Instead of supporting separation and divisiveness, as I pointed out in my article for Public Opinion December 20, 2024 and reprinted February 28, 2025, education can promote unity, investigation, curiosity and self-esteem. It requires a challenge to current methods of preparing students to take tests and the focus on measurable standards which breaks learning into isolated skills and artificial activities.
We live at a time when it is clear that societies across the globe are losing ground when it comes to preparing children to live in a world where peace and justice prevail. There is clearly a need to maintain a democratic way of life.
Moving away from the emphasis on rote learning, that was necessary in the past, to one that challenges students to think creatively is essential. It means redefining education as a means to promote unity, working together to make our planet a livable, safe place for everyone who resides anywhere in any country or on any continent.
In 2005 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States created a programme that emphasized the promotion of education to create a better world. It is called the ‘Foundations for a Spiritual Education’. Traditionally public education emphasized dispersing information to prepare the citizens of the world for the workforce. The foundations described in this document indicate that there needs to be a significant focus on how education is valued and utilized.
There are four levels that are defined in this programme: Knowledge, Wisdom, Spiritual Perception and Eloquent Speech. Traditional education focuses on Knowledge and Wisdom, but mostly neglects the idea of Spiritual Perception or Eloquent Speech. Here’s how they can be defined:
- Knowledge is the transmission of facts, dates, figures, naming of objects and things, events, historical data, etc.
- Wisdom is the stage where students learn how knowledge can be applied. It doesn’t necessarily discriminate between what are positive or destructive applications.
- Spiritual Perception is learning how to use knowledge and wisdom positively to make the world a better place.
- Eloquent Speech is applying what is learned to make the world a better place. It is called eloquent speech because it is the practical application of what is learned, speech is loosely defined as action.
In one simple example, knowledge means we can name an object, like a hammer. Wisdom provides insight into how the hammer can be used. A hammer can be used to build something, but it can also be used for destructive purposes. Some good, some not desired. In order to promote peace and justice, spiritual perception is needed to allow a learner to know the difference between what is a benefit to the world and what is tearing it down. The goal is to promote opportunities for learners to go out into the world to make it a better place. For example, the use of the hammer can be to create buildings that will provide lasting shelter.
Think about what happens if we only learn the components of nuclear energy, but never how to use nuclear energy to further civilization rather than to destroy it.
As I taught teachers for many years, I incorporated these levels of instruction into my curriculum because I believe education can do better than what is encouraged in most schools today. I believe focusing on a positive outcome will dismantle many of the practices that lead to behaviour issues and a lack of inquisitiveness. When creativity is sparked it leads to a greater ability to thrive productively. A focus on individual differences separates us, but a focus on individual and combined strengths will unite us and build societies where it is in the best interest of all learners to look forward to a future where everyone has an opportunity to use their God-given talents.
The possibilities for building on strength rather than weakness means teachers must be given permission to use their professional knowledge, instincts and wisdom to prepare their students to go forth with ideas, and with respect of our human oneness, for the purpose of building a better future that overcomes the barriers to peace and justice.
In the 1960s a group of educators, following experts like John Dewey and Paulo Freire, promoted the idea of wholistic education, a practice in which skills and strategies were joined together rather than separated into unique sound bites emphasized through skill and drill activities. The track that they were emphasizing encouraged critical thinking and creativity in the classroom. Not only was learning viewed through a holistic lens, students and classroom themselves were seen as whole entities that would thrive and promote a better world.
Collaboration rather than competition was encouraged. Diversity of understanding, perception and critical thinking were reflected and the move towards the acceptance of human differences was critical in forward-thinking programmes. Labels and separations by ability were discouraged as students joined together to learn. Skills and strategies were combined in classroom activities to form effective problem-solving tools rather than an ability to perform on a standardized test or to accomplish an isolated standard. The possibilities for educational experiences were endless. This movement was met with skepticism and critique, mostly because it tended to undermine the financial boon for traditional tests and text publishers.
Rethinking holistic education will serve the way forward by embracing the needs of the future and dismantling the decay of the current system. A few examples mentioned below exemplify what we can imagine if they were broadly actualized.
Imagine a situation where children pore over books looking for answers to questions they pose by using all the cues they can find in the text including photos, graphics, their own experiences and the words. Not all ideas come from text. In a natural science camp my students investigated the lives of birds, frogs and other animals as they prepared to write stories about what they learned. I spotted groups of students with a wide range of reading abilities working together to decipher information from a wide variety of texts. Some of these were quite sophisticated with scientific information.
They shared what they were learning with each other. Each new idea was met with excitement. In their research they learned about how to care for the natural world. As they went about their day they carefully examined and explored the natural surroundings of the camp. In their writing they consulted each other for the language that they wanted to use in their stories. They shared images and talked about their work. When they shared their stories, parents, teacher and other students applauded their efforts.
Imagine a classroom where children work with themes that promote inquiry rather than scripted information. Where teachers of different disciplines join together to add to the theme. Theme based studies allow children to demonstrate a variety of strengths, use multiple intelligences and work with individualized abilities. Taking a period of time in history provided students with an opportunity to use small groups to examine food, culture, war, lifestyle and much more with individual and personal interests that could be shared with their mates, parents and other students.
Imagine a classroom where children work together to solve problems. Together they talk about how and why to solve, for example, math problems using everything they learn from regular lessons. Sometimes children are better explainers than texts or teachers. They talk the same language and have similar questions. The teacher is a resource rather than an expert who imparts information.
In a first-grade class students prepared for a class food festival. They formed groups where they had to decide how much each item would need to cost to earn back the original purchase. At the festival each student had a certain amount of money they could spend. They took their change and went from booth to booth buying items with real coins that were provided as a behaviour management programme by the teacher. This involved learning the concepts of division, multiplication, addition and subtraction. Everyone benefited from full participation of the students.
Imagine a classroom where learning of concepts is valued, not just the repetition of facts or skills, where learning is about more than what it is possible to see on a pen and paper test. Practical application of knowledge and skills is far more useful in a productive world than repetition of facts or knowledge without understanding. Students participate in learning through play, art, acting in drama, or performing music that they create.
Imagine a classroom where children, along with teachers and administration, define rules and structures that help to maintain security and care for everyone in the class. Discipline that is designed by those who must obey the rules is far more powerful than anything that is imposed. This promotes a Democratic understanding of how to live.
Imagine a classroom in which every member of the class is included without judging anyone based on their ability or skill level, where differences in learning style are celebrated. Responses to learning can be through writing, music, art or spoken words.
Imagine a classroom where parents are brought in by being given regular, at least monthly updates on their children’s progress, where teachers confidently call parents to report success, where families are encouraged to celebrate learning which is the focus of conversations in school and at home.
Imagine a school where teachers work in teams because they understand the variety of their own strengths. One teacher complements the next so that they demonstrate the importance of building teams to promote learning and to accomplish tasks.
Pie in the sky ideas? Not really. There are thousands of well-trained teachers who utilize these ideas in their classrooms every year, but are thwarted by the requirements to teach to standardized tests, where their classrooms are divided by pull-out programmes, where expectations of children are limited by the labels they received and where imposed discipline fosters rebellion and anger. With the onset of increased technological tools, the endless possibilities are undeniably exciting.
Utilizing small groups and identifying all the resources available in a classroom, open doors to greater understanding. Teachers become resources but are not seen as the only resources available. Educators have the responsibility to take back their classrooms and strengthen their abilities to promote learning that effectively recognizes multiple intelligences of students, the need for critical and innovative thinkers and the ability to unite the world with an understanding of the inter-relatedness of humanity.
