Holistic Education, a few thoughts
I am currently studying to become a Forest School Leader. Part of the course is doing a whole load of short written pieces and I thought I would share them on here. My first piece is a few views on Holistic development / education, a question could be is there a place for these thoughts in Paddlesports Coaching?
I have been using this piece of writing from http://www.infed.org/biblio/holisticeducation.htm as my starting point.
“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.”
A Forest School Leader using this educational concept will be able to engage with the entire learner, observing them, meeting their needs and most importantly being lead by their wants. Importantly this is not a laze fair educational/developmental attitude, delivered in the forest school setting, by hippies in the woods. In real terms it should be viewed as the approach of an intelligent, educated practioner who values all educational delivery mechanisms, learning settings, learning styles and number of learners. A Forest School Leader should be able to adopt an appropriate style based upon a significant amount of empathy with their learner(s) and understanding of learning in its widest sense.
Whilst it is possible to look at the entirety of a Forest School setting on a macro basis, it is arguably more important that a leader can assess each of the forest school activities / outcomes delivered adopting a holistic development style. From here the leader can then see how each individual part forms a part of the whole and each therefore seeing the whole value of each activity / learning be them leader or learner driven.
For this purpose below is a list of possible outcomes derived from the holistic approach:
| Physical | Social | Emotional |
| New skills and techniquesFire Triangle
Persistence Warmth Cooking Health eating Physical activity Collect & understand wood Tool usage (Saw) Creativity Understanding risk Fine motor skills Respect for fire Following instructions Start to finish working |
Communal feelingSocial skills
Negotiation Team work Sense of belonging Story telling Music Respect Conversation skills Sharing |
SpiritualSense of self
Magical Primal connections Peace Reflection Thinking time Connection to nature |
In summary, the Forest School Leader that is consciously aware and applying the theories of holistic development will be enabling the development of the whole learner. Thus, in a frame work of safety allowing them to gain, develop and master true life skills, whilst meeting the learners social, emotional and spiritual development needs.
