Holistic education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning. This is the definition given by Ron Miller, founder of the journal Holistic Education Review (now entitled Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice). The term holistic education is often used to refer to the more democratic and humanistic types of alternative education. Robin Ann Martin (2003) describes this further by stating, “At its most general level, what distinguishes holistic education from other forms of education are its goals, its attention to experiential learning, and the significance that it places on relationships and primary human values within the learning environment.” (Paths of Learning)
The concept of holism refers to the idea that all the properties of a given system in any field of study cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its component parts. Instead, the system as a whole determines how its parts behave. A holistic way of thinking tries to encompass and integrate multiple layers of meaning and experience rather than defining human possibilities narrowly.
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Contents [hide] · 1 Key Historical Contributors · 4 Tools/Teaching Strategies of Holistic Education · 9 External Links on Alternative Schools · 10 Notes |
[edit]Key Historical Contributors
It is difficult to map the history of holistic education because many feel that the core ideas of holism are not new but “timeless and found in the sense of wholeness in humanity’s religious impetus” (Forbes,1996).[1] On the other hand, the roots of holistic education can be traced back to several major contributors. Originating theorists include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, Johann Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel, and Francisco Ferrer. More recent theorists are Rudolf Steiner, Maria Montessori, Francis Parker,John Dewey, John Caldwell Holt, George Dennison Kieran Egan, Howard Gardner, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Paul Goodman, Ivan Illich, and Paulo Freire. With the ideas of these pioneers in mind, many feel that the core ideas of holistic education did not truly take form until the cultural paradigm shift that began in the 1960s.[1] After this, the holism movement in psychology emerged in the 1970s where, during this time, “an emerging body of literature in science, philosophy and cultural history provided an overarching concept to describe this way of understanding education – a perspective known as holism.”[2]
Significant forward motion was accomplished by the first National Holistic Education Conference that was conducted with The University of California, San Diego in July 1979, that included 31 workshops. The Conference was presented by The Mandala Society and The National Center for the Exploration of Human Potential.
The title was Mind: Evolution or Revolution? The Emergence of Holistic Education
For six years after that the Holistic Education Conference was combined with the Mandala Holistic Health Conferences at the University of California, San Diego, with about three thousand professionals participating each year.
Out of this came the Journal of Holistic Education and the observation that educators think they are teaching the basic three R’s: Reading Writing and Arithmetic. With Holistic Education the basic three R’s are Education for: Relationships, Responsibility and Reverence for all life.
[edit]Philosophical Framework
Any approach to education must ask itself, what is the goal of education? Holistic education aims at helping students be the most that they can be. Abraham Maslow referred to this as “self-actualization”. Education with a holistic perspective is concerned with the development of every person’s intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potentials. It seeks to engage students in the teaching/learning process and encourages personal and collective responsibility.
In describing the general philosophy of holistic education, Robin Ann Martin and Scott Forbes (2004) divide their discussion into two categories: the idea of Ultimacy and Basil Bernstein’s notion of Sagacious Competence. [3]
[edit]Ultimacy
1. Religious; as in becoming “enlightened”. Spirituality is an important component in holistic education as it emphasizes the connectedness of all living things and stresses the “harmony between the inner life and outer life” (Holistic Education Network).
2. Psychological; as in Maslow’s “self-actualization”. Holistic education believes that each person should strive to be all that they can be in life. There are no deficits in learners, just differences.
3. Undefined; as in a person developing to the ultimate extent a human could reach and, thus, moving towards the highest aspirations of the human spirit (Holistic Education Network).
