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Holistic Educational Thought in K-12 Education

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Holistic Educational Thought in K-12 Education View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT IN K-12 EDUCATION BY BRETT GARVIN GRANT DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Cameron McCarthy, Chair Professor James D. Anderson, Director of Research Professor Violet Harris Professor William Trent ABSTRACT In this interpretive study, I raise the possibility that what American public education policy needs in order to address present and future challenges is a “new guiding narrative, a new myth,” (Jones, 2008, p. 104). This “new guiding narrative,” I argue, is to be found in holistic educational thought. Holistic educational thought is the idea that education resides neither in the head, nor in the hands, nor in the heart, but in the aggregate of all of these. In its modern and contemporary forms, holistic educational thought emphasizes education that is academic and vocational – not as separate tracks – but as an integrated curriculum available to all students. At the core, holistic educational thought articulates a vision of education that is both practical and beautiful. Practical in the sense that education is able to satisfy the intellectual and ecological needs of civil society and beautiful in the sense that education is designated to delight the senses and appeal to the imagination. To articulate this relationship – that between beauty and practicality – is the crux of holistic educational thought. The major concepts discussed in the upcoming chapters are competitive eligibility, ecological literacy, and lifelong optimal learning. Keywords: competitive eligibility, ecological literacy, lifelong optimal learning ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank God. Next, I would like to thank my parents, Brenda and L.V. Grant, for giving me such a wonderful childhood and for letting me be me. To my only sibling, Kitt, thank you for loving me like a mother and a father and for taking care of me when I could not take care of myself. To my friend, Victor Perez, thank you for having confidence in me at a time when I had little confidence in myself and for encouraging me to apply to graduate school. To my friend, Tony Jimenez, thank you for looking out for me in graduate school and for offering me a warm meal and good conversation every now and then. To my committee members, Dr. James Anderson, thank you for sticking with me throughout the years; to Dr. William Trent, thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and suggestions; to Dr. Violet Harris, thank you for introducing me to a whole other world within academia; and to Dr. McCarthy, thank you for leading me to the “light at the end of the tunnel!” I would also like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Michael A. Peters and Dr. Tina A. Besley. Thank you for helping me form and refine many of my preliminary ideas about holistic educational thought. Daniel Walsh – thank you for serving as an unofficial advisor to me; and to Marilyn Johnston- Parsons – thank you for inviting me to Argentina and for reminding me how beautiful life is and can be. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: TRANSFORMATION OF THE AESTHETIC ............................................1 CHAPTER 2: A GENEALOGY OF HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT ............25 CHAPTER 3: ARTICULATING HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT .................63 CHAPTER 4: COMPETITIVE ELIGIBILITY .................................................................91 CHAPTER 5: ECOLOGICAL LITERACY ....................................................................118 CHAPTER 6: LIFELONG OPTIMAL LEARNING ......................................................155 CHAPTER 7: IMPLEMENTING HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT ...............191 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................221 iv CHAPTER 1 TRANSFORMATION OF THE AESTHETIC A few years ago, Oprah Winfrey was criticized for the “extravagance” of her Leadership Academy for Girls, which she founded in January, 2007. The Academy was established to provide educational and leadership opportunities for academically gifted girls from impoverished areas in South Africa. Winfrey’s school was criticized for, among other things, having a beauty salon, two theaters (one indoor, one outdoor), and a yoga classroom. In an article about the school’s grand opening, Allison Samuels of Newsweek1 questioned whether the $40 million that was spent might have benefited more students if it had been spent with less emphasis on beauty and more emphasis on practicality. What I found interesting about Samuels’ comment was the implicit distinction that she made about beauty and practicality. Samuels seemed opposed to a notion of practicality such as that of Winfrey’s that incorporated aesthetic elements of beauty. Karen Russell of The Huffington Post came to Winfrey’s defense and wrote: Critics say the school is too lavish for such an impoverished country. How dare Oprah have the audacity to spoil these Black African girls?! Why are so many quick to question if these girls deserve the best education Oprah’s money has to offer?2 In her own defense, Winfrey responded to Samuels’ criticism by saying, “If you are surrounded by beautiful things and wonderful teachers who inspire you, that beauty brings out 1 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey_Leadership_Academy_for_Girls 2 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey_Leadership_Academy_for_Girls 1 the beauty in you.”3 This is where I begin: with education, beauty, and practicality. By placing beauty at the forefront of education policy, holistic educational thought attempts to transform the aesthetic in education that considers it wrong to talk about beauty. Today, to talk about beauty in the context of education is to be considered less intellectual, less smart, less educational. Why? Why is education supposed to be this lifeless thing that is only intellectual, rigorous, serious, competitive, difficult, and loveless? Why can’t it also be beautiful? If I had to associate a color with what education is, the color that comes to mind is gray: dull, dreary, gloomy, depressing. If I could choose a color to describe the kind of education that I have always longed for, I would choose a deep purple or a vibrant red – colors that evoke energy and inspiration. If I had to use food to describe what education is, I would say a meal with no flavor. If I could use food to describe what education should be, I would say a meal with lots of flavor. Before making any policy decisions, I think policymakers should read Langston Hughes’ (1923) poem, Dreams, and heed his words: “Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow” (p.25). Right now, education is a broken winged bird that cannot fly and a frozen field barren with snow. Not all education, for many creative projects are taking place in schools across the country. Yet a “Race to the Top” should not be the overriding metaphor used to describe education. The overriding metaphor should be an image of beauty – a vision that inspires; a vision that delights the senses and appeals to the imagination. 3 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey_Leadership_Academy_for_Girls 2 This is not to say that I am not grateful for the formal education experiences that I have had; for I am. I know how hard my parents had to work to ensure that my sister and I received the best education possible. The same is true of so many other parents. For that, I am thankful beyond words. I just think that formal education can be so much more than what it is. I know it can. I would not be writing this if I did not believe that. Education policies are not doing enough to help students see the beauty that is education. Education policies in K-12 schools are not doing enough to show students how education can bring the world to them - literally. It was through education that I was able to live in Spain. Actually, it was because of my mother that I was able to live in Spain.4 The point is that Spain is a metaphor that signifies what education can be. It signifies that education can go beyond the classroom; that education can be exciting; that education can delight the senses and appeal to the imagination; that education can be poetic and beautiful. That is what I talk about in this study – education that goes beyond the boundaries of classroom learning – education that incorporates beauty, love, poetry, music, food, art, travel, gardening, style, fashion, aesthetics, morality, and physical fitness. Education that is practical and beautiful. To me, the poem, Solomon Grundy, captures the kind of mundane quality that education is in its contemporary form: Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Grew worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday. That was the end, Of Solomon Grundy. (Halliwell, 1842, n.p.)5 4 Thanks to my mother, I was able to study abroad in college. 5 The poet, Philippe Soupault, adapted this rhyme and called it "The Life of Philippe Soupault" 3 Unfortunately, that is what defines so much of education today – a routine: Go to class on Monday, take a test on Tuesday, score the test on Wednesday, discuss the test on Thursday, take another test on Friday . School does not have to be like that, nor should it be like that. Education ought to be one of the most exciting and interesting experiences that one could ever have. Everything falls under the umbrella of education, whether a dance, a vacation, a visit to a museum, an interaction, gardening, and so on and so on.
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