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September/October 2001 Spirituality
Education - Merely Mental?

by Susan Dermond

Susan Dermond

“Too much emphasis on play” is a criticism of pre-schools made by a Georgetown University professor and advisor to the White House. Quoted in an NPR report on this summer’s White House Conference on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, this expert said that more focus needs to be on instruction for three- and four-year-olds because early exposure to reading and language determines how children do in school.

I find these statements alarming because parents may so easily misinterpret them. Will parents choose pre-schools by evidence of “academics” such as the number of worksheets required, rather than by whether the children are thriving, energetic, and happy?

Of course, this expert is right about early exposure to reading and language, but a language-rich environment could very well be an environment full of play: storytelling, reading, play-acting, songs, rhymes, and games. It is oral language in many contexts that very young children need exposure to, not instruction in reading or writing.

The goal of raising academic achievement in American schools will not be achieved by the current trend of more and more academic instruction alone. This sort of teaching and testing is resulting in alienated, bored students. Treating a child as merely a mind to instruct can lead to a disconnection between mind and body, between mind and feeling, and to the loss of plain common sense.

In the Education for Life® system used, for example, by Living Wisdom Schools, emphasis is on the healthy development of the whole child, not merely the intellect; body, feeling, and will are equally important tools to be developed.

From birth through five years emphasis needs to be placed on the physical: Learning through body movements is important. Dancing, playing, and rhythmic exercises all prepare the brain for learning as much as more mental pursuits do. Many books have been written on this subject, most notably Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford.

In Education for Life, ages six through eleven are a time for emphasis on the feeling area. Children at this age absorb our ideals (or lack of them) as at no other age. They learn through the arts: inspirational stories, visual arts, drama, and music. They learn to discriminate among joy, sorrow, compassion, pity–and the whole range of human feeling. That capacity to feel sets the stage for later enjoyment of great literature, poetry, and beauty in art as well as pleasure in the natural world and social and intimate relationships.

The following period, as every parent of a teen-ager knows, is the time that the will wants to express itself. Exploring one’s own power goes along with puberty, and if children are not challenged to express willpower in positive pursuits, the will can turn negative or hostile. At this age challenges are important. Giving these young teens opportunities to actually have an impact on the world (for example, serving in soup kitchens or animal shelters, or cleaning up the environment) is an important part of their education.

Students learn best when their development is balanced and they have a chance to build all their strengths and tools: physical, feeling, will, as well as intellect. When all these aspects are recognized and addressed, children thrive. They know their strengths, and how to apply themselves, to concentrate and to achieve their goals.

For years, children who graduated from eighth grade at the Living Wisdom School in Nevada City, California, averaged a twelfth grade achievement level on their high school placement tests. These scores were not due to hours of homework and exceptionally demanding schoolwork. Rather, they were the result of a balanced education of all aspects of each student.

Granted, students attending private schools usually come from families who give them an environment rich in life experience and emotional support. But for children who do not have these advantages, is the remedy merely “more instruction”?

The environment we must give all children is one in which their nature as complex, multi-faceted, and talented beings is recognized and addressed. When that happens, children are interested in the intellectual skills they need and have the confidence, concentration, and mental peace to pursue whatever goals they choose.

Susan Dermond is the Director of the Living Wisdom School in Beaverton and a minister of Ananda Sangha. For more information about Living Wisdom schools, call 503 671-9112. If you try any of the suggestions in her columns and want to communicate with her about it, you can e-mail her at livingw@teleport.com.