

224

Appendix

4. Evidence of personal growth through confronting the shadow. The most frequently recurring dream was of being chased by a sinister figure. Students were able to work with their dreams to confront the shadow figure, and thus grow. 5. Increased creativity. Some students took the opportunity to be creative in relation to their dreams. Two students brought in music that they felt helped represent the dreams they had had. Other activities included writing poetry, drawing pictures, and dramatizing the dream through a skit. 6. Spiritual links were made by many students. For example, one student dreamed that time was sliding by and that she needed to wake up to her spiritual needs. 7. Prophetic dreams. Students had dreams that they felt predicted the future in some way (147). Marina (Quattrocchi 2005) has also written a book about dreams and how we can work with them in our lives. Visualization, or imagery work, has been used more widely in schools, and asks the person to imagine different objects or events. Visualization has been used in various sports to improve performance; for example, a baseball player will imagine swinging the bat and getting a hit. Basketball players sitting on the bleachers and imagining doing free throws show the same improvement as their peers who do no visualizations but rather practise actual shots for the same amount of time. The most relevant visualizations to our discussion focus on being in nature. One of the more common visualizations is climbing a hill or mountain, which can represent a person’s spiritual journey. Images in nature such as the sun and water can also have a healing quality. For example, alternative healers often evoke images of sunlight to heal infection or cool water to reduce burns. I know the vision quest has an important place in some Indigenous cultures and there are some similarities in that both call upon the imaginative capacities of the person. However, the vision quest, as I understand it, is a much more challenging practice that involves much more (e.g. isolation, fasting, etc.) to trigger the vision. I should add that there has been resistance to the use of visualization in some places in the United States from fundamentalists who object to its use in schools. My guess is they would also object to bringing some Indigenous education practices as well. Four Arrows: I am excited to have learned about your student’s doctoral research on students’ reflections on and benefits from dreams. I did not know about this dissertation and plan to refer to it in future writing!

Appendix

225

I used to teach hypnosis to marriage, family, and child counsellors for their certification at UC Berkeley, and made a career in sports and clinical hypnotherapy for a while. I understand the resistance to visualization and trance work and think it is a shame that politicians, preachers, and peddlers learn how to evoke hypnotic imagery but teachers are restrained from doing so! The truth is, however, that they use it inappropriately all the time. Children (and other animals) go into spontaneous trance states when in fright, so if a big teacher walks up to a small child who has been having much trouble with a math problem and says, “Son, you are never going to amount to anything!” this might seed itself in the child for the rest of his life. As you point out, images can have healing effects. In my book Patient Communication for First Responders: The First Hour of Trauma (Jacobs 1988), I have a photo of a man who came into Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, California, with a second-degree burn on his arm. Dr Gerry Kaplan had the man visualize fresh fallen snow in a clean mountain environment, wrapped the arm in gauze, gave him an aspirin, and sent him home. He had complete healing in twelve days! There are some differences, I think, between how holistic educators appear to think of and use visualization and how American Indians use it on a vision quest. As a Lakota Sun Dancer, I have done a number of hanblecheyapis. It is one of seven sacred ceremonies and a requirement for Sun Dance preparation. In short, the Native vision quest is not thought of as an opportunity for “imaginative capacities,” but rather as a sacred plea for guidance from the spirit world. I think this distinction may be significant, but you are correct when saying visioning is most relevant in connection to the natural world. For example, in preparation for a very hot Sun Dance in South Dakota, I felt apprehensive about my ability to go with limited water in 114 degrees for four days and went up in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho above my then-home for a hanblecheyapi. I had made 150 tobacco ties with which to encircle myself, put red cedar bark in my chanupa (pipe), sat in the circle and prayed. Almost immediately a rat-like rodent came into the circle and started chewing on the tobacco. After he left, I remained on the mountain until the next day and had no “visions.” I looked up the creature on Google and it was a kangaroo rat, “the only mammal in North America that can go a lifetime without a drink of water.” This story does not reflect the community involvement usually associated with vision quests because I was far away from my Sun Dance community. Normally, the community escorts the individual up to the vision quest spot and retrieves him when the time (one to four days) is over. An inipi (purification ceremony) follows with the medicine man listening to and interpreting the spirit message. So, unlike the dream journals and visioning that might be

226

Appendix

used by holistic educators, Indigenous visioning is both an independent and a collective event. This story also shows what Cajete (2000, 69) means when he says, “Every act, element, plant, animal and natural process is considered to have a moving spirit with which humans continually communication.” As a Western-trained scholar and hypnotherapist, I cannot help but to acknowledge the role of trance states for assisting this communication, but I think that given the difference between holistic educations brought up in Western traditions and religions, this idea of receiving visions is going to be a bit challenging to understand and accept, let alone put into practice, no? Jack: In the 1970s Andrew Weil (1972), known now for his work in integrative medicine, wrote a book entitled The Natural Mind. In it he argued that young people seek experiences beyond rational consciousness; for example, children will spin around till they get dizzy and then fall on the ground to see the world spinning. He argued that it is natural to explore non-rational states of consciousness, and that it is a basic human need. It can be argued that if we do not provide safe opportunities to explore these states, which include dreams and non-rational states of consciousness, then young people go underground to experiment with drugs. So this is another argument for exploring dreams and engaging in imagery activities in educational settings. The main caveat is that the teacher must handle these activities with sensitivity and care, allowing a child to opt out if he or she does not feel comfortable with the activity. Also, the activity needs to be integrated into the curriculum so that it supports learning. One example that I came across years ago is entitled the Water Cycle. Through this visualization students can actually “become the water” and have an inner experience of evaporating, becoming a cloud, and then coming down as snow. This activity can complement the study of the water cycle in the classroom and connect it to the student’s experience. I believe the experiences we have been discussing also allow access to the invisible world. In my book The Contemplative Practitioner (Miller 2013), there is a chapter on this world. It begins with a quote from Black Elk: “Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirit of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow of that world” (100). This world has been called many names – the Tao, collective unconscious (Jung), the implicate order (Bohm), and the Oversoul (Emerson). Some people who have had near-death experiences describe this world in some detail. Of course, a description of this world can often reflect the cultural perspective of the person experiencing this world. In our materialistic world it is difficult to explore this world, but I think ignoring it also has its own costs.

