THE PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION AND LIVING SCHOOLS A dissertation presented to the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Psychology by Ashley C. Nielsen San Francisco, California October, 2008
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION AND LIVING SCHOOLS
A dissertation presented to
the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Psychology
by
Ashley C. Nielsen
San Francisco, California October, 2008
© 2008 by Ashley C. Nielsen
All rights reserved
Approval of the Dissertation
THE PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION
AND LIVING SCHOOLS This dissertation by Ashley C. Nielsen has been approved by the committee members below, who recommend it be accepted by the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Dissertation Committee: __________[Signature]__________ ___________________ Joel Federman, Ph.D., Chair Date __________[Signature]__________ ____________________ Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. Date __________[Signature]__________ ____________________ Kathia Laszlo, Ph.D. Date
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Abstract
THE PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION AND LIVING SCHOOLS
Ashley C. Nielsen
Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
This theoretical dissertation introduces and develops the philosophy of
regenerative education, which facilitates students’ understanding of systems, themselves,
and their ability to create change in the world. It also develops a framework for living
schools, a living systems approach to schooling that integrates and exemplifies the
philosophy of regenerative education.
To ground the philosophy of regenerative education in scholarly discourse and
practice in education, the literature review provides an overview of the holistic education
field, highlighting major themes in the field, including holism, spirituality, and the
environment. The review includes an in-depth analysis of two holistic philosophies of
education: Waldorf and Montessori Schools.
The overarching methodology used in this dissertation was integral inquiry.
Under this methodological umbrella, participative inquiry and systemic inquiry were used
to inform the development of the theory of regenerative education and the framework for
a living school. Additionally, cycles of critical reflection and theoretical thematic
analysis, utilizing systematics and living systems theory, were conducted in the
development of the theory and framework.
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Building from this foundational review of the holistic education movement, the
philosophy of regenerative education was developed, comprising four types of education:
understanding-based, self-revealing, systems, and spiritual education. A core theme of
regenerative education is enabling and developing the understanding of patterns. In a
regenerative education learning environment, students engage in self-actualization, self-
realization, system-actualization, and system-realization growth processes.
This dissertation also provides a framework for bringing the philosophy of
regenerative education to life: the living school. The dissertation utilized the enneagram
as a framework to represent the process of planning entailed in creating a living school,
or transforming an existing school into one. Within the enneagram framework, the
development of the inspiration, philosophy, structure, learning experience, cultural
values, and offerings of a living school were delineated as a continually evolving
developmental process. Such schools would have an articulated value-adding role in the
larger community and enable students to create social change while in school. This
dissertation presents a new way to understand educational processes and provides a map
for others to follow to create living schools.
Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to present and future generations of life-long learners.
May the meaning of education be transformed into one of enabling essences to shine so
that each person may live in harmony with oneself, with others, and the world.
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Acknowledgments
Through the process of this dissertation, many people have supported me along
the way. Below is my recognition of just a few of these amazing people.
First, I would like to thank Joel Federman for helping live out regenerative
education through the process of creating this dissertation. Thank you also to Kathia and
Stanley for supporting such a creative dissertation.
To the educational philosophers before me, especially Krishnamurti, whose books
opened my eyes to a kind of education about which I had only dreamed before; and to
Ron Miller for building the field of holistic education so that among other things I might
have a literature review from which to build.
To all my students, thank you for being my greatest teachers.
To Charlie Krone, for always bumping my thoughts to a higher order and for
seeing potential in me and enabling it to be realized.
To the Institute of Developmental Processes, for having such enlivening dialogues
over the years. Thank you, Pam, Kathryn, Keith, Jason, Clayton, and Jim.
Thank you to my family, the Nielsens, the Mangs, and Carol Sanford, for all your
wise words and encouraging comments.
Finally, I would like to thank most especially my husband, Nicholas. Without
your support and love this would not have been possible. Thank you for dreaming with
me.
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Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures......................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1: STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY............................................................1
Bateson’s Levels of Learning ..................................................................................2 Zero-learning................................................................................................2 Learning I.....................................................................................................3 Learning II ...................................................................................................5 Learning III ..................................................................................................7 Learning IV..................................................................................................9
Synopsis of Dissertation ........................................................................................10 The Shift.................................................................................................................12
Science .......................................................................................................13 Religion......................................................................................................14 Ecology ......................................................................................................15 Education ...................................................................................................16
Value Added ..........................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH APPROACH.........................................................................19 Research Questions................................................................................................19 Tenets.....................................................................................................................19
Three Dimensions of a Student..................................................................19 Function .........................................................................................20 Being..............................................................................................23 Will ................................................................................................24
Transformative Systemic Work .................................................................25 Three Lines of Work......................................................................26 System Transformation..................................................................27 Regeneration ..................................................................................28
Essence.......................................................................................................29 Methods..................................................................................................................30
Participative Inquiry...................................................................................32 Systemic Inquiry ........................................................................................33
Methods..................................................................................................................34 Critical Reflection......................................................................................34 Thematic Analysis .....................................................................................36
Systematics ....................................................................................36 Philosophies of Education..................................................37 Living Schools ...................................................................38
Living Systems...............................................................................38 Research Design Overview....................................................................................39
First Research Question .............................................................................39 Second Research Question.........................................................................40
Delimitations and Limitations................................................................................40
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CHAPTER 3: HOLISTIC EDUCATION..........................................................................44
Background............................................................................................................44 Themes in Holistic Education................................................................................45
Holism........................................................................................................45 Whole Person.............................................................................................47 Spirituality..................................................................................................48 Ultimacy.....................................................................................................49 Transdisciplinary........................................................................................50 Environment...............................................................................................51
Definition of Philosophy of Education ..................................................................52 Two Philosophies of Education .............................................................................53 Maria Montessori’s Philosophy of Education........................................................53
Background................................................................................................53 Impetus.......................................................................................................55 Process .......................................................................................................56 Ground .......................................................................................................59 Goal............................................................................................................60 Instrument ..................................................................................................62 Direction ....................................................................................................64
Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Education.............................................................66 Background................................................................................................66 Impetus.......................................................................................................66 Process .......................................................................................................67 Ground .......................................................................................................69 Goal............................................................................................................69 Instrument ..................................................................................................71 Direction ....................................................................................................74
CHAPTER 4: PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION .............................77
Impetus...................................................................................................................77 Overview................................................................................................................78 Understanding-Based Education............................................................................79
Understanding............................................................................................80 Yearning to Learn ......................................................................................82 Experience of Patterns ...............................................................................83 Meaning .....................................................................................................84
Self-revealing Education........................................................................................86 Unfoldment of Essence ..............................................................................87 Consciousness ............................................................................................88
Self-Actualizing .............................................................................89 Self-Realizing ................................................................................91
Self-reflection ............................................................................................92 Self-Observing ...............................................................................93 Self-Remembering .........................................................................95
Alignment with the Divine.........................................................................97
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Systems-Based Education......................................................................................99 Caring.......................................................................................................101 Systems Thinking.....................................................................................102
Order and Organization................................................................104 System Consciousness .............................................................................105 Value-Adding Processes ..........................................................................108
Spiritual Education...............................................................................................110 Being State ...............................................................................................113 Cosmic Harmony .....................................................................................115 Spiritualizing Fields.................................................................................117 Lineage.....................................................................................................120
Summary and Conclusion................................................................................................122 CHAPTER 5: LIVING SCHOOLS .................................................................................125
Enneagram ...........................................................................................................125 Actualizing, Realizing, and Shocks .........................................................126 Outer and Inner Structures of the Enneagram..........................................127 Cyclical Process.......................................................................................129
Inspiration ............................................................................................................130 Calling......................................................................................................130 Place.........................................................................................................131
Philosophy............................................................................................................133 Learning Experience ............................................................................................134
Emergence................................................................................................135 Curriculum...............................................................................................136
Curriculum and Students..............................................................138 Pedagogy..................................................................................................139
Dialogue.......................................................................................139 Value-Adding Processes ..............................................................141 Pedagogy and Students ................................................................142
Culture of the Learning Experience.........................................................143 Structures of a Living School ..............................................................................144
Autopoiesis ..............................................................................................145 Processes ..................................................................................................146
Democratic Schools .....................................................................148 People.......................................................................................................149
Diversity.......................................................................................150 Teachers .......................................................................................151 Community ..................................................................................152 Personal Development .................................................................153
Physical Structures...................................................................................154 Nature as Teacher ........................................................................155
Cultural Values ....................................................................................................156 Core Group...............................................................................................158
Offerings ..............................................................................................................158 Alumni .....................................................................................................160
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Knowledge ...................................................................................160 Processes ......................................................................................161 Praxis............................................................................................161 Summary......................................................................................162
Products of the Learning Process.............................................................162 School ......................................................................................................164
Society..................................................................................................................164 Reciprocal Maintenance...........................................................................165
Shock Points.........................................................................................................168 Dissipative Structures ..............................................................................169
Students................................................................................................................170 Axes of Development and Engagement...................................................171 Developmental Axis.................................................................................172
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs .....................................................173 Chakra System .............................................................................174 Relationship to Four Educations..................................................175
Axis of Engagement.................................................................................176 Gifts..........................................................................................................178 Abilities....................................................................................................180 Context.....................................................................................................181
Events...................................................................................................................182 Reflection.............................................................................................................182
Ecological Succession..............................................................................184 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................185
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................188
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List of Tables
Table 1. Value-Added and Value-Adding Processes.......................................................109 Table 2. Chakra Levels ....................................................................................................175
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List of Figures Figure 1. Three Dimensions of a Student ..........................................................................20 Figure 2. Overarching Methodology and Methodologies..................................................32 Figure 3. Critical Reflection ..............................................................................................35 Figure 4. The Four Components of a Philosophy of Education ........................................52 Figure 5. Maria Montessori’s Philosophy of Education ....................................................59 Figure 6. Montessori’s Goal of Education.........................................................................61 Figure 7. Montessori’s Instrument of Education ...............................................................63 Figure 8. Montessori’s Direction of Education..................................................................64 Figure 9. Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Education .........................................................68 Figure 10. Steiner’s Goal of Education..............................................................................70 Figure 11. Steiner’s Instrument of Education ....................................................................72 Figure 12. Steiner’s Direction of Education ......................................................................74 Figure 13. Philosophy of Regenerative Education ............................................................79 Figure 14. Understanding-Based Education ......................................................................79 Figure 15. Yearning to Learn as Ground of Understanding-Based Education..................82 Figure 16. Experience of Patterns as Instrument of Understanding-Based Education......81 Figure 17. Meaning and Experience of Patterns as Means of Understanding-Based
Education ...................................................................................................84 Figure 18. Self-revealing Education as Direction of the Philosophy of Regenerative
Education ...................................................................................................86 Figure 19. Self-revealing Education ..................................................................................87 Figure 20. Consciousness as Goal of Self-Revealing Education.......................................88 Figure 21. Triad of Self-Actualizing..................................................................................90 Figure 22. Self-Reflection as Instrument of Self-Revealing Education ............................92 Figure 23. Alignment with the Divine as Direction of Self-Revealing Education ............97 Figure 24. Systems-Based Education as Instrument of the Philosophy of Regenerative
Education ...................................................................................................99 Figure 25. Systems-Based Education ..............................................................................100 Figure 26. Systems Thinking and System Consciousness as Means of Systems-Based
Education .................................................................................................103 Figure 27. Nested Wholes................................................................................................106 Figure 28. Spiritual Education as Goal of the Philosophy of Regenerative Education ...111 Figure 29. Spiritual Education .........................................................................................111 Figure 30. Cosmic Harmony as Direction of Spiritual Education...................................115 Figure 31. Spiritualizing Fields as Goal of Spiritual Education ......................................117 Figure 32. Lineage as Instrument of Spiritual Education ................................................120 Figure 33. The Enneagram...............................................................................................126 Figure 34. Inspiration as Point 0 of the Enneagram Process ...........................................130 Figure 35. Three Elements of Place.................................................................................132 Figure 36. Philosophy as Point 1 of the Enneagram Process...........................................133 Figure 37. Learning Process as Point 4 of the Enneagram Process .................................134 Figure 38. Three Elements of the Learning Experience ..................................................135 Figure 39. Structures as Point 2 of the Enneagram Process ............................................145 Figure 40. Structures of a Living School .........................................................................145
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Figure 41. Cultural Values as Point 8 of the Enneagram Process ...................................157 Figure 42. Offerings as Point 5 of the Enneagram Process .............................................159 Figure 43. Society as Point 7 of the Enneagram Process.................................................165 Figure 44. Shocks to a Living School..............................................................................168 Figure 45. Students as Point 3 of the Enneagram Process...............................................171 Figure 46. The Two Axes of Students .............................................................................172 Figure 47. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs........................................................................173 Figure 48. Essence to Universe........................................................................................177 Figure 49. Cycle of the Enneagram .................................................................................184 Figure 50. Living Schools as Platform for Spiritualizing Existence ...............................187
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CHAPTER 1
STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY
Today, educational systems in the United States can be characterized as being
primarily focused on reacting to the wake of a ship. This ship could be school violence,
the global economy, or even environmental distress. Instead of reacting, which is “to act
in a particular way as a direct result of something else” (Walter, 2005, p. 1). I propose
that educational systems should shift their orientation and act, meaning “to do something
for a particular purpose” (p. 1) and source, or ground, this action in each individual’s
unique, unfolding essence.
The reactive propensity of modern educational systems is endemic. In Canada and
the United States, the reaction to school shootings has entailed drilling students to lock
down the school in case a stranger or shooter appears on campus (Chin, 2007; Rich &
Winchell, 2006; Schevitz, 1999; WPTZ.com, 2007). The No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) was enacted because “in today’s fast-paced world, amid the new challenges of
sprinting technological advances, global economic competition, and homeland security
concerns, America’s students need high-quality instruction in math and science in order
to keep ahead” (United States Department of Education [USDE], 2007, p. 1). These
movements are reactions to a stimulus. Currently education is teaching students the skills
needed to react appropriately. The system thinker, Bela Banathy’s (1996) description of
maintenance learning (Botnik & Maltiza, 1979) is similar to this approach. It “involves
the acquisition of fixed outlooks, methods, and rules of dealing with known events and
recurring situations” (p. 318).
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An alternative approach to educational philosophy would be to ground it in
purposeful action, in which one generates a field. Banathy (1996) believed that learning
needed to move beyond to maintenance learning to evolutionary learning, which
enables us to cope with change and complexity, renew our perspectives, and redesign our systems. . . . It will help us to progress from unconscious adaptation to our environment to conscious innovation . . . and the development of the ability to direct and manage change. (p. 318)
This dissertation provides the groundwork for a shift in the focus of the field of education
toward creative action. Within such an approach, students would be enabled to see the
whole system instead of reacting to isolated stimuli. They could act with the intent of
living in harmony on the planet, such as with the field created by Mahatma Gandhi in
India. Students would be able to articulate their purposes, intentions, and callings, and to
create the future instead of passively letting it occur. Actions would be sourced by the
individual’s essence unfolding and developing toward its highest potential. With these
intentions, this dissertation introduces a new philosophy of education called regenerative
and presents a new school environment, called living schools to enable such education.
Bateson’s Levels of Learning
The anthropologist and systems thinker, Gregory Bateson (1972), outlined five
orders of learning that I believe describe the progression of learning from reaction to
action, referred to above, that characterizes regenerative education and living schools.
Zero-Learning
Bateson’s first order, zero-learning, is when no learning occurs: “This is the case
in which an entity shows minimal change in its response to a repeated item of sensory
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input” (Bateson, 1972, p. 283). A drastic example of this type of learning is the response
of school administrators to warning signs from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the
Colorado Columbine High School shooters. These two teenagers retaliated before the
shooting in such ways as: threatening to kill classmates, making videos of a potential
massacre, and even turning in an English assignment that described a plan to bomb and
kill people at the high school. The response to these escalating events by school
administrators was as if nothing major had happened: no learning occurred (Oulton,
2001). Similarly, the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, among other warning signs,
also wrote a paper that described a massacre for an English class (NPR.org, 2007), which
could have elicited a system-wide response that might have prevented the slaughter that
followed from those ideations.
In the case of environmental distress, many people do not even have a reaction,
which some claim is due to denial (Opotow & Weiss, 2000). The theory of the boiled
frog syndrome originated from this insensitivity or unconsciousness to sensory input
(Ornstein & Ehrlich, 1989). The boiled frog syndrome is a theory created to help explain
people’s reactions to the increase in pollution. When a frog is placed in a pan of water
that slowly increases in temperature, the frog will not jump out but instead will die,
unaware that it is boiling to death.
Learning I
The second level, Learning I, begins with the student learning how to act in a
specific context. A context is “a collective term for all those events which tell the
organism among what set of alternatives he must make his next choice” (Bateson, 1972,
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p. 289, emphasis in original). The process of education in the United States can be said to
be based in Learning I. Ramon Gallegos Nava (2001), a doctor of education and the
founder of International New-Paradigms Foundation, described the context or philosophy
of the United States’ education as mechanistic.
Mechanistic education was based on the assembly-line model of factories of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. According to this model, educating a human being is similar to manufacturing a product. Just as in a factory, where all the products go through the same steps on an assembly line, students go through the same steps in the learning process. In a factory, the workers have the same schedule, follow the same manual, the same directions, are on the same page, are evaluated using the same criteria, and are rewarded and punished for their performance. Mechanistic education was developed using the same criteria. Therefore, all the students received standardized instruction, were organized into closed groups, where they followed the same book, on the same page, at the same time, and were evaluated using the same standards. As a result, education became a mechanical, standardized process, with instruction prevailing over education. (p. 26)
The NCLB, which emphasizes testing, rewards for scholastic achievements, and schools
reaching the national standards, is indicative of this context (Fusarelli, 2004; Houston,
2007; United States Department of Education [USDE], 2005). In Learning I, the content
may change (e.g., learning about sustainability), but the process of learning does not
change. Therefore, there is one so-called correct answer for every question posed at this
level of learning, much like multiple-choice questions. In the case of school shootings,
the correct response, according to many local governments, is the training the students
receive to lock down their schools (Chin, 2007; WPTZ.com, 2007; Rich & Winchell,
2006; Schevitz, 1999). At this level, students, teachers, and administrators do not
question the process of educating nor the paradigm or way one is taught to think.
Students primarily learn only content, which serves as a foundation to move toward
Learning II.
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Learning II
In Bateson’s (1972) Learning II, there is “a change in the set of alternatives from
which a choice is made” (p. 293). Stephen Sterling (2003), an environmental educational
consultant, interpreted this as a “paradigm change because a new paradigm presents a
new set of alternatives” (p. 129). Learning II entails a new set of values, capabilities, and
premises to be taught. What is valued changes the process of educating and informs the
content taught at Learning I. Many times a paradigm change occurs because a problem
has arisen. For example, if competitiveness is seen as a problem, then collaboration might
be an adopted value at Learning II to curb this problem. Therefore, a student might be
taught why compassion is important for collaboration and therefore learn to value
compassion. At Learning I, the student might learn the correct way of being a team
player. This might translate into students being graded on their level of participation in
groups rather than from individual test scores.
Although Learning II is more sophisticated than Learning I, it is still limited. As
Sterling (2004) pointed out, “One can adopt an alternative paradigm without fully
understanding it, or its relation to that which it replaces” (p. 129). If Learning I involves
wearing eyeglasses inherently, Learning II occurs when a doctor changes a patient’s
glasses without the patient understanding how the eye or eyeglasses work. At Learning II,
the values to be taught are prescribed beforehand, usually by somebody other than the
students, teachers, or administrators. One must assume that the person creating the
educational processes knows “clearly what values, knowledge and skills ‘are needed’ in
order to create change” (p. 60). For example, if collaboration is taught, we must assume
6
that there are definitive values set for collaboration and that by using a specific
knowledge and skill base, it will be learned.
In the United States and worldwide, many educators have realized that the
paradigm in which traditional education operates is problematic and must change. As
noted by the Global Alliance for Transforming Education (GATE, 2003), “We in
education are beginning to recognize that the structure, purposes, and methods of our
profession were designed for an historical period which is now coming to a close” (p. 1).
The famous Native American educator Vine Deloria, Jr. (2001b) wrote, “The goal of
modern education is to produce people trained to function within an institutional setting
as a contributing part of a vast socioeconomic machine” (p. 42). Sterling (2004) wrote
that conventional education values “dependency” and “conformity” in service of the
“consumerist machine” (p. 15). If change is to occur in education, what is valued must
change. In contrast to traditional education, the holistic educational movement is an
example that offers a different paradigm of values. It values the whole student—mind,
body, and spirit (function, being, and will)—and therefore the uniqueness of each student.
The holistic educational movement is discussed in more depth in Chapter 3.
At Learning II, however, one does not question the paradigm. Most often, a
person blindly accepts the new paradigm to be the truth. This can be seen with the trend
behavior in much of the education field. A new fad of education is presented as a solution
to a problem, quickly adapted without thinking about the paradigm it represents, and then
fails (Kozloff, 2002; National Center for Policy Analysis, 2001). As Sterling (2004)
wrote, when a new paradigm is applied at Learning II, it still is “uncritically reproducing
norms, by fragmenting understanding . . . by recognizing only a narrow part of the
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spectrum of human ability and need, and by an inability to explore alternatives” (pp. 14-
15). Therefore, if at Learning II a new paradigm of thought is adopted, in which students,
teachers, and administrators are taught new values; their actions will still be reacting to
situations, even if the actions are more holistic or compassionate. Therefore, for
substantial change to occur, we need a new structure of education that would allow
students to question paradigms. This would enable not only students but also teachers and
administrators to act creatively instead of reacting. To do this, a systemic change must
occur, such as at Bateson’s Learning III.
Learning III
Bateson’s (1972) Learning III is “a corrective change in the system of sets of
alternatives from which choice is made” (p. 293, emphasis in original). The person
consciously chooses a path forward from a variety of options and paradigms, free from
past conditionings. The systems thinker, Peter Hawkins (1991), believed that Learning III
“provides temporary access to a higher logical level of awareness, where we have the
space to become free of our normal perspectives and paradigm and constraints to see
through them rather than with them, and thus create the space to change them” (p. 172,
emphasis added).
Instead of Hawkins’s (1991) “higher logical level of awareness” (p.172), the
physicist David Bohm (1980) might have said that Learning III is informed by the
“implicate order” (p. 177) of nature. In Bohm’s cosmology, the “explicate order,” (p.
177) is the order of energy that applies to externally observed existence. In contrast, the
implicate order enfolds, like a hologram, potential energy that might unfold into
existence. Therefore, we are no longer looking linearly or for cause-and-effect
8
relationships; instead we look at interrelationships and interdependencies of entities and
factors. The implicate order is carried by what Bohm (1980) called the “holomovement,”
or an “unbroken and undivided totality” (p. 151). When informed of this, we begin to
understand systems as wholes.
Learning III questions content, values, and the way in which one thinks. We see
knowing as approximate, so there is not always one answer to a question or even an
answer at all. A person has a choice of potential paradigms, each of which offers different
values, sets of proper actions, knowledge bases, and so on, from which to choose. At
Learning III, a person consciously chooses how to act creatively with a systemic
understanding of the situation, and therefore is no longer reacting to situations.
An example of Learning III is Sterling’s (2004) response to sustainability, called
sustainability as education. Teaching sustainability at this level of learning would entail a
transformative, epistemic, learning response by the educational paradigm, which is then increasingly able to facilitate a transformative learning experience. This position . . . emphasizes process and the quality of learning, which is seen as an essentially creative, reflexive and participative process. Knowing is seen as approximate, relational and provisional, and learning is continual exploration through practice. The shift here is toward “learning as change” which engages the whole person and the whole learning institution. There is a keen sense of emergence and ability to work with ambiguity and uncertainty. (p. 61)
In traditional education in the United States, the institution of education would need to
change as a whole to enable Learning III.
Each level of learning is an important step toward Learning III and beyond. I
associate these levels of learning with the progression of maturity in students. Therefore,
the very young are taught at Learning I. Learning II is for elementary students.
Learning III can occur at the conventional ages of high school students and beyond, as
the process required is abstract thought, similar to Jean Piaget’s (1969) formal operations
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stage of cognitive development. However, no matter what level of learning is being
practiced with the students, an educational system must operate at the level of Learning
III and beyond so as not to stifle the development of the students, teachers, or
administrators. This dissertation offers a philosophy and framework from which to create
a system of education, living schools, that is based on Learning III and beyond.
Learning IV
Bateson (1972) believed that Learning IV, the last level to be discussed, “does not
occur in any adult living organism on this earth. . . . The combination of phylogenesis
with ontogenesis, in fact, achieves, Level IV” (p. 293). Ilkka Tuomi (2006), a physicist
and founder of Oy Meaning Processing Ltd., considered “the idea of Learning IV” to
reflect “Bateson’s belief that the human mind is inseparable from its physical and
evolutionary context, and that mind can only be understood as a part of ecological
relations” (p. 28). I propose that Learning IV is possible for humans to achieve and
delineate in this dissertation how that possibility can become a reality.
Learning IV consists of learning about Learning III (Bateson, 1972). At this level,
a person sheds the glasses and sees clearly. This level of learning implies a spiritual
dimension. This form of learning is similar to the Eastern concept of enlightenment or
accessing Bohm’s (2003) “superimplicate” (p. 139) order of consciousness and existence.
The superimplicate is “that which represents the information that guides and organizes
the movement of fields or patterns of reality” (Sanford, 1995, p. 313). It is a rare person
who is able to maintain consistently the process of thinking that occurs at Learning IV.
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Instead, the process of thinking at Learning III can be sustained and then informed by
insights from Learning IV.
As with Learning III, this level of learning is a way of thinking that allows one to
act creatively. I propose that at this level, a person is able to create paradigms, generative
fields, and work at the regenerative level. The person’s essence, or the divine aspect
unfolding from within, sources a person. Their essence then supplies energy to other parts
of their psyche, similar to the way Sigmund Freud’s (1899/2006) id sources the psyche.
However, when sourced by essence, we can begin to spiritualize existence instead of
satisfying what Freudians refer to as the id’s demands for instant gratification. An
example of such a person is Mohandas Gandhi, who helped the country of India gain her
independence from British rule. This dissertation offers a philosophy of education and the
framework to create a living school, which in combination enable Learning III and
Learning IV to occur.
Synopsis of Dissertation
This dissertation has two purposes. The first purpose is to present a new
philosophy of education, called regenerative education, that is reflective of and intended
to facilitate a larger, ongoing shift in the global society. This shift is discussed in the next
section. More specifically, this philosophy involves an integration of current themes in
the holistic educational movement (Miller, 1999) and an extension of that movement. The
philosophy of regenerative education incorporates what I have called the function, being,
and will dimensions of each student so that they may think, be, and act differently and
value spiritualizing existence. It is put forth to enable students to act to create their
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futures, by regenerating “fields of energy” (Institute of Developmental Processes, 2005,
p.10) instead of being subjected or reduced to taking signals from the wake of a ship.
This philosophy focuses on Bateson’s Learning III and Learning IV.
Ron Miller (1999), a holistic education scholar, postulated the following:
Holistic education is not going to save our society. We cannot educate a new generation and then hope that they will change the world. Holistic education . . . will only be accepted and widespread, to the extent that our culture itself changes. It’s a give-and-take-relationship. Our individual efforts educators can help in that process, but we need that process itself to go further before we can expect to experience many changes, or very much success. (p. 193)
Building from this approach, the second purpose of this dissertation is to create what I
have called living schools, thus changing the way in which cultures value, think about,
and interact with education through applying systems thinking. As Sterling (2003) wrote,
The question of the role of education in social change demands a whole systems view which looks at change in society and culture, and the opportunities and dynamics this affords in the relation between education and society. . . . It takes us from a model of education as one of social reproduction and maintenance, towards a vision of continuous re-creation or co-evolution where both education and society (or at least parts of them) are engaged in a relationship of mutual transformation. (pp. 50-51)
I apply recent developments in science, specifically living systems theories, as a way to
create a co-evolutionary relationship between the society and culture and education. The
use of critical reflection and thematic analysis, with the lens of the philosophy
systematics and living systems theory as discussed in Chapter 2, were used to achieve
this goal.
I also discuss my research approach, provide a literature review of the holistic
education field, and provide two examples of holistic educational philosophies. More
specifically, this encompasses the background and key tenets of the holistic education
movement, which is based on the shift discussed earlier. Next, I present a definition of a
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philosophy of education, by discussing its four essentials components. Maria Montessori
and Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophies are then presented as examples of holistic
philosophies. These discussions serve as a ground from which to introduce the
philosophy of regenerative education, which is presented in Chapter 4. Finally, in
Chapter 5, I introduce the concept of living schools, which I postulate to be the learning
environment that enables the potential of the philosophy of regenerative education to be
realized in the world. Living schools are discussed as the platform in which the essence
and vocation of the student and community can be realized.
The Shift
My worldview is informed by a shift in consciousness that is occurring in many
parts of the world. Duane Elgin and Coleen LeDrew (2007) reported on what they
believed is a “global consciousness change” toward “reflective/living systems”:
Materialistic science represented an evolutionary leap from a mind-set that relied on religious authority for verifying truths to one that valued an objective search for knowledge. In this global age of rapid change and transformation, it is time for another such leap. As this report makes clear, this leap will include the rigorous study of subjective, inner experience, a renewed appreciation for meaning and purpose, and a recognition that the world of consciousness is far more mysterious and influential than we have ever imagined. (p. 74)
They believed that this consciousness has two primary features:
First, there is a further awakening of our unique capacity to be self-reflective—to stand back from the rush of life and, with greater detachment, observe the world and its workings non-judgmentally. Second, from this more spacious perspective, the Earth (and even the cosmos) are seen as interconnected, living system. (p. 2)
Elgin and LeDrew (1996) referred to the following as indictors of such a shift: an
increase in environmental protections, holistic health care and alternative medicines,
volunteerism, empathy for other life forms, sense of self-esteem and self-empowerment,
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value for meaningful work, global outlook and interests, and so on. This shift, based
mainly in science, is being applied to such fields as science, positive psychology,
healthcare, business, and education (Elgin & LeDrew, 2007).
Science
Within the domain of science, Gerda Walz-Michaels (1996), an educational
researcher, called this shift the “new science movement,” which includes the scientific
discoveries and theories of David Bohm, Fritjof Capra, David Peat, Danah Zohar, and
Ken Wilber, among others. The concepts Walz-Michaels (1996) outlined as central to this
movement are “space and time, wave/particle duality, the local and nonlocal
(nonlocality), the parts and the whole, order and disorder (chaos), and knowledge as a
network of relations” (p. 1). In science, many people, including the physicist Fritjof
Capra (1982), see this shift as moving toward thinking about systems rather than
fragments, away from Newtonian physics and the Cartesian split of mind and body.
Bohm (1980, 1994) also discussed the importance of the unfolding of “essence,”
which he believed moved physics away from its focus on Cartesian coordinates. Instead,
Bohm (1994) proposed that physics needed to understand the workings of the implicate
order in which the potential unfoldment of essence resides:
The basic meaning of the word “self,” according to the dictionary, is the “quintessence”—the essence of the essence. The fifth essence, it was called. There were four essences in ancient times and then they added a fifth one, which was the essence of the whole thing. The idea is that the thing “itself” means the very essence of it. Thus what you mean by the “self” is your very essence. You say “I” and “me,” and “myself”—“self” being the essence from which the “I” and “me” have their ground. . . . Whatever the self is, its essence is unknown but constantly revealing itself. (p. 173)
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Therefore, Bohm (1994) posited that each individual has an essence that is connected to
spirit and reveals itself through a process of unfolding potential from the implicate order
to the explicate order of energies.