[edit]Sagacious Competence
1. Freedom (in a psychological sense).
2. Good-judgment (self-governance).
3. Meta learning (each student learns in their “own way”).
4. Social ability (more than just learning social skills).
5. Refining Values (development of character).
6. Self Knowledge (emotional development).
[edit]Curriculum
In considering curriculum using a holistic approach, one must address the question of what children need to learn. Since holistic education seeks to educate the whole person, there are some key factors that are essential to this type of education. First, children need to learn about themselves. This involves learning self respect and self esteem. Second, children need to learn about relationships. In learning about their relationships with others, there is a focus on social “literacy” (learning to see social influence) and emotional “literacy” (one’s own self in relation to others). Third, children need to learn about resilience. This entails overcoming difficulties, facing challenges and learning how to ensure long-term success. Fourth, children need to learn about aesthetics – This encourages the student to see the beauty of what is around them and learn to have awe in life. (Holistic Education, Inc, Home Page)
Dr. Ramon Gallegos Nava describes at least six dimensions of thinking and expression that should be taken into account in teaching and learning:
Model of the Integration of Holistic Education from the Holistic Education Network.
Clifford Mayes and his associates have recently written a book-length study entitled Understanding the Whole Student: Holistic Multicultural Education (Rowman and Littlefield: 2007), which extends the idea of holistic education to critical issues in the theory and practice of multicultural education.
[edit]Tools/Teaching Strategies of Holistic Education
With the goal of educating the whole child, holistic education promotes several strategies to address the question of how to teach and how people learn. First, the idea of holism advocates a transformative approach to learning. Rather than seeing education as a process of transmission and transaction, transformative learning involves a change in the frames of reference that a person may have. This change may include points of view, habits of mind, and worldviews. Holism understands knowledge as something that is constructed by the context in which a person lives. Therefore, teaching students to reflect critically on how we come to know or understand information is essential. As a result, if “we ask students to develop critical and reflective thinking skills and encourage them to care about the world around them they may decide that some degree of personal or social transformation in required.” [4]
Second, the idea of connections is emphasized as opposed to the fragmentation that is often seen in mainstream education. This fragmentation may include the dividing of individual subjects, dividing students into grades, etc. Holism sees the various aspects of life and living as integrated and connected, therefore, education should not isolate learning into several different components. Martin (2002) illustrates this point further by stating that, “Many alternative educators argue instead that who the learners are, what they know, how they know it, and how they act in the world are not separate elements, but reflect the interdependencies between our world and ourselves” ([1]). Included in this idea of connections is the way that the classroom is structured. Holistic school classrooms are often small and consist of mixed-ability and mixed-age students. They are flexible in terms of how they are structured so that if it becomes appropriate for a student to change classes, (s)he is moved regardless of what time of year it is on the school calendar. Flexible pacing is key in allowing students to feel that they are not rushed in learning concepts studied, nor are they held back if they learn concepts quickly.
Third, along the same thread as the idea of connections in holistic education, is the concept of transdisciplinary inquiry. Transdisciplinary inquiry is based on the premise that division between disciplines is eliminated. One must understand the world in wholes as much as possible and not in fragmented parts. “Transdisciplinary approaches involve multiple disciplines and the space between the disciplines with the possibility of new perspectives ‘beyond’ those disciplines. Where multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry may focus on the contribution of disciplines to an inquiry transdisciplinary inquiry tends to focus on the inquiry issue itself.”[5]
Illustration of how transdisciplinary inquiry works from the Holistic Education Network.
Fourth, holistic education feels that meaningfulness is also an important factor in the learning process. People learn better when what is being learned is important to them. Holistic schools seek to respect and work with the meaning structures of each person. Therefore, the start of a topic would begin with what a student may know or understand from their worldview, what has meaning to them rather than what others feel should be meaningful to them. Meta-learning is another concept that connects to meaningfulness. In finding inherent meaning in the process of learning and coming to understand how they learn, students are expected to self-regulate their own learning. However, they are not completely expected to do this on their own. Because of the nature of community in holistic education, students learn to monitor their own learning through interdependence on others inside and outside of the classroom.