Appendix

227

Maybury-Lewis (1992), in writing about Indigenous cultures, makes this argument: We live in a world that prides itself on its modernity, yet is hungry for wholeness, hungry for meaning. At the same time it is a world that marginalizes those very impulses that fill the void. The pilgrimage toward the divine, the openness to knowledge that transcends ordinary experience, the very idea of feeling at one with the universe, these are impulses we tolerate at the fringes, where they are held at bay by our indifferences. Shorn of the knowledge that we are part of something greater than ourselves, we lose also the sense of responsibility that comes with it. But if we do not listen to other traditions, do not even listen to our inner selves, then what will the future hold for our stunted and overconfident civilization? (231–4)

Experiences of the invisible world, though fleeting, can have powerful effect on us. For example, there is research that shows that people who have had near-death experiences are transformed in positive ways (Moody 1988). So what I am arguing for here is that we can explore how various traditions have described the invisible world. I believe an open-minded inquiry into this world can provide a broader context for understanding ourselves and non-rational forms of consciousness. Four Arrows: My neck is sore now from nodding my head up and down in vigorous agreement with what you have said! But how do holistic and Indigenous educators who truly understand the value of these aspects of consciousness get teachers, students, administrators, and policy-makers to initiate this open-minded inquiry? I mentioned earlier that I wrote a dissertation based on a vision. In light of your reference to near-death experiences, I think it is relevant to say a little more about it as it relates to this question. First of all, when my committee chair finally returned my manuscript to me after more than a month’s waiting in anticipation, all that was written on it was, “This is either brilliant or bullshit! Please schedule an appointment to see me.” I suppose now that this was, to some degree, a positive example of the openminded inquiry we seek, although I did not see it so at the time. Still, the dissertation was published and became a popular book as well (Jacobs 1998). In any case, the vision I had related to two animals I came across after I had a near-death experience that manifested all the common characteristics Moody writes about. I was kayaking the Rio Urique River at the bottom of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. As a firefighter, ex-Marine, with a chip on my shoulder, I used such adventures to take out my frustrations. I won’t go into detail as to what

228

Appendix

happened to me here, as the reader can get Primal Awareness if interested, but it transformed me for sure. I’m sure it was responsible for transforming a fawn and a mountain lion I came across in my struggle to climb out of the 8,000 foot deep canyon into a visionary theory I call the “CAT–FAWN Connection.” I think it is worth me briefly describing this theory, because it not only gives us possible fodder for comparing Indigenous and holistic assumptions, it also relates to alternative consciousness and gives a strong reason why openmindedness about the invisible world is rare. Very briefly, CAT stands for “Concentration-Activated Transformation.” It refers to spontaneous or induced trance states. FAWN represents the four major things that determine whether positive or negative transformations result from the interplay between CAT and FAWN, and whether positive or negative in turn depends on whether typically Western beliefs about FAWN are used instead of Indigenous ones. F = Fear. Indigenous peoples see it as a catalyst for practising a virtue (generosity, courage, patience, humility, honesty, fortitude). Western peoples avoid the feeling of fear and when it comes do anything but practise a virtue. A = Authority. Indigenous peoples see only reflection on lived experience as the ultimate authority. Western folks see authority as largely external in parents, teachers, policemen, laws, etc. W = Words. Indigenous peoples understand words to be sacred prayers with a power and energy that expand in the universe. This is why pre-contact cultures thought white men’s deceptions were a form of mental illness. Most Indigenous cultures do not even have a word for lies. Of course, the Western world is infamous for using words to deceive. N = Nature. Indigenous peoples understand the holistic, non-anthropocentric connections and see Nature as teacher. In the dominant cultures, nature is used largely viewed only as a resource for human consumption. So, is the reason school systems do not encourage the open-minded inquiries into non-rational forms of consciousness because, in essence, the gatekeepers and their victims (most of the rest of us) are themselves hypnotized into believing the hegemonic mandates from on high because of the negative use of CAT–FAWN? If so, what can holistic and Indigenous educators do to change this situation? What can we do to stimulate authentic open-mindedness to at least investigate the things we have been saying? Is it possible that even holistic educators are unable to better “walk the talk” because they adhere to the Western views on Fear or Authority or Words or Nature? Is this a place where holistic education can learn from the Indigenous? Of course, if you can answer any of these questions, we can end this chapter and celebrate. But maybe we can come up with something that makes sense.

Appendix

229

Jack: Yes, I believe that most education today is fear-based. Many parents are afraid that their children will not get ahead, so politicians focus on test scores as the measure of good schooling. Much of this discussion comparing test scores has a grim, Darwinian feel that fails to inspire. In contrast, Michael Lerner (2000), in his book Spirit Matters, argues that awe and wonder should be the first goals of education. Maria Montessori developed such an approach that can nurture awe and wonder, which she called cosmic education. It gives the child first an all-encompassing sense of the universe with its billions of galaxies. “Then it focuses on our galaxy, the Milky Way, our solar system, planet Earth and its geological history, the first specimens of life, all species of plants and animals and finally human beings. Inherent in the whole study is the interconnectedness of all creation, the oneness of things” (Wolf 2004, 6). Montessori’s son, Mario (1992, 101), describes cosmic education when he writes: “Cosmic education seeks to offer the young, at the appropriate sensitive period, the stimulation and help they need to develop their minds, their vision, and their creative power, whatever the level or range of their personal contributions may be.” He says that the child needs to have a “prior interest in the whole” so he or she can make sense of individual facts. This can be done in part by introducing students to ecological principles that focus on the interdependence of living and non-living things. Mario Montessori gives the example of students studying the life cycle of salmon and its relationship with the environment. Wolf also makes reference to the work of Brian Swimme (1992) and the Universe Story. Cosmic education helps the children place themselves within the total framework of the universe. The image of the universe presented by Montessori and Swimme is one of order and purpose. Since human beings are part of the universe, it gives us a common reference point beyond the boundaries created by nations and religions. Wolf also points out that cosmic education can help children develop a sense of reverence for life and sense of caring for the earth. Seeing the miracle of life on earth within the vastness of the universe can help students appreciate more deeply life and the earth itself. Cosmic education can also give students a deep sense of gratitude. Of course, Indigenous education is cosmic in its perspective, and can provide educators with so much in both the “words” you describe and also encourage direct experiences with nature. It is not enough just to read about the unfolding of the universe; young people need to have direct experiences with nature. A principal I worked with in Japan developed the concept of the school forest, which involves planting a small group of trees on the school grounds. Students take care of the trees, watch them grow, and even talk to the trees and write

