Educating

In a time where ever increasing knowledge and the need to organise it has led to a severe propensity to specialisation, we have come to feel comfortable with the idea that certain roles in society must be undertaken by those specially trained as such role-players. However, in more rudimental cultures (not in a pejorative sense, probably conversely actually), we find that certain roles in a society are not so specialised for many reasons; one being that most members of that society find that they are capable of fulfilling such roles and another being that it is in the best interest of the community at large for this to be and remain the case. The nature of teaching is such a role and as a profession is unique. It is in fact a verb to describe, more than a profession, but an activity that will go on regardless of the setting, era, community type or any other variable that we find limiting the application of other professions. It encompasses the endowment of the truest currency man has ever really had-that of knowledge. Now it is clear that knowledge takes many forms and types; firstly there is knowledge of material things- those of man-made origin, and those not man made but natural, unmodified-on which man is so dependent. In my volunteering with the Scouts, both types of knowledge were key to teaching elements of survival. It is easy to teach children what is good wood to collect for fire but it is also essential to teach them about the generosity of the Earth and the cycle of energy that we are also a part of. As the fire reduces the wood to ash, so it is with us. We are one and the same, not only in matter but significantly also in Spirit. This is the way of the Native Americans and many other tribal nations; there is no domination over nature nor hierarchy, rather man is a part of nature and nature's bounty is not to been seen in an utilitarian light but in a giving and taking relationship of mutual respect and benefit. A good knowledge of the Natural world coincides with another key type of knowledge. A spiritual knowledge- a knowledge of the self and everything. In Islam, Christianity (and preceding Hellenic culture) and Buddhism, it is known that a knowledge of the self leads one to knowledge of God (Houédard 1990), which I believe is the ultimate aim of education, as expressed in the sacred texts and messengers of these great faiths, and although not more succinctly but perhaps more accessible in the philosophical exploration of John White's The Aims of Education-Restated (White 1982). Said another way, and to quote Ortega y Gasst from Fritz Schumachers Small is Beautiful, "What then is education? It is the transmission of ideas which enable a man to choose between one thing and another, or to quote Ortega (again), 'to live a life which is something above meaningless tragedy or inward disgrace' "(Schumacher 1974). As a teacher in Mongolia, the first question I asked my children was "Why do you want to learn English?" The answers are not relevant here but the point was to ask why? To highlight the purpose of activity is to legitimise it, or not, as the case may be, and therefore render it worthy or unworthy of pursuit. One of the books that I used to learn how to teach English was called exactly that 'How To Teach English' by Jeremy Hartman. It helped me a great deal in understanding the methods and sets of knowledge required for me to teach the English language. I also created a presentation based on these books and my own experience to train teachers in Mongolia with another organisation. However, the book did not broach the subject of Why to Teach English? I had my own reasons motivating my endeavour to teach English as did the children to learn. The sciences deals very well with the 'hows' of our world and, gratefully, my education in the sciences has satisfied my appetite time and again for this such type of knowing. But regardless of how much one knows about how something is the way it is, it does not tell them why it is so. The why's are the questions that are answered, or at least attempted to be answered, by the arts, philosophy, religion and theology. This type of knowledge, the type that deals with purpose is the only kind of knowledge that can truly fulfil man and without a healthy presence of such knowledge an individual will inevitably become disillusioned with their lives and societies will find it difficult to maintain any priorities that have superseded in this sphere. 'Mans' needs are infinite and material wealth is finite. Only the spiritual world is infinite and so man can only find fulfilment in this sphere' (Schumacher 1974). Education seen in civilisations where different types of knowledge are in a balance, both in terms of supply and demand (indeed these are inseparable), such as certain periods of the Hellenic, Renaissance, Confucian and early Islamic, we can see that the spiritual and contemplative knowledges feed into, and imbues with a certain flair, the arts; from music, painting and theatre but also the sciences, from medicine and engineering through to astronomy. The most attractive element here was the fact that no dichotomy exists once a single unifying source for the exploits of this knowledge is properly established; by which I mean the pursuit of self-knowledge and knowledge of God. This is the essence of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' The Great Partnership; Religion and Science and the Search for Meaning (Sacks 2011). C.P. Snow, the esteemed scientist speaks rightly about the over-specialisation of education in our education system and the schism between the arts and sciences and called for a reconciliation of them, at least in the minds of their respective advocates. This is summarised in his calling to account those who cannot recount the Second Law of Thermodynamics and comparing it to the arts equivalent of reading a work of Shakespeare (Nature 2009). Critically though he is called to account by government economist/social reformer Fritz Schumacher in his brilliant book Small is Beautiful. Commenting on Lord Snow's speech and particularly the comment that renders equivalent an understanding of thermodynamics and a reading of Shakespeare, he remarks 'The Second Law of Thermodynamics is nothing more than a working hypothesis suitable for various types of scientific research. On the other hand- a work by Shakespeare: teeming with the most vital ideas about the inner development of man, showing the whole grandeur and misery of human existence. How could these two things be equivalent?' He goes on to ask; 'What do I miss, as a human being, if I have never heard of the Second Law of Thermodynamics? The answer is nothing. And what do I miss by not knowing Shakespeare? Unless I get my understanding from another source, I simply miss my life' (Schumacher 1974). In Scotland, on the Isle of Mull I volunteered to help at a remote adventure retreat- Camas which is part of the Iona Community. It is for troubled youth, special needs children and other groups of vulnerable human beings who had been recommended such