Finally, as mentioned above, community is an integral aspect in holistic education. As relationships and learning about relationships are keys to understanding ourselves, so the aspect of community is vital in this learning process. Forbes (1996) states, “In holistic education the classroom is often seen as a community, which is within the larger community of the school, which is within the larger community of the village, town, or city, and which is, by extension, within the larger community of humanity.”[1]
[edit]Teacher’s Role
In holistic education, the teacher is seen less as person of authority who leads and controls but rather is seen as “a friend, a mentor, a facilitator, or an experienced traveling companion” (Forbes, 1996).[1] Schools should be seen as places where students and adults work toward a mutual goal. Open and honest communication is expected and differences between people are respected and appreciated. Cooperation is the norm, rather than competition. Thus, many schools incorporating holistic beliefs do not give grades or rewards. The reward of helping one another and growing together is emphasized rather than being placed above one another.
[edit]Alternative Schools
For various reasons, many parents today are looking to alternative schools that offer different philosophies of education than mainstream schools. The diversity of alternative schools sets them apart from mainline education. Each school has its own methods and approaches to teaching. Therefore, each alternative school may have different beliefs about what education should include. Consequently, there are several types of alternative schools that have holistic values in their philosophies of education. While these schools have elements of holism incorporated in their values it would be fair to say that these schools could be placed on a continuum on how “holistic” they actually are (that is to say, some would have more holistic elements than others). Also, public and other types of private schools do not appear in the following list but that does not mean that there are no holistic values in their individual philosophies of education. In addition, many individual teachers in different venues of education try to incorporate ideas of holism into their own classrooms.
List of alternative schools that have holistic elements of learning in their educational philosophies:
§ Democratic school and Free school
§ Homeschooling, Unschooling, and Deschooling
§ Montessori Schools (see Montessori Method)
§ Waldorf Education (or Steiner Education)
[edit]Note on semantics
There is a debate on whether holistic education is connected to the idea of wholistic education which is used to refer to education in wholistic health or spiritual practices such as massageand yoga. Some educators feel that wholistic education is a part of holistic practices, while others feel that they are totally separate concepts.
[edit]References
- Encounter, Education for Meaning and Social Justice, (journal website)
- Forbes, Scott H. Values in Holistic Education. Paper presented at the Third Annual Conference on Education, Spirituality and the Whole Child (Roehampton Institute, London, June 28, 1996). 9 pages.
- Forbes, Scott H. and Robin Ann Martin. What Holistic Education Claims About Itself: An Analysis of Holistic Schools’ Literature. Paper presented at the American Education Research Association Annual Conference (San Diego, California, April 2004). 26 pages.
- Holistic Education, Inc, Home Page
- Holistic Education Network
- Informal Education Homepage; A Brief Introduction to Holistic Education
- Jackson, Robin. Holistic Special Education: Camphill Principles and Practice. Edinburgh: Floris Books. 2006.
- Martin, Robin Ann. Alternatives in Education: An Exploration of Learner-Centered, Progressive, and Holistic Education. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 1-5, 2002). 33 pages.
- Map of all major contributors in holistic education with influences
- Paths of Learning, Holistic Education Research
[edit]External Links on Alternative Schools
§ Association of Waldorf Schools in North America
§ Institute for People’s Education and Action (Folk Education)
§ International Montessori Society
§ Krishnamurti Information Network
§ Learn in Freedom (Homeschooling site)
§ National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools
§ North American Montessori Teachers’ Association
§ International Fundation for Holistic Education (Mexico)
§ The Education Revolution (list of Democratic Schools)
§ The Friends Council on Education
§ Jeonin(means whole person in korean) School in Korea
[edit]Notes
1. ^ a b c d The Putnam Pit: Scott Forbes on Holistic Education
2. ^ Millier,1999
3. ^ http://www.holistic-education.net/articles/research04.pdf
4. ^ http://www.hent.org/ Holistic Education Network
5. ^ Holistic Education Network
Categories: Educational philosophy | Alternative education | Massage
Tulisan ini disadur dari majalah Tempo edisi khusus Tan Malaka
Peniup Suling bagi Anak Kuli
Sekolah rakyat model Tan Malaka bertumbuhan di Jawa. Dia menjadikan Marxisme dan antikolonialisme sebagai dasar kurikulumnya.