230

Appendix

poems about them. The move to plant school gardens also provides students an opportunity to have a relationship with living things. Last year, I was asked to evaluate a thesis about a teacher (Nicholls 2011) who brought a dog into her classroom for several years. It was a Catholic school, so the dog’s name was Augustine, shortened to Gus. She found Gus made a significant difference in the life of the classroom by bringing the students together and actually helped in their academic achievement. I remember in your talk at the Holistic Learning Conference that animals play an important role in Indigenous peoples’ lives, and I think they could also have a role in education. So, I believe that some holistic educators are making a difference, but they remain on the margins. It will take a societal shift to bring them into the mainstream. One encouraging sign for me is the country of Bhutan. Greg Cajete and I went there two years ago, along with twenty other educators, to help them orient their education system to the country’s goal of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Bhutan is the only country that I know of that has adopted holistic and ecological education as the overall frame(work) for its education system. Although it is a small country, the concept of GNH has generated a lot of interest around the world as a serious alternative to our consumerist culture. A session is being held at the United Nations in April to examine their model of GNH. Four Arrows: I would have loved to been with you and Greg in Bhutan. Indeed, the country’s vision to emphasize sustainable development, preservation of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and the establishment of good governance for all instead of strictly economic indicators is what I think our world needs. They also seem to be doing a good job according to international comparisons of “happy countries,” placing eighteenth in 2009 with Denmark in the number one spot and Finland in fifth position. They prove that a country that is not wealthy can still be happy; a lesson I learn every day in my little dirt road fishing village here in Mexico where most of my neighbours do not have running water and still cook over open fires. Of course, one can be critical. There are high levels of domestic violence and any opposition to the Bhutanese monarchy is met harshly. There are also serious problems with violence against immigrants (which might also relate to opposition to the monarch). It is also interesting to look at the paradox of Finland, rated fifth in happiness but first in suicide rates. One possibility for using Indigenous wisdom to analyse such possible contradictions has to do with the idea of government and the coercion that stems from it, whether a monarchy or a democracy. In his chapter, “Happiness and Indigenous wisdom in the History of the Americas,” Frank Bracho hints at this. He writes: Jefferson was convinced that Indigenous People who lived without the European forms of government generally enjoyed infinitely greater degrees of happiness.

Appendix

231

He honored them for not submitting to any laws or to any coercive power lurking in the shadows of government. He noted that the only control they needed in their societies came from the moral sense of right and wrong or, when the rare offense occurred, from exclusion of the offender from society. (Cited in Four Arrows 2006, 35)

Frank, an Arawak scholar who lives in Venezuela, argues in this chapter that the authentic sense of caring for others, the joy of caring for others, seems to be the inherent reason so many early American Indians manifested happiness as they did (and many still do, in spite of colonizing trauma). He writes that in the language of the Piaroa, a Venezuelan Amazonian ethnic group, happiness is called eseusa and means “the joy of sharing with others.” He also says that Indigenous peoples realize that being is more important than having. Both of these values, caring and a lack of materialism, were described by Christopher Columbus even while he was initiating his genocidal policies: They are the best people in the world, and the sanest. They love their neighbors as themselves. They are faithful and do not covet what others have. They give all they possess freely. Their speech is always sweet and gentle, accompanied by a smile. (Cited in Setien 1999, 50)

With these ideas in mind, I went to study the 2010 annual Bhutan survey. Wow, is it thorough. For each province they have around 473 pages of graphed data covering everything imaginable that seems related to happiness. For “generosity,” about 35 per cent thought this presented as a strong trait in the country. For “corporate corruption,” around 40 per cent thought it existed to some degree. I found no questions specifically about how the people felt about their government. It is a fascinating survey and worth checking out at http://www .grossnationalhappiness.com/. So, this brings us to an interesting point of contrast between “holistic education” and “Indigenous education.” Is it fair to say that holistic education, as created in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States, has essentially adopted the American form of government and capitalism, with its materialistic alignments? How much has critical pedagogy informed holistic education in this regard? Maybe the biggest difference between Indigenous ways of understanding and any of the philosophies of education that come close to it is that traditional Indigenous values continue to resist materialism and coercive governments. This, I have contended for many years, is one reason for the lack of assimilation of Indigenous cultures in contrast to other minority groups and the higher rates of structural inequalities levied against them (or the blatant omissions regarding giving any substantial attention to them). What do you think?

