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* * * * KnoK NEWS * * * *
-- Views from the world of learning in Japan --


SAVING OUR CHILDREN: A JAPANESE APPROACH
by Dayle Bethel


(continued from part 1)



Learning Through Living

The Earth, for Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, was a miracle. Life was a miracle,
and he saw life vibrating and pulsating through all phenomena. A major
goal which began to motivate him early in his professional career was to
call his peers, particularly young people, to an awareness of and
appreciation for the Earth and for the life pulsating through it. In his
first major writing, "A Geography of Human Life" (first published as
*Jinsei Chirigaku* in 1903), Makiguchi describes what for him was the
ultimate question:

"How, then, can we observe our surroundings? How can we make contact with
the earth? We are born of the earth; we are inspired by the earth; we die
on the earth; the earth is our home." (p. 45)

In our interaction with our environment, Makiguchi believed we should
"regard people, animals, trees, rivers, rocks, or stones in the same
light as ourselves and realize that we have much in common with them all.
Such interaction causes us to feel, if not consciously think, 'if I were
in their (or its) place, what would I feel...or do?' Sympathetic
interactions occur, therefore, when you regard or feel another person or
object that you are in contact with as a part of yourself or as one of
your kind. You share experience with that person or object and are able
to place yourself in the position of that person or object." (pp. 55-56)

He also believed that "it is our nature as human beings to form
societies. No one can live totally alone. It is through association in
society that we can provide not only for our basic needs and security,
but for everything that makes our lives fulfilling and rewarding. This
realization leads to the universalization of sympathetic feelings which
were initially toward a specific individual or object. Growing awareness
of our indebtedness to our society gives rise to feelings of appreciation
and a sense of social responsibility within us. Beginning in our very
personal relationships...our sympathetic concern and appreciation expands
to include the larger society and, ultimately, the whole world." (pp.
60-61)

Perhaps more than any thing else, it was this reverence for nature, this
sense of wonder and appreciation for life, this sense of being intimately
connected with both our natural and social environments, that Makiguchi
longed to communicate to his students and fellow beings. The development
of such awareness and appreciation upon the part of human beings was, he
believed, of crucial importance both for nature's sake and for the
development of persons of moral character.

Makiguchi was convinced that the development of a sense of
interdependence and interrelatedness with the natural world, of which he
perceived humans a part, is a central aspect of what it means to be a
human being. Not only is this holistic orientation the most pervasive
theme of "A Geography of Human Life," it became the central theme of
Makiguchi's own life:

"[B]eing aware of the rich variety of phenomena that influence my life, I
cannot help thinking of the way the whole earth operates. I look around
and, although my eyes can reach only a few kilometers in any direction,
my heart and mind is filled with excitement and wonder and curiosity
about the earth and about the relationship between the earth and our
lives on the earth. I begin to realize that if we would seek a deeper
understanding of this relationship, we must prepare ourselves to make
observations and inquiries into several different aspects of the planet,
such as its topography, dimensions, movements, and structure." (p. 86)

Such was Makiguchi's invitation to young people in particular, and to all
his contemporaries in general, to join him in a journey to explore the
wonders of the Earth and life born of the Earth. "A Geography of Human
Life" is something like a "ship's log" or diary of that journey. But it
was also intended as a handbook or travel guide for others who are
motivated to take the journey themselves.

Before embarking on this journey of discovery, Makiguchi explained that
the method of inquiry to be used was that of participant observation. But
what was to be the scope of that observation?

