Holistic Education

 
 

    Holistic education is 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 young people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning. This is done not through an academic “curriculum” that condenses the world into instructional packages, but through direct engagement with the environment. Holistic education nurtures a sense of wonder. Montessori, for example, spoke of “cosmic” education—help the young person feel a part of the wholeness of the universe, and learning will naturally be enchanted and inviting. There is no one best way to accomplish this goal, there are many paths of learning and the holistic educator values them all; what is appropriate for some children, in some situations, in some historical and social contexts, may not be best for others. The art of holistic education lies in its responsiveness to the diverse learning styles and needs of evolving human beings.

                                                                -Ron Miller



 
The School Around Us has provided Holistic Education to families in Southern Maine since 1970.  We have what is known as an emerging curriculum that encourages the growth of the whole child; their moral, emotional, physical, psychological, artistic, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions.
 

What is Holistic Education?

For More info on Holistic Education:

Web sites:


  1. •http://www.holistic-education.net/visitors.htm

  2. •http://www.creatinglearningcommunities.org/book/roots/miller5.htm

  3. •http://www.pathsoflearning.net/articles.php

  4. •http://aeroeducation.org/2010/05/09/introduction-to-holistic-education-conversations-with-ron-miller/

  5. •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_education


For further reading on holistic education, see:


  1. •Krishnamurti, Education and the Significance of Life (orig. 1953; San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1981.)

  2. •David Marshak, The Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness (New York: Peter Lang, 1997)

  3. •Jane Roland Martin, The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families (Cambridge, Mass:           Harvard University Press, 1992)

  4. •John P. Miller, The Holistic Curriculum (2nd edition; Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Press, 1996) and Education and the Soul: Towards a Spiritual Curriculum (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999)

  5. •Ron Miller, What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture (3rd edition; Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press, 1997).

  6. •James Moffett, The Universal Schoolhouse: Spiritual Awakening Through Education (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1994)

  7. •Parker Palmer, To Know as We are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey (orig. 1983; San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993)

  8. •Holistic Education Press carries additional books and publishes the journal Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, the primary periodical in holistic education. Contact them at P.O. Box 328, Brandon, Vermont 05733; 800-639-4122; www.great-ideas.org