232

Appendix

Jack: I don’t think holistic education reinforces materialism or oppressive institutions, but tries to educate human beings who care deeply about the well-being of others. I think it is interesting that the Nazis closed the Waldorf schools in the 1930s in Germany, and that Maria Montessori left Italy during Mussolini’s regime. I think the reason for this is that ultimately holistic education attempts touch the “divine spark” in each individual, and when people act from this spark they become a threat to authority. Gandhi and King are examples of people who acted from the divine spark and thus their actions led to the independence of India and the civil rights movement in the United States. Critical pedagogy takes many forms (as does holistic education), but if it is neo-Marxist, then the soul is missing and what we have is another form of materialism. I wonder how sympathetic critical pedagogy would be to our discussion of the invisible world? I find critical approaches like engaged Buddhism more appealing, which bring wisdom and compassion into social action. I also find the work of bell hooks (2000) very powerful because she is not afraid to introduce love into her work on critical pedagogy. I want to return to the beginning of our dialogue, when I referenced three of the basic principles that I believe Indigenous education and holistic education share: holding a sense of the sacred, valuing the web of life, and educating the whole human being. For me, Indigenous education embodies these principles more deeply because of its traditions, respect for ancestors, and deep connection to the earth. When Indigenous people speak about our relationship to earth and the universe, it does not come from the head but from a much deeper place. So much of holistic education is about embodiment, and we can learn from Indigenous education about practices that lead to this deeper integration. I find the words of Don Miguel Ruiz (2004), who is a carrier of Toltec Indigenous wisdom from Mexico, very inspiring when he writes about love: What we call love is something that is so generic that it’s not even what love really is. Love is much more than words can describe. As I said before, we cannot really talk about the truth, we need to experience truth. The same is true of love. The only way to really know love is to experience love to have the courage to jump into the ocean of love and perceive it in it totality … We see love coming from everywhere … from the trees, from the flowers, from the clouds, from people, from everything. At a certain point we are simply in ecstasy, and there are no words to explain it because there are no agreements yet about how to explain it. (183–4)

We have not talked about love in our dialogue, but the kind of love that Ruiz writes about is also the love that inspired King and Gandhi, as they both spoke

Appendix

233

about how love was at the centre of the universe. This love should also be central to holistic education (Miller 2009). Four Arrows. I appreciate your comment implying that critical pedagogy would not likely embrace dialogue about the invisible world. In the 80s I wrote an essay in my doctoral program entitled “Critical Pedagogy and Spirituality: The Missing Link,” and I still think the discipline is too anthropocentric. I do not believe, however, that politics can or should be separated from education. Part of our “deep connection to the Earth” requires critical reflection and action in support of it. Sandy Grande (2008, 250) says in her chapter “Red Pegagogy: The Unmethodology” that “red pedagogy is understood as being inherently political, cultural, spiritual and intellectual … and promotes an education for decolonization.” “Trickster” metaphors also help prevent the need for such authoritarian realities by getting us to laugh at potential harmful practices long before they became entrenched. This brings me to your last sentence about love. Referring back to CAT– FAWN, recall that the Indigenous way sees fear as the catalyst for practising generosity: “The highest expression of courage is generosity.” True generosity thus stems from love, and love is the opposite of fear. Critical reflection, when properly done, is based in love for the world. I submit that any philosophy birthed in Western intellectualism, including holistic education, cannot be as full of love or as fearless as that rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing that are more rooted in Mother Earth. A non-Indian actually expresses this idea beautifully, so I will also close with a poem on love written by D.H. Lawrence. Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was made personal, merely personal feeling. This is what is the matter with us: we are bleeding at the roots because we are cut off from the earth and sun and stars. Love has become a grinning mockery because, poor blossom, we plucked it from its stem on the Tree of Life and expected it to keep on blooming in our civilized vase on the table. (Cited in Cohen 1990, 9)

REFERENCES Cajete, Gregory. 2000. Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers. Clifton, James A. 1990. The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. Cohen, Michael J. 1990. Connecting with Nature: Creating Moments That Let Earth Teach. Portland: World Peace University Press.

234

Appendix

Four Arrows. 2006. Unlearning the Language of Conquest: Scholars Expose AntiIndianism in America. Austin: University of Texas Press. Freire, Paulo. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder. Grande, Sandy. 2008. “Red Pedagogy: The Un-Methodology.” In Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies, edited by Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, and Linda Tuhiwai-Smith, 233–54. Los Angeles: Sage Gutek, Gerald. 1997. Historical and Philosophical Foundation of Education: A Biographical Introduction. 2nd ed. London: Pearson. hooks, bell. 2000. All about Love: New Visions. New York: Harper Perennial. Jacobs, Donald Trent. 1988. Patient Communication for First Responders: The First Hour of Trauma. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Brady. – 1998. Primal Awareness: A True Story of Survival, Awakening, and Transformation with the Raramuri Shamans of Mexico. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International. Le Blanc, Stephen, and Katherine Register. 2003. The Myth of the Peaceful, Noble Savage. New York: St Martin’s Press. Lerner, Michael. 2000. Spirit Matters. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Books. Maybury-Lewis, David. 1992. Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World. New York: Viking. Miller, John P. 1988. The Holistic Curriculum. Toronto: OISE Press. – 2009. “Eros and Education.” In International Handbook of Education for Spirituality, Care, and Wellbeing, edited by Marian de Souza, Leslie J. Francis, James O’Higgins-Norman, and Daniel G. Scott, 581–92. New York: Springer – 2013. The Contemplative Practitioner: Meditation in Education and the Professions. Toronto: OISE Press. Miller, Ron. 2005. “Philosophical Sources of Holistic Education.” Education Revolution / Alternative Education Resource Organization. https://www .educationrevolution.org/blog/philosophical-sources-of-holistic-education Montessori, Mario. 1992. Education for Human Development: Understanding Montessori. Oxford: Clio. Moody, Raymond. 1988. The Light Beyond. New York: Bantam. Nicholls, Bernadette Mary. 2011. “What’s a Dog Got to Do with Education? Illuminating What Matters in Education.” PhD diss., La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. Quattrocchi, Marina. 1995 “Dreamwork in Secondary Schools: Its Educational Value and Personal Significance.” PhD diss., University of Toronto. – 2005. Dreamwork Uncovered: How Dreams Can Create Inner Harmony, Peace, and Joy. Toronto: Insomniac Press. Ruiz, Don Miguel. 2004. The Voice of Knowledge. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.

