HOW THE URANTIA WORLD

Transcription

HOW THE URANTIA BOJKH E L q S JS.UNDERSTANDTEE CONTEMPORARY WORLDEDUCATION TODAYbyJ u l i a FendersonURANT I A BROTHERHOODSummer Study S e s s i o nJ u l y 2 1 and 22, 1972The a t t a c h e d s p e e c h , w h i l e p e r h a p s based on t h e U r a n t i a t e a c h i n g s i none way o r a n o t h e r , s h o u l d n o t b e i n t e r p r e t e d i n any way a s n e c e s s a r i l yr e p r e s e n t i n g an o f f i c i a l o r u n o f f i c i a l pronouncement of t h e views o rp h i l o s o p h y of t h e U r a n t i a Brotherhood School, U r a n t i a Brotherhood,a n d / o r U r a n t i a Foundation.The q u t h o r of t h i s s p e e c h i s s o l e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i d e a s and subj e c t matter presented herein.D i r e c t q u o t a t i o n s and a l l o t h e r m a t e r i a l from t h e URANTIA Book1955 URANTIA Foundation) which a r e used i n t h i s(Copyrightp a p e r a r e by p e r m i s s i o n of t h e URANTIA Foundation.aCopyright (cZ, 1972 URANTIA Foundation

EDUCATION-SEVEN STRANDSIntroduction1.CHANGE2.EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION3.CROSS-AGE TUTORING4.THE TEACHER5.WORK-STUDY6.INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION7.NEW VALUES OF YOUTH I N EDUCATIONPROGRAMS (METHODS)

CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATION I N THE NATION AYD I N THE WORLDILLUMINATED BY INSIGHTS FROM THE URAhTIA BOOKbYJ u l i a FendersonThe a s s i g n m e n t g i v e n t o me was t i t l e d : "Education i n t h e N a t i o n and World TodayI l l u m i n a t e d by I n s i g h t s from t h e U r a n t i a Book and from Your Own E x p e r i e n c e . "I amv e r y g r a t e f u l t o D r . Kenton S t e p h e n s f o r t h i s wide u m b r e l l a - t y p e t o p i c u n d e r whichI c o u l d f i n d and s e l e c t c e r t a i n a r e a s o r s t r a n d s . I p r e f e r t h e t e r m " s t r a n d s "b e c a u s e t h e s e t o p i c s a r e s o i n t e r w o v e n i n t h i s f a b r i c c a l l e d e d u c a t i o n . With D r .S t e p h e n s ' p e r m i s s i o n I have chosen 7 s t r a n d s from t h e immense t a p e s t r y c a l l e deducation.What & e d u c a t i o n ? I b e l i e v e t h a t e d u c a t o r s i n g e n e r a l would s u b s c r i b e t o t h eb r o a d d e f i n i t i o n g i v e n i n t h e D i c t i o n a r y of E d u c a t i o n : " E d u c a t i o n i s t h e a g g r e g a t eof a l l p r o c e s s e s b y means o f which a p e r s o n d e v e l o p s a b i l i t i e s , a t t i t u d e s ando t h e r forms of b e h a v i o r of p o s i t i v e v a l u e t o t h e s o c i e t y i n which h e l i v e s . " T h i si s f a r more t h a n t h e term " s c h o o l i n g " i m ? l i e s . A t h r u s t is g i v e n toward t h e i d e ap h y s i c a l l y , m e n t a l l y , and s p i r i t u a l l y .of d e v e l o p i n g t h e whole c h i l d--What d o e s t h e U r a n t i a Book s a y a b o u t e d u c a t i o n ? *On page 412.3, a B r i l l i a n tEvening S t a r t e l l s u s t h a t "The e n t i r e u n i v e r s e i s one v a s t s c h o o l . " T h a t i sb r o a d enough t o s u i t t h e s t r o n g e s t l i b e r a l and we can c o n s i d e r t h e U r a n t i a Bookt h e b e s t e d u c a t i o n handbook we c o u l d f i n d .*On page 1 9 2 . 