an experience as recourse to their recovery. Here, the team of which I was a part, filled these children's lives with love and respect with which the children underwent profound healing. We took them kayaking, rock climbing, for walks to the beach. We ran art and poetry workshops designed to encourage self-reflection and other activities. We cooked and ate together and would sit together in the evenings before retiring to bed, ready for the next day. Here multiple aspects of a person were being employed as a teacher in so many roles and spheres; a healer, a carer/counsellor, a brother, a friend, a parent in the subjects of the arts, mountaineering, orienteering, healthcare, philosophy and of course spirituality. For treating a child as a human being, not just a student of x subject but a student of life, we were rewarded with flourishing individuals, many with learning difficulties and behavioural issues before their arrival, leaving full of promise and suffused with an optimism that would radiate into all aspects of their life. The idea that people require a holistic learning experience is of course not a new one but unfortunately is under threat of being an old one. Another project that is trying to defy this trend is being run by BookBridge- an educational social enterprise, founded by German Scout leaders that I 'happened upon' in Mongolia while teaching there. I was invited onto their team and got involved in their Learning Centre projects. Books donated by people and publishing companies were donated to these Learning Centres in the Mongolian countryside where the children could access them for free. But more than just a library, the centre encouraged a 'Bringing Learning to Life' programme where different activities were programmed into the centre's operation to encourage learning using more than but including the use of books. It was the team's responsibility to make this happen on a logistics and communications level and also to bring the project to fruition on site. I embraced such an attitude and developed a Dissection Workshop whereby I developed a series of posters which referenced various Health and Anatomy books in the library to the live explanation, demonstration and dissection of a heart and lungs obtained from the local butchers, to the surprise but also (surely) the fascination of the children. Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element and government education adviser makes the clear case that not everybody is endowed with a skill set to allow them to do the same thing and a key aim of the education system is to encourage one's own realisation of their passion and also the children whose education one is responsible for. He goes on to explain , with alarming clarity the dangers of the paradigms our education systems are built upon, including the separation of subjects with little or no cross-referencing or overlap, which is part of, and in turn encourages, the reductionist character of Western thought patterns, as opposed to those of the East explored in the book Geography of Thought by Richard E Nesbitt, whose thought experiments Robinson references (Nesbitt 2003, Robinson 2009). These are key considerations for educators of today, whether in the public or private sector. Admittedly, as in any state institutions, core cultural changes on a large scale usually commences in a top-down fashion allowing change to trickle through the inherent bureaucracy of such large institutions, whereas the private sector has the flexibility to create its own identity in the sector. As unfortunate as this may seem, it is, but the private sector can be seen to have a duty to create an identity based on solid philosophies and in conjunction with the foremost academics and research, thus setting an example for government state institutions to follow suit. I disagree with the notions of many who persist with the idea that you must be within a system to change it. No, rather it is better to create the desired system, perhaps on a small scale at first, prove it's success, however that is measured, and then demonstrate how this can be extrapolated to the larger body which one had originally taken issue with. This is true also of healthcare and agricultural models. But the question remains, what should be the core philosophies which we speak of so readily be? The current predominant attitude in the Western education system is one which is elementally Fear-based. It is an attitude that encourages an individual to pursue a certain line of education to ensure primarily their own material and financial wellbeing and a security from the fickle throes of life in general. In England, education used to be state funded, which means that those members of our society who were economically productive were collectively funding the education of our youth. By our I infer a collectivist attitude towards 'ownership' and therefore responsibility of the nations' youth. Now we have encouraged individual students to pledge a repayment of a loan once they are firmly on their line of chosen vocation. There is no community to help a student and so why should a positive communal intention be of primary concern in a student's life. Only those of particularly insightful upbringing would be able to carry through the intention of education to be a means of societal renewal, regeneration and development over and above an individualistic one. Schumacher makes three definitive statements: 1. 'An attitude to life which seeks fulfilment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth - in short, materialism - does not fit into this world because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited'. 2. 'Mans' needs are infinite and material wealth is finite. Only the spiritual world is infinite and so man can only find fulfilment in this sphere'. 3. 'In a very real sense, therefore, we can say that education is the most vital of all resources.[and].the essence of education is the transmission of values'. Whatever education is and whatever it should be, the forces that make education what it is, and can change it to whatever it will be, are the educators. It is all about people. As long as we human educators remain reluctant to give up our humanity in the quest for education of ourselves and others, we have the opportunity to teach our respective subjects to the highest of our ability whilst inculcating core values back into our youth. Bibliography Houédard, D. S. (1990). "Notes on the more than human saying "Unless you know yourself you cannot know God"." Nature (2009) Accross the Great Divide. 5, 309 Nesbitt, R. E. (2003). The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently and Why, Simon and Schuster. Robinson, K. (2009). The Element: How Finding your Passion Changes Everything. Strand, London, UK, Penguin. Sacks, R. J. (2011). The Great Partnership; Religion and Science and the Search for Meaning. London, UK, Hodder and Stoughton. Schumacher, F. (1974). Small is Beautiful, Sphere Books Abacus Edition. White, J. (1982). The Aims of Education Restated, Routledge and Kegan Paul.