Religion
In religion, this shift is seen in creation spirituality, revitalized by the theologian,
Matthew Fox. Andy LePage (1991), educational consultant and therapist, spoke of Fox’s
work as
effectively tearing down the prison walls of one-dimensional thinking, revealing a panorama in which creation itself emanates from the center. . . . Creation Spirituality is about wholeness, about interconnectedness, about the fragile and wonderful web of dynamic energy that self-organizes and pervades all life. (pp. 268-269)
Like the current transformation within the scientific movement, this movement in religion
is sourced in spirit to act:
Life and livelihood ought not to be separated but to flow from the same source, which is spirit. Spirit means life, and both life and livelihood are about living in depth, living with a meaning, purpose, joy and a sense of contributing to the greater community. (Fox, 1994, p. 1)
Fox (2000) wrote,
Science has itself broken down in our century and is going through a profound breakthrough, a fashioning of a new paradigm by which to model the universe. This new paradigm is sure to affect all elements of society—from education to medicine, from religion to economics, from politics to psychology—just as the previous Newtonian model has done for three centuries. Recently a physicist wrote me a letter in which he states, “A new era of scientific understanding is unfolding, and one where the best scientists in all fields are discovering the organicist paradigm that hold value and fact together.” He also comments that “the central sickness of our world is precisely the split between religious wisdom and scientific knowledge and power.” The creation-centered spiritual tradition can not only dialog with science, it can also create with science. (p. 15)
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This dialogue between religion and science is also occurring in Tibetan Buddhism
(Hayward & Varela, 1992). Not only has there been an increase in publications in the
West on Eastern religions over the past decades, there has also been an increased interest
in Native American spirituality (Deloria, Jr., 2001a).
In recent years there has been an awakening to the fact that Indian tribes possessed considerable knowledge about the natural world. . . . Instead of talking of an Indian “science” or even an Indian “religion,” we should focus our attention on the metaphysics possessed by most American Indian tribes and derive from its central perspective the information and beliefs that naturally flow from it. . . . The best description of Indian metaphysics was the realization that the world, and all its possible experiences, constituted a social reality, a fabric of life in which everything had the possibility of intimate knowing relationships because, ultimately, everything was related. The world was a unified world, a far cry from the disjointed sterile and emotionless world painted by Western science. . . . The Indian world can be said to consist of two basic experiential dimensions . . . place and power the latter perhaps better defined as spiritual power or life force. Familiarity with the personality of objects and entities of the natural world enabled Indians to discern immediately where each living beings has its proper place and what kinds of experiences that place allowed, encouraged, and suggested. And knowing places enabled people to relate to the living entities inhabiting it. (Deloria, Jr., 2001a, pp. 1-3)
This concept, intimate knowing relationships, is similar to essence relationships.
Ecology
In ecology, Edward T. Clark, Jr. (1991), former director of the Institute for
Environmental Awareness and professor of environmental education at George Williams
College, described this shift in worldview from technological to ecological.
The best decisions are more often “both/and” rather than “either/or” choices. This emerging worldview acknowledges the importance of science and technology, but holds that these must be understood and applied within the context of a global, ecological perspective. . . . This shift has resulted from research in the nature of intelligence, thinking, and learning, which has thrown a new light on the vast area of human potential. (p. 17)
Others, such as Sterling (2004), called this the postmodern ecological worldview.
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The fundamental tension in our current age is between a mechanistic and an organicist way of viewing the world. From the ecological perspective, the mechanistic root metaphor is becoming increasingly untenable. . . . Ecological thinking entails a shift of emphasis from relationships based on separation, control and manipulation towards those based on participation, empowerment and self-organization. . . . We will see a shift from the modern age of the 20th century based on the metaphor of the machine or mechanical system, to a postmodern age in the 21st based on metaphor of the organism or living system, suggesting a changed view of reality. This participative worldview is based on the idea and intuition that we are deeply enmeshed in a reality which is both real and created, and that these are inextricably linked: that how we see the world shapes the world, and this in turn shapes us. This is why it is sometimes called “co-evolutionary.” Because of this unavoidable dialectic, the quality of our individual and collective perception is critical. We need to discover more adequate ways of thinking about ourselves and our relationship with, the world through a new, partly rediscovered epistemology. The ‘ecological paradigm’ represents the expression of this movement and search. (emphasis in original, pp. 49-50)
Education
Many are calling for this shift in worldview to be integrated into the field of
education (Andris, 2001; Johnson, 2005; Mashadi & Hans, 1997; Walz-Michaels, 1996).
The holistic movement, mentioned above, has already begun to integrate many aspects of
the shift. Whatever the name, many are finding that a transformation is occurring in the
global worldview and consciousness. There is a shift in the valuing process from
accumulation to spiritualizing existence. With the development of a new philosophy of
education and its application, this dissertation provides a structure for the integration of
the shift into education and facilitates this transformation in worldview and
consciousness.
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Value Added
This dissertation proposes a philosophy of education that embraces the whole
person and enables students to think, be, and act differently to spiritualize existence and
create the world in which they want to live. The United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Commission on Education for the Twenty-first
Century (1999) firmly stated that a fundamental principle of education is that:
Education should contribute to every person’s complete development—mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic appreciation and spirituality. All people should receive in their childhood and youth an education that equips them to develop their own independent, critical way of thinking and judgment so that they can make up their own minds on the best course of action in the different circumstances in their lives. . . . The aim of development is the complete fulfillment of man, in all the richness of his personality, the complexity of his forms of expression and his various commitments—as individual, member of a family and of a community, citizen and producer, inventor and techniques of creative dreamer. . . . This human development, which begins at birth and continues all through a person’s life, is a dialectic process which is based on self-knowledge and on relationships with other people. It also presupposes successful personal experience. (p. 1)
Chapter 4 articulates a new philosophy of education that integrates and unifies the
principles and approaches described above.
Chapter 5 presents the critical concepts that must be addressed, at a systems level
of education, to create a living school. A living school is the learning environment in
which the highest potential of the philosophy of regenerative education can be achieved.
It also is a conduit in which the place it resides can regenerate. I use the systematics
framework of the enneagram1 (Bennett, 1983) and applied living systems theory (von
Bertalanffy, 1968) to explicate the continual evolution of the educational system over
1 The enneagram framework used in this dissertation is not Palmer’s (1998) personality typology.
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time and the integration of the shift into education. This dissertation presents the first
holistic application of such technology to educational systems.
Finally, as stated by UNESCO (1999), holistic education should be applied
universally; therefore, this new philosophy of education and the framework of living
schools can be applied to any place in the world, though there are practical obstacles to
this application.
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CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH APPROACH
In this chapter, I discuss the research questions, the underlying tenets of the
dissertation, the methodologies and methods that were utilized, the overall design, and
the delimitations and limitations of this dissertation.
Research Questions
My research questions for this dissertation are:
• What is the philosophy of regenerative education? • What are the critical elements of the framework needed to create a living
school?
Tenets
It is important, for the validity and transparent quality of research, for authors to
divulge explicitly the overtones of thought patterns and biases they may hold. Following
is a discussion of three tenets I see informing my thoughts and actions.
Tenets consist of one’s beliefs, philosophies, and principles that are usually held
implicitly when writing. They are key to understanding the worldview and biases that
may be held by the author. The three major tenets that were foundational to this
dissertation were: students have three dimensions, work should be systemic, and
education should address the essence of each entity. Each of these is explored below.
Three Dimensions of a Student
I believe that education should enable the development of the whole student,
which entails the function, being, and will dimensions. This is similar to Sri Aurobindo’s
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(Sri Aurobindo Trust, 2000) descriptions of the physical, vital, and mental dimensions of
the person. These dimensions are dependent and interrelated; therefore, the division is
only for the practical purpose of discussing the concepts. Further, though applied only to
students in the following discussion, the development of each of these dimensions is
essential for teachers, administrators, and anyone else involved in an educational system.
In the delineation of these dimensions, I articulate the task at hand for the current
education system, thus signifying that a new philosophy of education is needed. The three
dimensions of a student that are delineated here are function, being, and will, as seen in
Figure 1.2
Function
The first dimension of the student is the functional aspect. From the mechanistic
point of view, conventional education enables the student to perform such tasks as
reading and writing on automatic reaction. In other words, one could say that the focus of
education is to train the student so that no conscious thought is needed to carry out the
2 Culture can be seen as the context in which the student lives. The capacity to learn is the result of the function, being, and will capacities of the student.
Figure 1. Three dimensions of a student.
Function Being
Will
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mundane tasks of life. This is Bateson’s Learning I and II, which can build an important
foundation for students.
However, the challenge for traditional education is to move beyond this. Albert
Einstein’s (2007) famous statement epitomizes the task at hand: “No problem can be
solved from the same level of consciousness that created it” (para. 1) Education therefore
must focus on raising students to a level of consciousness that is beyond automatic. In
others words, they must move from Learning I and II to Learning III and IV.
Einstein was not alone in his sentiments. David Orr (2006), when he was
professor and chair of the environmental studies program at Oberlin College, said,
The ecological crisis is a crisis of the mind in every way. It is, therefore, a challenge to those institutions purporting to improve minds. This is a crisis of education, not in education. Many of the problems that we face can be traced back to failures in education. (p. 3, emphasis in original)
One hundred Nobel laureates in 2001, also concerned with the current state of education,
agreed with Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein’s (1955) Manifesto and signed a
declaration stating that “we must learn to think in a new way” (Laszlo, 2003, p. 12).
One important aspect of this new way of thinking is being able to experience life
as a whole. The Indian educator and philosopher Jiddhu Krishnamurti (1953) wrote,
Present-day education is a complete failure because it has over-emphasized technique. . . . The exclusive cultivation of technique has produced scientists, mathematicians, bridge builders, space conquerors; but do they understand the total process of life? Can any specialist experience life as a whole? Only when he ceases to be a specialist. (p. 18)
These sentiments are similar to Bohm’s (1980):
Fragmentation originates in essence in the fixing of the insights forming our overall self-world view, which follows on our generally mechanical, routinized and habitual modes of thought about these matters. Because the primary reality goes beyond anything that can be contained in such fixed forms of measure, these insights must eventually cease to be adequate, and will thus give rise to various
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forms of unclarity or confusion. However, when the whole field of measure is open to original and creative insight, without any fixed limits or barriers, then our overall world views will cease to be rigid, and the whole field of measure will come into harmony, as fragmentation within it comes to an end. (p. 25)
When one experiences the whole, one can creatively act instead of reacting to a fragment.
Orr (2006) further proclaimed that understanding systems is an important aspect
of this.
We are at the most exciting point in human history and also the most dangerous —caught between crisis and opportunity. And a good bit in the difference in those kinds of futures resides on our ability to understand how things work as systems. (p. 8)
Many others also believe that teaching systems is essential to enable others to act
effectively in this world and therefore believe ecoliteracy is an essential skill to be taught
(Capra, 2002; Global Alliance for Transforming Education [GATE], 2003; Orr, 2006).
Capra (2002) described ecoliteracy as “the understanding of the principles of
organization the ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life” (pp. 232-233).
David Sobel (2004) when he was a professor at Antioch College and the codirector of
Community-based School Environmental Education (CO-SEED), called for “placed-
based” (p. 1) education because environmental education is too narrow of a concept.
The history, folk culture, social problems, economics, and aesthetics of the community and its environment are all on the agenda. In fact one of the core objectives is to look at how landscape, community infrastructure, watersheds, and cultural traditions all interact and shape each other. (p. 9)
Perhaps with this new understanding of systems and the interconnection of all entities in
the web of life, people can begin to understand how to generate a field rather than react to
separate parts of the web. With this level of awareness, the second dimension of the
student, the being dimension, also would be transformed.
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Being
If the functional dimension of education is based primarily on the mind or head,
the second focuses on the heart or body. Much more attention has been paid to this
dimension of education since the publishing of Daniel Goleman’s (1995) Emotional
Intelligence. Such tragedies as the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings have left
many asking questions about emotions and self-control. In the case of the Columbine
shooting, when one of the teenagers asked for help because he could not control his
thoughts, the only help he received was medication for the treatment of obsessive-
compulsive disorder (Abbott, 2003). This reaction turned out to be tragically inadequate.
In education, there is a need for the cultivation of self-knowledge. Krishnamurti
(1953) wrote,
The ignorant man is not the unlearned, but he who does not know himself, and the learned man is stupid when he relies on books, on knowledge and on authority to give him understanding. Understanding comes only through self-knowledge, which is awareness of one’s total psychological process. Thus education in the true sense, is the understanding of oneself, for it is within each of us that the whole of existence is gathered.
What we now call education is a matter of accumulating information and knowledge from books, which anyone can do who can read. Such education offers a subtle form of escape from ourselves and, like all escapes, it inevitably creates increasing misery. Conflict and confusion results from our own wrong relationship with people, things and ideas, and until we understand that relationship and alter it, mere learning, the gathering of facts and acquiring of various skills, can only lead us to engulfing chaos and destruction. (p. 17)
Therefore, an emphasis on enabling self-knowledge is needed to learn how to control
one’s state of being and thoughts. Currently, in the holistic education field, the inclusion
of the being aspect of students is apparent. Karen Singh (1996), an educational scholar
and writer, at a UNESCO conference said that “holistic education must acknowledge the
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multiple dimensions of the human personality—physical, intellectual, aesthetic,
emotional and spiritual—thus moving towards the perennial dream of an integrated
individual living on a harmonious planet” (p. 25). This movement views all students as
individuals growing toward their human potential (Allender & Allender, 1991). As the
Montessori scholar, Edwina Hartshorn, stated,
Our goal as educators must be to help our children reach their full potentials by providing both inner and outer education—to help them learn about and develop the skills necessary to live in the world but also to help them become aware of their inner being and to understand themselves on all levels. (as cited in McFarland, 1991, pp. 115-116)
This dimension of education answers Socrates’ (2007) question, “Are you not ashamed of
caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you neither
think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?” (para. 1). This
dimension also addresses the educator Nel Noddings’ (2005) concern:
Surely, we should demand more from our schools than to educate people to be proficient in reading and mathematics. Too many highly proficient people commit fraud, pursue paths to success marked by greed, and care little about how their actions affect the lives of others. (p. 9)
With the focus of education on the being dimension, perhaps violence in schools
and children’s stress levels would decrease (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s
Health, 2005; University of Bristol, 2007). Instead of students living in fear that someone
might shoot them, students would be able to manage their emotions and feelings and
create the being state that they want (CanWest News Service, 2007).
Will
William Butler Yeats (2007) once wrote, “Education is not filling a bucket but
lighting a fire” (para. 1). Yeats was discussing the third dimension of the student, the
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will. The task for education, in regard to this dimension, is to ignite students’ wills and
enable them to act. This last dimension of will is associated with the spiritual aspect of
the student. “The absence of the spiritual dimension is a crucial factor in self-destructive
behavior. . . . We believe that education must nourish the healthy growth of the spiritual
life” (GATE, 2003, p. 6). This spiritual dimension is discussed in more depth in
Chapter 4.
Georgia Kelly (2006), founder and director of the Praxis Peace Institute, believed
that one must both develop the will and the self.
To pursue personal transformation without being engaged in social transformation or to engage in social transformation without a commitment to personal transformation is to continue a well-established cultural pattern: dualism. The separation of body from soul, the person form the political, the spiritual from the material, all suggest that one area is more important than the other or should take precedence. Believing that all of creation is one is not the same as living as if we are one. The former is a personal belief; the latter is the integration of theory and practice, or praxis. (p. 33)
Therefore, the concurrent development of the three dimensions of the student is essential.
The development of these three dimensions inform the way the students then interact
with their larger contexts such as the social and cultural contexts. With the development
of these three dimensions, students can progress from Learning I to Learning IV and
begin to create the futures they want to see, instead of being at the mercy of reactionary
thinking. In this dissertation, I present a new philosophy of education that integrates these
three dimensions of the student.
Transformative Systemic Work
The second tenet of this dissertation is based on the shift from elemental and
fragmented work toward working on a system as a whole. To do this work, I believe there
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are three processes that must be incorporated: we must simultaneously develop the three
lines of work, the system as a whole must transform, and a regenerative process must
occur.
Three Lines of Work
The first aspect of systemic work is based on what is often referred to as the
Fourth Way school of thought. Maurice Nicoll (1984), a student of a Fourth Way teacher
G. I. Gurdjieff, described the Fourth Way in the following letter to a Mr. Bush:
There are four ways to work on oneself. We belong to the Fourth Way which is the most difficult way of all because it must be practiced in the midst of life. The way of the Fakir—that is, the First Way—the Way of the Monk, that is, the Second Way—the Way of the Yogi, that is the Third Way, is not our way. . . . The Fourth Way must always be related to the varying circumstances of life and can never become fixed or habitual. (p. 11)
Other writers and traditions that follow the Fourth Way are P. D. Ouspensky,
J. G. Bennett, Sufism, and the Institute of Developmental Processes in Carmel,
California.
The Fourth Way school of thought purports that there are three lines of work that
must simultaneously be developed so as not to work in a linear fashion. These three lines
are: work on oneself, work with people, and work on a system.
The principle of the three lines is that the three octaves must go on simultaneously and parallel to one another, but they do not all begin at the same time and so, when one line reaches an interval, another line comes in to help it over, since the places of these intervals do not coincide. (Ouspensky, 1957, p. 268)
If a person only works on one or two of these lines, then the level of potential that can be
realized is greatly limited. Therefore, each of these lines facilitates and is necessary for
the development of the others.
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System Transformation
The second part of this tenet is the creation of change at the systems level. The
worldwide shift that is occurring and the ecological research “challenges both the way
that educational system is structured and the way that teaching and learning are perceived
to take place. . . . It is questionable whether or not significant educational reform can take
place without a system as a whole changing” (Clark, Jr., 1991, pp. 17, 29).
The scholar and social activist, Riane Eisler (2000), believed that the content,
process, and structure of education must be transformed. As mentioned, Sterling (2004)
proposed that the structure or the system of education must change to have Learning III
or sustainability as education. However, as Sterling (2004) stated, it is not an easy
transition. “This response is the most difficult to achieve, particularly at the institutional
level, as it is most in conflict with existing structures, values and methodologies, and
cannot be imposed” (p. 61). If the systems do not transform, then the previous work of
changing content and process is like “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” (Miller,
1991, p. 2). This aligns with the discussion regarding Bateson’s levels of learning. To
have sustainable and lasting change in education, a transformation at Learning III needs
to occur.
More specifically, the system must transform toward being a living system. The
definition of this term is discussed below. For now, it is important to note that many in
the educational field believe that living systems are necessary (Bentley, 1998; Orr, 1994).
The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1970/2003), believed that “education is thus
constantly remade in the praxis” (p. 84) and is thus a system that is always evolving. If
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educational systems are living systems, then education can be, as Dewey (1987) wrote,
“the fundamental method of social progress and reform” (p. 7). Therefore, this
dissertation offers the critical elements to be addressed and integrated to create a living
school, which is a living system.
Regeneration
The process of regeneration is an implicit concept that is held throughout this
dissertation. Sustainability, as defined by the World Commission on Environment and
Development (1987), is “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (p.16). However,
regeneration implies the need to move beyond maintenance work toward re-creating the
resources. Thus, the process of regeneration implies the constant improvement and the
increase in complexity and order of the entity or system engaged in the process. For
example, if the principle of regenerative work was applied to process of recycling, this
process not only would enable one to recycle the materials into another bottle or
container but would also improve the environment in the process. A simplistic example is
the food packaging of vegetables that now contain nutrients for the soil. Once these
packages are buried, the soil improves. Instead of being made from materials that can be
recycled using much energy; the package can be buried. This process improves the soil,
thus allowing for the growth of healthier and more vibrant vegetables. This is a simplistic
example of regeneration; this concept is covered in more depth in Chapter 4. In summary,
instead of the cliché, leave nothing behind, if we engage in regenerative work, the saying
might be make it better than the way you found it. To engage the true potential of
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regenerative work, however, we must engage the entities’ essence, be it an individual,
animal, place, and so on, which is discussed next.
Essence
The last tenet of this dissertation I discuss is the concept of essence. The idea of
essence is also an important element of the shift discussed earlier. “‘Essence’ is the
standard English translation of Aristotle’s curious phrase to ti ên einai, literally ‘the what
it was to be’ for a thing” (Cohen, 2003, p. 1). As mentioned earlier, essence can be seen
as the divine aspect within; without essence the entity would not exist. The potential of an
essence resides in the implicate order, and through time, this essence can unfold into the
explicate world. When this occurs, existence is spiritualized.
A metaphor that illuminates the essence unfolding is Bohm’s (1980) theoretical
experiment using a droplet of ink in a viscous liquid. When a mechanical rotator stirs the
liquid, the droplet of ink seems to become distributed in a disorganized or random
fashion. However, when the automatic stirrer changes direction the droplet of dye
reappears: “When the dye was distributed in what appeared to be a random way, it
nevertheless had some kind of order which is different, for example, from that arising
from another droplet originally placed in a different position” (p. 149). This droplet of
dye, unfolding into the liquid in an organized pattern, was different from any other
droplet of ink that was stirred. This symbolizes or reveals the droplet’s unique essence
unfolding. Every entity, be it a place, city, or person, has a unique essence, or inner
divinity, that is yearning to unfold into existence. (Essence will be explored in more
depth in Chapter 4.) This dissertation includes a discussion on a philosophy and way of
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manifesting such a philosophy to ensure the spiritualizing of existence with the unfolding
essence of entities.
These three tenets described above—dimensions of a student, systemic work, and
the concept of essence—were held implicitly throughout the research approach and the
findings of the research in Chapters 4 and 5. The next two sections are discussions of the
methodologies and methods used. Methodologies and methods focus on how I
approached and conducted the research.
Methods
This section reviews the methods that were used in this dissertation. However,
before discussing these, it is important to articulate the distinction between methodology
and method. As the American Heritage Dictionary (Pickett, 2000) cited, the difference
between methodology and methods has become blurred and methodology has often been
misused:
Methodology can properly refer to the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge. . . . The misuse of methodology obscures an important conceptual distinction between the tools of scientific investigation (properly methods) and the principles that determine how such tools are deployed and interpreted.
Similar to the delineation above, Saybrook Graduate School (2007) defined methodology
as the “specific research tradition being utilized” (p. 1). Methods are “the specific
procedures relevant to the approach and research tradition being utilized” (p. 1). In other
words, methods relate to the strategies taken and principles held and methods are the
tactics and tools used.
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This dissertation is theoretical, not empirical, and as noted by Sterling (2003),
“There is no precise methodology for creating new ideas” (p. 63). This dissertation falls
within the theoretical approach to dissertations that Joel Federman (personal
communication, August 6, 2008), a faculty member at Saybrook Graduate School and
Research Center, described as a theoretical dissertation:
A theoretical dissertation can be explicitly and solely an exercise in theory building per se, in which novel ideas, frameworks (e.g., paradigms or worldviews), and perspectives about the nature of society and being human can be conjured, developed, constructed, and delimited. In a scholarly context, such theory building involves some form of thorough review of the extant literature or discourse on the topic in question, so that the novel ideas are situated in relation to that discourse. That is, the novel theoretical constructs developed in the dissertation are built from, grounded in, or differentiated from, prior discourse on the subject. This discourse can include prior theory on the subject, as well as data previously generated through rigorous application of scientific approaches of a variety of kinds. (J. Federman, personal communication, August 6, 2008)
This dissertation develops a novel theory of this sort, regarding regenerative education as
a philosophy for a living school and building from earlier discourse in the field of holistic
education. With this in mind, integral inquiry was the overarching methodology for this
dissertation. Integral inquiry combines many different research methodologies and
methods instead of just focusing on one. William Braud and Rosemarie Anderson (1998),
both transpersonal psychology researchers, wrote that “the world of human beings and
their experiences is multileveled and complex, and to provide a faithful account of that
world, research approaches must be correspondingly multifaceted and pluralistic” (p. 29).
Under the umbrella of integral inquiry, as seen in Figure 2, I used two other
methods to inform the development of the theory of regenerative education and the
framework for a living school: participative inquiry and systemic inquiry.
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Participative Inquiry
Participative inquiry is “a form of participative, person-centered inquiry which
conducts research with people not on them or about them. It breaks the old paradigm
separation between the roles of the researchers and subject” (Heron, 1996, p. 62). Though
this dissertation is literature-based, I approached the research having developed ideas in
the many interactions over the years with others in my educational experiences both as a
student and a teacher. As Sterling (2003) wrote,
It is . . . participative in that I have as far as possible tried to be aware of my dialogue, (Greek dialogos “through meaning”) i.e., my engagement, with the meaning of those written sources to whom I owe a great debt. (p. 63)
Therefore, like Sterling, I believe that from the many years of reading certain authors’
works, I have been in dialogue with them and, in turn, the theories I have developed are
informed by their ideas, research, and observations, and theories.
I present this dissertation as a way to inform and raise the dialogue in the
educational field. Therefore, I did not make concrete claims; instead I offered a
framework from which to enrich the discussion. I discuss this idea of framework in more
depth below.
Figure 2. Overarching methodology and methodologies.
Integral Inquiry
Participative Inquiry
Systemic Inquiry
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Systemic Inquiry
Finally, in this dissertation, I used a specific approach developed by Klein and
Kiehne (2006) called systemic inquiry. However, it is important to acknowledge that
there are many other approaches within the systems field that could have guided this
research process, since systemic inquiry is a broad and “very diverse research field,
covering the full spectrum from theoretical to practical and from quantitative to
qualitative approaches” (K. Laszlo, personal communication September 30, 2008). The
think tank Systemic Excellence Group (2007) defined systemic inquiry succinctly as
follows:
An explorative evaluation of opportunities for organisational improvement. Systemic Inquiry is organisational analysis and change in one. It is about exploring organisational identity and the opportunities for change. And this is different from organisation to organisation. There is no such thing as one best practice. (p. 1)
In offering critical elements of a living school, I am aware that each educational
organization is different and each place the organization resides is different. Thus, the
specific place is the foundation on which to create a living school that is relevant and
unique to that place. Therefore, one cannot proclaim critical criteria or an ideal that can
be universally applied to all organizations or schools. As the Native American and
scholar, John Mohawk (1999) wrote, “The pursuit of the ideal has provided a stream of
rationalizations that justified plunder, racism, and oppression in the name of a better
future” (p. 13). This is not to suggest that individual schools should not engage in ideal-
seeking or aspirational exploration as part of their unique design efforts. I used the
process of systemic inquiry as a means to discuss the critical elements of the framework
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for creating a living school. Therefore, I have not presented concrete ideals or factors that
must or can be instituted globally.
Note that philosophically my method is similar to social systems design (Banathy,
1996) in two ways. Both methods do not prescribe a particular design but instead design
in a collaborative way with others. Also, neither method focuses on problem solving but
instead focus more broadly on creating futures. However, the methods used to do this are
different.
Methods
The previous section provided a discussion of the overall methodological
strategies of this dissertation. This section offers a discussion of the methods employed in
this dissertation, thus giving more detail into the actual techniques or tactics that were
used. Two main methods I used for this dissertation were the appreciative cycle of
critical reflection and the application of the lens of systematics and living systems theory
using thematic analysis. These terms are defined below. I used both of these methods
simultaneously, and therefore, the results of each informed the other.
Critical Reflection
The cycle of critical reflection that was employed in this dissertation is composed
of the following elements: collection, analysis, abduction, synthesis, and reflection
(Sterling, 2003). This cycle is shown in Figure 3.
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Collection refers to the many conversations, notes, journal articles, books, Web sites, and
other literature sources I collected as part of my research. Collection is a divergent
process that reviews the knowledge and understanding that is already known. The
analysis phase distills relevant information for the field of inquiry from the collection
phase. The third phase, abduction, is the process in which one looks at underlying
patterns in the collection of the data.
Abduction thinking involves perceiving patterns that connect by using both non-rational and rational logic. The usual duality between rational and irrational is complexified by the introduction of non-rational logic as a viable and scientifically valid form of reasoning. Non-rational logic encourages scientists to look for patterns across apparently disparate phenomena. Doing so may give rise to creative insights which cannot be generated through rational logic. (Van der Hoorn, 1995, as cited in Sterling, 2003, p. 65)
In the fourth stage, synthesis, one evaluates the findings and substantiates “insights,
assertions, and generic models” (Sterling, 2003, p. 64). Synthesis is a convergent process.
The final stage, reflection, is a key aspect of any learning process including research. The
process of reflection is not only done after the action but also during the cycle of critical
Collection
Analysis
Abduction Synthesis
Reflection
Figure 3. Critical reflection.
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reflection. It is a process of integrating the new understanding into the mind, body, and
spirit of the person.
Thematic Analysis
The other method I used, thematic analysis, is “a method for identifying,
analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 79).
More specifically, I used a theoretical thematic analysis which is “driven by the
researcher’s theoretical or analytic interest in the area, and is thus more explicitly analyst
driven” (p. 84). The theory I used to interpret the literature was based on Bennett’s
(1966) systematics, discussed next. I also analyzed the literature at a latent level, which
“starts to identify or examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, and
conceptualizations—and ideologies—that are theorized as shaping and informing the
semantic content of the data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 84). Finally, the data sets I used
to extract themes are: the translated works of Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner, the
holistic education literature, the systematics literature, and the living system literature.
The next section is a discussion of the lenses that were used in the thematic
analysis.
Systematics
A lens I used in the thematic analyses is systematics, which is a mental
technology that employs ancient teachings around the significance and meanings of
numbers, as a way to look at systems in the explicate world. Bennett (1983) described
systematics as follows:
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An instrument of understanding. The basis of systematics is the belief that there are principles according to which everything can be described and understood. These principles demonstrate that all structures in the world, be they things, living beings, events or processes, can be understood by simple pattern of systems. (p. 8)
I used systematics because it provides frameworks with which to see interactions without
reducing them to the level of individual elements. In the past, the frameworks of
systematics have been used in such contexts as organizational development, group
dynamics, and psychotherapy (Bennett, 1983). I used two frameworks, the tetrad and
enneagram, from systematics to present the three philosophies of education discussed and
to introduce the concept of living schools.
Systematics is different from the research methods scholar, Arne Collen’s (2003)
systemics, which focuses on the praxis and inquiry of systemic change. Systematics, on
the other hand, is a mental technology that uses geometric structures to understand and
organize thoughts around varying complexities of systems. The use of the tetrad or
enneagram framework allows us to organize our thoughts in a holistic way. Systemics, on
the other hand, can be seen as a methodology or a praxeology.
Philosophies of education. To define and discuss the philosophies of Maria
Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, and regenerative education, I employed Bennett’s (1966)
tetrad, which is composed of four points: ground, goal, instrument, and direction. Bennet
believed these existed “in every ordering activity and serve to distinguish it from random,
meaningless happening” (p. 30). The four elements are discussed in more depth in the
application of the tetrad to the exploration of Montessori’s philosophy of education.