5 , a U n i v e r s a l Censor s t a t e s : "The purpose of e d u c a t i o n i s t o d e v e l o pa n d s h a r p e n i n n a t e endowments o f t h e human mind; of c i v i l i z a t i o n t o e x p r e s s them;o f l i f e e x p e r i e n c e t o r e a l i z e them; of r e l i g i o n t o e n n o b l e them; of p e r s o n a l i t y t ou n i f y them. I'How g r a t i f y i n g i t i s t o t h o s e of u s who a r e e d u c a t o r s t o p e r c e i v e t h e h i g h r e g a r dand r e a l j o y t h a t t h e U r a n t i a Book p l a c e s upon e d u c a t i o n , and t o what g l o r i o u sp u r p o s e s and g o a l s t h e t o t a l u n i v e r s e e d u c a t i o n i s d e d i c a t e d ! It i s a r e a l c h a l l e n g e .t o a l l o f u s t o change t h e p r e s e n t view and a t t i t u d e toward e d u c a t i o n on t h i s p l a n e t .T y p i c a l o f t h a t c u r r e n t a t t i t u d e toward e d u c a t i o n i s t h i s s q u i b from t h e May i s s u eo f t h e P h i Delta Kappan magazine: " P u b l i c t e l e v i s i o n u s e d t o b e known as educat i o n a l t e l e v i s i o n . The change i n name was made b e c a u s e e d u c a t i o n h a s become synonomous w i t h d u l l n e s s . "T h i s i s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i n d i c t m e n t made a g a i n s t e d u c a t i o nand i t i s p a r t i a l l y d e s e r v e d and we must change t h i s p i c t u r e .S t r a n d 1.CHANGEBut change i s upon u s -- i t i s h e r e ! R a d i c a l , v i t a l , and dynamic change i s demanded by a young s o c i e t y which w a n t s r e l e v a n c e i n terms of r e a l i s t i c and modernl i f e n e e d s . Youth demands p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n e v e r y e d u c a t i o n a l p r o c e s s as t h e y knowt h e y l e a r n o n l y t h r o u g h p a r t i c i p a t i o n . E d u c a t i o n s h o u l d r e f l e c t i t s s o c i e t y ands o c i e t y i s u n d e r g o i n g tremendous changes. The u s u a l r e p l y t o any comment a b o u tt h e need f o r change i n e d u c a t i o n i s , "Oh, w e l l , change i s n ' t new, we have alwayshad change."To s u c h r e p l i e s , N o r b e r t Weiner h a s a u s e f u l answer: "The d i f f e r e n c e* C o p y r i g h t @ 1 9 5 5 URANTU F o u n d a t i o n-Used by p e r m i s s i o n

- 2-Fender sonb t w e e na f a t a l and t h e r a p e u t i c dose of s t r y c h n i n e i s o n l y a m a t t e r of degree."I n o t h e r words, change i s n ' t new. \ f i a t i s new i s the degree of change.Postman and Weingartner show a c l o c k f a c e metaphor which i l l u s t r a t e s g r a p h i c a l l ywhat i s happening i n t h e communication a r e a of change. The c h a r t might be c a l l e d :The Change R e v o l u t i o n i n Comnunication, and communication is t h e bedrock foundat i o n o f e d u c a t i o n . About t h r e e minutes ago t h e r e developed a q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e c h a r a c t e r of change. Change changed.(Continued on page 3 )CHART - THE CHAVGE REVOLUTION I N C O I C A T I O NCharles Weingarten; l e i 1 PostmanT e a c h i n g . a s a SubversiveActivity--p.lOT h i s c l o c k f a c e r e p r e s e n t s 3000 y e a r s of w r i t t e n communicat i o n . Each minute on t h i s c l o c k r e p r e s e n t s 50 y e a r s .There a r e 60 minutes on t h e c l o c k .W r i t t e n communication was very l i m i t e d and slowly dev e l o p i n g u n t i l about 450 y e a r s ago.But suddenly about 9 minutes ago t h i n g s began t o happen.The Gutenberg p r e s s reached w e s t e r n c i v i l i z a t i o n a t t h eHarvard School and s p r e a d r a p i d l y from then on.9 m i n u t e s ago t h e p r i n t i n g p r e s s came i n t o u s e i n w e s t e r n c u l t u r e .3 m i n u t e s ago t h e t e l e g r a p h , photograph, locomotive came i n t o g e n e r a l use.2 m i n u t e s ago t h e t e l e p h o n e , r o t a r y p r e s s , motion p i c t u r e s , a u t o m o b i l e s , anda i r p l a n e s appeared.1 minute ago p i c t u r e s w i t h sound, t a l k i n g p i c t u r e s , came i n .The l a s t 1 0 seconds b r o u g h t t e l e v i s i o n .5 seconds ago t h e computer was developed.A f r a c t i o n of a second ago t h e l a s e r beam -- perhaps t h e most p o t e n t of a l l communic a t i o n media -- came i n t o g e n e r a l u s e and i s s t i l l b e i n g e x p l o r e d f o r f u r t h e r u s e s ;These l a s e r beams c a r r y r a d i o , t e l e v i s i o n , and t e l e p h o n e waves.E x i s t i n g communication l i n e s a r e becoming overloaded.have w a i t i n g l i s t s of 2-3 h o u r s .Transoceanic l i n e s sometimesL a s e r s can c a r r y a l l t h e s e waves and more. I n a r e c e n t experiment, a l l 7 New Yorkt e l e v i s i o n s t a t i o n s t r a n s m i t t e d o v e r t h e same l a s e r . One l a s e r can c a r r y e i g h tf o u r f o r each person i n t h e United S t a t e s .hundred m i l l i o n t e l e p h o n e c o n v e r s a t i o n s-The a b i l i t y*This q u o t a t i o n by a n Archangel, p.503, d o e s n ' t seem s o f a r away now:t o t r a n s l a t e t h o u g h t t o r e c o r d s i s s o speeded up t h a t t h e e q u i v a l e n t of o v e r . f t g l ? A"Copyright@1955 URANTIA Foundation - Used by permission

-11-Fender sonm i l l i o n words, o r t h o u g h t symbols, can be r e g i s t e r e d i n one minute of U r a n t i atime. The l a s e r beam can t r a n s m i t messages now i n j u s t a m a t t e r of s e c o n d s .A s communication i s t h e backbone of e d u c a t i o n , we can s e e some f a r more e x c i t i n gand r e v o l u t i o n a r y changes i n how we u s e books.I n our C u l v e r C i t y s c h o o l s we area l r e a d y u s i n g t h e M i c r o f i c h e t o a i d u s i n v e r y f a s t r e t r i e v a l of f a c t s from c e r t a i n r e f e r e n c e books. Between d a t a p r o c e s s i n g , t h e computer, F l i c r o f i c h e , U l t r a f i c h e , and o t h e r new developments, i t i s w i t h i n t h e r e a l m o f p o s s i b i l i t y t o haveimmediate r e t r i e v a l of f a c t s from t h e U r a n t i a Book i n a v e r y few y e a r s .Research h a s shown r a t h e r c o n c l u s i v e l y t h a t s c h o o l s s h o u l d n o t t e a c h f a c t s p e r s e ,b u t s h o u l d t e a c h y o u n g s t e r s how t o look up o r r e t r i e v e f a c t s q u i c k l y . L i b r a r ys k i l l s w i l l soon i n c l u d e t h e s e f a s t f a c t - f i n d i n g d e v i c e s .(Continued from page 2)W e i n e d u c a t i o n have n o t e d b i g changes o c c u r r i n g i n t h e v a r i o u s d i s c i p l i n e s .Forexample, i f you a r e o v e r 25 y e a r s o l d t h e mathematics you were t a u g h t is now a l m o s to b s o l e t e ; t h e grammar you were t a u g h t i s now i n d i s r e p u t e and c o n s i d e r e d o l d ; b i o l o g y i s c o m p l e t e l y o u t of d a t e , a n d h i s t o r y i s s e r i o u s l y open t o q u e s t i o n . Thejoke g o e s : " s s u m i nyou c o u l d remember most of what you were t o l d and r e a d , youa r e s i m p l y a w a l k i n g e n c y c l o p e d i a of o u t - d a t e d i n f o r m a t i o n . "The p o s t s c r i p t I would add t o t h i s s a d t a l e i s t h a t t h e r e i s d e f i n i t i v e r e s e a r c ht o show t h a t p e o p l e do n o t remember f a c t s anyway, p e r h a p s o n l y a s m a l l p o r t i o n ofthem, u n l e s s t h e y a r e a c t i v e l y i n v o l v e d i n u s i n g t h e s e f a c t s .( C o n s i d e r how w ewould f a r e i f a group o f t e s t i n g e x p e r t s came i n 6 months from t h i s summer s t u d ys e s s i o n and gave e a c h one o f u s an e x h a u s t i v e , d e t a i l e d t e s t o n e v e r y l e c t u r e . )We n o t e t h a t t h e methods o f t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g used t h r o u g h o u t t h e l o n g ascension t r a i l *i n v o l v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e a s s i g n e d t a s k and t h e n r e i n f o r c i n gt h a t l e a r n i n g by immediately t e a c h i n g what i s l e a r n e d t o one on t h e s t e p j u s t beh i n d you. I n f a c t , we l e a r n how t o l e a r n , a n e x c e l l e n t g o a l f o r e d u c a t i o n , and onew e can u s e no m a t t e r what changes o c c u r o r how f a s t t h e y happen. We hope t o t e a c hwhat we l e a r n h e r e , i n o u r l o c a l s t u d y groups i n v a r i o u s p l a c e s .