Ancient Wisdom meets education and critical thinking By Jack Carter, Principal, Wealth Generation 13889 62nd Avenue North, Maple Grove, MN 55311 Phone:

Ancient Wisdom meets education and critical thinking

By Jack Carter, Principal, Wealth Generation

13889 62nd Avenue North, Maple Grove, MN 55311

Phone: 763-559-7425, fax: 763-559-0664, website: www.wealthgen.com

©2007 Wealth Generation. All rights reserved.

Overview

• I am responding to an article on our website entitled “Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies and Classroom Techniques.”

• In order for education to be effective and critical thinking to occur, a person has to know themselves and their nature, and be continually supported by a culture that reinforces that knowledge.

• These insights are based on ancient wisdom à la Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers.

The article assumes that all students have minimal knowledge

• One point applies to Future’s Club meetings:– Most basic to critical thinking is active listening. So

presenters should interject thoughtful questions into their presentations to encourage active listening and participation.

• Other points are better for the classroom. Examples:– Critical thinking is less about right answers than getting

students to think about topics and value what they think and feel (vs. rote learning, see Politics Is the New Star of India’s Classrooms).

– Don’t give answers. Lead students to discovering answers…– Ask students to write one-minute papers at end of class:

Write one thing learned. What was most confusing?– Provide students with general questions before reading…


Ancient wisdom teaches what’s important in education

• First and foremost, a student has to know and like him or herself, or one’s contributions to work and life will be minimal and he or she will never be happy.

• Commercial culture is a faux culture. It attends to needs at a superficial level, which is why we have so many addictions, crime, and so much bizarre behavior (food, drugs, sex, gambling). Lisa Nowak…

• Commercial culture can, in fact, be toxic to people, organizations, and nations.


Toxic culture: most people mistakenly trash our schools

• …including John Naisbitt and the Tofflers

• Ancient wisdom teaches what culture is and why it’s important. Once you know that, you realize that our problem with education has little to do with teachers and schools, and everything to do with a culture that undermines education, morality, creativity, empowerment, and healthful behavior.


Ego self versus natural self

• Because of our gift to abstract, the mind can acquire an understanding of work and life that is completely at odds with one’s true self.

• Someone who hates school, or is forced into rote learning (such as NCLB), is doomed in a rapidly changing economy based on symbolic knowledge.

• You can’t survive in a rapidly changing world if you don’t have a deep sense of who you are.


“Follow your bliss”

• Education should fully awaken one’s depth. It should integrate one’s natural self into one’s conscious mind and ego.

• Discovering your gifts and interests is Step 1. You have to follow through. You have to muster the courage to claim your identity.

• This is the path to full empowerment.• Is this what we do? Why not?


Another approach to integrating one’s natural and ego self

The Industrial Family approach :• Parents proactively guide their children into the

establishment• Has worked for years• Not effective in rapidly changing times. Who knows

what the establishment is today? Examples Thomas Friedman, book tours, or www.babynamewizard.com, says people are drawn to professions, places, and people that remind them of themselves. Names like Lawrence and Lorie tend to become lawyers… e.g., Lorie Swanson, MN AG

http://www.babynamewizard.com/


Other ways of integrating natural and ego self

To cope with rapid change, you must ground your thinking in something that doesn’t change: – Learning human nature via religions and

mythologies, or by way of their common themes.– Music, esp. classical music, works for many people– Study of classical art and literature– Collections of poems, such as “Jacques Brel is alive

and well and living in Paris.”– Archetypal Opposites™


Circle of Consciousness

• Education fails if the conscious and unconscious minds aren’t integrated.

• The Hero’s Journey is the classical way of integrating the conscious and unconscious.

• Mythologies provide “hooks and handles” into our depths by way of symbols and stories.

A schematic view of ego apart from natural self


The Concept of Oneness

• You have to realize that we are more alike than we differ to understand and assimilate the concept of oneness. And you have to transcend ego to get there.

• The meta-message is that personal survival is not our highest priority. Oneness is. Saving the tribe.

• Our best chance of survival is when our natural selves are fully integrated into ego selves by way of education, work, and life.


Saving the tribe or organization

• There are many ways to get beyond ego to realize that our highest priority is oneness, i.e., saving the tribe.– Churches sell their core ideas to people buying oneness.– Military service forces oneness upon individuals– President Reagan rescued 77 swimmers over 7 summers.– Same for simple acts of kindness. They’re simply less emphatic.– Singers, athletes, and other performers have felt the rapture of

connecting with large numbers of people.

• What do men and women have in common with people in “pursuit of happiness” and people drawn to solidarity?


Key Points• Critical thinking is the opposite of rote learning. It

is to habitually question information and authority.• In order for education to be effective, and for

individuals to be fully empowered, people have to know themselves and their nature. And they must be supported by a culture that continually reinforces that awareness. That’s classical culture.

• Understanding consciousness and oneness are elementary to understanding human nature.

• Ancient wisdom provides the insights we need to survive, prosper, and enjoy life.

Thank you for your interest.

Documents

Ancient Wisdom meets education and critical thinking By Jack Carter, Principal, Wealth Generation 13889 62nd Avenue North, Maple Grove, MN 55311 Phone: