Can Anyone Say Holistic Education?
Prompt
This week we’ve read essays dealing with the changing nature of Disney films, pros and cons of standardized testing, gay marriage and a redefinition of family values, and prison parole reform. Pick one essay and discuss it, give your opinion, and tell us what you feel has influenced your opinon the most ( family, gender, culture, education…) Be as specific and convincing as possible.
Response
Although Ted Sizer never mentions holistic education in this article, he is certainly a supporter of this approach to learning.
According to Howard Gardner, a Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education and founder of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), standardized tests only measure two forms of our intelligence: logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic.
MI theory states that we have six forms of intelligence in addition to the two above: spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Even the requirement of physical activity and fitness is one step closer to a holistic education. A system in which students increased abilities in each of these categories could be considered holistic.
Furthermore, theorists generally divide individuals into one of three categories based upon learning style: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile. The traditional “lecture hall” approach to education attempts to provide visual and audible aids to learning, while recitations and laboratories usually provide a more tactile approach. However, for material to be absorbed and retained the individual has to be cognitively active; in addition to physical inactivity during a lecture, the conditions under which it is delivered usually inspire a mental shutdown as well. In response, when this material is tested, learners in each of these categories usually “regurgitate” information in the same fashion as they learned it. For visual learners, the standardized test is optimal (especially if they have a photographic memory). Conversely, auditory learners usually prefer oral exams or even an essay; for kinesthetic learners, a practical exam detailing the principles in something such as a dramatization, construction, or laboratory demonstration of the material is usually more successful.
(disclaimer: my knowledge of learning theories and educational models is severely out of date. ~circa 1998).