*In t h e U r a n t i a Book on page 1772, Rodan s t a t e s : " I f man becomes s o i n g e n i o u s t h a the more r a p i d l y a d d s t o t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s o f s o c i e t y , t h e a r t o f l i v i n g w i l l needt o b e r e m a s t e r e d i n l e s s t i m e , p e r h a p s e v e r y s i n g l e g e n e r a t i o n . " When we c o n s i d e rt h a t i n d e e d one g e n e r a t i o n h a s p a s s e d s i n c e t h e s e p a p e r s were i n d i t e d i n 1934-35,and when w e t h i n k of t h e c a t a c l y s m i c changes t h a t have o c c u r r e d and t h e i r r a p i dr a t e o f a c c e l e r a t i o n r i g h t now, we know t h a t i n t o d a y ' s world t h e g o a l s o f educat i o n must i n c l u d e t h e d e v e l o p i n g of i n d i v i d u a l s who a r e open t o change, who a r ef l e x i b l e , t o l e r a n t , i n n o v a t i v e , and who can f a c e u n c e r t a i n t y and ambiguity w i t h o u td i s o r i e n t a t i o n . Don't t h o s e g o a l s (which have b e e n s t a t e d by many t o p e d u c a t o r s )remind you o f t h e many s t a t e d i n t h e U r a n t i a Book, s u c h as *p.291:3?"Long b e f o r er e a c h i n g Havona, t h e s e a s c e n d a n t c h i l d r e n of time have l e a r n e d t o f e a s t upon unc e r t a i n t y , t o f a t t e n upon d i s a p p o i n t m e n t , t o e n t h u s e o v e r a p p a r e n t d e f e a t , t o i n v i g o r a t e i n t h e p r e s e n c e of d i f f i c u l t i e s , t o e x h i b i t i n d o m i t a b l e courage i n t h ef a c e of immensity, and t o e x e r c i s e unconquerable f a i t h when c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e*Copyright @ 1955 URANTIA Foundation-Used by p e r m i s s i o n

-5-Fendersonc h a l l e n g e o f t h e i n e x p l i c a b l e . Long s i n c e , t h e b a t t l e c r y of t h e s e p i l g r i m s be' I n l i a i s o n w i t h God, n o t h i n g -- a b s o l u t e l y n o t h i n g -- i s i m p o s s i b l e ! " 'came:Iti s t h i s l a s t p h r a s e t h a t i s s o needed by t h i s young and p r e s s u r e d g e n e r a t i o n and i ti s coming. They a r e s e a r c h i n g !--S t r a n d 2 - EARLY EDUCATION-When d o e s t h i s v a s t , e d u c a t i o n a l regime b e g i n on o u r p l a n e t ? A u t h o r i t i e s a g r e et h a t i t b e g i n s a t b i r t h o r b e f o r e . A s t h e modem a d v e r t i s e m e n t s go: " E d u c a t i o n fromb i r t h t o d e a t h " o r " E d u c a t i o n from womb t o tomb."But we s t u d e n t s of t h e U r a n t i aBook know a f a r more g l o r i o u s t r u t h . E d u c a t i o n i s f o r e v e r ! And n o t o n l y do weknow t h a t i t i s f o r e v e r , b u t t h a t i t i s n e v e r d u l l . A P e r f e c t o r of Wisdom p r e s e n t st h i s d e s c r i p t i . o n , *p.159:6:"Zach o f t h e s e b i l l i o n s t u d y w o r l d s i s a v e r i t a b l e u n i v e r s i t y of s u r p r i s e s . C o n t i n u i n g a s t o n i s h m e n t , unending wonder, i s t h e e x p e r i e n c eo f t h o s e who t r a v e r s e t h e s e c i r c u i t s and t o u r t h e s e g i g a n t i c s p h e r e s . Monotony isn o t p a r t of t h e Havona c a r e e r . " You have r e f e r e n c e s , which I d i s t r i b u t e d , f o r manymore i n t r i g u i n g d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h i s unending e d u c a t i o n which b e g