RAPAT para tuan besar perkebunan yang berada di wilayah perusahaan Senembah Mij baru saja dimulai. Tan Malaka mengamati belasan peserta yang hadir. Dari yang hadir itu, ia hanya kenal dua orang. Salah satunya Herr Graf, tuan besar di Tanjung Morawa, Sumatera Timur.
Tan menatap Graf, yang disebutnya sebagai musuh nomor satunya di Deli. Graf langsung menoleh ke arah lain. Selama rapat, kedua orang ini kerap beradu pandang. Tapi, begitu mata mereka bertemu, Graf dengan segera memalingkan mukanya. Demikian seterusnya.
Tan Malaka tahu, Graf-lah yang menyebarkan fitnah dan menjelek-jelekkan dirinya. Pada saat pemimpin rapat memberikan kesempatan berbicara kepadanya, Tan tak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan. Tan, yang sudah dua tahun menjadi asisten pengawas sekolah di Deli, memaparkan pentingnya pendidikan bagi para anak kuli. Menurut dia, tujuan pendidikan itu untuk mempertajam kecerdasan, memperkukuh kemauan, serta memperhalus perasaan.
”Anak kuli adalah anak manusia juga,” kata Tan Malaka. Dia sengaja mengeluarkan kalimat itu karena banyak tuan besar, pemilik atau pengawas perkebunan, menganggap sekolah bagi anak kuli cuma membuang-buang uang. Sekolah, di benak para tuan besar itu, bakal membuat anak kuli itu lebih ”brutal” ketimbang bapaknya. Ada kekhawatiran lain. Pendidikan ini bisa menciptakan kader-kader baru Sarekat Islam, organisasi yang paling ditakuti pemerintah kolonial Belanda.
Beberapa hari setelah rapat pada Juni 1921 itu, Tan bertemu Dr Janssen, direktur sekolahnya. Tan mengajukan permintaan pengunduran diri. Dia merasa komplotan tuan perkebunan tembakau yang dipimpin Graf sudah sangat mengganggu kerjanya. Tan Malaka mengakui ada empat perkara perbedaan dirinya dengan para petinggi perkebunan yang membuat ia menentukan sikap itu. Pertama, soal warna kulit; kedua, model pendidikan bagi anak kuli; ketiga, menyangkut artikel-artikelnya di surat kabar di Deli; serta keempat menyangkut hubungannya dengan para kuli perkebunan.
Tan melihat sumber semua perbedaan itu dari kacamata Marxisme, yakni konflik antara kaum kapitalis dan proletar. Dia menyebutnya sebagai pertentangan antara ”Belanda-Kapitalis-Penjajah” dan ”Indonesia-Kuli-Jajahan”. Janssen tidak mencegah keinginan Tan untuk mundur, karena dia juga akan kembali ke Nederland. Dia meminta kantor membayar gaji Tan Malaka untuk dua bulan dan menyediakan karcis kapal laut kelas satu ke Jawa.
Awalnya, Janssen-lah yang meminta Tan Malaka membantu Tuan W untuk menjadi pengawas sekolah di Deli. Tan, yang kala itu sedang menempuh sekolah guru di Belanda, tertarik dengan tawaran kerja itu.
Deli adalah kota besar dengan penduduk sekitar dua juta. Namun ada yang menyedihkan di sana. Sekitar 60 persen penduduk Deli merupakan keluarga kuli kontrak perkebunan, pertambangan minyak, dan pengangkutan. ”Mereka keluarga proletaris tulen, dan Deli merupakan daerah proletaria yang sesungguhnya,” kata Tan Malaka dalam catatan hariannya. Kelas atas di Deli, menurut Tan, adalah borjuis asing dari Eropa-Amerika, disusul dari Tionghoa. Adapun borjuis Indonesia adalah Sultan Serdang dan Sultan Deli.