"I arrived at a conviction that the natural beginning point of
understanding the world we live in and our relationship to it is that
community of persons, land, and culture which gave us birth; that
community, in fact, which gave us our very lives and started us on the
path toward becoming the persons we are. In other words, that community
which has given us our rootedness as human beings. The importance of this
rootedness and personal identity given us by our native cultural
community, our homeland, can scarcely be overemphasized." (pp. 29-30)

"If we think seriously about it," he went on to say, "we can see that
every aspect of this universe can be observed in this small area of our
homeland. And because our homeland is the place where we live, where we
walk, where we see and hear and gain impressions, it is possible for us
to observe all these things directly. Thus, it is possible for us to
explain the general nature of complex phenomena anywhere in the world
through use of examples which we can find in abundance even in the most
remote village or hamlet." (p. 38)

Philosophy of Learning

Makiguchi often observed and spoke out strongly on what he saw as the
life-threatening damage being done to children's lives and personalities
in the Japanese schools of his day:

"The detrimental effects of force-feeding a small child can be easily
seen because of the small body's inability to metabolize more than it can
digest. The excessive bulk passes through the child's system, an
undigested waste. Or worse, it may lodge in the digestive tract, slowly
putrefying and poisoning the whole system. Unfortunately, the effects of
psychological toxification in children caused by the forced learning of
masses of unintelligible information are not immediately visible.
Consequently, the detrimental effect of this poisoning process in
children's lives is not recognized. The situation is serious, but when we
search for the causes of the problem, we are faced with the paradox that
teachers and parents alike see themselves as providing for the future
well-being of the children even though they make them miserable in the
process." (Dayle Bethel, ed., "Education for Creative Living," Iowa
State University Press, p. 21)

"The aim of education," Makiguchi stressed, "is not to transfer
knowledge; it is to guide the learning process, to put responsibility for
study into the students' own hands. It is not the piecemeal merchandising
of information; it is the provision of keys that will allow people to
unlock the vault of knowledge on their own. It does not consist in
pilfering the intellectual property amassed by others through no
additional effort of one's own; it would rather place people on their own
path of discovery and invention. The words have been resounding in the
ears of educators like ourselves since the days of [Czech
theologian/educator J.A.] Comenius and [Swiss educational reformer
Johann] Pestalozzi, but they have yet to be put into real practice.

"Thus, if one possesses the keys to unlock the vault of knowledge, it
becomes possible to obtain for oneself all the learning one will ever
need in life without having to memorize endless volumes of
scholarship....There is no reason to overload our lives with mountains of
useless and trivial information that we may never need." ("Education for
Creative Living," p. 168)

Makiguchi believed that the indirect, secondhand educational system that
had developed in Japan was the height of folly. Primarily a product of
implantation from Western cultures, that system of education, he charged,
confined learners to classrooms and forced them to go through a
meaningless routine of memorizing and forgetting, memorizing, forgetting,
and on and on. Furthermore, it severed the learners' ties with the
natural systems making up their environment. Makiguchi, writing in the
early decades of the 20th century, described the effects of the
development of modern schools in Japan as follows:

"In the days before there were schools, the prevailing method of guiding
young people to the proper roles in the general scheme of life was an
extended home life, whereby one apprenticed at the family trade
throughout one's formative years, with this training supplemented by
things learned from the local community. Then came the Meiji period
(1868-1912) with its modern education and the spread of
schools....Everyone was taken by the hand and dragged off to schools, and
soon the other two schemes of learning fell into disuse. This was the age
of the school reigning unchallenged and omnipotent.

"Only in recent years have we seen the grave error of our ways and tried
to fill in the gap with various kinds of adjunct education and youth
groups for extracurricular activity....From this point on, school
education must be aware of its own share of the educational role....It
must cooperate with the other two areas of education, the home and the
community, each with its own expertise....These three areas of education
must link together in an orderly system of mutual complementarity."
("Education for Creative Living," p. 181)

To accomplish this kind of community-based system of education, Makiguchi
proposed what he called a "half-day school" system, from elementary
schooling to the university, which would cut back on ill-managed
education that was wasting valuable work-learning time. If we were to
return to the other two areas of education much of their pre-modern
territory in overall life guidance, he claimed, only the remainder would
need to be taught in schools -- and in a half day at that. This, he
believed, would at once prove more efficient, and would create an organic
bond with the other two areas.