Appendix

235

Setien, Adrián. 1999. Realidad Indigena Venezolana. Caracas, Venezuela: Centro Gumilla. Swimme, Brian, and Thomas Berry. 1992. The Universe Story. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Trevor-Roper, Hugh. 1965. The Rise of Christian Europe. London: Thames and Hudson. Weil, Andrew. 1972. The Natural Mind: A New Way of Looking at Drugs and the Higher Consciousness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Whelan, Robert. 1999. Wild in the Woods: The Myth of the Noble Eco-Savage. London: Environment Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Wolf, Aline. 2004. “Maria Montessori’s Cosmic Education as a Non-sectarian Approach for Nurturing Children’s Spirituality.” Paper presented at the ChildSpirit Conference, Pacific Grove, CA, 7–10 October.

This page intentionally left blank

Credits

A version of chapter 2 previously appeared in Educating for Wisdom and Compassion: Creating Conditions for Timeless Learning (2006) by John P. Miller, published by Corwin Press. pp. 35–7 From the Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God by Swami Prabhavanda and Christopher Isherwood (cited in Vedanta by C. Johnson, © 1971, Vedanta Press). p. 41 Figure 3.1, ʻOur Psyche.ʼ Reprinted by permission of The Putnam Publishing Group/Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc. from What We May Be by Piero Ferrucci. © 1982 by Piero Ferrucci. p. 41–2 “Illustrations” from What We May Be by Piero Ferrucci, copyright © 1982 by Piero Ferrucci. Used by permission of Tarcher, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. p. 43 From The Eye of Spirit: An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad by Ken Wilber © 2001, 2004 by Ken Wilber. Reprinted by arrangement with The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boulder Colorado, www.shambhala.com. p. 99 Reprinted from The Journal of Creative Behavior 16 (1) (1982): 12, by permission of the publisher, Creative Education Foundation, Buffalo, NY. © 1982. p. 105 From Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind, by Linda VerLee Williams. Copyright © 1983 by Linda VerLee Williams. Reprinted with the permission of Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. p. 146 Extracts from Rudolf Steiner, Practical Advice to Teachers. Reprinted by permission of Rudolf Steiner Press. pp. 186–7 Ojibway Prayer from Earth Prayers from around the World © 1991 by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, published by HarperCollins Publishers. Quoted material is in the public domain.

This page intentionally left blank

Index

accountability, 59, 149, 210–12; organic accountability, 210 acorn ceremony, 168 affective education, 78 ahimsa (non-violence), 27 Alcott, Bronson, 71–3; Conversations with Children on the Gospels, 74; Observations on the Spiritual Nature of My Children, 72 Alcott, Louisa May, 71 Allah, 37 Alter, A., 54; Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, 54 American Educational Research Association, xv, 222; Holistic Education Special Interest Group, xv Ashton-Warner, Sylvia, 84, 137–9; key vocabulary, 137; Maori children, 137; organic reading, 137; Teacher, 137 Assagioli, R., 40–1 Atman, 24, 31, 35, 37 Augustine, 21, 32 Aurelius, M., 12, 60 awe, 9, 187, 211 balance, 9–13 Baldwin, C., 158; PeerSpirit Circle, 158

Beacon Hill school, 76 Beane, James, 146–7 behavioural psychology, 31, 32 Beilock, S., 118; How the Body Knows the Mind, 118 Benzwie, Teresa, 128; A Moving Experience: Dance for Lovers of Children and the Child within, 128 Berry, Thomas, xii, xiii, 17, 56, 174, 199 Between, the, 23 Bhagavad Gita, 36 Bhutan, 230–1 Bickman, M., 73–4 bioregions, 56–7 Black Elk, 157, 226 Blake, William, 98 Bodhidarma, 34 Bohm, David, 23, 94, 166, 226 Boldt-Taylor, J., 91; My Stroke of Insight, 91 Booth, David, 106–7 Brahman, 31, 35 Brain Gym, 133 Brock University, 121 Brown, George, 79, 150; Human Teaching for Human Learning: An Introduction to Confluent Education, 79 Buddha, 21, 34

240

Index

Buddha-nature, 24, 34 Buddhism, 7, 22, 23, 24, 31, 34–5, 46, 67, 232 Burns, Robert, 106 Cajete, G., xiii, 55, 65, 219, 222, 226, 230; Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education, xiii, 65 Calvin, M., 94, 95 Campbell, Joseph, 6 Cape Breton University, 46 Capra, F., 55–6 caring, 207–8, 231 Carr, Rachael, 125–6; Be a Frog, A Bird, or A Tree: Creative Yoga Exercises for Children, 125 Carson, Rachael, 176 Castillo, G., 151; Left-Handed Teaching, 151 CAT-FAWN connection, 228 cenozoic era, 174 Center for Ecoliteracy, 183 Center for Restorative Justice, 159 Central Park East Secondary School, 108 Cherokee, 8, 22, 23 Chih, 35 Christianity, 22, 24, 31, 32–3, 38 circles, 110, 169, 185 circles of learning, 157–9 civil rights movement, 232 Claremont Graduate School, 166 Classen, Ron and Roxanne, 160; 4 Options Model, 160 Clifton, James, 220; The Invented Indian, 220 climate change, 173 cognitive psychology, 31, 32 Comenius, 70 communion, 161 community-based work, 165

community connections, 17, 90, 182 compassion, 8–9, 26, 61, 165 Concentrated-Activated Transformation (CAT), 228, 233 confluent education, 78, 79, 150–2 contemplation, 33 contemplative practices, 25, 66 cooperative learning, 155–7, 166 cosmic education, 191, 199, 229 Counts, George, 80, 83; Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order? 83 creative writing, 101–3, 224 critical pedagogy, 231–2 critical thinking, 89, 107–9 curriculum for the inner life, 191 Dalai Lama, 22, 23, 26 Dalcroze pedagogy, 129–31, 134 dance, 89, 128–9, 134 darshan, 67 Day, Jennifer, 103; Creative Visualization for Children, 103 Day of the Dead, 168 Descartes, 116 Dewey, J., 7, 14, 52, 83 Diamond, The, 41–2 Dickinson, Emily, 107 divine spark, 232 Donnelly, John, 165–6; engaged service, 165 Drake, Susan, 147–50; KDB model, 147–8; Story Model, the, 148–50 drama, 89, 131–3 dreamwork, xi, 196, 223 Dutton, Sharon, 12, 129–31 Earth connections, 17, 90, 173–89, 201, 232, 233 Earth Day, 168 Earth Prayers, 186–7

