AV研究所

A distinguished international panel of four whole-person education experts addressed ways to support students鈥� intellectual, emotional, ethical, and spiritual development in the classroom, on campus, and beyond, at an October 8 discussion hosted by Boston College.

The 鈥淣ew Perspectives on Formative Education鈥� discussion in the Yawkey Center Murray Room served as the public portion of a two-day inaugural conference, which brought 22 national formative education leaders together to advance holistic approaches to student formation. The event was spearheaded by the nascent Transformative Education Lab (TLab), directed by Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor Deoksoon Kim.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hosting this conference to examine formative education, including how AV研究所鈥檚 strategies and methods differ from other interesting paths, and what are the significant challenges to conceptualizing and implementing a formative, holistic approach more broadly,鈥� said Stanton E. F. Wortham, the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean of the Lynch School.

Over the two days, attendees grappled with the guiding questions of what formative education is, and what it means to form a person well through education. As the conversations ensued, a deeper dive focused on the questions of determining when formation has occurred, what contemporary life requires of a 鈥渇ormed person,鈥� and what might this group of scholars do together in the future.

聽鈥淲e鈥檝e made some progress, but we鈥檙e not there yet,鈥� said Wortham at the conclusion. 聽鈥淲e have a sense of what we share and where the challenges are, but there鈥檚 more work to be done.聽 We鈥檙e taking on the task of formulating and synthesizing these insights, including identifying a set of practical examples.聽 We鈥檒l also look at expanding the community by finding other people who are doing similar things to help build a network.鈥�

Kim underscored that this event is 鈥渘ot a one-time thing; we will build on this conversation.鈥�

To open the public panel, Wortham鈥攚ho served as moderator鈥攏oted that it鈥檚 a particularly auspicious time to advance the holistic human development of young people.

鈥淭here was a time鈥�25 to 30 years ago鈥攚here educational institutions were narrowly focused on the acquisition of academic content, forgetting that they were dealing with young human beings who have emotions, relationships, moral challenges, and spiritual puzzles, all of which are crucial to their maturation.

鈥淢ore recently, there鈥檚 been a resurgence鈥攊n the United States and around the world鈥攊n interest in holistic approaches to education and human development, and how to facilitate it. But it鈥檚 become a chaotic and confusing landscape of movements, with educators trying to devise a whole person philosophy, program or a curriculum鈥攁ll vying for attention in this larger space of human flourishing, well-being, and character education.鈥�

Panelist William Damon, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, said that the focus on developing narrowly defined skills such as those in STEM education overlooked important elements of growth and opportunity.

鈥淭hat vision not only ignores the whole child, but that a huge part of our economy is composed of media and entertainment, and to squeeze art, music, and theater out of schools was taking a wrong turn, even by their own standards,鈥� he said.

Howard Gardner, the Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said technology has complicated efforts to think about development, purpose, ethics, and a full life. 鈥淭he best thing we can do for our students is to help them realize the [world鈥檚] complexity and hope that鈥攚ith a sense of purpose鈥攖hey can move the needle in a good direction.鈥�

Suzanne Shanahan, the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Institute for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame, reflected on her work with refugees in relation to whole-person education.

鈥淚 think about educating students for character, calling, competence and the common good; shared human flourishing is the goal of the formative work I do. Formative education is about the proactive choice to take responsibility for the world.鈥�

Oon Seng Tan, director of the Centre for Research in Child Development at Singapore鈥檚 National Institute of Education, said education in his country has always had a two-fold goal: competence and becoming a contributing citizen. He was unequivocal about the key to his country鈥檚 nationwide success in math and reading.

鈥淭he teacher is the curriculum, and even more so for formative education. Values are the most important element of teacher education; they have an exponential effect on learning.鈥�

To emphasize that teachers are begging for more time to educate their students, Tan closed with his rendition of the Whitney Houston song 鈥淥ne Moment in Time,鈥� which included the line: 鈥淚 want one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be, when all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me.鈥