i n s r i g h t h e r e ono u r p l a n e t of Urantia.And t h a t b e g i n n i n g i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t . The p r e s e n t e x c i t i n g e m p h a s i s on e a r l y educ a t i o n i n o u r c o u n t r y was i n i t i a t e d i n p a r t by t h e famous s t u d i e s o f D r . BenjaminBloom ( U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago) which were p u b l i s h e d i n 1964 i n h i s t e x t , S t a b i l i t yand Change. These s t u d i e s , c o r r o b o r a t e d b y much r e s e a r c h i n Europe, i n d i c a t e t h a ta b o u t 50% o f mature i n t e l l i g e n c e i s d e v e l o p e d b y a g e 4 and a n o t h e r 30% by a g e 8.Some p s y c h o l o g i s t s d o u b t w h e t h e r any amount of r e m e d i a l work l a t e r on w i l l e n a b l ea c h i l d t o develop i n t e l l e c t u a l l y t o h i s f u l l p o t e n t i a l i f he does n o t r e c e i v e t h eproper s t i m u l a t i o n a t t h e proper time.And t h i s r i g h t time b e g i n s v e r y e a r l y . T h i s r e s e a r c h and o t h e r s have r e a c t i v a t e dt h e custom o f h a v i n g b a b i e s s t a y w i t h t h e i r m o t h e r s i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g b i r t h ,and f a t h e r s as w e l l a s m o t h e r s a r e encouraged t o f o n d l e b a b i e s and t o t a l k ands i n g t o them and c a r e f o r them. A s I was w r i t i n g t h i s s e c t i o n , o u r L i f e Magazinewas d e l i v e r e d w i t h a n a r t i c l e showing young f a t h e r s h e l p i n g t o d e l i v e r t h e b a b y and .c a r i n g f o r i t . T i t l e : F a t h e r h o o d Begins t h e Moment o f 1-jirth.Boys a r e now enc o u r a g e d t o p l a y w i t h d o l l s i n k i n d e r g a r t e n and e a r l i e r , and t o p r e p a r e f o r t h i sfather role.Some h o s p i t a l s , e s p e c i a l l y where t h e r e a r e m o t h e r l e s s c h i l d r e n , now employ an u r t u r i n g , m o t h e r l y s o r t of p e r s o n t o c u d d l e and r o c k b a b i e s f o r a t i m e e a c h d a yas t h i s h a s been found t o b e s o i m p o r t a n t i n t h e i r development.(What a g r e a t j o bt o have.I ' m on t h e w a i t i n g l i s t . ) One h a s o n l y t o w a l k t h r o u g h a n i n s t i t u t i o nf o r c h i l d r e n w i t h o u t homes o r p a r e n t s t o n o t e t h a t s p e c i a l b l a n k l o o k i n t h e i r(I d o n ' te y e s which r e f l e c t s t h a t l a c k of l o v i n g p a r e n t a l , p e r s o n a l a t t e n t i o n .know why t h e s e e d u c a t o r s and p s y c h o l o g i s t s c o n c e n t r a t e a l l t h e i r a t t e n t i o n on t h i sn e e d f o r l o v i n g a t t e n t i o n of t h e e a r l y a g e s ; we o l d e r p e o p l e t h r i v e on l o v e andactention, too.)-C a r l D e l a c a t o of P e n n s y l v a n i a and Glenn Domain have y e a r s o f c a r e f u l s t u d i e s andr e s e a r c h which t h e y m a i n t a i n shows t h a t r e a d i n g s k i l l s and o t h e r l e a r n i n g s k i l l sa r e d e l a y e d i f y o u n g s t e r s d o n ' t go through a l l t h e s e q u e n t i a l p h y s i c a l s t e p s i nCopyrighta 1955 URANTIA F o u n d a t i o n - Used by p e r m i s s i o n