Index East Bay Charter Academy, 160 Easterbrook, Gregg, 6, 54 ecological literacy, 175 ecological sense, 54–7 ecozoic era, 174, 199 Einstein, 9, 23, 94, 95 embodied awareness, 130, 167, 222, 232 Emerson, R.W., 5, 7, 17, 22, 24, 25, 27, 71, 174, 205, 211–12, 226; Nature, 174 environmental education, 150, 174–6, 183 environmental literature, 185–6 environmentally oriented schools, 180–5 Equinox Holistic Alternative School, xv, 17–18, 110, 211, 215, 216–18; community connections, 167–8; earth connections, 184–5; intuition connections, 110; mind/ body connections, 13, 222–3; soul connections, 201–2; subject connections, 152–3 Erikson, E., 59; Gandhi’s Truth, 59 Erny, Pierre, 197; Child and Cosmos: The Social Psychology of the Black African Child, 197 face-to-face promotive interaction, 156 Facebook, 53 FAWN, 228, 233 Ferm, Alex and Elizabeth, 83 Ferrer, Francisco, 80–2 Ferrer, J.N., 22, 25, 44–5; participatory spirituality, 44–5; spiritual individuation, 45 Ferrer Association, 82; The Modern School, 82 Ferrucci, P., 41; What We May Be, 41 Ficino, M., 21, 39 flow, 131 Four Arrows, xv, 66, 219–35; “Critical Pedagogy and Spirituality: The

241

Missing Link,” 233; Patient Communication for First Responders, 225; Primal Awareness, 228; Teaching Truly, 66; Unlearning the Language of Conquest, 219 fragmentation, 5, 91, 221 Freedom Writers, 196 Freire, Paul, 219; Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 219 friend deep within, 210 Froebel, Friedrich, 71, 75, 76 Gaia, 56 Gandhi, 7, 8, 22–5, 27, 28, 59, 60, 61, 176, 221, 232 Garden in Every School Campaign, 178 gardening, 178–80 Gardner, Trevor, 158–61 Geneva Conservatory of Music, 129 Gibbs, Jeanne, 158; tribes, 158 Glasser, W., 156, 158 global community, 166–7 global education, 166 Global Forum, 173 God, 24, 25, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 94 Golden Rule, 61 Goldie Hawn Foundation, 120 Google, 225 Gordon, W.J.J., 104, 106 Grande, Sandy, 233; “Red Pedagogy,” 233 Grave, Jean, 81; The Adventures of Nono, 81 Greeks, 7, 66–8 Gross National Happiness (GNH), 230 group processing, 157 Guggenheim museum, 129 Hadot, P., 66–7 hah ee, xi hanblecheyapis, 225

242

Index

Hanh, Thich Nhat, 119, 121; Happy Teachers Change the World, 121; The Miracle of Mindfulness, 119 happiness, 6, 8, 45, 231; sustainable happiness, 46–7 Hawken, P., 61; Blessed Unrest, 61; great underground, 61 Head-Royce School, 183–4 Heathcote, Dorothy, 131–2 Hendricks, Gay, 79; Transpersonal Education: A Curriculum of Feeling and Being, 79–80 Highlander Folk School, 83 Hinduism, 7, 22, 24, 31, 34, 35–7 holism, 22, 60, 193 holistic (definition), 7; as opposed to wholistic, 7 holistic accountability, 211 holistic curriculum, 5–18, 47, 61, 92, 137, 155, 191, 202, 205, 212 Holistic Curriculum, The (book), 45, 125, 184, 220 Holistic Curriculum, The (course), xvi, 140 holistic education, xiii, 5, 16, 66, 67, 74, 80, 84, 141, 149, 166, 201, 214, 215, 219–35; aims, 7–9; balance, 9–13; connections 18–20; definition, 28, 89; and global education, 166; inclusiveness, 12–18; in Japan, 183; transactional position, 14, 51; transformation position, 14, 51; transmission position, 13, 51 Holistic Education Review, 220 holistic knowledge, 25, 65 Holistic Learning Conference, 220, 230 holistic principal, 212–14 holistic vision, 212–14 holomovement, 23, 166 holon, 7, 56

Honoré, C., 58–9 Horton, Miles, 65, 83–4; The Long Haul, 84 Human-Environment Research Laboratory, 177 human scale organizations, 57–8 humanistic education, 76, 78–9 humility, 210–11 Huxley, A., 21 hypnosis, 225 imagination, 96, 103 inclusiveness, 13–16 incubation, 95, 141 Indigenous cultures, 61, 153 Indigenous education, x–xiii, xv, 65–6, 148, 221, 224, 229–35 Indigenous peoples, ix, xi, 7, 8, 23, 66, 116, 157, 186, 220–2, 230 Indigenous practices, 159 Indigenous spirituality, worldview, 38 Indigenous wisdom, 222 individual accountability, 157 individualism, 52 Information Age Publishing, xv; Current Perspectives in Holistic Education, xv inipi, 225 Inner Kids, 121 inner life, 96, 128, 191, 194, 196, 206 integral education, 43 integrated curriculum, 139–40, 146 interconnectedness/interdependence, 7, 8, 12, 22, 23, 25, 26, 47, 51, 54, 65, 66, 74, 156, 193, 212, 221 interdisciplinary level, 140–3, 146 International Baccalaureate Program, 148 International Handbook in Holistic Education, An, xv internet, 53–4, 57 interpersonal and small group skills, 157

Index intuition, 25, 89, 92–5, 140, 143; in the classroom, 96–107; defined, 92; and education, 95–6; levels of, 92–5 intuitive seeing, 145 Inuit, 38 invisible world, the, 227 Islam, 31, 37 Jacques-Dalcroze, Émile, 129 Jesus, 32, 72, 74 John F. Kennedy University, 43 Johnson, D., 155–7 Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 79 journals, 196–7 Judaism, 31, 34 Jung, Carl, 39, 40, 47, 226 Jungian psychology, 31 Kabat-Zinn, Jon, 119; Full Catastrophe Living, 119 Kabbalah, 34 Keller, Helen, 137, 209 Kessler, Rachael, 90, 191, 200–1; The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion, and Character in School, 200 Kesson, Kathleen, 107–8 Key Vocabulary, 138 Kiefer, Joseph, 178–80; Digging Deeper, 178 King, M.L. Jr, 8, 59, 60, 61, 232 knowledge connections, 17, 89 Korean Society for Holistic Education, 183 Krishna, 36 laissez-faire economics, 51–2 Lantieri, Linda, 119; Inner Resilience Program, 120 Lawrence, D.H., 233 Leggo, Carl, 106–7

243

Leibnitz, 21 Lerner, M., 9, 211, 229; Spirit Matters, 229 Levete, Gina, 194; “Presenting the Case for Meditation in Primary and Secondary Schools,” 194 Lincoln, Abraham, 210 linear thinking/intuition connections, 16, 89–113 Locke, John, 70 logical mathematical intelligence, 31 looping, 169 loose parts theory, 177 Louv, Richard, 177, 178; Last Child in the Woods, 177; The Nature Principle, 177 love, 28, 33, 40, 61, 67, 161, 166, 209, 232 loving kindness meditation, 193–5 Lynch, James, 115–17, 134 Maori, 137–8 Martinez, A.G., 53; Chaos Monkeys, 53 Marx, Karl, 80 Marxism, 60 mastery, 9–10 Math Dance, 118 McGilchrist, I., 11, 89, 90–1, 104 McLuhan, T.C., 186; Touch the Earth, 186 meditation, 34–5, 46, 95, 121, 124, 169, 185, 192–5, 202, 207, 209, 221; and prayer, 195 Mendes-Flohr, 23, 133 Merleau-Ponty, 116 Merton, Thomas, 22, 26, 27, 32, 33, 174; The Inner Experience, 33 metaphor, 104–6, 141 Miller, J., ix, xii; mindfulness in teaching, 122–5; spirituality in education (course), 158, 219–35; The Compassionate Teacher: How to Teach and Learn with Your Whole Self, 80;

244

Index

The Contemplative Practitioner, 122, 226; Education and the Soul, 103, 191; Holistic Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Integrated Studies, 198; The Holistic Teacher, 103; Love and Compassion: Exploring Their Role in Education, 61, 209 Miller, Ron, 77, 220; Free Schools, Free People: Education and Democracy after the 1960s, 86; Philosophic Sources of Holistic Education, 220; What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture, 86 Mind Body Awareness (MBA), 120 mind/body connection, 16, 89, 92, 113–35 mind/body/nature connection, 177 mindfulness, 118–25, 133, 134, 192, 206–7, 209; in education, 119–25 Mindfulness Awareness Research Center (MARC), 119 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), 118 Mindfulness Everyday, 121 Mindfulness for Schools, 121 Mindfulness without Borders, 121 MindUP, 120 Modern Mindfulness for Schools, 121 Modern School of New York and Stelton, 65, 81–2 Moffet, James, 173, 175 Montessori, Maria, 12, 84, 118, 191, 199, 200, 229, 232 Montessori, Mario, 229 Moore, Thomas, 39–40; Care of the Soul, 39 Moses, 34 movement/dance, 128–9 Moyers, Bill, 119; Healing the Mind PBS program, 119

Mozart, 95 Muller, Robert, 167; World Core Curriculum, 167 Muller-Markus, S., 94 multidisciplinary, 139 Murdoch, Iris, 193 Murdock, Maureen, 102; Spinning Inward, 102 Murphy, M., 97 Muslim, 122–3 Mystery, the, 25 nature journals, 184 nature principle, the, 177 near-death experiences, 226, 227 negative education, 68–9 Neil, A.S., 69, 76–8; Summerhill, 77 Neves, Ana, 100–1, 127 New Age, 60, 74, 80 New York Times, 52 Newby, S., 152 Nichols, Bernadette, 186, 230 No Child Left Behind, 11, 12, 210 Noddings, Nel, 8, 92; Happiness and Education, 8; The Challenge to Care in Schools, 208 non-verbal awareness, 132, 161, 214 non-violence, 59–61 Northwestern University, 131 O’Brien, C., 46–7; sustainable happiness, 46 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), 133, 202 Oglala Lakota College, 222 Ojibway, 24, 186 Ojiya school, 180–3 Okri, Ben, 198; The Famished Road, 198 Orr, David, 173, 174–6 Owen Valley High School, 150

Index Palacio, R.J., 198; Wonder, 198 Paracelsus, 39 participatory engagement, 25 patience, 208 Peabody, Elizabeth, 72; Record of a School: Exemplifying the General Principles of Spiritual Culture, 72–3 perennial philosophy, 8, 21–8, 31, 38 personal growth education, 66–80 Pestalozzi, Johann Heinrich, 70, 75, 76 Piaget, Jean, 31 Piaroa, the, 231 Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 222 place-based learning, 176–7 Plato, 67, 80; allegory of the cave, 68; Meno, 68; Republic, The, 68, 80 Plotinus, 21 poetry, 106–7 Porter, Ben, 102, 198, 205 portfolio, 11, 180 positive interdependence, 156 positive psychology, 8, 45–6 presence, 67, 74, 155, 201, 205–7, 210 problem solving, 140–3 psychological education, 78 psychosynthesis, 31, 40–1 purpose, sense of, 9 Quattrocchi, Marina, 196, 223–4; Dreamwork Uncovered: How Dreams Can Bring Inner Harmony, Peace, and Joy, 196 qi gong, 133, 169 Ram Dass, 165 rational education, 81 rational planning, 52–4 Reggio, Emilia, 85, 148, 164 Reid, Joanne, 147 relaxation, 99–100