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Living schools. To describe a living school, I used Bennett’s (1983) enneagram.
This framework helps to guide one’s thinking in visualizing systems as evolving and
living, a term discussed below. Bennett (1983) described the enneagram, a nine-pointed
framework, as
an instrument to help us achieve triadic perception and mentations. Whereas our ordinary mental processes are linear and sequential, the world in which we live is threefold. . . . We find it hard to look at the whole of what is happening in and around us because our thinking is linear. . . .We must get beyond linear thinking in order to see the inner cohesion. The spiritual world is totally non-linear and this why we cannot ordinarily think about it all. We must therefore find a new way of thinking. In order to change our way of thinking we have first of all to recognize that it is not a matter of looking along several different lines at once but recognizing that there is structure in what we are looking at. The structure may be imperfect, but if it were not there at all, we could understand nothing. (pp. 6-7)
In explicating the enneagram, I discussed what each point of the enneagram represents.
This was done by using critical reflection. I also used thematic analysis to extract and
create examples to discuss the nine points of a living school. The enneagram, in this
dissertation, is used as a visualizing framework, not as a personality model (Naranjo,
1997; Palmer, 1998).
Living Systems
Another lens I used in the thematic analysis is the living systems literature. In
1968, von Bertalanffy published a seminal work on general system theory (GST).
von Bertalanffy (1968) wrote that GST is an “interdisciplinary doctrine” that is
“elaborating principles and models that apply to systems in general, irrespective of their
particular kind, elements, and ‘forces’ involved” (p. xvii). From this doctrine emerged a
whole new level of dialogue that is able to unify many different sciences. Based on von
Bertalanffy’s work (1968), James Miller (1978) wrote Living Systems Philosophy. In this
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massive volume, he articulated a hierarchy of structures and 20 critical subsystems for
living systems. It is beyond the scope and purpose of this dissertation to elaborate fully
this hierarchy and subsystems. However, the field of living systems philosophy offers
important concepts that can be used in articulating the critical criteria in creating a living
school.
Research Design Overview
This section synthesizes the previous sections on methodologies and methods to
outline a basic research design for this dissertation. To understand the flow or design of
the research, the research questions are revisited:
(1) What is the philosophy of regenerative education?
(2) What are the critical elements of the framework needed to a living school?
First Research Question
To answer the first question, a series of subquestions are addressed in the
literature review. These questions are:
• What are the attributes of the holistic education field?
• What is a philosophy of education?
• What is Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education?
• What is Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of education?
To articulate the philosophies of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori, I used critical
reflection and thematic analysis. More specifically, I employed the framework of the
tetrad from systematics.
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This same format was used to answer: “What is the philosophy of regenerative
education?” In other words, critical reflection, thematic analysis, and the tetrad were used
to present the philosophy of regenerative education.
Second Research Question
To answer the second question, the following subquestions need to be answered:
• What is a framework that can create a living school?
• What are the critical elements of this framework?
The answer to the first subquestion, as discussed in the systematics section above, is the
use of the enneagram framework. The second subquestion is answered in Chapter 5, with
a presentation of the nine different concepts that must be addressed and integrated to
create a living school according to the enneagram framework. I also provide examples of
what this might look like with the use of thematic analysis and reflection from the
following sources: the holistic education literature, the systemic literature, and the living
system literature. I articulate the concepts as a framework as opposed to a model as
specific criteria cannot be named without reference to the unique time and place for a
living school, discussed next. Place in this context includes the land, the peoples, and the
time. This concept is discussed in more depth in Chapter 5. The next section discusses the
delimitations and limitations of this dissertation.
Delimitations and Limitations
This dissertation is strictly theoretical and therefore is limited because the
philosophy and the concept of a living school were developed through my lens only. An
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important delimitation of the dissertation is that I am putting forward frameworks rather
than models. Sterling (2003) referenced the ecological scholar David Rapport’s (1998)
distinction between models and frameworks: “Models describe how things work, whereas
theories explain things, but conceptual frameworks help us think about phenomena—to
‘order material, revealing patterns, and pattern recognition typically leads to model and
theories’” (p. 15).
Mordechai Gordon (2005), a professor of education at Quinnipiac University,
wrote, “Theories provide teachers with a frame of reference and a language with which to
name and critically analyze many of the problems they face daily” (p. 21). Howard
Ozmon and Samuel Craver (1999), educational philosophers, reflected on the common
misperception of teachers that
good theory should be directly applicable to practical life—that it can be “plugged” into actual situations and yield direct results. If the theory does not work, then it is a bad theory. This assumption may be the reason that many people show disdain for theory can call it impractical, for few if any educational theories can be applied directly to practical conditions in the sense that one applied aspirin to a headache. (cited in Gordon, 2005, pp. 21-22; emphasis in original)
Similarly, this dissertation does not provide a plug-in model of education, but instead
provides a platform from which teachers and schools can discover their own individual
methods from the unfoldment of their essences. Not only are methods dependent on the
individual teacher’s essence, they also are dependent on the larger situation in which the
schools is a part.
When the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire was asked about applying his theory of
education to the United States, as Gordon (2005) reported, Freire said that it must be
“reformulated” to address the “need and conditions of this particular context.” (p. 23).
Gordon likewise concluded,
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The fact that educational theories are not universal truths but historical products that were created in particular contexts, implies that we must be extremely cautious when we try to apply a theory that was created to meet the needs of one situation to a completely different set of circumstances. (p. 23)
Similarly, my philosophy of education and concept of living schools are only frameworks
to be used, tested, and upgraded. It is not a final product and is therefore limited as such.
In fact, it is only the beginning of a long journey of analysis, reflection, and discovery of
methods and models. The philosophy of regenerative education and living schools must
not become stagnant; instead they must always be in a continual evolutionary process to
stay relevant to the times. Accordingly, this dissertation is intended to provoke a new
level of dialogue to occur in the holistic educational community at this point in history.
I also put this dissertation forward in the same vein as bell hooks (1994) put
forward her philosophy: to heal myself. I put forth this thesis as an attempt to discover
and articulate my truth: “Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it
there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it” (Gandhi, as cited in Easwaran, 1978,
p. 47). Mahatma Gandhi distinguished between truth and Truth:
What may appear as truth to one person will often appear as untruth to another person. But that need not worry the seeker. Where this is honest effort, it will be realized that what appear to be different truths are like the countless and apparently different leaves of the same tree. . . . Truth is the right designation of God. Hence there is nothing wrong in every man following truth according to his lights. Indeed it is his duty to do so. Then if there is a mistake on the part of anyone so following Truth, it will be automatically set right. For the quest of Truth involves tapas—self-suffering, sometimes even unto death. There can be no place in it for even a trace of self-interest. In such selfless search for Truth nobody can lose his bearings for long. (as cited in Easwaran, 1978, p. 151)
Following this distinction, this dissertation is an expression of my truth on my journey to
understand Truth. Therefore, this dissertation is limited because I put it forth as a slice of
my truth, so revealed at this moment.
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To provide background and context for my philosophy of education, I articulate
common themes of the holistic education movement and provide two examples of
philosophies that are considered foundational to the movement, those of Maria
Montessori and Rudolf Steiner. I have delimited this review to these two individuals’
philosophies for three reasons: (1) Montessori and Steiner both wrote about what I define
as the four key components to an educational philosophy, (2) the philosophies both have
current manifestations as school systems in the world today, and (3) they are considered
foundational philosophies of the holistic educational movement. To maintain purity of
meaning, only translations of the original sources authored by Montessori and Steiner are
used to articulate their philosophies. However, because I am limited to the interpretations
of the original works by the translators, the text may differ from the original meanings.
The next section, the review of the literature, provides the background needed to
articulate the philosophy of regenerative education.
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CHAPTER 3
HOLISTIC EDUCATION
This review of the literature provides the background needed to present the
philosophy of regenerative education in Chapter 4. The review begins with a discussion
of the overall field of holistic education, from which regenerative education stems. I then
define, for this dissertation, the term philosophy of education by articulating what I have
found to be its four components. Next, I introduce briefly the philosophies of Maria
Montessori and Rudolf Steiner as examples of holistic philosophies of education. These
two philosophies were chosen because they are regarded as foundational to the holistic
educational movement, and both have current educational systems in practice today.
This chapter covers the following areas:
(1) Introduction to the holistic educational field,
(2) A definition of philosophy of education, and
(3) The philosophies of Montessori and Steiner as examples of holistic
educational philosophies.
Background
Yoshiharu Nakagawa (2000) wrote that “the ‘holistic’ ideas of education are not
new but have existed across the ages and cultures, if we regard holistic education as a
form of education that is oriented toward wholeness” (p. 8). The history of the current
manifestation of the holistic educational movement is unclear. Scott Forbes (1996), a
holistic education scholar, discussed the controversial history of the holistic education
movement:
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While some advocates claim that views central to holistic education are not new but are, in fact, timeless and found in the sense of wholeness in humanity’s religious impetus; others claim inspiration from Rousseau, Emerson, Pestalozzi, Froebel, and more recently Krishnamurti, Steiner, Montessori, Jung, Maslow, Rogers, Paul Goodman, John Holt, Ivan Illich, Paulo Freire. Still others feel that the views central to holistic education are the result of a cultural paradigm shift that began in the 1960s. (p.1)
I believe that the new resurgence of interest in the holistic educational field is the result
of the shift described in the introduction.
Though the holistic educational movement does not have an agreed-upon
definition, John Hare (2006), a holistic scholar and teacher, believed that the definition
can be described “through a number of recurrent themes that appear in the literature.
These themes have been used to develop underlying values that reflect this educational
approach and the behaviours associated with these values are described” (p. 1). Five such
common themes in holistic education are: holism, the whole person, spirituality,
ultimacy, transdisciplinary and the environment. Each of these is explored in turn below.
Themes in Holistic Education
Holism
The term holism was coined by the statesman and philosopher J. C. Smuts
(1926/1999), in his seminal publication Holism and Evolution.
Holism is the term here coined . . . to designate this fundamental factor operative toward the making or creation of wholes in the universe. . . .The creation of wholes, and ever more highly organized wholes, and of wholeness generally as characteristic of existence, is an inherent character of the universe. (pp. 98-99)
In defining wholes and holism, Smuts pointed out,
While in a mechanical aggregate each part acts as a separate cause, and the resultant activity is a sum of the component activities; in organic activity or the activity of the whole this separate action or causation disappears in a real
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synthesis or unity which make the components unrecognizable in the unified result. Yet even here we must realize that the whole does not act as a separate cause, distinct from its parts, no more than it is itself something additional over and above its parts. Holism is of the parts and acts through the parts, but the parts in their new relation of intimate synthesis which gives them unified action. (pp. 118-119)
When an external stimulus acts upon the whole, the whole is transformed. This concept is
an important element to living systems, which is discussed in Chapter 5.
When an external cause acts on a whole, the resultant effect is not merely traceable to the cause, but has become transformed in the process. The whole seems to absorb and metabolize the external stimulus and to assimilate it into its own activity; and the resultant response is no longer the passive effect of the stimulus or cause, but appears as the activity of the whole. (p. 119)
In this dissertation, Smut’s (1926) definition of holism is extended to include the spiritual
quality of creating wholes. John Miller (1996), a professor at the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education, made a useful distinction between the current uses of wholistic and
holistic in education.
People often ask about the root meaning of holistic. The word holistic comes from the Greek word “holon” and makes reference to a universe made up of integrated wholes that cannot simply be reduced to the sum of its parts. Holistic is sometimes spelled as “wholistic.” I do not use the words interchangeably, but suggest that holistic implies spirituality, or sense of the sacred, while wholistic is more material and biological with an emphasis on physical and social interconnections. I believe Dewey argues for wholism, while Gandhi and Steiner were holistic. (p. 3)
Ramón Gallegos Nava (2001), a Mexican sociologist, outlined four levels of wholeness:
community, society, planet, and holistic kosmos. The holistic educational movement sees
education as a system of important interrelationships in and between each of level of
whole. Ron Miller (2000a), discussed holism as the interrelationship of all that exists.
Holism asserts that everything exists in relationship, in a context of connection and meaning—and that any change or event causes a realignment, however slight, throughout the entire pattern. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” means that the whole is comprised of a pattern of relationships that are not
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contained by the parts but ultimately define them. Holism, then stands in stark opposition to the method of reductionism, which holds that analysis, dissection, and strict definition are the tools for understanding reality. (p. 21, emphasis in original)
John Miller (1996) outlined some of these connections, such as “linear thinking and
intuition,” “relationship between mind and body,” “relationship among domains of
knowledge,” “relationship between self and community,” “relationship to the Earth,” and
“relationship between self and Self” (pp. 8-9). The physicist Fritjof Capra (1996) called
this interconnection of relationships the “web of life” (p. 7) which is an integral part of
ecoliteracy, mentioned in the introduction.
Whole Person
The holistic movement purports to educate the whole child. Gallegos Nava (2001)
wrote,
The person is viewed as an integral being with six essential elements: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, aesthetic, and spiritual. These six elements play a fundamental role in the learning process. Even though, traditionally, the cognitive aspect has been favored, holistic education recognizes the importance of balance among the six elements. Holistic educators do not see the students as a brain that must be programmed, but rather as a whole being. (pp. 29-30)
When the three dimensions of the student I identified earlier—function, being, and will—
are expanded, they incorporate each of the dimensions identified by Gallegos Nava
(2001). John Miller (2005) also believed that these six elements comprise the whole
person. Some believe that an aspect of this is enabling the child to discovery their
purpose.
Holistic education is a journey towards self-realization and self-actualization through which the student aims to achieve a rare insight and awareness of who they are and their true purpose. The development and realization of personal
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goals, as a feature of this journey, will help to maximize their personal potential. (Hare, 2006, p. 305)
This important aspect is discussed in great depth in the presentation of philosophy of
regenerative education in Chapter 4.
Spirituality
In holistic education, spirituality is considered to play an essential role in the
education of students. “Holistic education is a creative alternative to the tension between
religious and secular education” (Gallegos Nava, 2001, p. 33). In the holistic educational
literature, spiritual is defined as:
an inner core that lies beyond the physical, social, and other sources of personality. Whether they use traditional religious terms (“soul,” “the divine within”) or the language of depth psychology (“the higher self”), to describe this core, holistic educators recognize it as the very essence of the person. (R. Miller, 2000a, p. 24)
John Miller (2000a) called spiritual “the divine essence within” (p. 24). J. G. Bennett
believed that spirit is “the concrete property whereby all existence is endowed with
potentiality” (1961, p. 287) and “the absolutely subjective and therefore non-material
source of all experience” (1966, p. 346). This is similar to Bohm’s (2003) “super-
implicate order” mentioned earlier.
Stanley Krippner (2006) made an important distinction between religion and
spirituality.
The word “religious” refers to the adherence to an organized system of beliefs about the divine (something deemed worthy of veneration and worship) and the observance of rituals, rites, and requirements of that belief system. “Spirituality,” on the other hand, can be thought of as one’s focus on, and/or reverence, openness, and connectedness to some process or entity believed to be beyond one's full understanding and/or individual existence. Any rituals, behaviors, or beliefs that accompany this process are internally generated rather than reflective of an external authority or institution. (p. 1)
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In this dissertation, I refer to spirituality rather than religion, which is usually linked to an
institution. However, it should be noted that in the holistic movement,
Religion is understood completely differently than in the traditional sense, without religious beliefs or churches, because religion is not a doctrine or institution. It is a state of mind in complete order and is supported by a genuine moral foundation. But, since the concept of religion is so highly associated with dogmatism, the concept of spirituality has been preferred by holistic thinkers. Holistic education is both secular and spiritual without presenting any contradiction. . . . In holistic education spirituality implies a deep respect for diversity and the inner experience of the child or student. This allows the child to ask fundamental questions in a natural manner, without those questions being rejected or answered a priori, but rather explored with a love of learning and in an atmosphere of freedom (Gallegos Nava, 2001, pp. 34-35).
The goal of spirituality is summarized in the term ultimacy, described below.
Ultimacy
Scott Forbes (2003), proposed that “the goal of holistic education is best
encapsulated by the term ‘Ultimacy.’” He defined ultimacy as,
(1) the highest state of being that a human can aspire to, either as a stage of development (e.g. enlightenment), as a moment of life that is the greatest but only rarely experienced by anyone (e.g. grace), or as a phase of life that is common in the population but usually rare in any particular individual’s life (e.g., Maslow’s peak-experience); and (2) a concern or engagement that is the greatest that a person can aspire to (e.g., being in service to something sacred). These two meanings can overlap or intertwine. (p. 17)
Ultimacy, also called enlightenment or union with cosmic harmony, is a common theme
throughout the holistic literature. It is the highest potential of the student who is involved
in a holistic educational process.
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Transdisciplinary
Another important theme of holistic education is its transdisciplinary approach.
As Gallegos Nava (2001) explained,
This refers to knowledge going beyond the unconnected fragments represented in current academic disciplines. Transdisciplinary is not interdisciplinary; the later is a perspective that attempts to integrate knowledge according to the logic of mechanistic science. The term “interdisciplinary” connotes the integration of knowledge is necessary, but only of scientific knowledge. . . . The Transdisciplinary perspective works from a broader epistemological context than just science. It goes beyond intellectual knowledge and attempts an integration not only of scientific disciplines, but also of other fields of knowledge such as art, customs, spirituality, and literature. Transdisciplinary is the global integration of knowledge, the need for which lies in the complexity of the moral, environmental, and scientific dilemmas we are currently facing. (p. 33)
Transdisciplinary integrates or melds the different disciplines into one approach. In
contrast, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches study a single topic from
multiple perspectives while keeping the distinction between perspectives explicit. As
discussed in the introduction, Bohm (1980) had similar sentiments:
Fragmentation is now very widespread, not only throughout society, but also in each individual; and this is leading to a kind of general confusion of the mind, which creates an endless series of problems and interferes with our clarity of perception so seriously as to prevent us from being able to solve most of them. Thus art, science, technology, and human work in general, are divided up into specialties, each considered to be separate in essence from the others. Becoming dissatisfied with this state of affairs, men have set up further interdisciplinary subjects, which were intended to unite these specialties, but these new subjects have ultimately served mainly to add further separate fragments. (p. 1)
With this movement in holistic education, perhaps what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(2007), the poet and scientist, wrote may come true: “Science arose from poetry—when
times change the two can meet again on a higher level as friends” (p. 1).
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Environment
Lastly, an important aspect of holistic education that must not be overlooked is
the importance of the environment. Krishnamurti once said, “If you are in harmony with
nature, with all the things around you, then you are in harmony with all human beings. If
you have lost your relationship with nature you will inevitably lose your relationships
with human beings” (as cited in Holistic Education, 2003, p. 1). A holistic educator, John
Hare (2006) wrote,
The holistic perspective demands that the world around us must be treated with respect. Individuals are custodians of the environment and hold a position of stewardship and trust both for others and future generations. The student is required to focus continually on the impact of their own actions and the activities of others on the environment and to take responsible action to show their care. (p. 305)
Ron Miller (2005-2006) wrote that the holistic movement prepares students to deal with
the environment because the movement has four essential qualities: “experiential
learning,” “community development,” “concern for inner life,” and “ecological literacy”
(p. 5). From these four components of education, we can infer that a caring relationship
with nature will be enabled.
As mentioned, these are some of the common themes that recur throughout the
holistic educational literature. In articulating regenerative education, I reference other
themes that are present but perhaps not held as common in the holistic educational
literature.
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Definition of Philosophy of Education
For this dissertation, a philosophy of education is defined as comprising four
points: the ground, purpose, instrument, and direction (see Figure 4), based on
philosopher J. G. Bennett’s (1966) tetrad, as discussed in the methods section.
Below is a series of guiding questions by which to understand a philosophy of education
as a whole:
(1) What is the aim, purpose, or goal of the philosophy of education?
(2) In what is the process of education grounded? What is its nature? What must
be in place to begin to move toward its goal? What beliefs must be shared?
What must be developed first?
(3) What are the methods, tools, or instruments used to move toward the goal?
(4) To what is one always indexing, for guidance, when thinking about moving
toward the aim? How will people know when they are no longer living from
such a philosophy of education? What gives one direction toward the goal?
Ground*
Direction*
Instrument*
Goal*
Figure 4. The four components of a philosophy of education.
Note.* Bennett’s (1966) original terms.
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If an educational philosophy does not answer each of these questions, I believe it is not
considered a whole or complete philosophy.
Two Philosophies of Education
The philosophies of Maria Montessori and Rudolph Steiner are discussed as
examples of holistic philosophies of education. They serve as a foundation for the
philosophy of regenerative education presented in Chapter 4. Systems are discussed in
more depth in Chapter 5. A brief overview of these philosophies are given to ground
regenerative education into a thought stream.
Maria Montessori’s Philosophy of Education
It is important to note that this overview of Montessori’s life and her philosophy
for education is not exhaustive. Instead, I have provided enough information for the
reader to understand the basic tenets of her philosophy. Reviewing the details of
Montessori’s methods is beyond the scope and purpose of this dissertation. Therefore, the
general themes, principles, and tenets are discussed in service of providing a background
to the field in which the philosophy of regenerative education stems.
Background
Mario Montessori (1984) described his mother, Maria Montessori, as an
“extraordinary person” who was “very strong-willed” (p. 44). Maria Montessori was the
first female physician in Italy and became recognized as a prominent scientist (Olaf,
2007). Montessori’s philosophy for education was deeply influenced by (1) her
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experiences working with disabled children, (2) what she called normal children, and
(3) her readings of four prominent thinkers: Friedrich Froebel, credited with starting the
first kindergarten; the anthropologist Giuseppe Sergi; and the French physicians, Jean
Itard, a pioneer in special education and famous for his work with the child from
Averyon, and Edward Séguin, who was recognized for his work with what was then
referred to as “idiocy” and the measurement of intelligence (Montessori, 1909/1912).
After spending considerable time developing methods for working with disabled
children and having much success, Montessori was invited by Eduardo Talamo, who at
the time was director general of the Roman Association for Good Building, to “undertake
the organization of infant schools in its model tenements” (1909/1912, p. 43). She was to
take care of the residents’ children, or ravages as they were termed, to stop them from
damaging the buildings (Montessori, 1909/1912). Therefore, in January of 1907, in the
Quarter of San Lorenzo, Rome, Montessori founded The Children’s House. Thus began a
model for a new type of school called the Montessori school, which would spread
worldwide and still be in use over 100 years later.
As reported by Mario Montessori (1984), “Dr. Montessori herself was not
particularly spiritual. On the contrary, at the time science was against religion on the
grounds that you cannot prove God’s existence, so it must all be nonsense.
Dr. Montessori was then a positivist” (pp. 46-47). However, from her time working with
the children, she had a transformation. Mario Montessori (1984) recounted the
transformation that occurred in his mother’s life around the discovery of the spiritual
nature of the child:
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One time a lady came, dressed in black. She had lost her husband and she came there just to sit down. A little child went to her, took her hand and patted it and went away. Nobody had told the child anything.
Thus Dr. Montessori saw these souls becoming alive, shedding their possessiveness, shedding their coarseness. I am going to read a few words from her book called The Secret of Childhood to show you her feelings: “It took time for me to convince myself that this was not an illusion; after each new experience, proving such a truth, I said to myself: ‘I won’t believe yet, I will believe next time’ and thus, for a long time, I remained incredulous, and at the same time, deeply stirred.” What Dr. Montessori had seen was the renunciation of all that was considered sin, and the emergence of the spirit through the influence of no one, but only by the possibility of the children working and expressing themselves. This community of little beings of three to six who had spontaneously made a perfect society touched this woman. And this positivist, who disbelieved in religion, continues: “One day, in great emotion, I took my head in my two hands, as though to encourage it to raise to the heights of faith, and I stood respectfully before the children, saying to myself: ‘Who are you then? Have I perhaps met with the children who were held in Christ’s arms and to whom divine words were spoken? I will follow you to enter with you into the Kingdom of the Heaven.’”
The children have made a great convert: Dr. Montessori, a scientist, a disbeliever. And she did, she followed Him. She left her career, she left her brilliant position among the socialists and among the feminists, she left the university, she left even the family and followed Him. (pp. 50-51)
Impetus Montessori was a woman who was also driven by the feminist movement and by
the civil rights movement in Italy. She believed that people needed to have an education
system that would prepare students to face the current world:
The need that is so keenly felt for a reform of secondary schools concerns not only an educational, but also a human and social problem. This can be summed up in one sentence: Schools as they are today are adapted neither to the needs of adolescence nor to the times in which we live. Society has not only developed into a state of utmost complication and extreme contrasts, but it has now come to a crisis in which the peace of the world and civilization itself are threatened. The crisis is certainly connected with the immense progress that has been made in science and its practical applications, but it has not been caused by them. More than to anything else it is due to the fact that the development of man himself has not kept pace with that of his external environment.
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While material progress has been extremely rapid and social life has been completely transformed, the schools have remained in a kind of arrested development, organized in a way that cannot have been well suited even to the needs of the past, but that today is actually in contrast with human progress. (Montessori, 1948/1994, p. 59)
Montessori was also motivated by the society’s lack of concern for the child. She
discussed that in her time, the social world was constructed in a way such that children
felt that they were bothersome and unwelcome. Many times she cited the example of
furniture that is not the appropriate size for a child. Montessori wanted children to feel
welcome and to manifest their potential without stifling it. She was so concerned about
the current place held by children in the society that she called for a revolution:
We, also, when we speak of education are proclaiming a revolution, one in which everything we know today will be transformed. I think of this as the final revolution; not a revolution of violence, still less of bloodshed, but one form which violence is wholly excluded—for the little child’s psychic productivity is stricken to death by the barest shadow of violence.
This is education, understood as a help to life: an education from birth, which feeds the peaceful revolution and unites all in a common aim, attracting them as to a single center. Mothers, fathers, politicians: all must combine in their respect and help for this delicate work of formation, which the little child carries on in the depth of a profound psychological mystery, under the tutelage of an inner guide. This is the bright new hope for mankind. Not reconstructions, but help from the constructive work that the human soul is called upon to do, and to bring to fruition; a work of formation which brings out the immense potentialities with which children, the sons of men, are endowed. (Montessori, 1949/1995, p. 17)
In Montessori’s school, great attention was paid to ensure that children felt welcome and
to enable the development of what Montessori referred to as each child’s inner guide.
Process It is important to discuss the process by which Montessori created her philosophy
of education. Montessori (1910/1913) helped develop a science called pedagogical
anthropology as an instrument by which to discover how to help a person develop. Her
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definition of this science was “a method that systematizes the positive study of the pupil
for pedagogic purposes and with a view to establishing philosophic principles of
education” (p. vii). Montessori was influenced and encouraged by Sergi, who originated
the field. In reaction to the focus of studying abnormalities in his time, Sergi also
believed, as Montessori (1910/1913) reported, that “what is imperative for us to know, he
claims, is normal humanity, if we are to guide it intelligently toward that biological and
moral perfection, on which the progress of humanity must depend” (p. 18, emphasis in
original). In addition, Montessori (1910/1913) cited Sergi’s belief that “we cannot
educate anyone until we know him thoroughly” (p. 17) as foundational to the science of
anthropological pedagogy.
From the development of such a science, Montessori (1910/1913) believed that
she could achieve the following:
We teachers would like, through educative means, to counteract the ultimate consequences of degeneration and predisposition to disease: if criminal anthropology has been able to revolutionize the penalty in modern civilization, it is our duty to undertake, in the school of the future, to revolutionize the individual. And by achieving this ideal, pedagogic anthropology, just as schools for the abnormal and feeble, multiplied and perfected under the protection of an advanced civilization, will in a large measure have replaced the prisons and the hospitals. (p. 18, emphasis in original)
One important process of anthropological pedagogy was observing each child as an
individual (Montessori, 1910/1913).
Educators are still very far from having real knowledge of that collective body of school-children, on whom a uniformity of method, of encouragement and punishment is blindly inflicted, if, instead of this, the child could be brought before the teacher’s eyes as a living individuality, he would be forced to adopt very different standards of judgment, and would be shaken to the very depths of his conscience by the revelation of a responsibility hitherto unsuspected (p. 18, emphasis in original)
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From this idea of anthropological pedagogy, Montessori (1916/1965) viewed the teacher
as a scientist and the classroom as a laboratory in which to understand the development
of human being:
To prepare teachers in the methods of the experimental sciences is not an easy matter. When we shall have instructed them in anthropometry and psychometry in the most minute manner possible, we shall have only created machines, whose usefulness will be most doubtful. (1910/1913, p. 7)
Instead,
It is my belief that the thing we should cultivate in our teachers is more the spirit than the mechanical skill of the scientist, that is the direction of the preparation should be toward the spirit rather than toward the mechanism. (Montessori, 1910/1913, p. 9, emphasis in original)
The teacher was to develop an objective view of the child because
in all this progress of modern child education, we have not freed ourselves from the prejudice which denies children spiritual expression and spiritual needs, and makes us consider them only as amiable vegetating bodies to be cared for, kissed, and set in motion. (p. 155)
In conclusion, the teacher was to “become a director of the spontaneous work of the
children. She is not a passive force, a silent presence” (1909/1912, p. 155, emphasis in
original).
From this science, Montessori (1910/1913) was then able to create a philosophy
of education that she could test and improve over time. Figure 5 summarizes are the titles
of the four elements of this philosophy of education.
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Ground
The first point to discuss on the tetrad in Figure 4 is the ground. The ground is the
“point from which the activity starts. It includes the separate urges of all the component
elements through which they come together in a concerted activity” (Bennett, 1966,
p. 31). The ground is the base element of the tetrad, where the process of educating is
motivated. From her experiences, Montessori (1949/1995) realized that all education
begins with the spiritual unfoldment of the newborn child, or the “spiritual embryo”:
It follows that the newborn child has to do a piece of formative work which corresponds in the psychological sphere to the one just done by the embryo in the physical sphere. . . . This postnatal work is a constructive activity which is carried on in what may be called the “formative period,” and it makes the baby into a kind of “Spiritual Embryo.”. . .
If the work of man on the earth is related to his spirit, to his creative intelligence, then his spirit and his intelligence must be the fulcrum of his existence, and of all the workings of his body. About this fulcrum his behavior is organized, and even his physical economy. The whole man develops within a spiritual halo. . . .
If the nature of man is to be ruled by a “spiritual halo which enfolds him,” if he depends on this and all his behavior derives from it, then the first care given to the newborn babe—overriding all others—must be a care for his mental life, and not just for his bodily life, which is the rule today. (pp. 60-61)
Spiritual Embryo (ground)
God’s Path (direction)
Liberty (instrument)
Normalcy (goal)
Figure 5. Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education.
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Montessori (1936/1966) likened the process of the unfoldment of the spiritual
embryo to the work of an artist.
Every man has his own creative spirit that makes him a work of art. But there is a need of much toil and labor. Before any effects are outwardly apparent, an inner work must be performed which is not the simple reproduction of an already pre-existing type, but the active creation of a new type. The end product, when it does appear, is as a consequence something surprising and enigmatic. It is like a masterpiece which an artist has kept in the intimacy of his studio and into which he has poured himself before showing it in public.