Selama di Deli, Tan sering berbincang-bincang dengan siswanya dan mengunjungi rumah mereka. Ini berbeda dengan Tuan W, yang cuma datang ke sekolah naik mobil dinasnya. Tan ingin mengetahui tabiat, kemauan, dan kecondongan hati masing-masing anak. Dari semua informasi yang diperolehnya, ujar Tan, diperlukan satu pusat sebagai sekolah percontohan.
Selain mengurus pendidikan, Tan Malaka juga menampung keluh-kesah para kuli kontrak. Para kuli itu umumnya buta huruf dan terjerat berbagai peraturan kontrak yang tak bisa dipahami. Tan melihat para kuli itu terbelenggu kekolotan, kebodohan, kegelapan, sekaligus ”hawa nafsu jahat” permainan judi. Kisah kuli kontrak ini mewarnai artikel Tan Malaka yang tersebar di surat kabar Liberal, Medan, dan Sumatera Post, yang kerap membuat marah para tuan besar.
Pengalamannya bergaul dengan kaum proletar ini makin memantapkan Tan bergerak di sektor pendidikan. Menurut dia, ”Kemerdekaan rakyat hanya bisa diperoleh dengan pendidikan kerakyatan.” Ini semua, kata Tan, untuk menghadapi kekuasaan pemilik modal yang berdiri atas pendidikan yang berdasarkan kemodalan.
Pada 2 hingga 6 Maret 1921, Tan Malaka mengikuti Kongres Sarekat Islam di Yogyakarta. Di sinilah ia pertama kalinya bertemu HOS Tjokroaminoto, Agus Salim, Semaun, dan tokoh-tokoh lain organisasi Islam tersebut. Kala itu organisasi ini sedang dilanda perpecahan, antara faksi Islam dan komunisme. Sarekat Islam Semarang yang dipimpin Semaun dan Darsono lebih berkiblat ke komunisme.
Seusai kongres, Semaun mengajak Tan Malaka ke Semarang. ”Kehadirannya menguntungkan bagi gerakan rakyat revolusioner di Indonesia,” ujar Semaun dalam buku Sewindu Hilangnya Tan Malaka. Saat itu keduanya sepakat membangun sekolah rakyat bagi calon pemimpin revolusioner. Sarekat Islam memberikan gedung dan fasilitas pendidikan lainnya. Tan Malaka berjanji mendirikan perguruan yang cocok bagi kebutuhan dan jiwa ”rakyat Murba”, sebutan Tan untuk kaum proletar.
Dalam brosur bertajuk ”SI Semarang dan Onderwijs”, Tan Malaka menguraikan dasar dan tujuan pendidikan kerakyatan. Pertama, perlunya pendidikan keterampilan dan ilmu pengetahuan seperti berhitung, menulis, ilmu bumi, dan bahasa. Hal ini sebagai bekal dalam menghadapi kaum pemilik modal. Kedua, pendidikan bergaul atau berorganisasi dan berdemokrasi. Ini untuk mengembangkan kepribadian yang tangguh, kepercayaan pada diri sendiri, harga diri, dan cinta kepada rakyat miskin. Dan ketiga, pendidikan untuk selalu berorientasi ke bawah.
Tan Malaka menegaskan, sekolahnya bukan mencetak juru tulis seperti tujuan sekolah pemerintah. Selain untuk mencari nafkah diri dan keluarga, sekolah ini juga membantu rakyat dalam pergerakannya.
Menurut Harry A. Poeze, inspirasi mendirikan sekolah rakyat ini berasal dari Belanda dan Rusia. Tan Malaka, katanya, sempat membaca tulisan warga Rusia mengenai kurikulum sekolah komunis. Inspirasi lainnya, kata Poeze, dari pengalaman Tan ketika bertugas di perkebunan tembakau Deli. ”Pengetahuan yang ia dapat disesuaikan dengan keadaan di Indonesia,” kata Poeze.
Hari pertama pembukaan ”sekolah Tan”, ada lima puluh siswa datang mendaftar. Sekolah ini kemudian menggelar upacara penerimaan siswa baru yang dihadiri orang tua dan pengurus Sarekat Islam Semarang. Dua anak berusia 14 tahun tampil ke depan mengucapkan janji murid dan meminta dukungan orang tua. Para siswa yang bercelana merah kemudian melakukan defile sembari menyanyikan lagu internasional.
Penonton bertepuk tangan menyaksikan upacara ini. Banyak yang menitikkan air mata karena acara ini baru pertama kali dilakukan di lingkungan Sarekat Islam. ”Mereka gembira, karena merasa mendapat bakal pahlawan,” kata Tan. Siswa baru terus berdatangan, hingga terkumpul 200 orang. Puluhan orang juga melamar jadi guru.
Sekolah berjalan pagi. Sore harinya Tan Malaka mengadakan kursus untuk mencetak guru. Peserta kursus adalah murid kelas 5 dan guru yang ada untuk dididik menjadi guru berhaluan kerakyatan. Kabar berdirinya sekolah rakyat di Semarang segera menyebar ke sejumlah daerah. Beberapa kota besar di Jawa mengajukan tawaran mendirikan sekolah sejenis di daerahnya.
Bandung akhirnya menjadi daerah kedua yang mendirikan sekolah rakyat, setelah seorang kader Sarekat Islam mendermakan uangnya. Di Kota Kembang itu 300 siswa baru mendaftar. Tahun-tahun berikutnya sekolah rakyat semakin banyak. Apalagi setelah alumni sekolah rakyat Semarang bertebaran di kota-kota besar Jawa. Menurut Tan, para murid, dengan celana merah dan lagu internasionalnya, laksana ahli peniup suling Kota Hermelin. Inilah dongeng yang mengisahkan seorang peniup suling yang mampu menyihir hewan dan anak-anak dengan serulingnya, sehingga mereka terus mengikuti sang peniup seruling.
Encyclopaedie van ned oostindie VI suplement menulis, sekolah rakyat model Tan Malaka ini lantas bermunculan. ”Di antara pekerjaan murid termasuk juga pembentukan barisan (Barisan Muda, Sarikat Pemuda, Kepanduan) satu dan lainnya cocok dengan sistem Komintern.” Ensiklopedia ini juga mencatat adanya kursus kilat membentuk propagandis yang aktif, yang kemudian menjadi kader organisasi.
Sayang, Tan Malaka tidak menyaksikan kemajuan sekolah rakyat yang dibangunnya. Pada 2 Maret 1922, pemerintah kolonial Belanda menangkapnya di Bandung setelah terjadi pemogokan buruh pelabuhan dan minyak. Para buruh tersebut tergabung dalam Vaksentral-Revolusioner, tempat Tan menjadi wakil ketua. Pencipta ”sang peniup suling” ini pun dibuang ke Nederland.
Sabtu, 15 September 2008.
Hari ini adalah hari istimewa karena sanggar dapat undangan bedah buku karya bapak Dewa Palguna, SH. MH. Beliau adalah mantan anggota Mahkamah Konstitusi . Dalam acara tersebut dibedah 4 buah buku sekaligus. Bukubuku yang dibedah adalah:Nasionalisme Identitas &kegelisahan, Saya Sungguh Mencemaskan Bali, Mahkamah Konstitusi Judicial Review dan welfare State, dan satu buku lagi lupa judulnya masih dipinjam teman he he he……………..
Yang membedah buku buku karya bung Palguna adalah Bapak Gede Marhaendra, SH. , MH.dan Saldi Isra, SH. MH. Pada seksi pertama, dan Drs I Made Beratha Ashrama, M. Si. Dan Drs I Ketut Sumartha.
Sanggar Anak Tangguh 
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