In a marvelous statement summing up the fundamental purpose of half-day
schooling, Makiguchi wrote that "study is not seen as a preparation for
living, but rather study takes place while living, and living takes place
in the midst of study. Study and actual living are seen as more than
parallels; they inform one another intercontextually, study-in-living and
living-in-study, throughout one's whole life. In this sense, it is not
the better economic budgeting of school programs but the instilling of
joy and appreciation for work that becomes the main focus of the proposed
changes." ("Education for Creative Living," p. 156)

Makiguchi's "A Geography of Human Life" highlights a clash between two
different kinds of society based on radically different world views and
sets of values. Makiguchi offered his vision of a good society, which
could nurture good, happy persons, as a model for the development of an
industrial system in Japan. At the time he was writing "A Geography of
Human Life," the American version of the Western model of industrialism
was sweeping the Earth. The contrast between that type of industrialism
and the type that Makiguchi proposed is sharp and clear. It is especially
clear in the respective views of the two models toward nature. A basic
tenet of the American model, what Alvin Toffler labels "indust reality,"
is that "nature is an object waiting to be exploited." (Toffler, 1981,
p. 99)

For Makiguchi, on the other hand, to be human meant to live in harmony
with the Earth. To live as a human being meant to love and understand and
appreciate the Earth: "[I]t is through our spiritual interaction with the
earth that the characteristics which we think of as truly human are
ignited and nurtured within us." (pp. 47-48, 62)

Makiguchi envisioned an industrial society developing in Japan upon a
basis of interdependence and interconnectedness between human beings and
the Earth. It was to the realization of such a society that he directed
his life and his teaching.

Efforts at Implementation

Makiguchi's professional life spanned four decades, from 1900 to 1930.
During most of that time, he served as a teacher and principal of
elementary schools in various parts of Japan, seeking, to the extent
possible given the rigidity of the educational system, to experiment in
implementing his educational ideas. The results of these experiments were
impressive and Makiguchi received strong support and encouragement from
some of his former students and teachers who taught under him.

He was supported also -- and his educational ideas endorsed -- by many
prominent persons in Japanese society, including Tsuyoshi Inukai, prime
minister of Japan during the early 1930s. However, with but a few notable
exceptions, Japanese academics and educational administrators bitterly
denounced Makiguchi as a rabble-rouser and troublemaker, and labeled his
ideas and proposed educational reforms as unworkable nonsense. These
sentiments within the educational establishment, together with the
increasing influence of the military in Japanese society, led to
Makiguchi's forced retirement from his post as a primary school
principal, and thus to the "official" end of his long career as an
educator.

The final blow came with the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai in
1932 by military elements. After that, Makiguchi gave up trying to
improve Japanese education and society through educational channels, and
turned his energy and convictions in other directions.

But while Tsunesaburo Makiguchi's ideas and his vision of an industrial
society based on love and respect for the environment, and of holistic
learning occurring within nature and community, were rejected by Japanese
society in his lifetime, his ideas and proposals have played -- and are
continuing to play -- a significant role in creating the worldwide
revolution in education and society we are now witnessing.


---------------------
Dayle Bethel (dbethel@...) is a holistic educator and author of
several books on alternative learning, including "Makiguchi -- The Value
Creator" (Weatherhill, 1971). He is also a contributor to the recently
published book "Creating Learning Communities" (Foundation for
Educational Renewal, 2000). He has overseen and edited the translation of
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi's work *Jinsei Chirigaku* (A Geography of Human
Life) from Japanese into English, and the book is due to be published by
the San Francisco-based Caddo Gap Press in 2002. Dayle and his wife,
Miyoko, make their home between Kyoto, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii.



* * * *



WISH I'D SAID THAT (Quote of the Day):

"If we chose a theme like ocean, river, or forest, the students came up
with ideas. They imagined they were plankton, the fish, the trees. They
had to study what was in it. They learned how everything is
interconnected. They looked at the life of coral, dinosaurs, the birth of
the Earth. Children get very interested in nature. Their bodies come into
resonance with the Earth...."

--Japanese teacher, writer and filmmaker Toshiko Toriyama, in *The Other
Japan* (by David Suzuki & Keibo Oiwa), 1996