Spiritual Endeavour: Dark Night of the Soul – 4
[Exploring Life] When we receive an education we are placed into a system of prerequisites that have been determined by an amorphous agency. By definition, education is an experience that is predetermined, imposed, rigidly structured, and bound to a self-reinforcing system of evaluation. The essence of the education system originates in automation, mechanization, generalization, and [...]
Spiritual Endeavour: Learning to Trust the Flow of Ancient Rhythm
[Exploring Life] We are immersed in a culture that confuses education with learning. More precisely, we ritually submit ourselves to courses that have been prepared by someone else and trust that the instructional delivery these courses will inspire learning. In a bizarre twist, we sometimes incorrectly think of education as being synonymous with learning. Learning [...]
Education: Losing Your Element
Do schools kill creativity? This is the opening question of an interesting interview with Sir Ken Robinson, an “expert” on creativity and innovation. The answer is deceptively simple: “Yes, of course they do.” Though this may sound somewhat sarcastic, the reality of schooling is the systematic obliteration of the individual including their creativity, and their [...]
Effects of Media: Writing – The Shifting Style of Elements
[Exploring Life] The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published 50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice in response to the release of the commemorative edition of Strunk and White’s famous The Elements of Style.[1] The article condemns Strunk and White’s advice as being detrimental to the correct use of language as well as the development of [...]
Education: The Design of the Prerequisite
[Exploring Life] The purpose of a curriculum is to impose a uniform scope of and sequence of knowledge and skills that are to be taught to a group of people. The presupposition of curriculum lies within the concept of the prerequisite. In other words, the design of education originates in the assumption that the imposition [...]