This fashioning of the human personality is a secret work of “incarnation.” The child is an enigma. All that we know is that he has the highest potentialities, but we do not know what he will be. He must “become incarnate” with the help of his own will. (pp. 31-32)
Montessori discussed the meaning of to “become incarnate” below: One of the most profound mysteries of Christianity is the Incarnation, when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Something analogous to this mystery may be found in the birth of every child, when a spirit enclosed in flesh comes to live in the world. (Montessori, 1936/1966, p. 29)
These concepts collectively formed the base of the activity of education that Montessori
dedicated her life to developing.
Goal
The next point on the tetrad to be discussed is the goal. Bennett (1966) noted, “the
Goal is not a terminus ad quem, but the guiding pattern to which the activity must
conform even before it starts” (p. 33). The goal is the aspiration that the person is
motivated by to engage in the activity. The goal point is “[t]he ideal pattern which can
unite all the components of the activity into a structured whole. . . . The central theme or
motive that sustains the activity” (p. 31). With a deep understanding of the spiritual
nature of the child at the ground point, Montessori created a goal for education, as seen in
Figure 6.
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Montessori (1936/1966) felt that education was more about the “child’s psyche
rather than its intellectual development” (p. 29) and therefore education “strives to assist
the psychic life of children” (p. 12, emphasis in original). She believed that the child
needed to be normal. Montessori (1949/1995) described this work of “normalcy” as “the
most important single result of our whole work” (p. 204, emphasis in original).
Montessori felt that in the mid-1900s, people described children as “capricious,”
“disorderly,” “timid,” “slothful,” or “extra-social” (p. 204). However, she believed that a
child’s personality can develop normally and thus be associated with such words as
“concentration,” “work,” “discipline,” “sociability,” and “super-social” (p. 204). One of
the key elements in the development of normalcy is “the concentration on something
specific” (p. 203). She believed that the child’s work was to become an adult and
therefore live an existence that was socially adapted.
Montessori believed in the importance of enabling a spiritual awakening so as to
have a conversion. In this usage, the term conversion originated from a famous author
(Montessori did not specify whom) who visited the Children’s Home and was astonished
that once estranged and disturbed children were happy working on different tasks:
Figure 6. Montessori’s goal of education.
Spiritual Embryo (ground)
Normalcy (goal)
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Despite the paradoxical expression, this concept made a deep impression on many minds. Conversion may seem to be contrary to the innocent state of childhood, and yet this term emphasized the spiritual character of the remarkable phenomenon that was apparent to all. The children experienced a spiritual renewal which freed them from the sorrow and abandonment and gave them a new birth for joy.
If we take sin and sadness as a kind of alienation from a more perfect state, then the recovery of this state implies conversion. Sin and sadness then yield joy.
The children were truly converted. They passed form a state of grief to happiness. They were freed from numerous, deep-seated defects. But there also was something more. Certain traits which are commonly esteemed also disappeared. In a dazzling fashion these children showed that men have erred and must be completely renewed. And this renewal is to be found in the springs of one’s creative energies. (Montessori, 1936/1966, pp. 141-142)
As mentioned above, these children were able to convert and be normal despite their past
histories. The work of the student was to become an adult, and this was to serve a greater
social purpose.
Everything that concerns education assumes today an importance of a general kind, and must represent a protection and a practical aid to the development of man; that is to say, it must aim at improving the individual in order to improve society. (Montessori, 1948/1994, p. 59)
Therefore, Montessori’s ultimate goal of education was to create individuals who could
improve society. In fact, Montessori (1949/1992) spoke at length about education for
peace.
Instrument
The third point on the tetrad is the instrument, as seen in Figure 7. Bennett (1966)
believed that between the goal and instrument points “there is a connectivity that can be
interpreted as integrity. The structure must not be divided against itself, but wholly
devoted to the purpose for which the activity has been launched” (p. 35).
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Spiritual Embryo (ground)
Liberty (instrument)
Normalcy (goal)
Figure 7. Montessori’s instrument of education.
From anthropological pedagogy, Montessori (1948/1967) realized that the liberty of the
child was of utmost importance in order to move toward her goal of education.
It is imperative that a school allow a child’s activities to freely develop. . . . The concept of liberty which should inspire teaching is . . . universal: it is the liberation of a life repressed by an infinite number of obstacles which oppose its harmonious development, both physical and spiritual. This is a matter of the utmost importance, although up until now it has escaped the notice of most men! (p. 9, emphasis in original)
Her most famous methods, such as the concept of establishing a prepared environment
for each child, are based on this principle of liberty. To Montessori (1936/1966),
providing the appropriate environment for the spiritual embryo to have liberty was as
important as the mother preparing the environment for the physical embryo. Her research
revealed what she called “sensitive periods” (p. 37) or times in a child’s life that are
perhaps critical or more important to development than other times. This is similar to
what developmental psychologists call critical periods in prenatal development (Wood,
Wood, & Boyd, 2006). Montessori (1949/1995) believed that children go through
different stages of development and that the environment should be accommodating to
these differences for the children to have liberty. Classroom structures, such as the desks,
chairs, glasses, and plates in the appropriate size for each of the child’s sensitive periods,
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were used to set the environment. She also made sure that the children’s work was within
reaching distance, the children could explore their environment without any help, and at
each stage, the appropriate number of choices were available to the children (Montessori,
1948/1967). Additional detail on how the environment was set at each stage is beyond the
scope of this dissertation. However, more details on the specific methods can be found in
such books by Montessori as Montessori’s Method (1909/1912), The Absorbent Mind
(1949/1995), and The Secrets of Childhood (1936/1966).
Direction
Direction in a philosophy of education guides the activity of education toward its
goal or purpose. The direction can be seen as the North Star, something to which people
can index, to make sure they are on the right path. Through time, as mentioned before,
Montessori’s perspective transformed from being guided by a positivist worldview to a
more spiritual and religious worldview. Therefore, by the end of her life, as her son
expressed, she was following God’s path. Therefore, I propose that she indexed to God
for guidance on how to educate the children, as seen in Figure 8.
Spiritual Embryo (ground)
God’s Path (direction)
Liberty (instrument)
Normalcy (goal)
Figure 8. Montessori’s direction of education.
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This can also be seen in the following advice she gave her teachers: “Help us, oh God, to
enter into the psyche of childhood, so that we may know, love, and serve this child in
accordance with the laws of Thy justice, and follow Thy holy Will” (Maria Montessori
cited in Mario Montessori, 1984, p. 57).
Another way of discussing Thy Will is what Montessori (1948/1961) called the
“Cosmic Plan” (p. 5).
The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions. We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. (Montessori, 1948/1961, p. 8)
All activity should be “correlated to a central idea . . . the Cosmic Plan, in which all,
consciously or unconsciously, serve the great Purpose of Life” (Montessori, 1948/1961,
p. 2). She believed that children are guides in this respect. Montessori (1949/1972) wrote,
“It was Christ who showed us what the child really is,” as “the adult’s guide to the
Kingdom of Heaven” (cited in R. Miller, 2002, p. 86).
In conclusion, I propose that Montessori developed her philosophy of education
from what she called pedagogical anthropology. From this work, she came to understand
that education should begin with the spiritual unfoldment of the child. By creating
appropriate environments for children to have liberty and indexing always to the cosmic
plan of God, Montessori’s students could grow into adults and create a better society.
In the next section, I explore the four major points of Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy
of education, commonly referred to as Waldorf education.
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Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Education
Background
Rudolf Steiner (1894/1964), the founder of the Waldorf movement, was born in
1861 in present day Croatia. Steiner attended school and studied many subjects beyond
the scope of the school curriculum. Though he was involved in school activities, he felt
that the question of “How far is it possible to prove that in human thinking real spirit is
the agent?” was “much more vital at the time” (p. 1). Later, he began to study and edit
books by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Afterwards, Steiner spent the rest of his life
building his philosophy of anthroposophy or spiritual science. He wrote that
anthroposophy applies to such subjects as biodynamics (farming), eurythmy (movement),
Waldorf (education), architecture, and theosophy.
In 1919, Steiner was asked to create a school based on anthroposophy for the
families of the workers at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory.
The original idea was to provide an education for children whose parents were working in the Waldorf-Astoria factory, and because the Director was a member of the Anthroposophical Society, he asked me to arrange this education. I was only able to do this on the basis of spiritual science. And so, to begin with, the school arose as humanity as such, fashioned from the working class. . . . Thus we have an educational institution with a social basis that wishes to base the whole spirit and method of its teaching on spiritual science. (Steiner, 1923/2004, p. 4)
Thus began the worldwide movement of Waldorf education.
Impetus
After World War I, Steiner was very concerned that another global conflict might
occur. During this time, he developed the threefold social order for social renewal
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(Steiner, 1919/1985). He believed in bringing a “new spirit of evolving humanity,” in
contrast to basing spirituality on old forms from “earlier times” (p. 1). Steiner was very
concerned that “this spirit shall not be in the schools if the state is transformed into an
economic organization and the schools are redesigned to turn out people meant to be the
most serviceable labor machines for this economic organization” (p. 1). He believed that
to be current with the times, people needed to create a new education system that was
separate from the government
If, then, there is to be any renewal of our social life, we must find the strength to introduce an independent, self-sustaining educational system. If men are no longer to “govern” their fellows in the old way, then it must be made possible for the free spirit in every human soul, with all the strength possible for the human individualities of any one age, to make itself the guide of life. This spirit will not allow itself to be suppressed . . . incessant shocks to the whole social edifice would be the inevitable consequence of any system that tried to organize education in the same way it controlled the processes of production . . . one of the most urgent demands of the times shall be the founding of a human community that will strive with utmost energy to realize the freedom and self-determination of the educational system. (Steiner, 1919/1985, p. 2)
Above, Steiner discussed what was referred to as the industrial/mechanistic age education
earlier in this proposal. Steiner took the opportunity of opening a nongovernment school
as a way to bring forth this spirit and apply the principles of anthroposophy.
Process
Like Montessori’s (1910/1913) pedagogical anthropology, Steiner used
anthroposophy as a way to research human development and education.
Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe. It arises in man as a need of the heart, of the life of feeling; and it can be justified only inasmuch as it can satisfy this inner need . . . Anthroposophy communicates knowledge that is gained in a spiritual way. Yet it only does so because everyday life, and the science founded on sense-perception
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and intellectual activity, lead to a barrier along life’s way—a limit where the life of the soul in man would die if it could go no farther. Everyday life and science do not lead to this limit in such a way as to compel man to stop short at it. For at the very frontier where the knowledge derived from sense perception ceases, there is opened through the human soul itself the further outlook into the spiritual world. (Steiner, 1925/1985, p. 2)
An important piece of anthroposophy is the development of one’s intuition (Steiner,
1961/1995). Steiner (1961/1995) defined intuition in the following passage:
In contrast to perceptual content, which is given us from without, thought-content appears within. We shall call the form in which though-content first arises intuition. Intuition is to thinking as observation is to perception. Intuition and observation are the sources of our knowledge. We remain alienated from an object we have observed in the world as long as we do not have within us the corresponding intuition, which supplies us with the piece of reality missing from percept. (p. 88)
In addition, Steiner believed that without anthroposophy, a complete education method
could not be created.
A complete education method cannot be formulated by the intellect alone, but must flow from the whole human nature-not merely from the part that observes externally in a rational way, but the whole that deeply and inwardly experiences the secrets of the universe. (Steiner, 1924/1997a, p. 24)
The four points of Steiner’s philosophy are depicted in Figure 9 and summarized in the
sections that follow.
Natural Forces (ground)
Soul (direction)
Connecting to Life (instrument)
Freedom (goal)
Figure 9. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of education.
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Ground
In developing anthroposophy, Steiner (1924/1982) came to believe that education
should begin with the education of the whole person: “Our task is to introduce an
education which concerns itself with the whole man, body, soul and spirit; and these three
principles should be known and recognized” (p. 21).
We see the whole human being only when we have enough wisdom and knowledge to recognize the soul’s true nature as clearly as we recognize the physical body. We must also be able to recognize the human spirit as an individual being. (p. 3)
Steiner believed that one must see the whole being, in the application of anthroposophy
and instinctive intuition, before beginning the educational process: “Only when our study
of the human being can lead us to an unique knowledge of each child will we be able to
education them in the appropriate way” (p. 80). It is beyond the scope of this dissertation
to discuss Steiner’s complex theory human nature, but it is important to note that from his
studies, he came to understand how to follow the natural forces of the human being:
We completely develop the children in relation to those forces that slowly want to develop out of their nature. In truth we bring nothing foreign into the child. . . . This is particularly important, because when people work against rather than with the forces of human nature, they damage children for the rest of their lives. If, however, we do exactly what the child’s nature wants, we can help human beings develop something fruitful for the rest of their lives. (Steiner, 1920/2001, p. 91)
Following these natural forces was the basis or ground to which educating processes
should begin.
Goal
Steiner (1924/1982) believed that education was one way to engender social
renewal and therefore end wars.
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In reality the World War arose out of the unpractical thinking, but that was only an introduction. The point now at stake is that people should not remain asleep any longer, more particularly in the domain of teaching and education. (p. 21)
Therefore, the task of educators is “to ferry into earthly life the aspect of the child that
came from the divine spiritual world” (Steiner, 1924/1997a, p. 24). Again, there are many
similarities between Steiner’s philosophy and Montessori’s philosophy. However, the
immediate goal of education was to enable the students to reach a place of freedom or
Steiner’s (1894/1964) freiheit or freedom, as seen in Figure 10.
It is important to note that the meaning of freedom in the English language is not exactly
the same as in the German language. In the introduction to Steiner’s (1894/1964)
Philosophy of Freedom, Michael Wilson, a Steiner scholar and translator, explained the
difference as follows:
FREEDOM is not an exact equivalent of the German word Freiheit, although among its wide spectrum of meanings there are some that do correspond. In certain circumstances, however, the differences are important. Steiner himself drew attention to this, for instance, in a lecture he gave at Oxford in 1922, where he said with reference to this book,
“Therefore today we need above all a view of the world based on Freiheit—one can use this word in German, but here in England one must put it differently because the word ‘freedom’ has a different meaning—one must say a view of the world based on spiritual activity, on action, on
Figure 10. Steiner’s goal of education.
Natural Forces (ground)
Freedom (goal)
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thinking and feeling that arise from the individual human spirit.” (Translated from the German)
Steiner also drew attention to the different endings of the words; Freiheit could be rendered literally as “freehood” if such a word existed. The German ending -heit implied an inner condition or degree, while -tum, corresponding to our “-dom”, implied something granted or imposed from outside. (Steiner, 1964/1984, p. xiv)
Freedom therefore is a “moral advance” in the evolution of a person and expressed
through “conscience” (Steiner, 1894/1964):
It is a moral advance when a man no longer simply accepts the commands of an outer or inner authority as the motive of his action, but tries to understand the reason why a particular maxim of behaviour should act as a motive in him. This is the advance from morality based on authority to action out of moral insight. At this level of morality a man will try to find out the requirements of the moral life and will let his actions be determined by the knowledge of them. Such requirements are
(1) the greatest possible good of mankind purely for its own sake; (2) the progress of civilization, or the moral evolution of mankind towards ever
greater perfection; (3) the realization of individual moral aims grasped by pure intuition. (p. 4)
Steiner’s goal for the activity of education therefore is for students to reach a point in
their development at which they are following these principles of action. Montessori
(1949/1995) believed that normalcy could lead to world peace, much as Steiner believed
that freedom could lead to social renewal.
Instrument
As discussed earlier, Montessori created specific methods by which to ensure the
liberty of the child. She created prepared environments that were appropriate for each of
her “sensitive periods” (Montessori, 1949/1995, p. 37). Steiner also developed a complex
theory of human development; however, instead of focusing on liberty, he focused on
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creating processes that connected education to life by which to interact with children, as
depicted in Figure 11.
Education “is not something we work at in isolated activities, but something lived”
(Steiner, 1924/1997a, p. 69). He also wrote, “The correct education must enable children
to take their place socially in the everyday world. Indeed, children belong to this world,
and must enter more and more deeply into it as long as they live on Earth” (Steiner,
1924/1997b, p. 81). It beyond the scope of this dissertation to discuss each of Steiner’s
stages of human development; however, the first of the three main stages that lead up to
adolescence is discussed as a way to understand how Steiner (1920/2001) connected the
curriculum to life for students to reach freedom.
Before this discussion, it is important to note that in Montessori’s philosophy, the
teacher is like a scientist, unlike Steiner’s (1920/2001) philosophy, which held that the
teacher is like an artist or a “sculptor of the human soul.” “Our task, therefore, is to work
around children-to the degree that we control our very thoughts and feelings-so that
children may become beings who imitate goodness, truth, beauty, and wisdom”
(1924/1997a, p. 69).
Natural Forces (ground)
Connecting to Life
(instrument)
Freedom (goal)
Figure 11. Steiner’s instrument of education.
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The first stage discussed by Steiner (1920/2001) was the time before the teeth
changed or from birth to seven years of age. “Everything a person does during the years
before the change of the teeth is done out of imitation. What occurs in the surroundings
of a child is enormously important, since the child only imitates” (p. 65). Imitation was
the guiding principle upon which the methods of education were founded for this stage.
Steiner (1920/2001) believed that by imitating, a child learns what is needed, such as
moral judgment, speech, and writing. This was of utmost importance because “people
will become free only if we ingrain the strength of imitation in them during childhood”
(Steiner, 1919/1997c, p. 11).
An example of the connection between the aim of the first stage of development
and the overall concept of connecting education to life can be seen in the use of
storytelling.
For example, if I want to teach the child at the earliest possible age to have a feeling for the immortality of the soul, I could attempt to do that by working with all the means at my disposal. I could attempt to do that by showing the child how the butterfly emerges from the cocoon and by indicating that in the same way the immortal soul flies off from the body.
Now certainly this a picture, but you will only succeed with that picture when you do not present it as an abstract intellectual idea but believe it yourself. And you can believe it. If you genuinely penetrate into the secrets of nature, then what flies out of the cocoon will become for you the symbol for immortality that the creator placed into nature. You need to believe these things yourself. What you believe and experience yourself has a very different effect upon children from what you only accept intellectually. (Steiner, 1920/2001, p. 95)
It is important to point out that in this example, the use of imitation is also very apparent
in the way in which the child experiences the storyteller bringing to life the learning of
the cocoon.
More detailed information about these stages and specific methods used to
address them, can be found in such works of Steiner as The Roots of Education
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(1924/1997b), Essentials of Education (1924/1997a), and Practical Advice to Teachers
(1919/1976).
Direction
As with Montessori’s philosophy, it is hard to summarize in such a small space
the essence of Waldorf education. This problem is exemplified in trying to articulate what
directs the Waldorf education, as there are so many different levels of engagement.
However, I believe that at its essence, Waldorf education always indexes to the soul and
spiritual development of the people involved in the process, if that be teacher, student,
community member, and so on, as depicted in Figure 12.
As Steiner (1924/1997a) stated, “Whether in perception, feeling, or thought, whatever we
do around children must be done in such a way that it may be allowed to continue
vibrating their soul” (p. 28). This, he felt, is one of the most important elements of
education. This process did not, however, end with child development; instead, “a true
teacher must always keep in view all of human life. . . . Therefore, when we educate . . .
Natural Forces (ground)
Soul (direction)
Connecting to Life (instrument)
Freedom (goal)
Figure 12. Steiner’s direction of education.
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we give the human being full freedom and vitality for the rest of life” (p. 76). He believed
in life-long learning and development.
An important aspect of this soul development is what Steiner called the typus of
the individual: “To contemplate the entirely chance individual is not, in fact, the
important thing, but rather to become clear about the individual as such, which
determines itself out of itself” (Steiner, 1886/1979, p. 1). Steiner made a distinction
between what current psychologists might call one’s personality from the Steiner’s typus:
If one wishes to attain the typus, then one must ascend from the single form to the archetypal form; if one wishes to attain the human spirit one must disregard the outer manifestations through which it expresses itself, disregard the specific actions it performs, and look at it in and for itself. We must observe it to see how it acts in general, not how it has acted in this or that situation. (p. 1)
He felt that understanding the typus was essential to reaching one’s potential:
With regard to the highest form of existence this is also an objective necessity. What the human spirit can garner from the phenomena is the highest form of content that I can attain at all. If the human spirit then reflects upon itself, it must recognize itself as the direct manifestation of this highest form, as the bearer of this highest form. What the human spirit finds as unity in manifold reality it must find in the human spirit’s singleness as direct existence. What it places, as something general, over against the particular it must ascribe to its own individuality as the essential being of this individuality itself. (p. 2)
Therefore, it is important for the teacher to be guided by the typus because “every activity
of our personality is connected with this center of being. If one disregards this connection
with the personality in an action, then the action ceases to be an expression of the soul”
(p. 2). By expressing the soul dimension, we are able to contribute to society in a soulful
way and achieve our calling or mission (Steiner, 1886/1979). If people do not do this
work, then they do not live up to their potentials and also let down the community:
The human being does not belong only to himself; he also belongs to society. What lives and manifest in him is not merely his individuality but also that of the nation to which he belongs. What he accomplishes emerges just as much out of
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the full strength of his people as out of his own. With his mission he also fulfills a part of the mission of the larger community of his people. The point is for his place within his people to be such that he can bring to full expression the strength of his individuality. This is possible only if the social organism is such that the individual is able to find the place where he can set to work. (p. 2)
With the development of soul and discovery of the typus, people can be guided to their
work or calling. This serves as a direction and guidance toward achieving the goals of
Steiner’s philosophy.
In sum, from the study of anthroposophy and the development of intuition,
Steiner’s philosophy of education begins with enabling the natural force in humans to
express itself. By connecting education to life and the unfoldment of the soul in such
ways as to discovery one’s calling and typus, education can move toward Steiner’s
ultimate goal of social renewal.
This concludes the introduction to the common themes of the holistic educational
movement and two holistic educational philosophies that are particularly relevant to the
development of the philosophy of regenerative education. Some other educational
philosophies, not mentioned, that have been very influential in the formation of
regenerative education are those of Jiddhu Krishnamurti (1953), A. S. Neill (1960), John
Dewey (1916), Alfred Whitehead (1929), Vine Deloria, Jr. (2001b), and Gregory Cajete
(1994). The next chapter introduces the philosophy of regenerative education.
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CHAPTER 4
PHILOSOPHY OF REGENERATIVE EDUCATION
Impetus
From my experiences as a teacher and student, I have become very troubled about
the way students of all ages are treated. This lack of concern for students has prompted
me to create a new philosophy of education in searching for the Truth. I am also
motivated, like Montessori and Steiner, to prepare students for the future. However,
instead of reacting to the current world, I hope to enable students to act and create their
own futures. Finally, the general lack of dialogue around the spiritual dimensions of the
student has impelled me, much like Steiner, to develop a new philosophy to integrate this
essential dimension. I have been influenced by many strands of thought in developing
this philosophy, including:
• Numerous dialogues I have had around the world with others about education;
• Teaching at various levels of educational systems;
• Reading the educational literature, with a special focus on the holistic
educational movement;
• Reading about the new sciences, such as quantum physics and living systems,
and
• Reading and experiencing the teachings of various religious and indigenous
traditions.
In terms of the holistic movement, I began to realize that there was no integrated
philosophy of holistic education. This could be due to the fact that the holistic movement,
as John Miller (1996) believed, has a problem “integrating its two strands. One strand has
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focused on personal growth . . . the other strand has focused on social change” (p. 73).
For example, Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner focused more on personal growth,
whereas Paulo Freire focused on social change. Another problem I discovered was the
lack of openness that many of these educators’ followers had to change. Ron Miller
(1998) explained that the philosophies can be seen “as the universal ideal of education
and lacks the self-criticism and openness to other perspectives that would permit
flexibility and responsiveness to diverse human situations” (p. 2). As mentioned earlier, I
am not presenting an ideal model for education. Instead, I present a framework in which
to integrate the various themes of the holistic movement and my own thoughts into one
holistic educational philosophy. For this philosophy to evolve continually, I prescribe a
living school, discussed in Chapter 5.
Overview
The ground, goal, instrument, and direction of the philosophy of education are
labeled as four different approaches to education. Together, they create the conditions in
which a philosophy of regenerative education can occur. A person must build motivation
to move from ground to goal, and the direction and instrument points are the means to
reach the goal. I use Bennett’s (1966) tetrad to describe the four approaches to education.
Each of these approaches must be developed to educate according to the philosophy of
regenerative education, as depicted in Figure 13. The process of critical reflection
(discussed in the methods section) is used to articulate the numerous points of the
philosophy of regenerative education.
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Understanding-Based Education
Understanding-based education serves as the ground for the philosophy of
regenerative education. This approach to education focuses on teaching patterns and
understanding. The meaning of understanding is in great contrast to what Jiddhu
Krishnamurti (1984), the Indian educator and philosopher called “intellect:”
Education in the modern world has been concerned with the cultivation not of intelligence, but of intellect, of memory and its skills. In this process little occurs beyond passing information from the teacher to the taught, the leader to the follower, bringing about a superficial and mechanical way of life. (p. 1)
Figure 14 shows the four key components of this approach to education.
Yearning To Learn
Meaning
Experiences of
Patterns
Understanding
Figure 14. Understanding-based education.
Understanding-based Education (ground)
Self-revealing Education (direction)
Systems-based Education (instrument)
Spiritual Education (goal)
Figure 13. Philosophy of regenerative education.
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Understanding
The goal of this approach to education is an understanding of what is being taught
rather than just knowledge. However, Learning I and Learning II, which focus on content
and values, discussed more fully in Chapter 1, are also necessary elements of this process
because some knowledge and understanding of values is needed to have grounding. The
renowned Egyptologist Isha Schwaller de Lubicz (1955) gave a concise summary of the
difference between these two modes of learning:
Science is not the same as Understanding. To know means to record in one’s memory; but to understand means to blend with the thing and to assimilate it oneself, as the bread which you eat is assimilated by your body. (p. 203)
However, understanding is in profound contrast to students simply memorizing lists of
facts and procedures in that they become able to apply the concepts learned beyond the
original context of the classroom. The student’s capability and capacity to see underlying
patterns is enabled, which allows the student to recognize the same patterns in other
arenas. This is similar to Steiner’s (1924/1997a) assertion that education should be lived.
An ultimate goal of understanding-based education is for students to have such a
depth and breadth of understanding of the world that they realize the term Fritjof Capra
(1996) popularized as the “web of life.” “The ‘web of life’ is, of course, an ancient idea,
which has been used by poets, philosophers, and mystics throughout the ages to convey
their sense of interwoveness and interdependence of all phenomena” (p. 34).
Laszlo (2004) proposed the concept of the Akashic field or A-field to describe
how all the elements of the universe are interconnected. The field is named after the
legendary Akashic records that are believed by some to hold all information of the past,
present, and future:
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The information field that links quanta and galaxies in the physical universe and cells and organisms in the biosphere also links the brains and mind of humans in the sociosphere. This A-field creates the human information pool that Carl Jung called the collective unconscious and Teilhard de Chardin the noosphere-and the scientists such as Erwin Schrodinger, David Bohm, William James, and Henry Stapp have not hesitated to discuss and to affirm. (p. 105) Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the moon, when returning to Earth,
retained an experience of the interconnectedness of life:
My understanding of the distinct separateness and relative independence of movement of those cosmic bodies was shattered. I was overwhelmed with the sensation of physically and mentally extending out into the cosmos. The restraints and boundaries of flesh and bone fell away. (as cited in McNeill, 2006, p. 8)
Later, Mitchell encountered a Sanskrit description of savikalpa samadhi that he believed
fit with his experience:
A moment in which an individual recognizes the separateness of all things yet understands that the separateness is but an illusion. The both/and nature of this state of being helped Edgar shape what became the “dyadic perspective that framed much of his subsequent work, according to which the fundamental attributes of nature of coupled or inextricably related, rather than separate or mutually exclusive. They are dyads—opposite sides of the same coin. (McNeill, 2006, p. 8, emphasis in original)
This both/and nature is also found in quantum mechanics, as in the example of the wave-
particle duality (Laszlo, 2004). With this understanding, the Institute of Developmental
Processes (2005) believed, one can interact with energies in a new way to evolve
thinking:
Only if we can see in a holistic sense how they interrelate and interact with everything else can we really gain a grasp of what the process of realization produces. It produces a different sense of interrelatedness and interaction, and it moves all energies and our behavior to something of higher order so that we are no longer satisfied with our normal sense of the mundane. (p. 2)
This level of understanding, that all is interconnected, is a common theme of the holistic
movement, as mentioned in Chapter 3.
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Yearning to Learn
If understanding is the goal, the starting point for understanding-based education
is the yearning to learn. Understanding-based education is grounded in the student’s
innate drive to learn, as seen in Figure 15.
Scott Forbes (2003), a holistic educator and scholar, discussed the educational
philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Froebel, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow,
and Carl Rogers, whom he referred to collectively as “the Authors”:
All the Authors agree that humans have inherent learning processes . . . and that these inherent learning processes can be utilized, ignored, or violated by education. Unsurprisingly, the Authors feel that education should utilize these inherent processes . . . they agree that wanting to learn is so much a part of being human that it forms part of the definition of what it means to be human. (p. 39)
In agreement with the Authors, understanding-based education begins with the student’s
inherent learning processes. If this innate drive to learn is not sparked, then
understanding-based education cannot begin or be activated. Montessori (1949/1995) and
Steiner (1924/1997b) also believed in this innate drive to learn. Understanding-based
education should first be focused on encouraging the natural inclinations of students to
learn. Once this is enabled, experiences of patterns help the student to move toward
understanding.
Yearning To Learn
Understanding
Figure 15. Yearning to learn as ground of understanding-based education.
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Experience of Patterns
An instrument that can be used to help students move toward the goal of
understanding is the experience of patterns, as depicted in Figure 16.
The educator and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead (1929), wrote,
The results of teaching small parts of a large number of subjects is the passive reception of disconnected ideas, not illumined with any spark of vitality. Let the main ideas which are introduced into a child’s education be few and important, and let them be thrown into every combination possible. (p. 2)
Whitehead differentiated between knowledge and understanding and highlighted the
importance of enabling the student to connect ideas by experiencing every possible
combination. Once a student is able to recognize patterns and apply and connect
concepts, understanding can begin to grow. Experiences that allow one to see and
recognize patterns are therefore essential for understanding. Steiner’s (1923/2004)
emphasis on writing before reading as a way to experience the pattern is similar to this
instrument. This idea of recognizing natural patterns is also at the heart of ecoliteracy,
defined in Chapter 2. A common place to experience patterns is the outdoors, which is
why ancient Egyptian education began with children exploring nature and its processes
(Schwaller de Lubicz, 1955). As teachers or mentors facilitate these experiences, they
must simultaneously index to the direction point of the understanding-based education
Yearning To Learn
Experiences of Patterns
Understanding
Figure 16. Experience of patterns as instrument of understanding-based education.
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tetrad to stay on track and move toward enabling understanding in the student. The
direction point, meaning, is discussed next.
Meaning
Understanding-based education indexes to, and is guided by, the degree of
meaningfulness experienced by the student regarding the concepts, as depicted in
Figure 17. In other words, this type of education focuses on how the students perceive
each concept as relevant to their lives. As Whitehead (1929) indicated, “The child should
make them his own, and should understand their application here and now in the
circumstance of actual life” (p. 2). This is similar to the pragmatic philosophy of William
James (1995) and John Dewey (1991).
