Articles

Perspectives on Education

There is a recognized problem with our education the world over. Uninterested children, declining grades, violence and disruptions of order all testify that the education systems in many countries have become dysfunctional.

Some of the problems originate in the structure of the education system and in its inability to adapt to changes. Yet, a change is necessary.

Not much has changed in schools since the inception of the school as we know it in the days of the industrial revolution, some 200 years ago. Crowded classrooms, sitting behind desks, sitting still for extended periods of time, short breaks, vast amounts of useless information to be memorized, etc., are still the norm. In the days when schools were first established, there was a genuine need to educate masses of workers, who were to fill the ranks of assembly lines.

Thus, the current structure of schools reflects a very narrow perspective of the concept of education. The Encyclopedia Britannica, however, defines education in the following way: “Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In this sense, it is equivalent to what social scientists term socialization or enculturation. Children - whether conceived among New Guinea tribespeople, the Renaissance Florentines, or the middle classes of Manhattan—are born without culture. Education is designed to guide them in learning a culture, molding their behavior in the ways of adulthood, and directing them toward their eventual role in society.” Yet, schools today merely aim to equip students with tools by which to continue their schooling at universities and colleges. Schools do not educate in the full sense of the word.

Education, as has just been described, is not mere provision of knowledge. It is a process for designing the personality and behavior of each of us. Indeed, the essence of education is to teach the student how to cope with life and what to do in order to genuinely succeed in life. A school that teaches merely how to memorize information is irrelevant in today’s reality. Perhaps this is why schoolchildren spend the bulk of their time in class anticipating the end of the school day.

In light of all the above, we have come to realize that a fundamental change of the educational paradigm is required. We must examine the challenges that the modern day world presents to us and see whether the current education we provide addresses them sufficiently.

In the modern day reality, our world has become a global village in the social, political, and economic aspects. From the moment we became attached to one another, we lost the ability to continue leading our lives by values of narcissism and disregard for others. These values may have been useful in the old, individual, and egocentric world, but from the moment humanity has turned into an integral and global system, the rules that apply to it have become the same rules that apply to all integral systems in Nature.

The human body is an example of such an integral system. Within our bodies, the cooperation and harmony (known as homeostasis) among all the cells enable the body to maintain proper health. To maintain health, each cell operates according to the interests of the entire organism. The harmony among the cells turns the healthy body into the astounding machine that it is, and the health of the body contributes, in turn, to the health of each individual cell.

The way in which the cells in our bodies operate manifests the law of mutual guarantee and reciprocity that applies to all multilateral connections in Nature. Indeed, the sustainability of the system depends on the reciprocal relations among the elements that comprise it.

Therefore, as long as we continue to relate to one another egoistically, in contrast to the world that has become integral, we act in dissonance with the laws of Nature. In doing so, we are as cells that are parts of an organism, yet consume only for themselves. In the case of the human body, the result of such cells is a cancerous tumor. In the case of humanity, the result is a multilayered, multifaceted global crisis.

To resolve this crisis, we must adjust our network of connections and make it truly global. Each person must recognize the nature of the world we live in, and understand that in the 21st  century, one’s personal life depends on one’s attitude toward others. Therefore, we must educate people into being sensitive toward others, caring, and responsible in their approach to the world.

From the above said, it follows that in the 21st century, the world needs more than an economic or political solution to its problems. First and foremost, it needs an educational solution.

Numerous studies and books have already determined that the paramount element in the molding of a young person’s personality is the surrounding environment.[1] Therefore, to truly educate means to place a child in the right environment, one that affects positive results and the right values. To rear a generation that will not perpetuate, but will even annihilate the crises the world is currently experiencing, we must create a different social environment for our children.

From early on, children need to grow up with the understanding that egoism, that is, the desire to enjoy at the expense of others, is the primary cause of suffering in the grownup world. At the same time, we must show children—using various teaching aids—that relationships based on mutual consideration, tolerance, and understanding of others facilitate harmony and enable the persistence of life.

The ten most important principles in the method of global education:

1. The social environment builds the person: The children’s social environment is the principal element affecting children. Therefore, we must create among them a “miniature society” where everyone cares for everyone else. A child who grows up in such an environment will not only thrive and succeed in expressing his or her creative potential, but will also approach life with a sense of purpose, and will desire to build a similar society in the “exo-school” environment, as well.

2. Personal example: Children learn from the examples we provide them, both personally— from educators and parents—and through the media and other public contents to which they are exposed.

