When Looking At What Education Could Be

There is active discourse and experimentation in holistic models of education that has much to offer international education.  In international development, holistic generally refers to the integration of various facets of life such as economics, livelihood skills, health education and nutrition into education.  Holistic education also attempts to nurture the development of the whole person - this includes the intellectual, emotional, physical, social, aesthetic and spiritual (J. Miller 2005). The aim of holistic teaching is to facilitate a more fully integrated learning experience rather than the fractured and alienated learning experience and consequent life experience produced by much modern Western pedagogy (Orr 2005).  Both here in the Nigeria and in other countries such as India, educational thinkers have stressed the necessity to gear education to the whole child. This thinking tends to be outside of the mainstream of educational thinking.  Yet looking at the whole of a child’s life is necessary when education is being used as a tool of transformation, empowerment and change in the society.

When looking at what education could be, we need to look beyond seeing education as a tool to train the mind or prepare for a job.  Education can teach us how to use our mind, how to respond peacefully, how to find and follow our passions.  This type of education comes not just from learning about these things but from experiencing them in the classroom.  Simply teaching a new set of ideas is not enough unless the emotional, behavioral and spiritual aspects of these ideas are addressed in the student’s life.  Classrooms could be a place of caring, understanding and creativity rather than a place filled with fear and conformity. 

A number of approaches to education are holistic in nature such as integral education, transformative education, constructivist approaches, Gandhi’s Basic Education, peace education, mindfulness education and values education.  The aim of this section is to explore these many views of education and broaden our scope of what education can mean.

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 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 person feel 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 and adults, 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. Holistic education cannot be reduced to a set of techniques or ideologies. Ultimately holistic education rests in the hearts and minds of the teachers and students.

These kids are our future generation lets give them an helping hand in Educating one today so that we can live to see the benefit  of a changed and  better Nigeria as a nation tomorrow.