-5-Fendersonp r o p e r o r d e r . T h e r e i s much c o n t r o v e r s y o v e r t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s , b u t a l s o muchs u c c e s s h a s b e e n a c h i e v e d by s t u d e n t s g o i n g back and t a k i n g t h o s e m i s s i n g s t e p sand s e e m i n g l y b u i l d i n g up c e r t a i n n e u r a l p a t t e r n s n e c e s s a r y f o r m e n t a l development.*On page 531, a B r i l l i a n t Evening S t a r r e l a t e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h i s e a r l y t r a i n i n g : "The i n f a n t - r e c e i v i n g s c h o o l s o f S a t a n i a a r e s i t u a t e d on t h e f i n a l i t e r w o r l d . "They a r e d e v o t e d t o t h e n u r t u r e and t r a i n i n g of t h e c h i l d r e n o f t i m e . F u r t h e r ont h a t same page we a r e t o l d t h a t t h e Mansion World T e a c h e r s m a i n t a i n e x t e n s i v ee d u c a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s f o r t h e s e i n f a n t s . That t e l l s u s a l o t :D r . J e a n P i a g e t of F r a n c e h a s a l s o b r o u g h t us much v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n on howc h i l d r e n l e a r n and t h e o r i g i n s o f i n t e l l i g e n c e i n c h i l d r e n . He emphasizes t h ei m p o r t a n c e of p e r c e p t u a l a c t i v i t i e s and how m e n t a l f a c u l t i e s d e v e l o p o n l y t h r o u g hb e i n g u s e d . He and D r . Bloom a r e g r e a t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e u p s u r g e of p r e - s c h o o lprograms i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s s u c h a s Home S t a r t , Head S t a r t , and o r g a n i z e d C h i l dCare C e n t e r s f u n d e d by t h e F e d e r a l government. Sesame S t . o f n a t i o n a l and noww o r l d fame was f u n d e d by C a r n e g i e and Ford F o u n d a t i o n s , and HEW.I t h a s b e e n e x c i t i n g t o o b s e r v e and t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n some of t h e s e programs.Fore x a m p l e , I worked c l o s e l y w i t h c e r t a i n a r e a s of Sesame S t . where 3-5-year-olds watchedt h i s program d a i l y .12 m i l l i o n youngster-s i n t h e United S t a t e s r e a l l y p a r t i c i pated i n t h i s learning s i t u a t i o n pThese 1 2 m i l l i o n- r e p a r e d by e d u c a t i o n e x p e r t s .p r e - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n l e a r n e d most p h a s e s o f t h e a l p h a b e t , c o u n t i n g , ! a n c i n g , s i n g i n g ; t h e y l e a r n e d about people of o t h e r l a n d s ; they l e a r n e d geography, weather,and many c a r e f u l l y checked p r e - r e a d i n g programs. The impact f o r e d u c a t i o n i stremendous.When w e c o n s i d e r t h a t t h e r e i s a t e l e v i s i o n a e r i a l on a l m o s t e v e r yhome f r o m t h e g h e t t o s of New York t h r o u g h t h e w i l d s of t h e Rocky Mountains, t h a t*On page 9 0 9 : # 8 a n Archangel s t a t e s t h a t man h a s t h e powerpower i s s t a g g e r i n g .by c o n t r o l l i n g t h e e d u c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g of t h e younger g e n e r a t i o n g r e a t l y t o modifyt h e e v o l u t i o n a r y c o u r s e o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . We have one p o w e r f u l t o o l i n t e l e v i s i o nand i t must b e used i n a c o n s t r u c t i v e way f o r t h e e d u c a t i o n o f t h e v e r y young, a swell as for others.-E d u c a t i o n a l T e s t i n g S e r v i c e u n d e r t o o k t o t e s t and e v a l u a t e t h e Sesame S t . youngs t e r s a f t e r o n e y e a r and t h e y found t h a t a s t o n i s h i n g g a i n s had been made, and t h a tb e t t e r g a i n s w e r e made by t h o s e y o u n g s t e r s who had watched w i t h t h e i r mothers andhad d i s c u s s e d t h e program. We c o n d u c t e d a c o n t r o l l e d s t u d y i n C u l v e r C i t y w i t hn o n - E n g l i s h s p e a k i n g s c h o o l c h i l d r e n . One g r o u p watched t h e program and a matchedg r o u p d i d n o t v i e w t h e program, b u t t o o k t h e o r d i n a r y s c h o o l b a s i c c u r r i c u l u m . TheSesame S t . g r o u p s c o r e d h i g h above t h e c o n t r o l group on t h e s t a t e s c h o o l t e s t s , f o rg r a d e o n