Dewey (1991) wrote,
Learning, in the proper sense, is not learning things, but the meanings of things, and this process involves the use of signs, or language in its generic sense. . . . They are symbols only by virtue of what they suggest and represent, i.e. meanings. (i) They stand for these meanings to an individual only when he has had experience of some situation to which these meanings are actually relevant. . . . To attempt to give a meaning through a word alone without any dealings with a thing is to deprive the word of intelligible signification. (p. 176)
Yearning To Learn
Meaning
Experiences of Patterns
Understanding
Figure 17. Meaning and experience of patterns as means of understanding-based education.
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Dewey believed in the importance of experiencing the concepts that were being taught to
lend meaning to the symbols. Experiences and meaning are the means by which to
develop understanding.
In understanding-based education, topics discussed must have significance in the
present moment for the student and be taught in context rather than abstractly. This type
of teaching is an antidote to what the philosopher John Dewey (1991) called “so called
disciplinary or pre-eminently logical studies” (p. 50):
There is a danger of the isolation of intellectual activity from the ordinary affairs of life. Teacher and student alike tend to set up a chasm between logical thought as something abstract and remote, and the specific and concrete demands of everyday events. The abstract tends to become so aloof, so far away from application, as to be cut loose from practical and moral bearing. (p. 50-51)
By applying the concepts in real-life situations, teachers can enable students to develop a
true understanding of what they are learning.
Referring to the development of human capacities, such as mind, body, and spirit,
or function, being, and will, Pestalozzi stressed that “these capacities only have their
meaning if they combine together in harmony to form the unity he felt was part of the
Ultimacy” (as cited in Forbes, 2003, p. 127, emphasis added). However, if these faculties
are seen as separate, and not as interconnected and interrelated, then harmony cannot
exist. “But in their isolation the cultivation of these faculties is not enough. There is
always the danger of over-emphasis in one direction or another, which brings about
internal disharmony” (Pestalozzi as cited in Green, 1912, p. 319). Understanding-based
education primarily concerns content and experiencing the web of life. This type of
education does not directly enable one to value something differently, though this could
be an indirect byproduct of this approach. This approach is primarily congruent with
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Bateson’s (1972) Learning I and II in that it focuses on content and values but does not
enable the student to see the lens through which they are viewing the world. The next
approach, self-revealing education, guides regenerative education in a way such that
Pestalozzi’s harmony and balance can occur.
Self-Revealing Education
The next approach to education incorporated in the philosophy of regenerative
education, called self-revealing education, is roughly based on humanistic psychology,
which “focuses on the uniqueness of human beings and their capacity for choice, growth,
and psychological health” (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2006, p. 9). This approach can be seen
as the guiding star of regenerative education, as depicted in Figure 18.
Each person is considered a unique individual in self-revealing education. If
understanding-based education primarily concerns content, as in Bateson’s (1972)
Learning I, self-revealing education can be said to move toward Learning II and
Learning III. Figure 19 briefly outlines the main concepts of self-revealing education.
Understanding-based Education (ground)
Self-revealing Education (direction)
Systems-based Education (instrument)
Spiritual Education (goal)
Figure 18. Self-revealing education as direction of the philosophy of regenerative education.
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Unfoldment of Essence
Self-revealing education is grounded in—or starts from—what I call the
unfoldment of the essence. Essence, as stated in Chapter 2, as one of the tenets, is the
basis for this dissertation. Essence is similar to Steiner’s (1920/2001) natural forces,
Montessori’s (1949/1995) spiritual embryo, and the humanistic psychologist Carl
Rogers’s (1995) actualizing tendency. Rogers’s story from his childhood speaks to this
force.
I remember that in my boyhood, the bin in which we stored our winter’s supply of potatoes was in the basement, several feet below a small window. The conditions were unfavorable, but the potatoes would begin to sprout-pale white sprouts, so unlike the healthy green shoots that went up when planted in the soil in the spring. But these sad, spindly sprouts would grow 2 or 3 feet in length as they reached toward the distant light of the window. The sprouts were, in their bizarre, futile growth, a sort of desperate expression of the directional tendency I have been describing. They would never become plants, never mature, never fulfill their real potential. But under the most adverse circumstances, they were striving to become. (p. 118)
This directional tendency to become or unfold one’s essence is where the process begins
to move toward consciousness:
We can say that there is in every organism, at whatever level, an underlying flow of movement toward constructive fulfillment of its inherent possibilities. In human beings, too, there is a natural tendency toward more complex and complete
Unfoldment of Essence
Alignment with the Divine
Self-reflection
Consciousness
Figure 19. Self-revealing education.
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development. The term that has most often been used for this is the “actualizing tendency,” and it is present in all living organisms. (Rogers, 1995, pp. 117-118)
This force is the beginning of life; without it nothing would be born. Birth is one of the
first signs of this occurring in a living being. A seed germinating, a bird breaking the
shell of its egg, or a baby moving through the birth canal: in all these circumstances the
living being is moving to become. This is the unfolding of the humanistic psychologist
Abraham Maslow’s (1982) inner nature, or what I call essence. The enablement of
unfolding of students’ essences is the ground to then move toward the goal of self-
revealing education that I refer to as consciousness.
Consciousness
The purpose or goal of self-revealing education is to develop consciousness about
oneself, as seen in Figure 20.
With the activity of self-revealing education, a person moves from the unfolding of
essence toward fuller consciousness. For the purpose this discussion, the development of
consciousness is subdivided into two processes: self-actualizing and self-realizing. Self-
actualizing is the release of energy/potential through life experiences. The Institute of
Development Processes (2005) defined actualization as “bringing potential into being”
(p. 2). The second self-transformation process is self-realizing, which is realizing or
Figure 20. Consciousness as goal of self-revealing education.
Unfoldment of Essence
Consciousness
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manifesting the potential released in the self-actualizing process into the greater world.
Both processes can never be fully achieved; no person has been completely self-
actualized or self-realized.
Self-actualizing
In describing the attributes of self-actualization and the Third Force of
Psychology, Maslow (1982) wrote,
1) We have, each of us, an essential inner nature which is instinctoid, intrinsic, given, “natural” . . . [t]his is the “raw material” rather than the finished product, to be reacted to by the person, by his significant others, by his environment, etc. . . . This raw material very quickly starts growing into a self as it meets the world outside and begins to have transaction with it. 2) These are potentialities, not final actualizations. Therefore they have a life history and must be seen developmentally. They are actualized, shaped or stifled mostly (but not altogether) by extra-psychic determinants (culture, family, environment, learning, etc.). (pp. 190-191)
Maslow here described an arrow that can be drawn starting from the ground of
unfoldment of essence to the goal of consciousness, as seen in Figure 20. In the process
of self-actualizing, the unfoldment of essence confronts one’s life circumstances, or one’s
fate. In Rogers’s (1995) potato sprout example, sometimes the environment in which one
is placed will stifle or restrain the growth toward one’s potential. Depending on the
tradition, this environment may also be called one’s Kismet, Karma, or fate.3 Many life
events can be seen as an opposing force that tries to block the unfoldment of essence;
however, without life events, an essence does not have the so-called viscous fluid to
become. In other words, these circumstances/events are the material needed so one can be
3 Though it is beyond the scope of this dissertation to go into detail, it should be mentioned that these circumstances are generally seen as beyond our control; however, I see some circumstances as something we attract to our lives to foster development.
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able to transform. Without the understanding developed in understanding-based
education, one cannot begin to reconcile the unfoldment of essence to these life events.
This process can be understood as a triad: two opposing forces and a reconciling force, as
depicted in Figure 21.
The reconciling force of self-actualizing may be called someone’s destiny. From the
Western perspective, destiny can be defined as the “inner purpose of life that can be
discovered and realized” (Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999). In this discussion, destiny is
not something that can be reached or fulfilled because a person cannot fully unfold and
actualize their essence. There is always room for personal growth. In other words,
consciousness of one’s destiny is becoming aware of the possibilities that are created by
reconciling one’s essence unfolding to one’s life circumstances. As Sri Aurobindo Ghose
(1914-1921/1999), the Hindu teacher wrote, “For in the unseen providence of things our
greatest difficulties are our best opportunities” (p. 11). These opportunities created are
then realized in the self-realizing process.
Figure 21. Triad of self-actualizing.
Essence Unfolding Life Circumstances
Potentials Released (Destiny)
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Self-Realizing
The release of potential in self-actualizing, and the awareness of this process,
enables one, by self-realizing, to manifest such potential in the greater world. The greater
degree of unfoldment of one’s essence, the stronger or more energy the self has to
develop consciousness. The Institute of Developmental Processes (2005) described
realization as “creating a deeper level of consciousness to realize what is there. The more
conscious we become the more consciously we generate” (p. 1).
An aspect of the consciousness enabled by self-realizing is discovering one’s
calling among all of the possibilities presented by destiny. Calling can be defined as “the
inward feeling or conviction of a divine call” or the “the strong impulse to any course of
action as the right thing to do” (Simpson, 1989). For example, Mother Teresa heard a
calling from God to “serve the poorest of the poor” (as cited in Porter, 1986). Martin
Luther King, Jr. (1968) had a similar calling for world peace. Though calling is often
associated with the Christian idea of carrying forth God’s will, the concept exists in other
traditions as well. For example, Sri Aurobindo called it spiritual aspiration (1914-
1921/1999) and Steiner (1886/1979) referred to it as mission. One’s calling may take
different forms throughout life; however, a common thread is always present.
With self-realizing, consciousness becomes “[t]he ideal pattern which can unite
all the components of the activity into a structured whole. . . .The central theme or motive
that sustains the activity” (Bennett, 1966, p. 31). Consciousness is not a goal that can be
achieved but a combination of patterns from which we can strive to integrate and live. Sri
Aurobindo Ghose (1999, 1914-1921) wrote,
This growth of the conscious being, an expansion, an increasing self-expression, a more and more harmonised development of his constituent members is the whole
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meaning and all the pith of human existence. It is for this meaningful development of consciousness by thought, will, emotion, desire, action and experience, leading in the end to a supreme divine self-discovery, that Man, the mental being, has entered into the material body. All the rest is either auxiliary and subordinate or accidental and otiose; that only matters which sustains and helps the evolution of his nature and the growth or rather the progressive unfolding and discovery of his self and spirit. (pp. 89-90) Self-observing focuses on releasing the potential gained from reconciling one’s
essence with one’s life circumstances. Self-realizing is then manifesting this potential in
the greater world as directed by one’s calling. This consciousness of oneself and one’s
calling can guide the educational process toward genuine spiritual education, the goal of
the regenerative education philosophy. A method by which to move along this line of
activity or education is self-reflection.
Self-Reflection
An instrument of self-revealing education is the enablement of self-reflection
capacities and capabilities, as seen in Figure 22.
Montessori schools emphasize independent activity to allow time for self-reflection
(Smith, 2005). Steiner (1886/1979) also believed in the importance of reflection. John
Dewey (1991) defined reflection as “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any
Unfoldment of Essence
Self-reflection
Consciousness
Figure 22. Self-reflection as instrument of self-revealing education.
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belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the
further conclusions which it tends” (p. 6, emphasis in original). It is important to note that
self-reflection, as defined here, includes emotions and intrinsic or self-knowledge, not
just extrinsic or outer knowledge. This concept of self-reflection is also different from
educators David Kolb and Roger Fry’s (1975) “experiential learning circle,” as
mentioned in Smith (1996, p. 1). This was modeled after Kurt Lewin’s (1936) work, and
though a key element of the experiential learning circle model is reflection, this circle is
more in line with the understanding-based approach to education as a means to recognize
patterns and does not focus on reflection for personal development. Two key processes
involved in reflection are self-observing and self-remembering of one’s life experiences.
Self-Observing
Krishnamurti (1953) felt that observing oneself and one’s surroundings was
essential to cultivating wisdom:
To have an open mind is more important than learning; and we can have an open mind, not by cramming it full of information, but by being aware of our own thoughts and feelings, by carefully observing ourselves and the influences about us, by listening to others, by watching the rich and the poor, the powerful and the lowly. Wisdom does not come through fear and oppression, but through the observation and understanding of everyday incident in human relationship. (p. 64)
This observation is in line with self-revealing education, in which wisdom can be seen as
an aspect of consciousness.
Self-observing is one of many tools by which to release one’s potential by the
engagement of life circumstances and one’s unfoldment of essence. Once self-observing
is enabled, one can “observe [how] thoughts enter the mind, how they are processed,
what is producing them, and what is produced by them” (Nielsen, 2003, p. 4). Self-
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observing is a practice of consciously observing one’s reactions and actions in all
situations. During Vipassana meditation, for example, we observe thoughts like clouds
passing in the sky without attaching any thought or insight: “Begin with focusing of
attention on the breath, the practice concentrates and calms the mind. It allows one to see
through the mind’s conditioning and thereby to live more fully present in the moment”
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center, 2006). By developing self-observing skills, a person is
able to think before reacting. The person no longer functions from a fight-or-flight
response, which allows us to move beyond the five senses or “whims of the ego”
(Gleason, 1995).
Self-observing also allows a person to be no longer subject to the conditioning of
society and the past. We can detach from or reactive thoughts and develop Sri
Aurobindo’s witness consciousness (Sri Aurobindo Trust, 2000) or the spiritual teacher
Eckhart Tolle’s (1999) “watching thinker.” Lama Anagarika Govinda (1991) wrote that a
potential for humans is “a higher level of consciousness which is not confined to external
impressions (sense-functions) and inner emotions” (p. 9). Tolle (1999) described the
thinker who accessed higher levels of consciousness as the “watching thinker:” “The
moment you start the watching thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes
activated” (p. 14). One can see objectively instead of subjectively in spite of one’s
conditioning. This is when a person has the freedom to choose:
Choice implies consciousness—a high degree of consciousness. Without it, you have no choice. Choice begins the moment you disidentify from the mind and its conditioned patterns, the moment you become present. This means you are compelled to think, feel and act in certain ways according to the conditioning of your mind. (Tolle, 1999, p. 188)
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Once we build the capacity for self-observing, we can achieve what Krishnamurti
(1969) called “freedom”:
Freedom is a state of mind—not freedom from something but a sense of freedom, a freedom to doubt and question everything and therefore so intense, active and vigorous that it throws away every form of dependence, slavery, conformity and acceptance. (p. 68)
Similarly, when describing his school, Krishnamurti (1984) wrote,
It is a place where both the teacher and the taught explore not only the outer world, the world of knowledge, but also their own thinking, their own behaviour. From this they begin to discover their own conditioning and how it distorts their thinking. This conditioning is the self to which such tremendous and cruel importance is given. Freedom from conditioning and its misery begins with this awareness. It is only in such freedom that true learning can take place. (p. 1)
This freedom is another aspect of developing consciousness that Steiner (1964/1894) also
believed was important. Self-observation is one instrument or tool needed to move along
the motivation line toward the development of consciousness. Self-remembering,
discussed next, is another tool.
Self-Remembering
Self-remembering is another tool that enables the process of self-reflection.
Ouspensky (1957) said,
Trying to remember yourself is always right, if you can make yourself try. Whatever you are doing, just try to realize that you are doing that, or that you are not doing something you have to do. If you try this persistently, if will give results. Effort to remember yourself is the chief thing, because without it nothing else has value; it must be the basis of everything. Only in this way can you pass from the mechanical to a more conscious state. (p. 308)
Self-remembering is bringing the appropriate self to situations so as to add value. In the
Fourth Way work, described more fully in Chapter 2, there are many I’s present in
oneself, similar to the transpersonal psychologist Roberto Assagioli’s (1991) concept of
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subpersonalities. Self-remembering enables the self to bring the appropriate “I” to the
situation. An extroverted, compassionate self might be more suitable to help a child who
fell down and hurt herself than a reserved, passive self. Both are manifestations of the
person’s essence; however, depending on the situation, one might be more appropriate.
Self-remembering is implied by the Socratic injunction to know thyself; it is knowing
one’s true essence and the ability to act appropriately from it in situations. The
development of the capability of self-remembering evolves from becoming conscious of
the unfolding essence into a larger whole’s essence. Self-remembering is realizing that
the self is beyond, “where there is no differentiation between oneself and the universe”
(Ueshiba, as cited in Stevens, 1993, p. 98). In this way, a person has a greater sense of
whole than oneself. This is important in discovering one’s calling.
Self-observation and self-remembering do not have to be mental activity only
achieved in meditation. It is important to remember that the body also is a spiritual
vehicle, as purported by Steiner (1924/1997a) and described by Sri Aurobindo (1914-
1921/1999):
If the Indian saying is true that the body is the instrument provided for the fulfillment of the right law of our nature, then any final recoil from the physical life must be a turning away from the completeness of the divine Wisdom and a renunciation of its aim in earthly manifestation. . . . It can be, therefore, no integral Yoga which ignores the body or makes its annulment or its rejection indispensable to a prefect spirituality. Rather, the perfecting of the body also should be the last triumph of the Spirit and to make the bodily life also divine must be God’s final seal upon His work in the universe. (p. 11)
Once we cultivate these capacities and capabilities, we must simultaneously index to the
direction to keep the process aligned toward the goal. The direction point is discussed
next.
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Alignment with the Divine
The last element of the self-revealing education tetrad, the direction point, is
alignment with the Divine. As mentioned earlier, aligning with the Divine is essential to
understand one’s calling. To do this, we must interact with a larger whole. With the use
of symbols, people are able to transcend their being so that they can perceive the
direction. The direction guides a person’s essence potentials in relationship to larger
wholes so as to grow consciousness.
For the purpose of this dissertation, the Divine has been chosen as the symbol for
the direction of the self-revealing education tetrad, as seen in Figure 23.
This dissertation is not intended to prejudice any one definition of the Divine, and
therefore that term may be substituted with God, Spirit, Tao, Love, and so on. Ueshiba,
the found of Aikido, expressed similar sentiments when he said,
The Aikido I practice has room for each of the world’s eight million gods and I cooperate with each one of them. The Great Spirit of Aiki enjoins all that is Divine and enlightened in every land. Unite yourself to the Divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are. (Ueshiba, as cited in Stevens, 1993, p. 13)
Unfoldment of Essence
Alignment with the Divine
Self-reflection
Consciousness
Figure 23. Alignment with the Divine as direction of self-revealing education.
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This idea of alignment with the Divine is developed in the philosophy of Aikido.
To self-transform toward our highest potential, we must “discard all illusory thinking and
mistaken ideas of self,” which is achieved in the practice of self-observation and self-
remembering (Ueshiba, as cited in Gleason, 1995, p. 56). One must also “blend one’s
movement with the invisible world of spirit” (Ueshiba, as cited in Gleason, 1995, p. 56).
Once we do this, the entire universe is contained in our hara. Hara is “not only the
physical center of the body; properly understood, it is also the center of our spiritual
energy” (Gleason, 1995, p. 25). This blending of one’s movement is thus the direction or
what one is always guided by, sometimes called intuition:
Without kototama, the abstract thought and creativity necessary for this search would be impossible. Animals have their sounds or cries (otodama, spirit of sound), but being unable to use the kototama to direct their consciousness, they cannot control their own spiritual destiny. (Gleason, 1995, p. 55)
Kototama can be described as “the final indivisible energy of the universe” (Gleason,
1995, p. 54). If we are unable to harness the kototama then we cannot realize the potential
of our essence unfolding and understand our calling. “In the human ability to use the
kototama . . . lies the potential for absolute freedom. Yet if we do not realize that huge
potential, much of our effort is wasted and we create little of lasting value” (Gleason,
1995, p. 55).
The more we evolve our capacity to align with the Divine, the greater the
potential that will be released and realized in consciousness and wisdom:
To realize and unite oneself with the active Brahman is to exchange, perfectly or imperfectly according as the union is partial or complete, the individual for the cosmic consciousness. The ordinary existence of man is not only an individual but an egoistic consciousness; it is, that is to say, the individual soul or Jivatman identifying himself with the nodus of his mental, vital, physical experiences in the movement of universal Nature, that is to say, with his mind-created ego, and, less intimately, with the mind, life, body which receive the experiences. Less
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intimately, because of these he can say “my mind, life, body,” he can regard them as himself, yet partly as not himself and something rather which he possesses and uses, but of the ego he says, “It is I.” By detaching himself from all identification with mind, life and body, he can get back from his ego to the consciousness of the true Individual, the Jivatman, who is the real possessor of mind, life and body. (Sri Aurobindo Ghose, 1914-1921/1999, p. 409)
Therefore, by unfolding our essence, we gains consciousness from developing self-
reflection and aligning with the Divine.
To avoid getting lost in working on oneself solely, the balance to this instrument
of regenerative education is systems-based education.
Systems-Based Education
Self-revealing education focuses on the actualizing and realizing of the self
toward developing consciousness of self. Systems-based education focuses on developing
consciousness of systems. The combination of these two is the means to enable to
attainment of the goal of the philosophy of regenerative education; that is, spiritual
education. Without developing the tool or instrument of system consciousness, one
cannot move toward spiritual education, as seen in Figure 24.
Understanding-Based Education (ground)
Self-revealing Education (direction)
Systems-Based Education (instrument)
Spiritual Education (goal)
Figure 24. Systems-based education as instrument of the philosophy of regenerative education.
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With this system consciousness, students can realize their calling and become effective
agents of change. Sterling (2003) provided a distinction between the aims of education
focused on self-development and focused on creating change:
One key difference is that holistic education has tended to focus primarily on the original meanings of education educare (to rear or foster) and educere (to draw out or develop) in relation to the individual, and thereby has stressed intrinsic values in education. The Freirian legacy, meanwhile, has focused on emancipation and social change in a community and political context, and thereby seen education more in instrumental terms: education for change. (pp. 252-253)
As mentioned by Sterling (2003), Freire (1970/2003) proposed that education should
focus on “emancipation and social change” (p. 252). In this approach to education, the
student develops the capacities and capabilities for system consciousness and to be agents
of change from the process of creating change.
As mentioned in Chapter 2, a tenet of this dissertation is engagement in the Fourth
Way’s three lines of work: work on oneself, work with others, and work to improve
systems. This approach to education enables us to work with others and at a systemic
level. Self-revealing education directs the person toward the goal of regenerative
education, but without systems-based education, a means is not created to move from the
ground. Together, these approaches to education create the ability to move from ground
to goal of regenerative education.
Figure 25 displays the important elements of systems-based education approach:
caring, value-adding process, systemic thinking, and system consciousness.
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The first element to discuss is the ground, caring.
Caring
Caring is the ground for systems-based education. If students do not care about
the subject at hand, then they will not have the capacity to sustain the motivation needed
to actualize and realize systems nor the will element. Understanding-based education
works mainly on the function of a person, whereas self-revealing focuses on enabling the
body or being of the person. Systems-based education concentrates on the will and
function dimensions of a person with the focus on caring and knowledge and
understanding of systems.
The philosopher Milton Mayeroff (1971) defined caring in the following way:
The meaning of caring I want to suggest is not to be confused with such meanings as wishing well, liking, comforting and maintaining, or simply having an interest in what happens to another. Also, it is not an isolated feeling or a momentary relationship, nor is it simply a matter of wanting to care for some person. Caring, as helping, another grow and actualize himself, is a process, a way of relating to someone that involves development, in the same way that friendship can only emerge in time through mutual trust and a deepening and qualitative transformation of the relationship. (pp. 1-2)
Caring
System Consciousness
Systems Thinking
Value-adding Processes
Figure 25. Systems-based education.
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Caring is beyond compassion or “sympathetic pity and concern for suffering or
misfortune of other (Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999). Peter Senge, Nelda McCabe,
Timothy Lucas, Art Kleiner, Janis Dutton, and Bryan Smith (2000) proposed the term
generative love to describe this basic motivational element in educational processes:
The situation first, the love, second. But in the creative process, it is the other way around. . . . Today, a common complaint about young people is that they are indifferent and uninvolved. To the degree that is true, it is true because these young people don’t have something they love enough to do what it takes, learn what they need to learn, and change what they need to change to accomplish their goals.
But education can take a new meaning if we think of our job as teaching generative love. What can the individual love enough to bring into being, even though that will usually mean going well beyond his or her current abilities? When the question is answered, uninvolvement, indifference, and rebellion become commitment, caring, and collaboration. (pp. 172-173)
To begin systems-based education, we must care about our work. This enables us to
sustain the motivation needed to move along the line toward creating value-adding
processes.4 However, to create effective change, we must cultivate the instrument of
systems thinking.
Systems Thinking
In my experiences as a teacher and student, many students have the motivation or
calling to create change in the world, but they do not have the know-how or means to do
it. Systems thinking is one piece of the means. Another piece is systems consciousness,
as depicted in Figure 26.
4 It is beyond the scope of this dissertation to discuss how to build will. Please refer to such thinkers as Gurdjieff (1960) and Ouspensky (1957) for further explication.
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With understanding-based education, students move toward experiencing life as a
web of interactions. Therefore, everything in this system is taught in context, rather than
as fragmented parts. The instrument point of systems-based education is similar;
however, the focus is more specific on the interconnectedness of specific systems, instead
of just separate patterns. Understanding-based education must be developed first to
engage in systems-based education, to any great degree, as an understanding of patterns
is essential to seeing and understanding systems. Systems-based education is therefore
taking this ground of understanding and applying it to systems. Capra (1996) wrote, “To
understand things systemically literally means to put them into a context, to establish the
nature of their relationships” (p. 27, emphasis added). Thinking systemically enables the
student to be effective in creating change with value-adding processes.
One specific way to enable such thinking is to become ecoliterate. In this way,
students can begin to experience systems bumping to higher orders and organizations of
energies as a way to enrich one’s understanding of creating value-adding processes.
Caring
System Consciousness
Systems Thinking
Value-adding Processes
Figure 26. Systemic thinking and system consciousness as means of systems-based education.
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Order and Organization
If we solely develop the capability to increase organization without the capacity to
bump up to higher orders of energies, then a phenomenon occurs that is comparable to
the current state of the Los Angeles traffic system. Los Angeles is probably one of the
most complex and organized traffic systems in the world. However, the traffic system
never bumped up to a higher order, and therefore, the organization developed laterally, so
more and more highways were constructed to span many miles. As one who has driven
through Los Angeles many times, there is always traffic, and the very complex and
highly organized system of highways, designed to move quickly automobiles through the
city, is losing its effectiveness.
In Curitiba, Brazil, the same phenomenon was occurring as the city was rapidly
becoming a large system of highways (McKibben, 1995). However, the city was able to
foresee the problems that Los Angeles now faces and bump up to a higher order. Instead
of focusing on effective traffic patterns for the automobile, the city leaders refocused
their intentions on providing mobility to human beings. The city of Curitiba then changed
from building more highways to building an intricate public transit system and
constructing greenways where people could walk instead of drive (McKibben, 1995).
Curitibians no longer fear having the same traffic issues as Los Angeles.
In education, a simple and functional way to understand this concept is the
teaching of math. A young student is able to add 2- to 10-digit numbers together and find
the sum. This level of organization for this operation increases as the value of the
numbers and the number of numbers increases. Multiplication is of a higher order of
processing than addition. The student must have the capacity to hold this higher order of
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processing. Once the student can hold this higher order, then the organization of at this
higher order can increase. In other words, the student can begin to multiply larger and
larger numbers.
When one can index to new orderings and organizations of energies, it moves
people out of their old thinking patterns so that they can see a higher whole in which the
system exists. This concept of wholes is an essential part of systems-based education and
is discussed next.
System Consciousness
The direction of systems-based education is to develop the capacity and capability
of students to become conscious of the system’s vocation; this then guides the value-
adding processes. The same processes of actualizing and realizing pertain to systems-
based education as to self-revealing education, except that the processes are applied to a
system rather than a self. Much like consciousness of self, it is implied in this education
that every healthy system has an ultimate purpose for the world. The psychologist
Nicholas Mang (2003) believed that one can understand a system and discern its vocation
or calling. Accordingly, when developing system consciousness, a person can begin to
see all of the elements of a system in a way such that they can begin to see its vocation.
This enables the person to act in harmony with the system and enable value-adding
processes that align with the system’s vocation.
To have a healthy system, the system must transform continuously through the
cycles of realization and actualization. The use of Bennett’s (1966) enneagram enables
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this process to occur, which is discussed in great length in Chapter 5. Through the cycles
of realizing and actualizing, one must index to greater wholes.
In this context, wholes refer to seeing at play larger and larger systems, such as
concentric circles of systems or nested wholes. For example, a student is part of a larger
whole, the school, which is part of a larger whole, the community, which is part of a
larger whole, the culture, and so on, as depicted in Figure 27.
In other words, when learning, students need to see that their work involves greater and
greater wholes. This is similar to this dissertation’s tenet of Fourth Way’s three lines of
work, which states that if a person is not working on at least three levels, then one cannot
see a whole.
David Bohm (1985), the philosopher and physicist, wrote about the importance of
seeing the whole rather than the fragments:
A part . . . whether mechanical or organic—intrinsically related to a whole, but this is not so for a fragment. . . . Fragmentation is therefore an attitude of mind which disposes the mind to regard divisions between things as absolute and final, rather than as ways of thinking that have only a relative and limited range of usefulness and validity. It leads therefore to a general tendency to break up things
Figure 27. Nested wholes.
Student
School
Community
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in an irrelevant and inappropriate way according to how we think. And so it is evidently and inherently destructive. For example, though all parts of mankind are fundamentally interdependent and interrelated, the primary and overriding kind of significance given to the distinction between people, family, profession, nation, race, religion, ideology, and so on, is preventing human beings from working together for the common good, or even for survival. (pp. 23-24)
Therefore, when students are learning about systems, they are not breaking down the
systems into parts but instead are guided to see larger and larger wholes.
An example of indexing to larger and larger wholes is seeing poverty in the larger
context of structural violence, which is any political or social structures that inhibit
humans actualizing and realizing their potential (Galtung, 2004). Another example is
when Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968) spoke out against the Vietnam War:
It is many months now since I found myself obliged by conscience to end my silence and to take a public stand against my country’s war in Vietnam. The considerations which led me to that painful decision have not disappeared. . . .
I cannot speak about the great themes of violence and nonviolence, of social change and of hope for the future, without reflecting on the tremendous violence of Vietnam.
Since the spring of 1967, when I first made public my opposition to my government’s policy, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my decision. “Why you?” they have said. “Peace and civil rights don’t mix. Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people?” And when I hear such questions, I have been greatly saddened, for they mean that the inquirers have never really known me, my commitment, or my calling. Indeed, that question suggests they do not know the world in which they live. (p. 21)
King was guided by seeing wholes, when speaking against the Vietnam War. He moved
beyond himself and the civil rights movement of the South and began to see his calling in
context of a larger systemic whole that included Vietnam. Referencing to larger wholes is
a key capacity to develop in addition to systems thinking to engage truly in value-adding
processes that are aligned with the system’s vocation.
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Value-Adding Processes
Many of the educators discussed earlier, such as Montessori, Dewey, and Steiner,
believed that students should be encouraged to create positive change in their
communities (Sterling, 2003). However, these educators did not elucidate what kind of
positive change they intended. One must be developing system consciousness and
systems thinking is needed to create and engage in true value-adding change, a term
coined by the Institute of Developmental Processes (2001-2007). This is in direct contrast
to value-added change. To understand the difference between these two processes, I first
present an example of a value-added process.
In traditional volunteering, a person donates time to a nonprofit organization,
perhaps volunteering once a week at the local animal shelter. Each week, the person
walks the dogs and cleans their cages. This work is benefits the maintenance of the
animal shelter; however, it does not improve the organization. Value-added work can be
seen as a one-time event that adds value to an organization. In this case, a volunteer
might invent a new, more efficient way to clean the cages or a more efficient leash for
walking the dogs. In this way, the person creates something of value for the organization,
thus completing a value-added process.
In great contrast, a value-adding process is an ever-evolving process, rather than a
single occurrence. The biologist and systems thinker, Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968),
used the term closed system to describe systems that were closed to their environments,
as discussed in Chapter 2. In the example above, the volunteer’s process only
incorporated elements within the organization. This contrasts with living systems, which
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are “systems maintaining themselves in a continuous exchange of matter with [their]
environment” (p. 156). Viewing systems as living is essential for value-adding processes
and as mentioned above (Freire, 2003/1970) to education in general. Therefore,
volunteers who come from a living systems viewpoint would see beyond the walls of the
shelter and the organization to the greater systemic whole. The volunteer might ask,
“Why does the shelter exist in the first place?” “How can we decrease the number of
abandoned animals?” This type of thinking would lead to the development of a value-
adding process. Therefore, when creating projects with students, the project should be a
value-adding process rather than a simple volunteer exercise or project. Value-adding
processes involve bumping the process up to higher orders of energy where the work
occurs on the systemic level instead of on individual parts.
Table 1 identifies the differences between value-adding and value-added
processes.
Value-adding processes
• Whole • Systemic • Development of all • Increased value for all • Open • Continual • Energy stream
Value-added processes • Fragmented • Linear • Development of part • Increased value of
product • Closed • Intermittent
Table 1 Value-Adding Processes and Value-Added Processes
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By engaging in true value-adding processes, the system is able to bump to higher orders
while being in harmony with its vocation.
Systems-based education is the instrument by which to move toward spiritual
education, discussed next. By caring, we are motivated to enable value-adding processes.
This is done by developing systems thinking while indexing to system consciousness.
However, without the understanding developed at the ground point of the philosophy of
regenerative education and indexing to the consciousness gained in self-revealing
education, we cannot move toward spiritual education.
Spiritual Education
The greater the development of the last three approaches of education, the greater
potential in engaging in spiritual education. Understanding-based education enables the
innate yearning in students to understand concepts and their relevance to their lives. This
is necessary to engage in both self-revealing and systems-based education. Without
understanding, a student cannot begin to care about a system and be motivated to engage
in value-adding processes. Also, without understanding-based education, a student cannot
begin to move toward developing consciousness of self through self-understanding and
reconciling the unfoldment of essence to one’s life circumstances. Therefore,
understanding-based education sparks the motivation to move toward spiritual education,
as seen in Figure 28.
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Because the philosophy of regenerative education is grounded in the Fourth Way’s three
lines of work (oneself, work with people, and work on a system), it is appropriate that
self-revealing education and systems-based education are the means by which to engage
in the philosophy of regenerative education. In each approach to education, the student
will work alone and within groups to achieve the goals. As mentioned, if a person only
works on one or two of these lines, then the level of potential that can be realized is
greatly limited. Therefore, each line facilitates and is necessary for the development of
the other lines.
As mentioned earlier, regenerative work can be summarized as renewing energy
fields by realizing the essence potential inherent in the systems that make up the field.
Therefore, the meaning of the field has changed from mundane to spiritual. Figure 29
displays the different elements of spiritual education.
Being State
Cosmic Harmony
Lineage
Spiritualizing Fields
Figure 29. Spiritual education.
Understanding-Based Education (ground)
Self-Revealing Education (direction)
Systems-Based Education (instrument)
Spiritual Education (goal)
Figure 28. Spiritual education as goal of the philosophy of regenerative education.
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There is a definitive shift in spiritual education to a focus on spirit and energy in
systems and fields. I believe that spiritual education is a potential for all educational
processes, whether in a school, business, or lifelong learning. This approach to education
is based in transpersonal psychology, which is the psychological study of
experiences in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche, and cosmos . . . and their correlates. These correlates include the nature, varieties, causes, and effects of transpersonal experiences and development, as well as the psychologies, philosophies, disciplines, arts, cultures, lifestyles, reactions, and religions that are inspired by them, or that seek to induce, express, apply, or understand them. (Walsh & Vaughan, 1993, p. 3-4)
The psychologist Roger Hutchins (2006) explained transpersonal psychology as
looking
to saints, prophets, great artists, heroes, and heroines for models of full human development and of the growth-oriented nature of the normal human psyche . . . . transpersonal psychology makes it possible to perceive the individual as one engaged in the process of development toward full humanity, as exemplified by the words and deeds of great men and women . . . an approach to the whole person. It seeks a balanced development of the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social, and creative expression aspects of a person's life. (p. 1)
I would extend this definition beyond human beings to include nature. In summary,
spiritual education enables the capacity and capability of the body-mind to spiritualize
energy systems. An energy system in this context is the delineation of a whole that is a
composition of processes that can increase in vitality and viability. Ben Haggard, Bill
Reed, and Pamela Mang (2006), who were engaged in regenerative work, defined energy
systems as “webs of interconnected dynamic processes continually structuring and
restructuring” (p. 25). Because one must be able to access the body-mind, the first step or
the ground of spiritual education is one’s being state.
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Being State
To engage in spiritual education, a person needs to build the capacity and
capability to create and evolve a certain state of being that is in harmony with nature and
in which the individual becomes to a certain extent insignificant. “Regeneration is a
wholistic phenomena rather than an individualistic phenomena” (Institute of
Developmental Processes, 2001-2007, p. 3). The difference between Bateson’s (1972)
Learning II and Learning III elucidates this distinction:
But any freedom from the bondage of habit must also denote a profound redefinition of the self. If I stop at the level of Learning II, “I” am the aggregate of those characteristics which I call my “character.” “I” am my habits of acting in context and shaping and perceiving the contexts in which I act. Selfhood is a product or aggregate of Learning II. To the degree that a man achieves Learning III, and learns to perceive and act in terms of the contexts of contexts, his “self” will take on a sort of irrelevance. The concept of “self” will no longer function as a nodal argument in the punctuation of experience. (p. 304)
In a sense, the self becomes irrelevant, and the person is sourced by essence. The
cultivation of the person’s being state must occur to achieve such a feat successfully.
Therefore, it is imperative for a person to cultivate the lessons of the understanding-
based, self-revealing, and systems-based education so as to engage in spiritual education.
A person’s being must be open to act “in terms of the contexts of contexts”
(Bateson, 1972, p. 304). In other words, as Stephen Sterling (2003) wrote, “the power of
the idea of ‘paradigm’ is that it indicates that a worldview is indeed a model, a system of
knowing, rather than a reality itself” (p. 106). We begin to understand that we operate out
of a worldview or context, and that it is not the only context or perhaps the only reality.
When we experience the conception of a new paradigm, we release “creative
power” (Haggard, Reed, & Mang, 2006, p. 24). Creativity, though not discussed at length
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here, can be seen throughout all the different approaches to education. Creative
expression is a wonderful tool for personal development (Fox, 2006), and creativity is the
key to value-adding processes. However, as the theologian Matthew Fox (2006) pointed
out, there are shadow sides to creativity:
We ought to be teaching about humanity’s capacity for evil so that we can consciously move beyond it. Evil has everything to do with our capacity for creativity, with what we choose to do with it, and with our not turning it over to others. Gas ovens and hydrogen bombs are born of human creativity after all. (p. 112)
However, in the spiritual approach to education, a person has already begun to develop
the capacity to discern the balance of yin-yang or ethical education, which are byproducts
of self-revealing and systems-based education.
The evolution of the body-mind is a way to summarize concisely the processes
engaged in the other approaches that serve as the ground of spiritual education. Mang
(2001) wrote that there were two different intelligences: the head-mind and the body-
mind. The intelligence of the body-mind utilizes the capacities and capabilities of a
person to experience and read energies, sometimes referred to as the sixth sense or as
nonlocal perception.
One, the autonomic [nervous] system, reacted to close stimuli, the other, second, system allowed the man or animal to sense danger at some distance away—hurricanes, for example, earthquakes, the approach of predators. Nowadays there are still people who are able to foresee disasters, earthquakes and pending deaths and accidents. Wild animals retain their sensitivity to environment; indeed their survival depends upon their innate ability to sense the approach of predators and the location of food supplies. Early man would never have lasted had he not enjoyed the same aptitude, sensing the approach of strangers or wild animals from great distances away. Furthermore, he knew instinctively which plants were good to eat and which were not, by being drawn to them or repulsed. (Bek & Pullar, 1995, p. 56)
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This second system or intelligence is what one needs to develop to spiritualize a field.
Mang (2001) wrote that the body-mind “has to do with the relative capacity to see the
inner potentiality of things and to ascertain those actions that will lead to the
manifestation and further evolution of that potential” (p. 12).
With this body-mind, a person is able to organize, recognize, understand, and
generate patterns. Therefore, it is the combination of both self-revealing, systems-based,
and understanding-based education. One must be able to discern the energy patterns to
know how to act harmoniously. The need for people to be guided by cosmic harmony to
stay focused on the goal of spiritualizing fields is discussed next.
Cosmic Harmony
Experiencing union with cosmic harmony, is the direction point of the spiritual
education tetrad, as seen in Figure 30.
As used here, cosmic harmony is synonymous with such terms as the Divine, God, Allah,
and the Tao. Unlike systems-based education, which is directed by one’s perception of
the whole, or self-revealing, which is directed by alignment with the Divine, in spiritual
education, a being state must be achieved to access the union with cosmic harmony. It is
Figure 30. Cosmic harmony as direction of spiritual education.
Being State
Cosmic Harmony
Lineage
Spiritualizing Fields
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no longer self-directed; instead, the person is directed by the whole system. In
regenerative development, “rather than seeing a site or project as a collection of things
(slopes, drainages, roads, building, etc.), a regenerative designer cultivates the ability to
see them as energy systems” (Haggard et al., 2006, p. 24). In this sense, a person is not
separate or detached from the site but is guided by the union one experiences with the
site. This set of states is similar to Maslow’s (1982) peak experiences: “For instance, it is
quite characteristic in peak-experiences that the whole universe is perceived as an
integrated and unified whole” (p. 59). Maslow’s (1970) B-cognition is similar to the
being state needed for regenerative education to be said to occur.
That is to say, B-cognition, because it makes human irrelevance more possible, enables us thereby to see more truly the nature of the object in itself. This is a little like talking about god-like perception, superhuman perception. The peak-experience seems to lift us to greater than normal heights so that we can see and perceive in a higher than usual way. (pp. 61-62)
The B-cognition or being state enables peak experiences, in which one is able to
experience the true essence or nature of something while in union with cosmic harmony.
With this perception, or Maslow’s (1982) “god-like perception” (p. 61), one is able to
experience Bohm’s (1980) implicit order, or the underlying order of the universe.
This concept is similar to the New Testament prayer, “your will be done”
(Mathew 6:10, New International Version). There is no person doing, instead it is the
whole doing. A person forms a covenant with the cosmic harmony or the Divine. One
becomes a vehicle for it. In the following passage, Martin Buber (1970), a philosopher,
made an important distinction between becoming a vehicle for the Divine and seeing
oneself as the Divine:
The former view supposes that God will enter the being that has been freed of I-hood or that at that point one merges into God; the other view supposes that one
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stands immediately in oneself as the divine One. Thus the first holds that in a supreme moment all You-saying ends because there is no longer any duality; the second, that there is no truth in You-saying at all because in truth there is no duality. The first believes in the unification, the second in the identity of the human and the divine. (pp. 131-132)
Though both having the Divine enter oneself and viewing oneself as the Divine are
important, the first aligns more with spiritual education because there must be a separate
self to act in the world of actuality:
What is decisive is whether the spirit—the You-saying, responding spirit—remains alive and actual; whether what remains of it in communal human life continues to be subjected to the state and the economy or whether it becomes independently active; whether what abides of it in individual human life incorporates itself again in communal life. But that certainly cannot be accomplished by dividing communal life into independent realms that also include “the life of the spirit.” That would merely mean that the regions immersed in the It-world would be abandoned forever to this despotism, while the spirit would lose all actuality. For the spirit in itself can never act independently upon life; that it can do only in the world-with its force which penetrates and transforms the It-world. (Buber, 1970, pp. 99-100)
This guidance, in combination with the instrument of lineages, is the means by which to
begin spiritualizing fields.
Spiritualizing Fields
The goal of spiritual education and also the philosophy of regenerative education
is spiritualizing energy fields, as seen in Figure 31.
Being State
Cosmic Harmony
Lineage
Spiritualizing Fields
Figure 31. Spiritualizing fields as goal of spiritual education.
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Sean Culman (personal communication, November 30, 2006), an architect and
collaborator, called this creating “Eden effects.” The idea of Eden effects is based on a
different interpretation of the biblical story of the garden of Eden, known by most people
in the Western world. Eden is the myth of a paradise where Adam and Eve lived until
they tasted an apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The popular
interpretation of this story is that Adam and Eve, because they ate from the God-
forbidden tree and thus committing the original sin, were ousted from the garden of Eden
never to return (Harent, 1911). However, I propose a different interpretation of this
ousting, which instead can be seen as a blessing. Moving out of Eden required humans to
exercise choice based upon their capacity to experience the potential good or debilitating
effect (known as yin-yang in many Eastern cultures) of that choice in enabling a
harmonious world. Therefore, humans have the potential to enable the whole world to
become a garden of Eden. This is not a new interpretation of the role of a human being;
many North American Native peoples have been practicing this role for centuries
(Anderson, 2005).
An example of this on a smaller scale is the transportation system in Curitiba,
Brazil, mentioned earlier. When the mayor, Jamie Lerner, blocked off a main downtown
street to create a system of moving people instead of moving vehicles, many outraged
members of an automobile club lined up their cars to drive over the walkway in protest.
However, Lerner arranged for children to be drawing on the sidewalk. This created an
energy field with the children that subsided the anger of the motorists with no brute force.
In fact, soon many businesses, also previously against the walkways, asked for their
streets to be converted. This is an example of a Eupsychian structure (Maslow, 1998; N.
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Mang, personal communication, January 12, 2003), which lifts people beyond themselves
and energizes them using the harmonious connection with the collective. With the use of
body-mind, people can discern and create energy fields in harmony with their
surroundings. A Eupsychian structure lifts people beyond themselves and energizes them
using the harmonious connection with the collective.
Another way to describe spiritualizing fields is the experience of creating
harmony in the explicate world. M. Kat Anderson (2005), a professor at University at
California, described the process of the Native Americans of California and how they
spiritualized the forests:
California Indians protected and tended favored plant species and habitats, harvested plant and animal products at carefully worked out frequencies and intensities, and practiced an array of horticultural techniques. Through coppicing, pruning, harrowing, sowing, weeding, burning, digging, thinning, and selective harvesting, they encouraged desired characteristics of individual plants, increased populations of useful plants, and altered the structures and compositions of plant communities. Regular burning of many types of vegetation across the state created better habitat for game, eliminated brush, minimized the potential for catastrophic fires, and encouraged the diversity of food crops. These harvest and management practices, on the whole, allowed for sustainable harvest of plants over centuries and possibly thousand of years. . . . It recasts them as active agents of environmental change and stewardship. (pp. 1-2)
Without the Native Americans of California, Anderson (2005) conjectured that the early
European explorers would not have encountered such places as Mount Tamalpais and
Salt Point State Park because they would not have existed.
It is important to note that the Native Americans “encouraged desired
characteristics of individual plants” (Anderson, 2005, p. 1), thus enabling the essence of
the plant to unfold while encouraging diversity by creating more complex and intricate
wholes. It also can be inferred that the Native Americans used their body-minds to know
when certain activities were to be done, such as burning or planting. This is beyond
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actualizing and realizing a system because the field of forests and forestry was
spiritualized. In systems-based education, value-adding processes were created by
transforming systems to higher orders and organizing energies. In this approach to
education, not only are the systems transforming, but each individual essence that is part
of the system is also transforming and developing, reaching toward realizing its potential.
Such people as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi are examples of
what students can become when they are educated with this approach. Both of these men
lived from their essences and moved toward creating larger and larger wholes of
harmony, or spiritualizing fields. However, these men may not have achieved what they
did without the instrument of lineage.
Lineage
Fox (2006) purported that “an authentic education today must honor the
ancestors” (p. 61). As Fox mentioned, “etymologically, the word comes from the Latin
for antecedere, ‘to go before’” (p. 62). Therefore, lineage is seen as the vehicle in which
the collective wisdom of the people has been held (Figure 32).
Figure 32. Lineage as instrument of spiritual education.
Being State
Cosmic Harmony
Lineage
Spiritualizing Fields
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In terms of the Native Americans of California, the wisdom cultivated through
generations enabled them to create an Eden effect. This wisdom also incorporates
teachings that one might gain in systems-based education. The concept of wisdom from
the lineage is seen here as different from knowledge because the concept is actively
created and evolved. In other words, it is in constant evolution, instead of a static state. It
also entails the energy stream in which the lineage holds. In the case of Mahatma Gandhi,
for example, the energy stream might be bringing the teachings of ahimsa, or no-harm, to
the world (Easwaran, 1978).
To create an Eden effect or spiritualize a field, the collective wisdom that came
before must be revered and remembered. Both Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma
Gandhi had lineages or traditions they followed (King, Jr., 1968; Easwaran, 1978). They
did not reinvent the wheel; instead, they used the practices of their traditions to access
visions of cosmic harmony (King, Jr., 1968; Easwaran, 1978). Descriptions of Gandhi’s
insight about the salt marches (Easwaran, 1978) is very similar to the following passage
from physicists David Bohm and David Peat (2000):
Through dreams, insights, and symbolic forms, a certain aspect of a new order may arrive in conscious awareness. In this way scientists, artists, musicians, writers, and philosophers bring about changes in their respective fields. As a consequence, their insights transform the ways we all see and experience the world. (Bohm & Peat, 2000, p. 282)
This realm of dreams, insights, and symbolic forms, which is similar to Jung’s (1971)
collective unconscious, and Laszlo’s (2004) A-field, is where lineage can be accessed.
Nature also has a collective wisdom that can be accessed. Bohm and Peat (2006)
wrote,
In the very distant past, human beings obtained their sense of harmony within the cosmic dimension through direct contact with nature. When people were
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constantly immersed in their natural environment, their attention naturally turned in this direction and consciousness frequently moved into a dimension beyond time and the limited concerns of particular social groups. (p. 257)
Many people feel a healing quality of nature and it should be noted that healing has its
etymological roots from the words holy and whole (Bohm & Peat, 2000). Nature is the
holder of many harmonious systems that are mainly unconscious to humans, which is
why von Bertalanffy (1968) based his general system theory on the natural processes that
he found in biology. The martial art, kung fu, is also based of the patterns of animals and
nature (Sifu, 2006). Education can also be a whole experience for someone, engaging
their function, being and will, or their mind, body, and spirit.
With connection with lineage, a person is able to access the wisdom of the cosmic
harmony, thereby gaining the ability to understand and experience the essence of things
in a way such that their cultivation and evolution to higher orders can occur. In the other
approaches, pattern recognition, understanding, self-reflection, ecoliteracy, and systems
thinking can all be seen as developing the capacity and capability to engage in this point.
In other words, without the development of the other educations, one could not access the
wisdom of the lineage.
Summary and Conclusion
If students are to act instead of reacting, they must be educated to think, be, and
act differently by the development of all four of these approaches. A student’s natural
yearnings to learn should be encouraged as the basis of all education. From this, a student
becomes able to develop meaning by connecting concepts and ideas toward developing a
deeper understanding of the world and the web of life. This then serves as a way by
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which to engage in self-transformation such that students are able to unfold their essences
and reconcile their fates toward the development of consciousness. In this consciousness
of self, students are enabled to act differently. They are able to choose how they act and
to discern right livelihood. By developing systems-based education, we enable students to
think systemically, thus thinking differently than the fragmented mind that created many
of our world problems. As a result, students can create value-adding processes that
harmonize with the larger wholes or systems involved. However, without the
combination of all three of these approaches, a person cannot begin to move toward the
potential of spiritual education nor cultivate the gift of being able to spiritualize fields.
This is the ultimate goal of the philosophy of regenerative education. Only with this
development can a student become someone like Gandhi, who was able to transform and
spiritualize the whole field of India. In his work, Gandhi regenerated India to be in
harmony with its essence. In this way, the student is enabled to regenerate the world, not
from a reactionary stance but from acting creatively.
Like the philosophies of Montessori and Steiner, the philosophy of regenerative
education is grounded in the unfoldment of the student. There is a stress on following the
student’s “yearning to learn” and not forcing learning upon them. Like Steiner’s
philosophy, the philosophy of regenerative education focuses on the meaning and
relevance of the concepts to the student’s life. However, neither Montessori nor Steiner
stressed the importance of understanding and using systems, nor did they, in their
writings, explicitly use a framework to articulate the relationships of the main points of
their philosophies. With the use of frameworks, we can understand how each item relates
to the other and what the focus of teaching should be. Further, the framework also allows
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a person to think into the philosophy in a way such that they can provide upgrades to
continue the evolution of the philosophy.
Neither Montessori nor Steiner directly focused on creating social change as part
of education, though they saw education as a way to change things socially. The
philosophy of regenerative education combines both strands of the holistic educational
movement. Both personal development and social change are seen as essential to
education. Therefore, I am providing a philosophy that heals a split in the holistic
movement. This philosophy also extends the holistic movement with the introduction of
essence. Essence refers not only to that of the student or teacher, but of any entity, be it
place, city, family, and so on. With this addition, the student can begin to transform and
create energy fields, therefore working at a level of regeneration, which is beyond
sustainability. These are just a few of the important contributions that the philosophy of
regenerative education has to offer to the holistic education field. In conclusion, it is
important to note again that this philosophy is not a final product but a work in progress
that will be upgraded with use, time, and dialogue.
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CHAPTER 5
LIVING SCHOOLS
In developing a new philosophy of education, it is helpful to explore how it might
be applied in transforming extant educational systems. Accordingly, this chapter explores
the second research question, “What are the critical elements of the framework needed to
create ‘living school’?” A living school is an educational system that enables the highest
potential of the philosophy of regenerative education to be realized in the world. Living
schools also play an integral role in the revitalization of a community and should not be
limited to the building structures of conventional primary and secondary education.
Enneagram
In this dissertation, I chose the enneagram as a framework to represent the flow
and process of the planning entailed in creating a living school and transforming an
existing school into a living school. I use the enneagram as a geometric framework to
understand the interrelationships and interdependences of a living school, as shown in
Figure 33. As mentioned in Chapter 2, the enneagram is composed of nine points as seen
below. The enneagram is used because it is a framework that is based on the principles of
living systems, and it is not a model. Instead, it is a thinking or planning tool that can
grow and evolve overtime, much like a living system. It bears reiteration in this chapter
introduction that the enneagram framework used here is not the same system that is more
popularly used in personality assessment (Naranjo, 1997; Palmer, 1998). The enneagram
is used in the Fourth Way tradition of J. G. Bennett (1983), who attributed
“harmonization” as the enneagram’s systemic attribute (p. 17).
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Actualizing, Realizing, and Shocks
The enneagram can be divided into two halves, the right side and the left side, or
the actualizing and realizing sides. The actualizing side, composed of points 1, 4, and 2,
represents the release of potential as discussed in Chapter 4. This application of the
enneagram to living schools describes the release of the potential of a living school and
its people. The focus, when working on the right side of the enneagram, is on the inner
workings and relationships of the school. The realizing side of the enneagram, composed
of points 8, 5, and 7, represents the manifestation of this released potential in the greater
community and world. These points of the enneagram represent the transformations,
relationships, and interactions of the school with the greater world. In other words, the
device represents the impact of the community that results from the existence of the
school.
Figure 33. The enneagram.
1
2
4
8
7
5
9/0
6 3
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The actualizing and realizing sides of the enneagram have a mirror effect. In other
words, points 1,4, and 2 are metaphorically similar to points 8, 5, and 7 on the left side of
the enneagram (this is discussed in more depth below).
The last three points, 3, 6, and 0/9, represent the shock points to the enneagram
framework. A shock is necessary “for the progressive development and continuance of a
thing . . . [and is necessary for that] thing to proceed into right order of development.
Otherwise it will deviate from its course and become something else” (Nicoll, 1984,
p. 402). Shocks are anything that comes from outside the living school network and that
impacts the living school. Each of the shocks is “independent of one another and also
mutually necessary” (Bennett, 1983, p. 8) for the harmonization process. Examples of
shocks could be earthquakes, economic depression, divine inspiration, at-risk youth, life
crises, and so on. The three principal shocks relevant to a living school are discussed in
more depth below. Shocks are important because it keeps the system open and relevant to
the world. If the shocks did not exist, the living school would be a closed system, as
discussed in Chapter 4.
Outer and Inner Structures of the Enneagram
The enneagram has both an outer and inner structure. The outer structure of the
enneagram follows in numeric order around the outside of the circle. The circle
represents how the process unfolds into the explicate world over time. Bennett (1983)
used the metaphor of cooking and serving a meal to explain these structures. Thus, when
we cook and serve a meal, we follow the outer structure in sequential order. In other
words, the outer structure of the enneagram represents real time. We cannot serve the
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meal, which is the realizing side (left side) of the enneagram, before the meal is cooked,
which is the actualizing side (right side) of the enneagram.
The inner structure of the enneagram, represented by the inner lines of the circle
in Figure 33, is used to plan a transformation or harmonization process (Bennett, 1983).
Bennett described the importance of this inner structure:
To think about man effectively we must get beyond linear thinking in order to see the inner cohesion. The spiritual world is totally non-linear and this is why we cannot ordinarily think about it at all. We must therefore find a new way of thinking. In order to change our way of thinking we have first of all to recognize that it is not a matter of looking along several different lines at once but recognizing that there is structure in what we are looking at. The structure may be imperfect, but if it were not there at all, we could understand nothing. (Bennett, 1983, p. 7)
This inner structure, or inner cohesion, represents the progression of thought through
which a planner of a harmonization process should move. This path is point 1 point 4
point 2 point 8 point 5 point 7. This path is a logical progression of thought
through which one moves when planning from a holistic and living system perspective
and is described in more depth below. If we plan to cook and serve a meal, we would use
the inner structure (1-4-2-8-5-7). The outer structure (1-2-3-4, etc.) represents the
execution of the cooking and serving. Notice the progression of thought of the inner
structure does not include the three shock points, 3, 6, and 0/9. These points are “the
points of contact with external world” (Bennett, 1983, p. 30) and therefore cannot be
foreseen until the actual cooking and serving of the meal, or the outer structure of the
enneagram unfolding over time. In the case of cooking the meal, point 3 can be seen as
the raw food that is brought into the kitchen. A planner can see that this necessary point
will occur, which is why it is part of the enneagram. However, it is not part of the
planning process or inner structure because it is not part of the basic structure of the
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kitchen, as is a knife or a person who cleans the dishes. The food that is bought and
brought to the kitchen changes every day, and it would unwise to have it as part of the
inner structure of the kitchen, because we can never guarantee what food we will be able
to buy. The shock points ensure that the planner remains relevant and connected to the
outside world and not insular.
Cyclical Process
The last attribute of the enneagram to discuss is its cyclical nature. The
enneagram moves through the processes of actualizing, the right side of the enneagram,
and realizing, the left side. Once a person moves through the points in a clockwise
fashion and returns to point 1, a new harmonization process begins. This cyclical process
is a principle of living systems and what Capra (1992) called ecological cycles. Point 0/9
can be seen as the end of one meal and the inspiration for the next meal. Point 1 is the
incorporation of the lessons learned during the last meal or harmonization process. The
second round of harmonization starts at a different level of understanding or a higher
order of thinking. This is why the critical criteria are therefore articulated as a
framework: during each cycle through the framework, we gain a deeper understanding of
the harmonization process at each point. The enneagram framework represents an
evolutionary process of increasing harmony in larger wholes. Each of the nine points of
the enneagram as it applies to a living school is discussed next. The sequence of the
sections below follows the inner structure of the enneagram points, or the progression of
thought needed to create a living school. Each section also refers to the progression of
time or outer structure.
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Inspiration
The first point of the process, inspiration, is at the top of the enneagram, Point 0,
as seen in Figure 34.
Point 0/9 is divided into two sections for the purposes of explanation. This point is called
zero because it occurs before the beginning of the activity of harmonization. Inspiration
encompasses two important processes: the calling and the connection to place.
Calling
Before we begin an educational process, such as a designing a school, a person or
group of people are called to create it. These people will be called founders and planners
in this dissertation and can be a teacher, a student, an administrator, a community
member, or a combination of these people who are called to begin a regenerative process
for a school. As discussed in Chapter 4, regeneration begins with the unfoldment of
essence to realize its potential. As such, the enneagram framework for a living school can
Figure 34. Inspiration as point 0 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
8. Culture
7. Society
5. Offerings
9. Reflection 0. Inspiration
6. Events 3. Students
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enable planners to create a new school or to facilitate a new process of harmonization for
an already existing school to then become a living school. Accordingly, the founders are
motivated to create something new or transform an existing process. If a person does not
have this motivation, then the process for creating a living school cannot begin or
continue.
For example, Steiner (1886/1979) believed that it was his mission to start a school
as a way to bring anthroposophy to a greater audience. Many other founders of schools
have had similar experiences of feeling that they were called or feeling the need to
manifest a school into existence (ITP, 2007; Neill, 1960; Saybrook Graduate School,
2008; Staker, 2008). This calling begins with the unfoldment of one’s essence toward
self-realizing. The inspiration to begin the living-school process also has another
component, which is integrally connected to the calling, and that is the place.
Place
The connection to the place where the school will or does reside is an essential
element of the inspiration. A place, which can have an essence like that of a human, also
can call a person to start an educational process. Many environmentalists have relayed
experiences of places and creatures inspiring them to raise awareness and begin an
educational process worldwide (Hill, 2000; Jane Goodall Institute, 2003).
Place comprises not only the physical land but also the time period and the
community and culture of the peoples who inhabit or have inhabited the place. As seen in
Figure 35, each of these elements overlaps and interfaces with other to create an essence
of place.
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It is beyond the scope of this dissertation to go into detail about these elements of
place. However, it is important to stress that because this approach is place-based, there is
no universal model or formula that can be articulated and used across all schools. Each
point must be relevant to and in harmony with the place where the proposed educational
process will take place. For example, a living school in a Muslim country will necessarily
be different from a living school in San Francisco, CA. The manifestation of a living
school will be as different and unique as the place where it resides. The way this
philosophy must be manifested is in a bottom-up process of emergence from place, rather
than the conventional top-down or injection model.
To begin a living school process, one person or a group of people must be
inspired to create a living school. This can come in the form of a personal calling to
create a new school or a calling to regenerate an existing one. The place, which
comprises physical land, time, and the culture and community of a people, is also
essential to integrate into the inspiration. Place grounds the living school in the actual
world, instead of in the abstract. This connection to place must be continually referenced
at each point. Once this inspiration is conscious in the founders, the elements and beliefs
Time
Place
Land Peoples
Figure 35. Three elements of place.
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of the living school need to be articulated. These beliefs are articulated in the philosophy
section below.
Philosophy
The next point of the enneagram process is point 1, a representation of the
philosophy of a living school, as seen Figure 36.
Once a person or group of people is inspired to create a living school, the creation of a
philosophy based on the philosophy of regenerative education is needed. An exact replica
of the philosophy is not essential because the philosophy of regenerative education is a
framework and not a model of education and will therefore change and evolve over time.
Furthermore, not all of the elements of the philosophy of regenerative education need to
be integrated at once but instead can be integrated in the iterative cycles of
harmonization. Therefore, an existing school might not adopt all of the elements of the
Figure 36. Philosophy as point 1 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
0. Inspiration
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philosophy of regenerative education at once but instead may adopt some with the intent
of integrating more in iterative cycles of using the enneagram framework. However, it is
essential that the philosophy must always be in concert with the inspiration point or the
living school cannot be in harmony. The planners must be able to communicate a deep
understanding of their philosophy to others so that the living school can grow. This
philosophy then guides the behavior of the living school.
Once the philosophy is articulated, in real time, the planners then move to
building the site and structures for the school, as seen in Figure 36. However, it is
important first to plan what type of learning experiences will occur at the living school to
know what type of structures are needed. The next section presents a discussion of the
way the philosophy and the inspiration manifest as learning experiences.
Learning Experience
The next point for which the founders must plan concerns the learning experience
that will take place in the school, as represented by Point 4, as seen in Figure 37.
Figure 37. Learning experience as point 4 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
4. Learning Experience
0. Inspiration
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Point 4 represents the place where the learning experience occurs according to the
conventional educational mindset. In a living school, learning experiences occur at each
point of the enneagram. At this point, however, such processes as the pedagogy and
curriculum are designed.
The learning experience comprises at least three elements: curriculum, pedagogy,
and culture, which interrelate and overlap, as seen in Figure 38. Each of these is
described in greater detail below.
A common element of these three components is the living system process of emergence.
Emergence
The concept of emergence is an important element to living systems and
especially to the learning experience. Yaneer Bar-Yam (2003) of the New England
Complex Systems Institute defined emergence as:
(1) . . . What parts of a system do together that they would not do by themselves: collective behavior.
Curriculum
Culture Pedagogy
Learning Experience
Figure 38. Three elements of the learning experience.
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(2) . . . What a system does by virtue of its relationship to its environment that it would not do by itself: e.g., its function. (p. 1)
In a classroom, each student contributes to the whole of the learning experience. When
certain students are not present, the processes in the classroom may change. An example
of this would be when a very talkative student is absent and other students who do not
usually talk speak up more. In a dialogue, new ideas emerge from the conversation that
might not have been considered if each person were alone. In terms of projects in the
classroom, these also emerge if the teacher is aware and attentive to the students’
interests and learning. Following the emergent process requires that the learning
experience come from the students and the teacher rather than just the teacher.
Emergence is a key element to the living part of a living school. Though what will
emerge cannot be planned for, there are basic principles or guidelines that can be
articulated for curriculum, pedagogy, and culture.
Curriculum
For this dissertation, I define curriculum as the processes in which
transformations occur, specifically in the student. Smith (2000) discussed four different
approaches to curriculum:
(1) Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted. - Systematic development of reasoning power and the communication of
“the canon.” (2) Curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students—product.
- Influenced by the rise of the scientific management and notions of social efficiency. Focused on setting objectives (the statement of changes to take place in the students) and organization of schooling to meet these.
(3) Curriculum as process. - Sought a curriculum in harmony with the child’s “real” interests, needs
and learning patterns. (4) Curriculum as praxis.
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- Corruption and vice, inequalities of race and gender, and the abuse of privilege and power should be addressed directly, with the aim of raising a new generation equipped to deal effectively with these abuses. (p. 15)
A living school must adopt a combination of these approaches to curriculum to enable
learning to occur in all of the four types of education: understanding-based, self-
revealing, systems-based, and spiritual. It is beyond the scope of this dissertation to
develop specific curricula for the philosophy of regenerative education, as reference to a
particular place is needed. However, the four different types of education align with these
approaches to curriculum. For example, systems-based and spiritual-based education
must have a large focus on project-based, value-adding processes, which lends itself to a
curriculum of praxis. Similarly, the self-revealing education must focus on process
curriculum and understanding-based education must focus on knowledge and patterns.
Though each approach to education focuses on a particular type of curriculum, each type
of curriculum should be integrated into each type of education.
There cannot be a single mandatory regenerative education curriculum (i.e., list of
facts of history, list of procedures in math) that each student must learn, as this constricts
the system into a model rather than a framework based on living systems principles. In
addition, an important element of the philosophy of regenerative education is to begin
with the essence of each student and to allow the emergence of the unique curriculum for
that student. There is, however, a set of principles that come from each of the types of
education within the broader regenerative education philosophy. For example, a principle
for understanding-based education is that the material with which the student engages
must enable and encourage the yearning to learn. In other words, curricula cannot be
forced upon the child; the child must first have a desire to engage the material. The
curricula must be organized in a way such that patterns can be experienced and students
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can attach meaning to what they learn. Indexing to the uniqueness of each student to
begin the learning process is similar to both Steiner and Montessori’s philosophy of
education, which are grounded in the understanding of the natural forces or spiritual
embryo of a student.
Another example is curricula for systems-based education. Curricula must begin
with the student caring about something and wanting to create change. From this process,
the student must begin to learn the fundamentals of systems thinking to view the situation
from this point of view. Accordingly, students will need to learn concepts such as the
basic principles of ecology and energetics. In terms of value-adding processes, the goal of
systems-based education, students must have general knowledge about the processes in
which they are engaged. In the value-adding process, certain knowledge will be deemed
to be necessary, as was the case with the students working with an animal shelter,
described in Chapter 4. The history and purpose of the animal shelter is pertinent to the
creation of a value-adding process.
Curriculum and Students
In the progression of time, or moving numerically around the enneagram, point 3,
students, occurs before point 4, learning experience. In others words, students attend the
living school before the learning experiences are finalized. Therefore, the curriculum can
emerge from each student or group of students. For example, if a student does not know
how to read and has the desire to learn to do so, then a curriculum or learning process
must be created to suit that student’s needs. If a student is an extraordinary painter, then
again, a curriculum must be created to enable such development. However, the other side
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of curriculum is helping students become a well-rounded individuals who are growing
their consciousness. Once the planner understands the basic principles that will shape the
curriculum, how this curriculum is then processed with the student, or the pedagogy,
must be planned. This is discussed next.
Pedagogy
The term pedagogy refers to how teachers “manage their classroom instruction in
ways that help students to learn subject matter” (Horizon Research, 2005, p. 1). For a
living school, these ways of managing must align with the philosophy of regenerative
education. A curriculum articulates a series of transformations, be it an awareness, skill,
capacity, or capability, through which the student should move. Pedagogy is then the way
that these awarenesses are to be enabled. A school that has teachers who solely lecture to
deliver these awarenesses is not in harmony with the philosophy as it is not working with
each student’s yearning to learn and does not involve students in value-adding processes.
Dialogue
One pedagogical method that harmonizes with the philosophy of regenerative
education is dialogue, which enables students to develop their body-mind. Instead of the
hierarchical model, in which the teacher is considered sole master or expert, a dialogical
process insists that students and teachers are colearners. Bohm (1996) described dialogue
as a group process in which something new is often created that could not be created
alone.
A dialogue can be among any number of people, not just two. Even one person can have a sense of dialogue within himself, if the spirit of dialogue is present. The picture or image that this derivation suggests is of a stream of meaning
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flowing among and through us and between us. This will make possible a flow of meaning in the whole group, out of which will emerge some new understanding. It’s something new, which may not have been in the starting point at all. It’s something creative. And this shared meaning is the “glue” or “cement” that holds people and societies together. (p. 6)
Bishop Mandell Creighton (2004) said, “The one real object of education is to have a
man in the condition of continually asking questions” (para. 1). Socrates was famous for
his didactic questioning of his students. From this process, the participants were able to
reach deeper and deeper understandings and bump their thinking to higher orders and
organizations. In a living school, students take an active role in their own education and
can begin to develop reflection skills to look at their own, and other’s, beliefs and
patterns. Lauren LaVail (2008) reflected on being a participant in a dialogue:
In the vein of “we are more than the sum of our parts,” I believe that through dialogue, we have the opportunity to co-create. Dropping the personal agenda allows for more spontaneous and inspired communication. By honoring the flow of dialogue, and building on that which was previously stated, a greater understanding begins to emerge that is created by many ideas instead of one limited perspective. This concept is bound to be more circumspect, creative, and dynamic than if individuals merely bounced their own ideas off one another. One person never has the whole story. By truly listening to other points of view, we broaden our perspectives and make way for a greater degree of understanding and connection.
I believe that dialogue is a powerful tool with which to build community . . . a tool for recognizing patterns of thought and commonality between various individuals or groups. When we open up and listen with the intention of truly understanding, bridges of thought are built between people. Before the patterns become visible though, there needs to be a fair amount of discussion with various opinions, reactions, and of course, a whole lot of listening. Through this process of circulating ideas, patterns then begin to emerge and reoccur. These are the concepts that unify us, the threads that runs through all of it. When we begin to acknowledge these commonalities and unifying agents, it opens up doors that were previously closed to us. We will start to act with the good of the group in mind instead of only our own interests. It is this understanding of our similarities that can bring us together as a global community. (pp. 2-3)
Dialogue enables the power of emergence to unfold in such a way that the participants
will think at a higher order than before the dialogue.
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Value-Adding Processes
Another pedagogical tool that harmonizes with the philosophy of regenerative
education is the concept of value-adding processes, as discussed in Chapter 4. Value-
adding processes stem from the students’ interests and the place. For example, in Santa
Fe, New Mexico, students might choose to engage in the issue of youth homelessness. In
the process, students would learn about themselves, learn and understand patterns and
systems that lead to homelessness, and begin to transform the systems involved. To
transform the system, the student would have to see youth homelessness holistically,
therefore at least seeing in the context of at least three levels of nested wholes, such as the
individual homeless person, the community, and the state and national levels.
An example of a value-adding process emerged from the community of Parrish,
Alabama, where students discovered lead in their school and town’s water supply.
Students became very concerned and involved the community in the research and
legislation to address the problem. An Antioch College professor and educator reformer,
David Sobel (2004), wrote about the experience:
Teachers developed a hands-on curriculum around the issue. But what started out as a chemistry curriculum slid sideways into neurophysiology when looking at lead and learning disabilities, and then ultimately evolved into social studies and economics when the students got involved in the town politics. The research that began in the school moved out into the community and spurred interactions with county health officials, engineers, and local biologists. Eventually, the students saw their two-year project lead to the town’s installation of a new water system, which resulted in an improvement in community health. Through this kind of project, students can start to understand how the educational, economic, and health branches of the community are systemically related to each other, rather than stand-alone entities. (pp. 19-20)
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This project emerged from a simple science experiment. What evolved was a community
partnership to increase the community’s health and an educational experience and
process that became invaluable to everyone involved.
An important element to value-adding processes is what I have termed the wall-
less classroom. A wall-less classroom means that learning takes place beyond the
confines of the classroom. For understanding-based education, the students can explore
the outside environment to experience and understand patterns. In systems-based
education, students engage intimately with the community in a value-adding process. In
self-revealing education, students must have time to self-reflect, which is facilitated by
alone time. In spiritual education, students engage in spiritualizing fields that take them
beyond the artificial boundaries of the classroom. The more the society is involved in the
school, the more a living school can be said to be operating from the principle of the
wall-less classroom.
Pedagogy and Students
A new trend in education is to determine the student’s learner type and then teach
to the student in that way (Fleming, 2006). This is not to be confused with enabling the
essence of each student to unfold or the concept of following the student’s yearning to
learn. It is important to understand the natural inclinations of the student, such as whether
the student learns best visually, kinesthetically, or from auditory inputs. However, if a
teacher focuses only on one type of learning, such as visual, this limits the student’s
capacity and capability to learn how to learn in other ways. Many different modes of
learning should be encouraged so that students are enabled to actualize and realize their
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full potentials. In a similar way, teachers need to develop pedagogical styles that
harmonize with their essence while also expanding their capacity and capability for other
styles of teaching. Like students, no teacher should be forced to practice only one kind of
pedagogical style.
Culture of the Learning Experience
The last element of the learning experience is the culture in which it takes place.
For the emergence of value-adding processes, the culture of the learning experience is
important. All teachers have the ability to create a unique culture with their students. The
culture thus created might be called an energy field, which is applying spiritual education
to spiritualize the classroom field. A culture emerges over time in an ongoing process. It
is comprises norms, rules, and rituals. In the classroom, many times the culture is part of
the hidden curriculum. Is the classroom culture teacher- or learner-centered? Can students
ask questions and play an active role in their learning? Is the classroom based on
collaborative learning or competitive learning? Do teachers use their first names or only
their last names? Each of these elements of culture shapes the way students think and
engage in learning and the world. The little things add up to create the culture of the
classroom. As affirmed by living system theory and Gestalt psychology, the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.
The founders of a living school can articulate principles that can help guide the
formation of the school’s culture. One important principle is that teachers always index
and act in harmony with their essence. Another principle is that the teacher must cultivate
a being state so as to spiritualize the classroom field. A teacher who is irritable and
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reactive creates a different energy field that is not in harmony with the philosophy of
regenerative education. By engaging in regenerative education, the teacher can be
enabled to create and spiritualize energy fields that harmonize with the philosophy. These
two principles require personal development of the teacher, discussed in the next section.
Some other principles that guide the formation of culture are: enabling the unfolding of
the student’s essence, following the student’s yearning to learn, and enabling the student
to care.
Many innovative and regenerative ways of developing the learning experience can
emerge from the students, teachers, and community. The learning experience in Sobel’s
(2004) example is less likely to have emerged in a conventional school where the subjects
are fragmented and where there is disconnect between the teachers, the school, and the
community. To create a regenerative process in a living school, teachers need to work in
a team with the students and the community. In Sobel’s example, the students’ voices
were held as valuable not only to the teacher but also in the community.
Structures of a Living School
The second point of the enneagram, structures, is the third point to plan, as seen in
Figure 39. Once the philosophy and the principles of the learning experience are
articulated, we must look at the structures that need to be in place in the educational
system for the philosophy and learning experiences to manifest in harmony.
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In a living school, structures are composed of three important elements: the process, the
people, and the physical structures, as seen in Figure 40.
Autopoiesis
An overall principle for the shaping and creation of the structures of a living
school is the concept developed by two Chilean neuroscientists, Humberto Maturana and
Francisco Varela (1980),who created the term autopoiesis (i.e., self-making) to describe a
Processes
Physical Structures
People
Structures
Figure 40. Structures of a living school.
Figure 39. Structures as point 2 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
0. Inspiration
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distinct characteristic of living systems. Capra (1996) summarized this very complex,
multidimensional theory of autopoiesis as follows:
Since all components of an autopoietic network are produced by other components in the network, the entire system is organizationally closed, even though it is open with regard to the flow of energy and matter. This organizational closure implies that a living system is self-organizing in the sense that its order and behavior are not imposed by the environment but are established by the system itself. In other words, living systems are autonomous. This does not mean that they are isolated from their environment. On the contrary, they interact with the environment through a continual exchange of energy and matter. But this interaction does not determine their organization-they are self-organizing. Autopoiesis, then, is seen as the pattern underlying the phenomenon of self-organization, or autonomy, that is so characteristic of all living systems.
Through their interactions with the environment living organisms continually maintain and renew themselves, using energy and resources from the environment for that purpose. Moreover, the continual self-making also includes the ability to form new structures and new patterns of behavior. . . . A subtle but important point in the definition of autopoiesis is the fact that an autopoietic network is not a set of relations among static components . . . but a set of relations among processes of production of components. If these processes stop, so does the entire organization. In other words, autopoietic networks must continually regenerate themselves to maintain their organization. (pp. 167-168)
The way a living school is structured should be similarly self-organizing and emergent.
Motivation literature shows that when people decide their own roles, they are more
motivated to do a particular activity than if it were assigned or forced upon them (Deci &
Ryan, 1987). As such, it is desirable for the structures to emerge in a self-organizing
process.
Processes
The processes in the living school are important because they support the
movement of energy through the school. At point 2 of the enneagram, the processes of
the living school are outside of the direct learning experience of the student (point 4).
These processes also factor into the hidden curriculum or processes with which people in
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the school engage and that unintentionally or unconsciously shape behavior and thought.
For example, we might infer that the use of a bell system to end and begin classes means
that learning can be delineated into artificial time periods that are the same for each
student. John Gatto (1991), an award winning New York City English teacher and author
of the acclaimed Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
(2002), discussed his experience with the bell system below.
The lesson of bells is that no work is worth finishing, so why care too deeply about anything? Bells are the secret logic of schooltime; their argument is inexorable; bells destroy past and future, converting every interval into a sameness, as an abstract map makes every living mountain and river the same even though they are not. Bells inoculate each undertaking with indifference. (p. 96)
Bell systems do not harmonize with the philosophy of regenerative education because the
philosophy is based on such principles as: each student is a unique individual and the
importance of value-adding processes. It is important to be conscious of which processes
are occurring because the processes lead to patterning. John Gatto (1991) believed that
the bell system leads to indifference in the student. The bell system could also lead to
students indexing to the bell, instead of to their own inner knowing, to inform them
whether the learning cycle has been completed. To harmonize with the philosophy of
regenerative education, students should index to their own internal intuition or knowing
and not to artificial constraints, such as time and classes. If the students accomplish this,
they will develop their own time-management skills. In this way, the structures and
processes of the learning experience, such as the way the school day is scheduled, have
important implications for the student’s education and worldview. The self-organizing
and emergent qualities of a living school lead to the formation of structures. One might
say this process is organic.
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Democratic Schools
In modern education, one movement that addresses the process dimension of
schools is the democratic school movement. Dewey (1916) discussed the importance of
harmonization between the cultural values of a school, point 8, and the way the school is
run, which is important to value-adding processes.
Since education is a social process, and there are many kinds of societies, a criterion for educational criticism and construction implies a particular social ideal. The two points selected by which to measure the worth of a form of social life are the extent in which the interests of a group are shared by its members, and the fullness and freedom with which it interacts with other groups. An undesirable society, in other words, is one which internally and externally sets up barriers to free intercourse and communication of experience. A society which makes provision for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its institutions through the interaction of the different forms of associated life is in so far democratic. Such a society must have a type of education which gives individuals a personal interest in social relationships and control, and the habits of the mind which secure social changes without introducing disorder. (p. 99)
Dewey (1916) believed that this process of democracy must be learned from experience.
A.S. Neill (1960) brought this philosophy into practice at a school called Summerhill,
which was one of the first schools to be run as a democratic school. Dana M. Bennis and
Isaac R. Graves (2008), democratic school scholars, defined the movement as a way to
create freedom of choice and equality among teachers and students alike:
Democratic education begins with freedom and respect for young people. . . . Democratic education is an educational approach grounded in respect for human rights and a broad interpretation of learning, in which young people have the freedom to organize their daily activities, and in which there is equality and democratic decision-making among young people and adults. (p. 1)
Bennis and Graves (2008) distinguished this approach from University of Pennsylvania
president Amy Gutmann’s Democratic Education (1999):
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While Gutmann uses the term “democratic education” to describe the end goal of a mostly pre-planned, authoritarian form of schooling, we believe that democracy and freedom ought to be both the end result of education as well as the means through which education takes place. (p. 1)
A living school’s processes are very much in line with Summerhill’s philosophy that
children should have the freedom to make their own decisions. In describing Summerhill,
A. S. Neill (1960) wrote,
Summerhill is a self-governing school, democratic in form. Everything connected with social, or group, life, including punishment for social offenses, is settled by vote at the Saturday night General School Meeting.
Each member of the teaching staff and each child, regardless of his age, has one vote. My vote carries the same weight as that of a seven-year-old. (p. 45)
Enabling a democratic process for running the school also very much aligns with the
philosophy of regenerative education because it is student-centered; enables students,
firsthand, to change a system; and encourages the student’s essence to unfold in their
voicing their opinions.
People
An important element of the structures of a living school, in addition to the
processes that support the school, is the people involved. The people of a living school
include not only the teachers and administration but also the families of the students and
the community at large. It is important for the founders to be able to communicate the
philosophy of a living school so that people of similar mind will work and become
involved with the school.
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Diversity
For a school to be living, it requires a high level of diversity and complexity. In
describing diversity, Fritjof Capra (1997) wrote,
In a highly diverse ecosystem, many species with overlapping ecological functions coexist. The more diverse the system, the more alternative relationships are available if any particular link in the network breaks down.
The loss of biodiversity (such as the daily loss of species in the world’s oldest and most complex ecosystems, the tropical rainforests) is in the long run one of our most severe global problems. And because of the close integration of tribal indigenous people into their ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity is closely tied to a loss of ethnodiversity, the extinction of traditional tribal cultures. (p. 2)
Promotion of diversity in schools is not a new concept (Richards, Brown, & Forde, 2006;
United Kingdom Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2008). However, by
seeing diversity from a living systems perspective, we shed new light on the relationship
that can be played by diversity. Expanding the term diversity beyond how it is commonly
used—“race, religion, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation,
and socioeconomic status” (Federman, 2001, p. 9)—to different ways of thinking,
different philosophical points of view and learning types is important.
Another element that we need to understand is that the greater the diversity
present in the system, the greater chance of survival of the system. Two implications of
this theory may be that people in the school system might know how to do other jobs
besides their own, or changes in the way job roles are defined.
A possible problem that can exist in schools is that a certain teacher or a certain
parent who performs a job for the school can no longer do that job, and the school system
suffers. This can be, for example, teachers who volunteered their time to create an after-
school sports program or the head of the school board donating time to lead the
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fundraising campaign. An ecosystem cannot be viable if it has only one entity to perform
its essential functions. Stressed or overwork of that entity could cause the collapse of the
whole ecosystem. Instead, a concept from permaculture (Beadle, 2008), called stacked
functions or multiple uses, describes what is embedded in ecosystems. Plants and animals
play multiple roles rather than just one, such as the conventional role of the teacher or
administrator. As such, the greater diversity of the people involved in the school and their
capacity and capabilities to perform multiple functions, increases the vitality and viability
of the school.
If the school does not begin to adapt this kind of system and create more diversity,
then when people leave, the programs suffer greatly (Reed, Rueben, & Barbour, 2006).
However, if the school works more as a living system, other people could fill their spots
if necessary. In the case of fundraising, not only would schools have multiple people
working on fundraising, they would also have many different forms of fundraising and
funders. Many people, rather than just one, would work on fundraising or focus on
multiple funders. Thus the living school would enable the diversity of each of its
members while recognizing that each member has specific gifts and talents to offer. This
creates a healthy overlap of functions thus ensuring the continual evolution of the living
school.
Teachers
An important aspect of all schools is the teacher. In living schools, the role of
teachers changes from the way it is conceived in conventional schools. Conventionally,
teachers are seen as experts on the subject. Many times, education is seen as filling the
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pail (i.e., the student’s brain) with knowledge. However, when we apply the philosophy
of regenerative education, the teacher’s role shifts to that of a mentor and the teacher
becomes a colearner in the process. In Sobel’s (2004) example above, the teacher is not
the expert, but serves as a guide and connector to enable the students to self-discover,
research, and create a plan similar to Miller’s (2000b) “learning communities.” In this
approach, the role of the teacher expands beyond the conventional sense and the
community can become a team-teacher in the process, thus creating healthy overlaps in
the educational process.
Community
The community is an integral part of the living school as it is the context in which
learning occurs. A living school is not insular or separate from the community. Instead,
from involvement in the learning experiences of the school, such as the value-adding
processes discussed in Chapter 4, the community is an integral part of the living school.
Community involvement goes beyond guest speakers. In Sobel’s (2004) example, where
the students found lead in the town’s water system, the community played a very active
role in the educational experiences of the students. Community members lent support and
guidance to the students who were investigating and creating a value-adding process to
increase the health qualities of the water. In a living school, community involvement can
take many different forms, including providing information resources, setting up
internships and volunteer opportunities, providing grants for the projects, coteaching, and
so on. The more the community is involved, the less the living school will take place
behind the walls of the classroom and the more overlap and diversity that will occur.
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Another example of a structure for value-adding processes, that is very much
connected to the community, is Auburn Universities Rural Studio (2008). The mission
statement of the program is as follows:
The mission of the Rural Studio is to enable each participating student to cross the threshold of misconceived opinions to create/design/build and to allow students to put their educational values to work as citizens of a community. The Rural Studio seeks solutions to the needs of the community within the community's own context, not from outside it. Abstract ideas based upon knowledge and study are transformed into workable solutions forged by real human contact, personal realization, and a gained appreciation for the culture. (Rural Studios, 2008, p. 1)
In this program, students design and build houses for low-income families with mostly
donated, recycled materials. Students dialogue with low-income families to collaborate
with the culture, people, and the land (to some extent). In this learning experience, it is
vital for the accessibility and structure to connect within the community and to move the
classroom outside its normal confines. The ways in which the community is part of the
living school are infinite when referencing to place.
Personal Development
An important element of living schools is that all of the people who engage in the
living school, not just the students, learn. Community members, family members,
administration, teachers, and do on, all need to engage in learning. If each entity in a
living system is not evolving, then the collapse of the entire ecosystem can occur.
Therefore, each member of the living school must engage in self-revealing education.
The more individual members of the school grow toward their potential, the greater the
chance that potential of the school as a system can be realized.
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Physical Structures
The last structural element of a living school is the physical structures. The
physical structures of the school must harmonize with the learning experience, the
philosophy, and the place.5 Simply stated, if the physical structures are not in harmony
with the other aspects of the living school, then they can serve as a restraining force that
many times cannot be surmounted. For example, if a classroom has desks that are bolted
to the floor in a tiered classroom, then having students working in groups is nearly
impossible. This type of structure is also not conducive to dialogue. In this scenario,
students’ foci center on the front of the classroom, where the teacher resides, instead of
each other and the teacher. This also has implications for a school’s culture, implying
only the teacher is an important source of learning.
The founders of the school must look to its philosophy and learning experience
for guidance for the building of the physical structure. The founders must also index to
the cultural values, discussed below, to be congruent. For example, in the philosophy of
regenerative education, contemplation, meditation, self-observing, and so on, are very
important. Therefore, a place where students can go to be quiet is essential to enable
students to learn. A place to do this type of meditation could be nature.
5 This process of harmonization does not need to occur all at once but instead can occur with the planners’ use of the iterative cycles of the enneagram. During these iterative cycles, the people of the living school might realize that they need to expand and build, for example, a library or sports complex.
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Nature as Teacher
In the philosophy of regenerative education, understanding patterns is essential to
enable one to learn. John Lyle (1994), a leader in ecological design, wrote that ecology
should be an important element in everyone’s education.
Once fully grasped, the ecosystem also provides a context for understanding environmental issues and for communicating and working with others, as well as a deeper knowledge of particular subjects. Thus a basic understanding of ecosystems and how they work should play a key role in the early years of education. (p. 270)
Therefore, to begin this kind of learning, students should have access to nature. This
aspect is important to consider and incorporate into the planning of a living school.
Schwaller de Lubicz (1955) and Deloria, Jr. (2001a) also felt the best way to understand
patterns is by interacting with nature, as it provides a classroom and the materials by
which to recognize patterns.
Deloria, Jr. (2001b) stressed we cannot separate ourselves from nature.
In the traditional format there is no such thing as isolation from the rest of creation, and the fact of this relatedness provides a basic context within which education in the growth of the personality and the acquisition of technical skills can occur. (p. 45)
In light of this awareness, the separation of children from the outside world can be seen
as part of a hidden curriculum that opposes the enabling of nature to be a teacher. The
interface between the environment and the educational process should be harmonious. In
other words, the physical structures of the living school should be constructed in a way
that is regenerative. With the construction of the buildings, the place itself grows and
evolves in a positive way. This means that construction design takes into account more
than just so-called green technologies, such as solar panels and water harvesting, but
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includes the actual site of the buildings and how they fit into the larger story of the place.
Put rather simply, buildings would not be constructed in streams, thus disrupting the
natural flow of water. Instead, the buildings would be in concert with the natural flows
and patterns of the land. The principles of ecosystems are essential to know and
understand if we are to build in harmony with place. When not in harmony, school
buildings are built with no natural light, the wrong materials to breathe, and sometimes
with materials that lead to disease, such as asbestos.
This completes the discussion of the three elements that comprise the actualizing
process of the enneagram, or the workings of the inner school. The harmonizing of these
three actualizing points represents the release of potential of the living school to be
realized in points 5 (offerings), 7 (community), and 8 (cultural values). Following the
outer structure of the enneagram, or through real time, the founders begin with the
inspiration to start a new school or to engage in a regenerative process for an existing
school. From this, the planners then create or recreate the philosophy, build the structures
of the school, have students attend (point 3), and then enable the occurrence of learning
experiences. Point 3 is discussed in more detail after the planning process or inner
structure of the enneagram is fully described.
Cultural Values
Moving from point 2, structures, to point 8, cultural values, shifts the planning
process from the actualizing side to the realizing side of the enneagram, as seen in
Figure 41. Accordingly, the founders no longer work within the confines of the
educational process or school, the right side, but instead begin to realize the potential of
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the educational process in the greater community and world, the left side. As discussed in
Chapter 4, linking the internal processes of a school to its contribution to the larger world
is one of the objectives of the philosophy of regenerative education and living schools. At
point 0, inspiration, the vocation of the place was described. The left side of the
enneagram represents how the living school plays its role in this vocation.
As mentioned earlier, the enneagram has a mirror effect; in this case point 8,
cultural values, mirrors point 1, philosophy. Both of these points represent mindframes,
worldviews, and beliefs. The philosophy refers to the inner school and cultural values
refer to the greater world. The philosophy of the living school evolves over time much
like the values of a culture. Like the philosophy, the cultural values vary depending on
place. However, one common value for a living school is regeneration. As mentioned in
Chapter 1, the process of regeneration implies the constant improvement and the increase
in complexity and order of the entity or system engaged in the process.
Figure 41. Cultural values as point 8 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
3. Students
8. Cultural Values
0. Inspiration
COMMUNITY SCHOOL
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Core Group
It is a complex process to develop an understanding of the cultural values that
harmonize with the potential of a place. One process by which to do this is the creation of
a core group that engages in dialogues. This group does not work on functional issues,
such as problems that exist or might occur. This group engages a different mind than
when for problem-solving. Instead, when these people come together, their time is
designated to envisioning and imaging forward the future vision of the community. This
allows the participants to understand and reveal the cultural values of a community that
embodies regenerative values. From this, the core group creates an energy field that is
always increasing in order and organization, thus energizing the people and the field or
culture. Once the founders understand the shifts in the cultural values and dreams, they
reflect on the whole process of the enneagram (point 9, reflection, is discussed below).
