Elisabet Sahtouris – Interview With Mutual Responsibility

Elisabet Sahtouris – Interview With Mutual Responsibility

Happy to share with you this profound conversation we had with one of our favorite sages, Elisabet Sahtouris, during the Thanksgiving holidays. Hear her comment on the “ecstasy of unity and connection.”  An incredible person, scholar, scientist, and a woman, from whom we draw so much insight and wisdom.  An interview worth your...
What Is The Underlying Approach To Being A Good Teacher Today?

What Is The Underlying Approach To Being A Good Teacher Today?

Jeffrey Wright, a unique physics teacher who is the subject of the New York Times’ video “Wright’s Law: A Unique Teacher Imparts Real Life Lessons,” is quoted by one of his Louisville Male High School students, Denaz Taylor, as saying: I couldn’t care less about Newton’s third law. I want to teach you something to take out of school. That’s what he’s told us before. It makes me feel like he really cares about me and I know he does. He’s a good man and he will stick out of his way for you.” Wright has won the appreciation of his students, and the video reveals the approach underlying Wright’s attitude to his students… Wright Acknowledging The Overall Environment That Affects Kids Schools have them for 6 hours a day, and then kids go home, and whatever atmosphere they have around for the other 18 affects them. And so, schools can change a lot, but we also have to realize that they go home to a completely different environment.” Why One-Size-Fits-All Education Doesn’t Work For Today’s Kids What I went home to when I was young is very different to what some of these kids go home to, where they don’t have a mom or dad, or, some of these kids, I hear them talk about how they hear gunshots at night. I’d have a hard time sleeping or studying if I’m hearing gunshots outside my room. … I’ve heard everything from ‘Mr. Wright I’m pregnant,’ to ‘I’ve had an abortion,’ to ‘I’ve run away and here’s where I’m staying,’ to ‘my father is beating me and there’s holes...
The Need For The Development Of Analog/Integral Education

The Need For The Development Of Analog/Integral Education

Linear: involving a single dimension.” Analog: of, relating to, or being a mechanism in which data is represented by continuously variable physical quantities.” Integral: essential to completeness.” – Merriam-Webster The Problems Of The Modern World When we think about the modern problems that afflict man, whether it be in regards to the individual or  to society, we have a modern affliction. It is the product of poor education which has not kept up with a continually changing world. Fundamentally, the world has gradually switched from a linear path of development to an analog path of development. For instance, on the level of resource production, it was once that a town or village was self-sustaining. It produced the goods and services which were needed in order for it to continue its survival. Now, it can be argued that even this is not linear, since a community needs the input of all of its members, in one form or another, for it to continue its existence. Nevertheless, this type of development is relatively linear when compared to global society today which requires the input of the entire world in order for existence to be maintained. The development of cities was a significant indicator of this direction because cities, due to the nature of their construction, are not self-sustaining. They need to have outside resources continually imported in order for the city to continue to function. For instance, the city of New York, a heightened example of this structure, practically consumes the amount of food that is imported to her on a daily basis. Therefore if imports were to somehow be halted,...
A New Educational Paradigm Aimed At Solidarity

A New Educational Paradigm Aimed At Solidarity

We need a new revolution, a massive radical attitudinal and behavioral change, if  we wish to halt the race towards catastrophe and save the world for the future generations. We need no less than a ‘re-education of humankind.'” –Dr. Lourdes R. Quisumbing, an educator par excellence who has been the first women Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports in the Philippines. Quotes in this post are from Dr. Quisumbing’s article, “Values Education for Human Solidarity.” Today’s Need For A More Holistic View Of Education This calls for a paradigm shift in our educational philosophy and practice. Instead of a rigid and compartmentalized knowledge-based curriculum, we should adopt a more holistic view of education which aims at the development of the faculties and powers of the whole person – cognitive, affective, emotional, aesthetic, volitional, behavioral; a teaching-learning approach which does not stop at knowledge and information at developing skills and competence, but proceeds to understanding and gaining insights, that educates the heart and the emotions and develops the ability to choose freely and to value, to make decisions and to translate knowledge and values into action. The heart of education is the education of the heart.” Cross-Cultural Human Solidarity: A Major Part Of The New Educational Paradigm One cannot underestimate the role of education for international and intercultural understanding, which consists not merely in knowing more about different peoples and their cultures – their geography, history, economy, government, value-systems – but more in understanding and gaining insight into the factors and motivations underlying their behavior and appreciating their cultural patterns, traditions, customs, values and beliefs. Human solidarity is likewise fostered by...
Mutual, Round Table Discussion Instead Of Exaggerated Scare Tactics

Mutual, Round Table Discussion Instead Of Exaggerated Scare Tactics

Today The Most Frequently Used Way Of Expressing Opinion Publicly, In Hoping To Gather Support Is Through Exaggerated Scare Tactics In his article “Scary Pictures” Bjorn Lomborg, an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, who founded and directs the Copenhagen Consensus Center describes the practice of people exaggerating their findings, claims in order to make greater impact on their target audience, many times scaring them, but by doing so losing their credibility achieving the opposite effect they hoped for. Campaigners on important but complex issues, annoyed by the length of time required for public deliberations, often react by exaggerating their claims, hoping to force a single solution to the forefront of public debate. But, however well intentioned, scaring the public into a predetermined solution often backfires: when people eventually realize that they have been misled, they lose confidence and interest.” In truth the practice described in the article is the accepted norm today for politicians, the marketing industry and basically any issue discussed when people try to prove their right. As the article suggests, most of the time it is based on “good intentions” the exaggerating party usually truly believes in its truth, that it wants the best for others, to the public. Still it does not change the fact that most of the time these efforts cause more harm than good. Trying To Convince Others In A Forceful Way, Being Completely Convinced About Our Own ‘Truth’ Originates From Basic Human Nature This practice originates from the inherent basic human nature, where each and every human being perceives a very limited segment of the whole reality, a segment which...