Body & Spirit in Learning:
As Part of Holistic Education
Introduction
In chapter 7 of their book Adult Learning. Linking Theory and Practice, Merriam S. & Bierema L. (2014) point out that to acquire knowledge the Western school of thought has given preeminence to the rational mind approach, neglecting other important aspects like the "emotional, relational, physical, intuitive, and spiritual ways of knowing" (127). However, new researchers have decided to add to the important rational mind aspect, the study of the other approaches to learning, giving importance to all aspects as part of what is now considered holistic education or holistic learning.
Definition
In the introduction to Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education. Breaking New Ground, John P. Miller (2005) follows the idea of Merriam and Biereman in regards of how our present culture is interested to "train students to compete in a global economy" (42) by putting more attention to the rational mind. Today's education has become, so much "obsessed with acquisition and achievement" that the school systems are more preoccupied with "teaching and learning to "standards" that are easily measurable" (37). In this approach, the learner, in the words of James Hillman (1999) is "an objective observer (...) This characterless abstraction runs corporations, constructs the International Style of architecture, writes the language of official reports. He enforces the methods of scientific research, prefers systems to people, numbers to images. He defines the educational programs and the standards for testing them. He has also succeeded in separating the practices of law, science, medicine and commerce from the character of the practitioner... (238-239).
Miller contrasts this educational approach with how people from the antiquity emphasized in "educating the whole person" (42). He says, "human wholeness is an ancient one. It can be found in the cultures of indigenous peoples as well as in the ancient cultures of Greece, India, and China" (37). In recent years this very old approach to education has gained relevance. Based on this, Miller defines holistic education in the following terms:
... holistic education attempts to nurture the development of the whole person. This includes the intellectual, emotional, physical, social, aesthetic, and spiritual. Perhaps the defining aspect of holistic education is the spiritual (46).
Purpose
The purpose is to awake in the person the "sense of wonder. This can involve deepening a sense of connection to the cosmos" (49). The point of this connection is that learning is an integral process that involves not only the intellect but also the other aspects mentioned before to comprehend that beyond math, history, and grammar, there are other aspects that are as important as learning those subject matters, like caring for our neighbors (humans or non-humans), caring for the world we live in, and for what is beyond our visible world. The point of this approach is to shift the importance of the already mentioned "objective observer" to this "whole person" that cares. Miller describes "three basic principles of holistic education: connectedness, inclusion, and balance. Connectedness refers to moving away from a fragmented approach to curriculum toward an approach that attempts to facilitate connections at every level of learning. Some of these connections include integrating analytic and intuitive thinking, linking body and mid, integrating subjects, connecting to the community, providing links to the earth, and connecting to soul and spirit. Inclusion refers to including all types of students and providing a broad range of learning approaches to reach these students. Finally, balance is based on the concepts of the Tao and yin/yang which suggests that at every level of the universe there are complementary forces and energies (e.g., the rational and the intuitive) that need to be recognized and nurtured. In terms of education this means recognizing these complementary energies in the classroom. Generally our education has been dominated by yang energies such as a focus on rationality and individual competition, and has ignored yin energies such as fostering intuition and cooperative approaches to learning" (58-59). |
| Source: |
It is up to us, as adult learners, as teachers, as parents, as sons or daughters... as human beings to connect the intellect to the other aspects like emotions and intuition to connect with whatever we are learning and connect that knowledge with what is beyond our own beings... The purpose is to care and learn and share our knowledge... We should not forget that we are more than flesh, we are part of something bigger than us, and as part of that, we should strive to enrich all aspects of our being.. In the end, what really matters is to be HAPPY!
Sources:
Ebert, J. D. (1999). Twilight of the Clockwork God Conversations on Science and Spirituality at the End of an Age
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2013). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Miller, J. P. (2005). Holistic learning and spirituality in education: Breaking new ground. SUNY Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment