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Early Childhood Development BENEFITS OF A HOLISTIC EDUCATION
THE NAKED TRUTH:
the defi nition of the words “holistic education” to get a clear understanding of each of these words before we go any further. Holistic [adjective] 1) of or relating to holism 2) related to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. Education [noun] 1) the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school 2) an enlightening experience. If we put those two together, then a holistic education is basically a complete learning system that provides an enlightening experience. Brilliant! Ramon Gallegos Nava expanded on this defi nition in his book, Holistic Education Pedagogy of Universal Love, stating that a holistic education must reorient around the concept of a sustainable culture where education promotes a sense of public responsibility and new consumption habits. It integrates core concepts such as integrated environment, ecology, recycling, democracy, peace, cooperation and dialogue with emphasis on our country’s culture in the local and global context (Nava, 2001, p.97).
H Why is our current school
system off track? It all started back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when school was originally modeled like an assembly-line found in a factory. All the students read from the same page, took the same standardized tests, had summers off to help tend the fi elds at the family farm and were rewarded or punished for how well they fi t into a
ow does a Holistic Education benefi t a child’s early development? Let’s look at
predetermined mold. This approach has made education for students in the twenty-fi rst century a meaningless and mundane routine. Although it may have served society in the past, our world has changed considerably over the last 200 years and, therefore, education needs to change with it. It is obvious that many parents agree with this notion as evidence shows by the considerable rise in home- schooling.
When should we begin a
holistic type education? Some might suggest that offering classes at the high school level or possibly in middle school would be appropriate. Although it would be great to see electives on perma-culture or quantum-physics, we now know that the human brain develops 85-90% of its critical development by the age of 5 (RauchFoundation. org). Therefore, maybe it would be best to consider introducing a holistic education right at birth and into the preschool years?
How do you teach young children about such an
advanced topic? Although this is going to sound very simple, the answer is: whatever a child is exposed to they will learn without a formal lesson. They watch and listen and then imitate
26 Central Florida natural awakenings
what they have observed through their regular play activities. They naturally learn and absorb things as a “whole unit.” A preschool child does not wake up in the morning and say, “Today I am going to learn the letter G, the color green and how to count to 10.” Their learning does not happen in this way. If they are asked to learn by separating everything into compartments with a pre-set start and a fi nish time, the information usually will not stick for the majority of preschool-aged children. They learn more organically where everything is interconnected and somewhat random.
What type of environment do
children learn best in? Young children should be in an environment where they experience peace, love, confi dence, cooperation, freedom, compassion, integrity and respect. During preschool years, the social and communication parts of their
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