e . The problem now i s t o u p s t e p t h e c u r r i c u l u m f o r a l l p r i m a r y g r a d e s t oc a r e f o r t h e s e y o u n g s t e r s who h a v e b e e n w a t c h i n g Sesame S t . and s i m i l a r t y p e programs.D r . Rudolph D r e i k u r s , P r o f e s s o r E m e r i t u s of P s y c h i a t r y , Chicago M e d i c a l S c h o o l , andwho d i r e c t s t h e A l f r e d A d l e r I n s t i t u t e of Chicago, s t a t e s i n t h e J u n e i s s u e o f t h eI n t e l l e c t u a l D i g e s t t h a t we h a v e a d v o c a t e d f o r y e a r s t h e p r o p o s i t t o n t h a t c h i l d r e nc o u l d l e a r n w i t h i n t e n y e a r s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t p r e s e n t l y a c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e knows,and t h a t we a r e a l l o p e r a t i n g a t a b o u t 15% o f o u r p o t e n t i a l a b i l i t y . He a t t r i b u t e smust o f t h i s t o o u r mismanagement o f t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f c h i l d r e n ' s l i v e s .*Copyrighta1955 URANTIA F o u n d a t i o n-Used by p e r m i s s i o n

-6-FendersonO f c o u r s e many of t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s a r o u s e c o n t r o v e r s y , i f n o t d o w n r i g h t o p p o s i t i o n .The m a t t e r of E a r l y Childhood E d u c a t i o n d i s p u t e s a r i s e more o v e r what methodss h o u l d b e u s e d and where t h i s s h o u l d b e d o n e , b u t a l l a g r e e i t must be d o n e . Rec e n t l y C a l i f o r n i a h a s p l a n n e d t o s t a r t a l l 4 - y e a r - o l d s t o s c h o o l t h i s f a l l andNew o r k ' sBoard of R e g e n t s recommends t h e a g e o f 3. The famed Hewett Report byYoore, Moon and Moore, r e v i e w e d i n t h e J u n e i s s u e o f Kappan, t a k e s a s t r o n g s t a n da g a i n s t s o - c a l l e d e a r l y s c h o o l i n g , b u t d o e s a g r e e t h a t p a r e n t s s h o u l d be t r a i n e dand t h a t c h i l d r e n s h o u l d b e " e d u c a t e d " a t home a t t h e s e e a r l v a e e s .L e t u s n o t e how t h e y a r e h a n d l i n g t h e s e s i t u a t i o n s on a n e i g h b o r i n g p l a n e t .*Onp . 811:4 a M e l c h i z e d e k r e l a t e s t h a t "These p e o p l e r e g a r d t h e home a s t h e b a s i c i n s t i t u t i o n of t h e i r c i v i l i z a t i o n .I t i s e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e most v a l u a b l e p a r t o f ac h i l d ' s e d u c a t i o n and c h a r a c t e r t r a i n i n g w i l l b e s e c u r e d from h i s p a r e n t s and a thome, and f a t h e r s d e v o t e a l m o s t a s much a t t e n t i o n t o c h i l d c u l t u r e a s do m o t h e r s . "P a r . 2 o n t h e same page s t a t e s t h a t a t t e n d a n c e of p a r e n t s , b o t h f a t h e r s and m o t h e r s ,a t t h e p a r e n t a l s c h o o l s o f c h i l d c u l t u r e i s compulsory.*Another v e r y p e r t i n e n t q u o t a t i o n o n t h e same p a g e s t a t e s : " ll al n d and o t h e rp r o p e r t y u s e d f o r home p u r p o s e s a r e f r e e f r o m t a x a t i o n up t o t e n t i m e s t h e minimumhomesite allotment."T h a t would c e r t a i n l y h e l p t h e p e o p l e on o u r p l a n e t and woulde n a b l e young p e o p l e t a own homes. F u r t h e r , i t would h e l p young m o t h e r s t o s t a yhome t o c a r e f o r t h e i r v e r y young c h i l d r e n . A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e 60% o f o u r m o t h e r sare orki king, w h i c h i s a s a d i n d i c t m e n t o f o u r s o c i e t y .An e x c e l l e n t g u i d e , a s a l w a y s , i s t o s t u d y t h e i n f a n t y e a r s o f J e s u s and how h e wasl o v i n g l y c a r e d f o r and t r a i n e d .When t h e f a m