Offerings
Having gained an understanding of the cultural values that will inform the school,
and with which the school will interact, the founder must think about the school’s
offerings for the greater world in regard to these cultural values. Point 5, offerings,
mirrors point 4, learning experience, as seen in Figure 42.
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Both of these points refer to the transformations that occur within the living school, point
4, and the larger community, point 5. Point 4 represents the transformations that occur in
the student. In point 5, the focus is on the transformations that occur in the greater world
as a result of the integration of the elements of the living school into the community.
How these offerings would be communicated to the greater world depends upon the
cultural values that have been taken into account in the development of the school. Below
are some generic (not referencing to place) offerings of a living school that align and
harmonize with the philosophy of regenerative education. More specific offerings would
depend on place. These offerings are subdivided into the alumni, the products of the
learning experience, and the offerings of the school itself.
Figure 42. Offerings as point 5 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
3. Students
8. Cultural Values
5. Offerings
0. Inspiration
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Alumni
Alumni of a school are important assets to any community.6 Alumni ensure the
continual vitality and viability of the community. Graduation from a living school confers
a set of abilities and skills that allow the alumni to perform different functions and pursue
different purposes than those who graduate from a conventional school. It is beyond the
scope of this dissertation to discuss in depth the many offerings of a graduate from a
living school. However, using the different approaches to curriculum, as discussed in
point 4, is a way to describe some of these offerings. In summary, theses approaches
involve knowledge and products, processes, and praxis. Each of these is discussed below.
The transformations that occur in the student can be seen from the perspective of
function, being, and will or mind, body, and spirit. The knowledge and understanding
gained by the student can be seen as transformations that occur in the function and mind
dimensions. The processes in which the student engages can be seen as involving the
being and body dimensions. The praxis or value-adding processes can be seen as
developing the spirit or will of the student.
Knowledge
Conventionally, students must take a certain number of exams to ensure they
obtain a common knowledge. Once they have successfully passed these exams, they are
approved for graduation. This knowledge can be seen as the product of an educational
process. At a living school, knowledge is not the only objective or product of education.
Instead, living schools focus on enabling understanding by experiencing patterns.
6 The term alumni is used here although students who attend living schools have similar offerings. Because there is such overlap, this discussion focuses only on the alumni.
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Because the focus is on pattern recognition and understanding, the student is then able to
recognize patterns in any subject or topic that they choose to explore. This is based on the
objective that once understanding is achieved, a student should be able to apply what they
learn beyond the original context. Therefore, this enables students to teach themselves, a
valuable characteristic for any pursuit.
Processes
Another way to understand the offerings of the student is by examining the
transformations that occur and the processes in which the student is involved. Students
who successfully complete self-revealing education processes are more likely to have a
high level of emotional intelligence and self-knowledge. The capacity and capability for
personal development is enabled and therefore students are more likely to unfold their
essence to reach potential.
For examples, alumni of Summerhill, because of the democratic process of the
school, have experience with running meetings; discussing topics in an informative,
collaborative, and nonconfrontational way; and reaching decisions in a majority rule
process. As one former student said, the self-governance process of the school instills
“complete self-confidence” (Neill, 1960, p. 6). This process encourages an internal, rather
than an external, locus of control.
Praxis
At a living school, a student can become an effective agent of change and an
active citizen, thereby having the ability to regenerate the community in which they live.
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In the process, students will gain experiences of praxis from value-adding processes. This
can lead to another important offering: the ability to help transform the beliefs and values
of the culture. Students can raise awareness and create effective change in many ways,
such as an increase in environmental consciousness, that may lead to cultural shifts.
The relationship of the alumni with the community is based on reciprocal
maintenance. Both the community and the alumni help each other. Alumni can give back
to the community in many ways, from creating societal change to being hired as an
employee. The community can support the alumni in this effort by becoming involved in
the societal change movement or hiring a graduate.
Summary
Once students have engaged in the processes of a living school, they will have
been transformed into a different person. They will have been enabled to understand the
world at a deep level that is relevant and meaningful to them. From these processes, they
also will have learned how to learn. Alumni also will able to be effective agents of
change and will be enabled to develop their capacity and capabilities to spiritualize fields.
These are all unique offerings when compared to those of alumni of conventional
schools, where these products of education are not considered or discussed.
Products of the Learning Process
Another offering of the living school to the greater world is the value-adding
processes in which the students engage. In Sobel’s (2004) example, the students
increased the safety of water for the community beginning with their discovery of lead in
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the water. Similarly, Rural Studio (2008), discussed earlier in the section introducing
value-adding processes, is based on the principles of helping the community in such ways
as providing housing to low-income residents. This learning process has many different
products to offer the community. As a result of these efforts, the way in which the culture
values education may change. Near Auburn University, the low-income population
probably did not feel connected to the university until the people from Rural Studio
reached out and began to build houses with them. This process built a relationship that
can become a partnership. Partnerships can be seen as another offering of the living
school.
The possibilities are limitless regarding what the learning process might offer to
the world, as the projects and value-adding processes in which the students engage can be
as unique as each student’s interests. The potential and scale of these offerings can also
vary. The students can cook for the homeless or start a movement at a national level.
What is important, however, is that the actions taken by these students will be less from a
reactionary mode of thinking, Bateson’s (1972) levels of learning 1 and 2, but instead be
from Bateson’s levels 3 and 4 (as discussed in Chapter 1). Accordingly, students will be
working on such issues with a holistic picture and systemic understanding. As mentioned,
the integration of the philosophy of regenerative education is cyclical. Therefore, it is
very unlikely that any students who attend the school will achieve such levels of change
at first, because the whole living system must be at a high order and organization of
harmony to achieve such a feat. However, with each cycle of the enneagram, the
students’ and the school’s capacity and capability to engage in such learning and actions
will evolve and grow.
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School
A living school also has offerings beyond the students who pass through its
system. The school can be seen as the center point for the activity of the community and
as a place to gather and build connections and family. The school also can be seen as an
integral part of the community in which all people learn and grow together. The ability of
the school to represent more than just a place to send children for education has many
possibilities once a planner can understand and reference point 8, the cultural values, and
point 7, the society.
The idea of the full-service school, discussed by Joy Dryfoos (1994), is focused
on helping a school improve instead of trying to change the student. In other words, if the
child is unhappy, instead of necessarily seeing it as a problem with the child, Dryfoos
(1994) wrote that there might be something wrong with the school. Dryfoos proposed that
schools become full-service in that with the help of outside agencies they can provide
such services as health-screenings, dental services, family planning, individual planning,
substance abuse treatment, mental health services, recreation, sports, culture, and
employment training (Dryfoos, 1994). From this process, the living school becomes an
integral part of the community and partnerships are formed, discussed next as Point 7.
Society
The last point to plan on the realizing side of the enneagram is point 7, the
society, as seen in Figure 43. Society can be seen as the processes and structures of the
culture. At this point in the planning process, the founders are interested in integrating the
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living school with the community. More specifically, the founders define the role or roles
to be played by the living school in enabling the continual evolution of the community’s
vocation.
Point 7, society, mirrors point 2, structures. Point 2 represents the inner structures
of the living school. Point 7 represents the outer structure, the society’s structures, into
which the living school must integrate. For point 2, people, physical structures, and the
process of the living school are considered important elements. The living school
integrates into the structures of the society at large by forming relationships.
Reciprocal Maintenance
Reciprocal maintenance relationships are an example of what needs to occur to
connect the living school with the larger society. To strengthen and grow a living school,
the planner must create a whole web of reciprocal maintenance relationships between the
school and the society. The basic idea of reciprocal maintenance is that both entities
Figure 43. Society as point 7 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
3. Students
8. Cultural Values
7. Society
5. Offerings
0. Inspiration
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evolve and benefit because of the relationship. Without the relationship, the evolution of
either entity in that way would not occur. This is an important quality to establish or an
unbalanced relationship will occur and either party may become overtaxed.
However, the potential of this point on the enneagram is moving from reciprocal
maintenance relationships to partnerships. Partnerships incorporate the idea that, the
entities (e.g., businesses, governments) that are involved with the living school build a
process together. The entities in the partnership both grow toward a common vision.
Their motivation moves from asking what the school can do for them to asking what they
can create with the living school. Partnerships work together to evolve and grow the
vocation of the community.
The Institute of Developmental Processes (2001-2007) divided society into six
major arenas: fooding7, sheltering, transacting, adorning, communing, and recreating.
Together, people from each of these arenas can create a vision that aligns with the
cultural values, Point 8, and the offerings (Point 5) of the living school. The South
Whidbey Bioregional School (SWBS; 2008) took these six major arenas and is creating
partnerships in the society by means of value-adding processes. For example, SWBS
believes fooding
is for food growers to cultivate and develop the uniqueness of every Place on Earth so that Food carries the energy of the terroir, the energy of the Place. Fooding will be based on developing the vitality and viability of the human being, tying the human psyche to place and increasing the variety of foods available. (p. 1)
7 Fooding is the original term as used by the Institute of Developmental Processes.
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In this fooding process, SWBS created partnerships with farmers and other people
involved in the growing of the food; together they are revitalizing the school’s place
(including both land and peoples).
In terms of the transacting arena, SWBS (2008) gave “holistic control and
management of place based material transactions such that the student and the place
become self-regenerating” (p. 1). Transacting is seen as any action that involves the
exchange or flow of materials between two parties. Therefore, SWBS partners with
businesses so that together they can regenerate the place and the business. In other words,
because students are involved in the business, the business itself will regenerate and
evolve and become more aligned with the vocation of the community. These arenas
represent a holistic vision of the society and places in which the living school can build
partnerships to be holistically integrated by partnerships into the society. This way, the
living school plays a role in the regeneration and vocation of the place.
In real time, from these partnerships, the living school and the stakeholders will
begin to influence cultural values. In the case of SWBS, the hope is that the culture of the
South Whidbey Island values will transform and change over time to align better with the
vocation of the place. SWBS discovered that the vocation of Whidbey Island is to
regenerate the watershed of Puget Sound. Therefore, over time and with the community
and SWBS present, the vocation of the place, the regeneration of the watershed, will be
realized. Without the presence of the school in the community, the potential to realize the
vocation of the place would be stifled.
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I conclude the discussion of the realizing processes of the living school and the
planning process for the founders with point 7. The next three sections discuss the shock
points of the enneagram, which, to an extent, cannot be planned.
Shock Points
The last three points to discuss in the enneagram for planning a living school are
the shock points, introduced above.
In Figure 44, the arrows represent where the shocks come into the system to keep
the harmonization process on track. If the changes in students, events in the world, and
the evolution of thought (point 9, discussed in the next section) are not incorporated as
essential elements to harmonize with, then the living school may reach equilibrium and
die.
Shock points are very similar to the living systems concept of disturbance events.
In an ecosystem, a disturbance is “any event or series of events that disrupt ecosystem,
Figure 44. Shocks to a living school.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Process
8. Cultural Values
7. Society
5. Offerings
9. Reflection 0. Inspiration
6. Events 3. Students
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community, or population structure” (Environmental Protection Agency, 2006, p. 5).
Research has found that these disturbances are essential: “In fact, it is now accepted that
perturbations are required for the rejuvenation of many plant populations and
ecosystems” (Stewart, 2002, p. 46, emphasis in original). Similarly, if a school tries to
close off perturbations, the continual evolution of the school stagnates. In fact, a school
that does not recognize the ongoing disturbance events that occur in the greater world
will soon be irrelevant and outdated. For example, a significant disturbance event that
occurred in education was the rise of the Internet and computers. Some consider schools
that do not include computers in their schooling as archaic. In contrast, those that include
the newest technology, such as the Gates Foundation-funded high school in Philadelphia
(CBS News, 2006, October 7), are seen as model schools. The structure of the whole
educational system will either evolve by integrating these disturbance events—or not. To
integrate such events, a balance must exist in the planning process between flow and
structure. Dissipative structures, discussed next, are one way to achieve this.
Dissipative Structures
The Nobel laureate chemist, Ilya Prigogine’s (1967) term dissipative structures is
defined below:
Like Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Prigogine recognized that living systems are open systems that are able to maintain their life processes under conditions of non-equilibrium. A living organism is characterized by continual flow and change in its metabolism, involving thousands of chemical reactions. Chemical and thermal equilibrium exists when all these processes come to a halt. In other words, an organism in equilibrium is a dead organism. Living organisms continually maintain themselves in a state far from equilibrium, which is the state of life. Although very different from equilibrium, this state is nevertheless stable: the same overall structure is maintained in spite of the ongoing flow and change of components.
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Prigogine called the open systems described by his theory “dissipative structures” to emphasize this close interplay between structure on the one hand, and flow and change (or dissipation) on the other.
According to Prigogine’s theory, dissipative structures not only maintain themselves in a stable state far from equilibrium, but may even evolve. When the flow of energy and matter through them increases, they may go through points of instability and transform themselves into new structures of increased complexity. This phenomenon—the spontaneous emergence of order—is also known as self-organization. It is the basis of development, learning, and evolution. (Capra, 1997, pp. 7-8)
For point 2, structures, the concept of autopoiesis is a way to understand this process of
self-organizing and to create the structures of a living school. Living schools as a whole
need to be dissipative structures that can adapt, evolve, and learn from the events, or flow
and change, that occur in the world. Specifically to accommodate this necessity, point 3
(students), point 6 (events), and point 0/9 (inspiration/reflection) are built into the
enneagram framework as a way to ensure the evolution of the system by staying in
harmony with these changes. One cannot predict what type of student will come to the
school, nor the events that will occur in the community and world at large. The insights
that come from reflection and inspiration are also unpredictable. However, for the living
school to be congruent, it is important to have plan for these shocks.
Students
The first shock point to discuss, point 3 (students), is on the right side of the
enneagram, as seen in Figure 45. Point 3, like points 6 and 9, are outside influences for
which it is not possible to plan. By integrating these elements of shock, the living school
is an open system.
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With the inclusion of point 3, the school can adapt and change according to the specific
students who attend it. For a living school, it is essential to see the student in terms of
function, being, and will, as described in Chapter 1. Additionally, to describe a
regenerative educational process, we must consider five other aspects: the axis of
development, the axis of engagement, gifts, abilities, and the context in which the student
lives.
Axes of Development and Engagement
Two axes to hold in mind when engaging students are the developmental axis and
the axis of engagement, as depicted in Figure 46. The developmental axis represents
some basic ideas regarding the personal development of a student. The axis of
engagement represents the level of wholeness the student is able to hold when engaging
with others.
Figure 45. Students as point 3 of the enneagram process.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
3. Students
8. Cultural Values
7. Society
5. Offerings
0. Inspiration
6. Events
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The elements of these axes are charted together because each informs and
depends on the level of enablement of the other. In other words, we may engage in the
higher levels of development but only with a small circle of relations. The axes are
separated so as to emphasize that both are necessary to understand and enable the overall
growth of a student.
Developmental Axis
The line between life and enlightenment in Figure 46 is the developmental axis.
Montessori (1949/1995) and Steiner (1924/1997b) both had their theories of
development. Although it is beyond the scope of this dissertation to go into detail
regarding different developmental models, I briefly discuss two models that provide
support for living schools. These two models are Abraham Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of
needs and the Asian chakra system.
Figure 46. The two axes of students.
Axis of Engagement
Developmental Axis
Life
Enlightenment
Essence Universe
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow (1943) developed a hierarchy of needs, often drawn as in
Figure 47, to shed light on the motivations that drive people.
Maslow’s (1971) basic premise is that each person has a set of needs and one must satisfy
needs progressively while moving up the hierarchy. Once a need is satisfied,
at once other (and “higher”) needs emerge and these, rather than physiological hungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, again new (and still “higher”) needs emerge and so on. This is what we mean by saying that the basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative prepotency. (p. 375, emphasis in original)
Accordingly, individuals must be able to satisfy their physiological needs, such as for
food and water, before moving toward safety needs. Once safety needs are satisfied, then
the social needs become paramount, and so on. It should be noted that though the
Physiological Needs
Safety Needs
Social Needs
Esteem Needs
Self- Actualization
Figure 47. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
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common perception that, according to this theory, one must fulfill a lower level before
moving up the hierarchy was not Maslow’s belief:
The degree of fixity of the hierarchy of basic needs.—We have spoken so far as if this hierarchy were a fixed order but actually it is not nearly as rigid as we may have implied. It is true that most of the people with whom we have worked have seemed to have these basic needs in about the order that has been indicated. However, there have been a number of exceptions. (p. 386, emphasis in original)
This understanding of the fluidity or exceptions to the hierarchy is the same
understanding as of the chakra system, presented next.
Chakra System
Another development model that supports the regenerative philosophy of
education is the chakra system, which is an ancient Asian system that views “the human
body as energy structure” (Schneider, 2004, p. 1)8. The human body comprises seven
energy centers, or chakras.
Table 2 is a quick summary of each chakra level and the main process of
development and quality of engagement that occurs based on the work of the Institute of
Developmental Processes (2001-2007). Much like Maslow’s (1971) hierarchy, each level
is important to the holistic development of a student; however, they do not necessary
develop in order.
8 Similar systems to the Chakra system occur outside Asia, such as within Kabbalah in Judaism and in parts of the Christian traditions (Myss, 1998).
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Each level or chakra is important for the overall development of a person. However, not
each person moves in succession from bottom to top, nor do they develop each chakra to
the same potential. Instead, some people may spend years enabling and realizing the
potential of the third chakra with no attention to the lower two. It is important, however,
for the living school to understand the student in terms similar to these so as to help
enable areas of development that might be lacking or need to be developed. The chakra
system also serves as a framework against which to compare children’s actions and
interests.
Relationship to Four Educations
The progression of individual development, as described in the chakra and
Maslow’s developmental systems, comes into play in each of the approaches in the
philosophy of regenerative education. For example, in the understanding-based approach,
a student must begin to enable the first chakra or the base of Maslow’s hierarchy to
Table 2 Chakra Levels Common terms Institute of Development Processes (2001-2007) (Pond, 1999)
7th chakra Crown union with spirit
6th chakra Third Eye seeing wholes
5th chakra Throat speaking truth
4th chakra Heart compassion and love
3rd chakra Solar Plexus value-adding process
2nd chakra Sacral artistic expression, channeling of desires
1st chakra Root basic survival needs
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understand the basic patterns of life and to survive. Moving up Maslow’s hierarchy or the
chakra system, the student must also begin to understand love and compassion in
relationship to others. Self-revealing education works on the development of the
individual and the unfolding of essence or self-actualization. Important to this process is
the enablement of the fifth chakra, which allows individuals to speak their truth. An
essential element of systems-based education is value-adding processes, which is the
focus of the third chakra. Finally, the higher chakras are important to spiritual education
as they deal with seeing systems and connecting to spirit.
Axis of Engagement
The second axis to discuss is the axis of engagement, represented by the line
between essence of the individual and universe (see Figure 46 above). Essence was
discussed in depth in Chapter 4. As we move from right to left along the axis, the scope
of engagement broadens: essence of the individual, dyadic relationships (such as teacher-
student relationships), groups (such as classrooms), school, community, society, earth,
and universe. Another way to draw this axis would be as concentric circles, such as in
Figure 48.
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As students spend time in the educational process, their capacity and capability to
hold larger and larger wholes or rings of the circle above should increase. This is easily
demonstrated among young children and teenagers, as they are at different levels of
engagement. Most teenagers are very concerned about having friends and perhaps
politics, whereas very young children do not usually have the same awareness or
concerns. The philosophy of regenerative education develops this capacity and capability
to hold larger wholes. At first, a student might begin to understand patterns in a simple
addition problem. In time, the student will be able to recognize patterns in social systems,
thus incorporating larger wholes of engagement. In the spiritual approach to education,
the ability to see larger wholes is essential to enable Eden effects (see Chapter 4). As
mentioned in Chapter 3, in holistic education, the concept of holism is a recurrent theme.
Therefore, this axis of engagement can be seen as moving toward one of the goals of the
Essence
Dyadic Relationships
Group (class)
School
Community
Society
Earth
Universe (outside circles)
Figure 48. Essence to universe.
178
holistic educational movement. The more harmonious and relevant the educational
process is for each level of engagement, and the more open the system can be, the more
benefit can occur.
If what is taught in the living school is harmonious with the student’s essence and
at the level of engagement the student is capable of holding, the student would not ask
such questions as, “Why do we need to learn this?” “How is this relevant to my life?”
“How does this affect me?” Students instead would be engaged and present because the
learning process would be harmonious with each of their essences and in line with their
level of capability for holding wholes. One would not engage a preschooler in a value-
adding process that deals with global peace, as most preschoolers do not have the
capacity to hold the whole that is necessary (Sigelman & Rider, 2006). To enable
students in value-adding processes, it is important to understand that level of engagement
the students are capable of holding.
A tenet of this dissertation is the Fourth Way’s three lines of work—self, others,
and systems—as reviewed in Chapter 1. This axis of engagement highlights the
importance of the three lines of work. To be fully engaged, the person must work on self,
on relationship with others, and on greater systems. Expanding on this tenet, we must
work on at least three levels to be truly working on a whole. Another aspect to heed, in
terms of students, is the gifts that they have to offer as a generation.
Gifts
Gifts, or Bennett’s (1966) powers, are also an important element of students we
must understand to create a living school that aligns with the philosophy of regenerative
179
education. Gifts helps the planner, teacher, and parent see the student in more holistic
terms. Anthony Blake (2006), a Bennett scholar, described powers in the following
passage:
By “powers” Bennett meant the basic human capacities which he believed were capable of becoming manifest in new ways. . . . The understanding here is that children may be born with new powers that may not be addressed by the educational system because they are so new. (p. 6)
Theories such as those that refer to indigo children (Hay House, 2007) are relevant to this
concept of gifts. When involved in an educational process, it is important to remember
that each generation is different from the one before and the one after and that each
generation therefore has something unique to offer. The senior citizens of a community
represent the wise and experienced elders of the culture and are just as valuable as the
children and middle-aged people of a community. Unfortunately, many times elders and
children are not seen as valuable as those who keep the economic engine running
(Gottsegen & Park, 1982; Japanese Cabinet Office, 2006; Vatican, 2002). It is important
not only to look at children as having new gifts but also to remember the gifts from the
ancestors and the generations that are involved in the living school.
Therefore, much time should be dedicated to understanding the new generation
that is beginning an educational process. This understanding is beyond the trends and
fashions of this generation. Instead, it focuses on the special gifts that they have to offer.
Some might say that the generation that was in U.S. conventional schools in the 1950s
had the gift of transformative speech, as seen in people such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the civil rights movement.
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Abilities
The last aspect to be discussed in terms of seeing the child in holistic terms is
abilities. Abilities, in conventional usage, refers to that which is measurable or
quantifiable. For example, a student’s capacity for math, computer skills, reading
comprehension, and so on, fall under the umbrella of abilities. Most traditional schools
test for these abilities with such assessments as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),
American College Test (ACT), advanced placement tests, and tests responding to the No
Child Left Behind Act.
The relationship between gifts and abilities is that the gifts “being born can be
realized as abilities” (Blake, 2006, p. 6). It is important for schools to recognize the gifts
of the student and be able to translate them into abilities. For example, since the rise of
the understanding in the greater public that there are multiple intelligences (Gardner,
2006), many gifts have been translated into abilities and then integrated into the learning
experience. This can be seen in the rise of the emotional literacy curriculum (Park, 1999).
However, some gifts, such as interpersonal skills or intuitive gifts, are not quantifiable or
measurable. Therefore, instead of recognizing such processes in terms of tests, the
planner must create a new way to value these gifts as abilities. For example, currently the
youngest generation has a wonderful ability to work with electronics in ways and speed
that generations before could not. Members of the new generation also are highly adept at
multitasking, being able to text message while talking on the phone and watching
television. This ability should be valued in the educational experience. In summary, the
181
last two points can be posed as a question to be revisited over time: What are the gifts of
the new generation and how can the school system value such gifts as abilities?
Context
The last aspect of the student to discuss is the context of the students’ lives. The
influence of family and community is recognized as an integral influence in students’
lives. Halia Silins and William Mulford (2002), educational researchers, found that “most
school effectiveness studies show that 80% or more of student achievement can be
explained by student background rather than schools” (p. 561). John West-Burnham,
Maggie Farrar, and George Otero (2007), veteran educators, believe this other 80% is
very important to incorporate into the school. They broke the 80% into two themes: the
social (consisting of family, social capital, social class, poverty) and the personal
(heredity, engagement, motivation, and ability. These are all factors that the founders of a
living school—or/and any educator—should recognize and realize that these factors exert
more influence on the student than does the school. However, for a living school, this
80% becomes part of the classroom, as seen in Chapter 4, with value-adding processes.
The left side of the enneagram, discussed earlier, also includes these aspects of the larger
community.
In the outer structure, the next point in the enneagram framework in real time is
the learning experience. It is important that point 4 is after the entrance of the students,
because the learning experience can then emerge from them. It can also change and adapt
depending on the unique qualities, gifts, abilities, and essences of the students.
182
Events
The next shock point, on the left side of the enneagram, is events, point 6. Events
happen in the world every day: some are relevant to the living school and some are not.
From a purely systems view, every event affects the school; however, the strength of
influence varies. A living school must always be in touch with community events and be
up to date with the present conditions of the community and its needs and wants. Because
the events of a community are in constant flux, the conditions of the living school must
also change. This is similar to the living school adapting to the students, point 3, on the
right side of the enneagram. A simple example of this is a natural disaster, such as the
hurricane that hit New Orleans in 2005. The society had to change in terms of rules and
regulations for schools, such as by delaying the beginning of the school year, to
compensate and integrate the devastation of the hurricane (Sanchez, 2005).
Reflection
The last shock point, reflection, point 9, of the enneagram framework for a living
school is the second half of point 0, inspiration. Together, point 0 and point 9 create the
top point of the enneagram. If we imagine a spiral circling up, point 9 ends a lower level
and point 0 begins the next higher ring. The combination of both begins another cycle of
harmonization in the enneagram framework and may be the most important point on the
enneagram. The planners should reflect at each point of the enneagram as the
transformation and harmonization process occurs. However, at point 9, the planners are
reflecting on the overall process.
183
During this process of reflection, we must be in a state of mind in which the body-
mind is engaged. In other words, we cannot think of new ideas or be engaged in the
process of the running the school during this time period. As in the metaphor of a fish
describing water, we must step out of the water to get a different perspective. The person
must take a step back from these processes and begin to see the patterns that occur. By
integrating the experiences, perhaps we can begin to see a pattern that will emerge from
behind what seemed like many different disassociated events.
An important piece of the reflection process is the evaluation of the process
against the intentions or the philosophy set in point 0 or point 1. How well did the process
match up with the intentions? What were the restraints in reaching the intentions? Do the
intentions need to change? At this point, the cycle of the enneagram begins again. During
the reflection process, new insights, perhaps of a higher order, will occur. These insights
will then lead to new intentions and new inspiration for the next cycle of harmonization.
This may include changes in the philosophy of the school.
An aspect of these new intentions might include the realization that a disturbance
event is needed. In the case of the California forests, Native Americans planned
disturbance events, or perturbations, like fire, to continue the evolution and health of the
forest (Stewart, 2002). In fact, “the interruption of indigenous management in these areas
has been in part responsible for decreased biodiversity, the loss of open habitats due to
natural successional processes, and increasing wildfire severity” (Anderson, 2005,
p. 359). Therefore, at point 9, understanding the patterns of natural phenomena to see
what perturbation(s) might need to occur is also part of the process. This combination of
point 0/9 and the enneagram’s cyclical nature is similar to ecological succession,
184
discussed next. Point 0/9 is therefore the end and the beginning of a new cycle of the
enneagram, as depicted in Figure 49.
Ecological Succession
Applied to education in this way, the cycles of the enneagram, like those within
an ecosystem, are a continuous process of transformation and harmonization because the
students, the events of the world, and the reflection process will always bring new
material into the system that must become harmonious. In this process, we may hope that
new levels of organization and order in the living school will occur. At point 0, new
intentions are set that will harmonize with each of the nine points of the enneagram. This
concept is similar to ecological succession:
Natural ecosystems develop and change over time, giving rise to a succession of different plant and animal species. Abandoned pastures, for example, will be successively colonized by a weed or herb layer, pioneer plants, and eventually a climax species appropriate to soils, landform and climate. Each stage creates the right conditions for the next stage. (Mollison & Slay, 1991, p. 22)
Figure 49. Cycle of the enneagram.
1. Philosophy
2. Structures
4. Learning Experience
8. Cultural Values
7. Society
5. Offerings
9. Reflection 0. Inspiration
6. Events 3. Students
185
The new intentions set are therefore similar to the pioneer plants that move into an area to
help diversify the land. In each cycle of growth or of the enneagram, the conditions are
set for the next evolution of thought and processes or life to be grown. It is important to
involve the community and the whole school in this reflection process, and it also is very
important to have this process occur throughout the system. A way to ensure that the
reflection process occurs throughout the cycle is the formation of a core group, discussed
earlier.
This concludes the discussion of the enneagram framework for planning a living
school. The inner structure of the enneagram, from philosophy to learning experience to
structures to cultural values to offerings to society, was discussed, as were the three shock
points: inspiration/reflection, students, and events.
Conclusion
This theoretical dissertation covered much ground in terms of the holistic
education field, presenting three philosophies of education and introducing a framework
by which to manifest the philosophy of regenerative education as a living school based on
living system principles. The thoughts presented are ways in which the educational
process can begin to move from a reactionary state of being toward a creative and
proactive state of being. The philosophy of regenerative education enables students and
teachers to understand the elements of the world in terms of systems and processes and
their relevance to themselves. The framework provided for the philosophy of regenerative
education allows others to upgrade and evolve their thinking over time. The framework is
186
not a model that can be replicated but instead can be seen as providing guidelines and
principles that will to engage in regenerative education.
This philosophy of education can be seen as a radical transformative departure
from the conventional view of education often held in the United States. In this view, the
role of education is to prepare youth for the work force and is primarily oriented toward
vocational training (United States Department of Education, 2004). The philosophy of
regenerative education can also be seen as vocational training but with a spiritual or
higher-purpose focus. The philosophy of regenerative education enables students to find
their essence callings and to act in harmony with the greater world. In this way,
regenerative education is very aligned with, and can be instrumental to, the sustainability
movement, which focuses on living in harmony with the greater system.
To realize the true potential of the philosophy of the regenerative education, one
must implement it as a living school based on living system principles. The enneagram
provides a planning framework according to which a planner may relate and integrate the
many elements involved in creating or transforming a school into a living school. This
framework allows the freedom of the regenerative philosophy to grow and evolve over
time as it is applied.
The concept of living schools connects the essence of the place, the students, and
the school in a harmonious relationship that in time will realize the vocations of each. In
other words, the living school enables the unfoldment of students’ essences over time so
that the students may realize their potential. The living school also unfolds its own
essence over time in order to realize the role it plays in the unfoldment and vocation of
187
the place. Therefore the living school is a conduit in which the community and the
student realize their vocation, as seen in Figure 50.
In conclusion, living schools can then be seen as the force and platform to enable
individuals and communities to spiritualize existence and the world, thus transforming
the roles of schools in the world beyond only enabling the development of the students
also to enable the development of all members of the social and ecological community.
Figure 50. Living schools as platform for spiritualizing existence.
Student
School
Community
188
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