245

restorative justice, 159–61, 169 reverence for life, 187, 200, 229 Richards, M.V., 144, 145 ritual/ceremony, xi, 162–3, 168, 201 Roden School, 18, 153, 168, 217 Rogers, Carl, 78–9; On Becoming a Person, 78; Freedom to Learn, 78 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 68–9, 70–1, 76, 77, 81; Emile, 68 Rumi, Jalaudin, 37 sacred, sense of, xi, 66, 221, 232 Sale, K., 53, 57; Human Scale, 57 salt march, 27 sanctuary, 161 satyagraha (soul force), 27 school community, 161–3 school forest, 182–3, 229 school forest movement in Korea, 183 School of Human Culture, 72 Schweitzer, Albert, 176, 187 scientific method, 14 Secretan, L., 155, 161 self-mastery, 103, 175 service learning, 165 shadow, 8, 47, 201, 224 slow education, learning, 59, 167 slow mind, 166 Slow Movement, 58–9 Smalley, Susan, 119; Fully Present, 119 Smith, Adam, 51; A Wealth of Nations, 51 Sobel, David, 176–7 social change education, 80–5 social emotional learning (SEL), 120 Socrates, 67, 147 Socratic circles, 109–10 Solere, 67 soul, 17, 24, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 47, 55, 66–9, 72, 116, 127, 141, 158, 161, 209, 221, 232; definition, 191

246

Index

soul connections, 17, 90, 191–202 spiritual embryo, 200 spiritual learning, 167 spirituality, 6, 44, 95, 104 Spitz, E.H., 103, 129 Srinivasan, Meena, 122; Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness in and out of the Classroom, 122 standardized tests, 11 Stannard, Russell, 106; The Time and Space of Uncle Albert, 106; Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest, 106 Steinbeck, John, 108, 184 Steiner, R., 7, 12, 108, 144–6, 191 Still Quiet Place, A, 121 stoicism, 60, 67 Stone, Michael, 183–4; Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability, 183 stories, storytelling, xi, xii, 106, 144, 162, 192 subject connections, 137–54; interdisciplinary, 139; multidisciplinary, 139; self and subject, 137; subject/ community, 150; transdisciplinary, 139 Suffolk University, 159 Sufism, 37 sukka, 46 Sullivan, Anne, 137, 209 Summerhill school, 76–7 Sun Dance, 225 Suzuki-roshi, Shunryu, 205 Swimme, Brian, 199, 200, 229 synectics, 106 Tao, 10, 31, 226 Tao Te Ching, 24 Taoism, 7 technozoic era, 199 Temple School, 72 Tezuka, Ikue, 180–3

thinking heart, 31 Thoreau, H., 59–60, 71, 74, 176; Civil Disobedience, 60 Tolle, E., 12 Tolstoy, L., 59, 75, 81, 82, 83, 137 Toltec Indigenous wisdom, 232 transactional position, 14, 32, 51, 52–3, 62, 139 transcendental Self, 33, 40, 41 transcendentalists, 7, 22, 74 transdisciplinary curriculum, 143–6 transformation position, 14, 32, 54, 62, 104, 139 transmission position, 13, 32, 51–2, 62, 104, 137, 139, 149, 215 transpersonal education, 79 transpersonal psychology, 31, 32, 39, 42 Tribal education, x–xii tribes, 158 Trungpa, Chogyam, 35 Tucson Unified School District, 219 unconditioned self, 31, 39, 46, 47 undivided self, 210 United Nations, 199, 230 United Species, 199 unity, 23, 27 Universe Story, The, 199, 229 universalism, 22 University of California at Berkeley, 225 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 119 University of California at Santa Barbara, 79 University of Chicago, 52 University of Illinois, 177 University of Massachusetts, 79; Medical Center, 119 University of Michigan, 177 Upanishads, 24

Index Vaughn, F., 92–3 Vedanta, 37 Village of Arts and Humanities, 179 vision, 213 vision quest, 26, 224–5 visualization, 16, 73, 95, 97–103, 107, 128, 133, 153, 192, 195, 224, 225; in the classroom, 99–103; and creativity, 98–9; defined, 97 Wagamese, R., 22, 24, 26, 173, 187; Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations, 187 Wagner, B.J., 131, 132 Waldorf education, 17, 84, 90, 108, 109, 143–6, 162, 232; main lesson, 143–6 Wallas, Graham, 95–6, 140 web of life, 55, 65 Weil, A., 96, 226; The Natural Mind, 226 Weinstein, Gerald, 79; Toward Humanistic Education: A Curriculum of Affect, 79 well-being, 7–8, 45 Whelan, Robert, 220; Wild in the Woods, 220

247

Whole, the, 8, 12, 66, 91, 229 whole child/person, 14, 45, 47, 74, 78, 143, 212, 216, 221, 232 Whole Earth Catalogue, xv wholeness, xi, xiii, 7–8, 12, 32, 61, 134 wholistic, 7 Wiesel, Elie, 173 Wilber, K., 21, 42–4; One Taste, 44 Williams, L.V., 101, 104–6 wisdom, 8–9, 22, 25, 31, 32, 74, 173, 197 Wolf, Aline, 199–200, 229 wonder, 8, 187, 197, 211, 221 World Charter for Nature, 199 World Core Curriculum, 167 World Health Organization (WHO), 58 Yamanouchi, Giichiro, 182–3, 211 yin/yang, 10–13 yoga, 34, 89, 118, 125–7, 133, 134, 169; bhakti yoga, 37; jnana yoga, 37; karma yoga, 37; raja yoga, 37 Ywahoo, Dhyani, 8, 9, 22, 23, 26 Zigrovic, Nancy, 126–7