i l y moved t o A l e x a n d r i a , E g y p t , t h e r ew e r e two c h i l d r e n h i s own a g e i n t h e home w h e r e h e l i v e d and 6 o t h e r s f o r p l a y m a t e snearby.T h e r e f o r e , t h e much-needed s o c i a l i z a t i o n was p r o v i d e d f o r d u r i n g a l l o fh i s e a r l y y e a r s , as w e l l a s t h e l o v i n g n u r t u r i n g c a r e o f a d e v o t e d f a t h e r and m o t h e r .A t t h e o t h e r end o f t h e s p e c t r u m i s e d u c a t i o n f o r t h e e l d e r l y , and f o r some ti::l.ei t h a s b e e n o b s e r v e d t h a t many p e o p l e o v e r 65 a r e g o i n g b a c k t o g e t a h i g h s c h o o lo r c o l l e g e d i p l o m a . Now t h e F e d e r a l government i s f i n a n c i n g t h e s e programs andc o l l e g e s a r e v y i n g f o r them. We a r e p l a n n i n g a n E m e r i t u s program which w i l l b eu n d e r t h e new D r . A n d r u s j G e r o n t o l o g y C e n t e r a t USC.Strand 3-CROSS-AGE TUTORINGA t h i r d s t r a n d I h a v e s e l e c t e d i s c r o s s - a g e t u t o r i n g . T h e r e a r e many names f o r t h et u t o r i n g programs w h i c h h a v e s w e p t a c r o s s o u r c o u n t r y d u r i n g r e c e n t y e a r s . Theyh a v e b e e n c a l l e d t h e B i g B r o t h e r p r o g r a m s , Cross-Age T u t o r i n g , and s e v e r a l s i m i l a rt y p e s of t i t l e s . Li'hatever t h e t i t l e , t h e y a r e mushrooming i n e v e r y a r e a of s c h o o ll i f e and h a v e b e e n a c c l a i m e d a s v e r y s u c c e s s f u l .One c o l d windy n i g h t ( y e s , we d o h a v e them i n C a l i f o r n i a ) I was c a l l e d t o t h e Univ e r s i t y S t u d e n t Union B u i l d i n g t o t r a i n a s m a l l g r o u p o f v o l u n t e e r t u t o r s .I plannedf o r 20 and a b o u t 200 came. T h e s e young c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s a r e e a g e r t o s e r v e andwanted t o h e l p t u t o r t h e u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d s t u d e n t s i n nearby high s c h o o l s .I would l i k e t o r e f e r b r i e f l y t o t h e t u t o r i n g program i n C u l v e r C i t y , n o t b e c a u s ei t ' s t h e b e s t (which i t r e a l l y i s ) , b u t b e c a u s e C u l v e r C i t y i s a g r a s s r o o t s comm u n i t y o f some 3 5 , 0 0 0 and t y p i c a l o f s m a l l town s c h o o l s a l l o v e r America.*Copyright@1 9 5 5 UFUUTIA F o u n d a t i o n-Used by p e r m i s s i o n

-7-FendersonOur t u t o r i n g program i n v o l v e d y o u n g s t e r s a t a l l g r a c e l e v e l s i n a l l s c h o o l s . Theprogram was v o l u n t a r y and b o y s and g i r l s of l o w e r o r a v e r a g e a c h i e v e m e n t weret r a i n e d t o t u t o r y o u n g s t e r s a g r a d e o r s o below them on a one-to-one b a s i s . I t wasamazing what i t d i d f o r t h e t u t o r a s w e l l a s t h e t u t e e . Y o u n g s t e r s w e r e t a k i n gt h e i r l u n c h h o u r s and t i m e a f t e r s c h o o l t o go and do j u s t a l i t t l e more f o r t h e i rc h a r g e s . Who do you t h i n k g a i n s t h e most on a c h i e v e m e n t s c o r e s ? The t u t o r , o fI t b u i l d s h i s e g o , g i v e s r e a l meaning t o h i s l i f e , and t h e n he r e s p o n d scourse.b e t t e r i n a l l a r e a s . We e n l a r g e d o u r program t o i n c l u d e s e n i o r c i t i z e n s , n e a r b yc o l l e g e s t u d e n t s (we h a v e f o u r c o l l e g e s i n o u r a r e a ) , . a s w e l l a s s p e c i a l i s t s i nc e r t a i n a r e

Jul 21, 1972 · What does the Urantia Book say about education? *On page 412.3, a Brilliant Evening Star tells us that "The entire universe is one vast school." That is broad enough to suit the strongest liberal an