3. Equality: During the learning process, there should not be a teacher, but an educator. Although the educator is older in age, he or she is to be perceived by the children as “one of them,” a peer. In this way, the educator can gradually “pull up” the children in all aspects of the study—informational, as well as moral and social. Thus, for example, during class, children and educators sit in a circle and talk, and everyone is treated as equals.

4. Teaching through games: Through games, children grow, learn, and deepen their understanding of how things are connected. A game is a means by which children get to know the world. In fact, children do not learn words by hearing them. Rather, they learn through experience. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce games as a primary method in working with children. The games should be built in such a way that children will see that they cannot succeed alone, but only with the help of others, that to succeed, they must make concessions to others, and that a good social environment can only do them good.

5. Weekly outings: Every week there should be a day of outing, when the children leave the school and go to a place in the country or some other location, depending on the children’s age. Such places can be parks, zoos, factories of all kinds, farms, movie studios, or theatres. Also, children should be taught how the systems that affect our lives operate, such as the police, the post office, hospitals, government offices, old-age homes, and any place by which children can learn about the processes that facilitate the making of life in our world. Before the outing, during, and following it discussions should be held in regard to what they will see (or saw), how it compares with their expectations, their conclusions, and so forth.

6. Older teaching the younger: The older age groups “adopt” younger groups, while the younger groups tutor those who are younger still. In this way, everyone feels part of the learning process and acquires necessary tools for communication with others.

7. “Little court”: As part of the learning process, children should act out situations that they encounter in their daily lives: envy, power struggles, deceit, and so on. They must act out these situations and then try to scrutinize them. Through such experiences, children will learn to understand and to be sensitive to others. They will comprehend that others can be in the right, too, even if they cannot accept their views at the moment. They will see that tomorrow they might find themselves in a similar situation, that every person and every view has its place in the world, and that everyone should be treated with tolerance.

8. Video taping activities: It is recommended that all activities where children participate be videotaped for later viewing and analysis together with the children. In this way, children will be able to see how they reacted or behaved in certain situations. They will be able to analyze the changes they are going through and develop the ability to introspect.

9. Small groups with several educators: It is highly recommended that each group of 10 students will have a team of two educators and a professional person.

10. Parent support: The parents must support the educational process unfolding at school—talk to the children about the importance of the values inculcated at school, set a personal example of these values in their behavior, and completely avoid instilling other values. For this purpose, there should also be courses for parents.

Implementing the method

Two years ago, we, the Arvut network, began to implement the method for global education. To do that, we established an association, Growing Up the Fun Way, with the aim to facilitate an environment for children and youths that extols the values of care and love of others. We believe that children who acquire the tools for realizing these values will have a life of happiness, joy, and self-fulfillment.

To achieve its goal, the association acts on several levels:

A network of education centers

The Growing Up the Fun Way education centers operate, develop, and implement the method of global education on a daily basis in the framework of complementary studies for children between the ages of 6-18. Many branches around the world are currently being established, aiming to learn from the experience gained in the main branch of Growing Up the Fun Way in Israel.

Virtual environment

The web site being built by the Growing Up the Fun Way internet department, which will be presented soon, will offer an educational, interactive, and dynamic virtual environment for children and educators all over the world, based on the values of love, mutual consideration, and care for others.

Cinema school

The association, Growing Up the Fun Way, operates a cinema school, headed by Semion Vinokur, where top teachers in filmmaking teach. The goal of the cinema school is to provide children with tools for creating original and unique contents that promote the message of mutual consideration and understanding.

NIFLA - a youth movement

The youth movement emerged out of the need to provide youths, ages 12-18, with a loving, supportive environment that will help them develop as caring and globally aware human beings.  Alongside this project we have been developing educational contents and curricula as well as teaching aids for parents and teachers.

Collaboration with UNESCO

The method of global education has been warmly accepted by the Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs. Irina Bokova. At the moment, a joint book on global education is in the making, and a series of international conferences and meetings has taken place and is planned for the future.

We, members of the Arvut network feel obligated to share with the world the produce of our research via all media outlets and in the most accessible ways. We do this in order to increase awareness to the necessity to establish relationships of mutual responsibility amongst us, and out of our commitment to offer knowledge and introduce solutions. We will be more than happy to provide any further information that may be requested.

[1] Probably the most notable example of the influence of the social environment on our psyche and even our physical well-being is the book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives – How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do, by Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, and James H. Fowler, PhD (Little, Brown and Co., 2010).