2,

That Preoious Moment

INTRODUCTION

wheels of different sizes on the other.

Wheels turn v/hen

buttons are pressed.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

We try a number of things.

We can

press the buttons in a haphazard manner and sometimes

watch what happens and sometimes not.

We can press the

buttons systematically, first singly, then in pairs, threes,

etc.. carefully recording everything that happens each.time.
It is then possible by a process of elimination to determine

Educators face an interesting dilemma.

There have

been a number of theoretical approaches to teaching through

out history. Each has been deeply embedded in the culture which spawned it, each has hastened and enhanced the devel

opment of the culture from which it emerged, and each has assisted in its decline to be a pallbearer at its demise.

exactly how many different effects occur, the least number of buttons associated with each effect, and which buttons are involved in these least numbered groups. This approach gives us all the simple cause- effect-relationship present. Pressing the buttons are the causes or "independent var iables" and the effects of the "dependent variables." The
possibility that a motor actually turns the wheels is of no
consequence because control is from the buttons.

What is there that is both vitalizing and destroying about educational systems? Can it be summed up in the
single word "enthusiasm" and the lack thereof?

Suppose, however, unknown to us, someone else is

pressing a concealed button somewhere else on the box inter

An experiment conducted a number of years ago

discovered that involving workers in an experimental situa

tion improved their productivity. involved they worked better. It made no difference

mittently and this adds an effect which is different from

any of the ones our buttons cause.

what the experimental conditions were, as long as they were

This is the famous Hawthorne

Determining the cause and effect relationships

becomes very difficult if not impossible as a result of the
"contamination" of this side effect.

Effect.

Personal involvement, the first step toward or

phase of enthusiasm, was the key. Since then, experimenters in the social sciences

have been doing their best to keep the Hawthorne Effect out of their experiments. vVhen they succeed they find no significant differences among teaching methods, cultural

However, years of experimental investigation of comparative methodologies has shown that there is only one cause which consistently makes performance better as long
as it is operative. This is the personal involvement of

dynamics a whole lot of things. What ahould we Bjs.ptscL'i When people are indifferent they don't accomplish very
much.

the learner, i.e. the Hawthorne Effect I Thus far, the only thins which has been shown to work is the very thing we
educators have been systematically trying to eliminate.
There is another way, of course. We can ask the

Within the context of the philosophy of science

person to press the concealed button steadily as long as we

are experimenting and we can determine the effects "without

this approach is quite justified.

You see, the theory of

scientific research is based upon a very simple idea. Suppose we have a box with colored buttons on one end and
1.

contamination." Of course the added button may produce a totally new set of effects. This doesn't matter so long

Powell, J. C.

That Precious Moment

as we can keep the side effect constant.

Ultimately, of

events.

The information explosion the technology

has rendered the frontiers of current science

course, we may want to try the set of effects without the

explosion

side button, too, and compare the effect sets under the

too remote for most of us to appreciate and understand, let

alone get enthusiastic about.

two conditions to determine the differences if any.

Another factor in educational research has been the

Reading and being told about the experiments of others

who all seem very remote and impersonal and never really
doing anything ourselves all becomes very tedious. Tech

tendency of all researchers to focus upon a single depend ent variable information recall when methodologies
are being compared. Different methodologies may have different additional effects. Por instance, seminar and

nical skills become obsolete faster than we can develop them. And we know all this, and yet wonder why our youth
first rebel against the remote, impersonal "establishment" and then resign themselves and drop out. Thus it becomes

lecture methods may be similar on information recall but quite different on verbal fluency development or in vocab ulary development. Most methodology research has done little to try to determine such of these differential
effects as might exist.

obvious that information transmission once highly func

tional has lost its primary importance in education.

Rigid

adherence to the once functional information transmission

Another factor emerges.

The tendency of educational

basis for education if it continues to alienate our youth

will destroy our culture in a generation or two. This, then, is the educator's dilemma. With more

researchers to focus upon information recall as the sole dependent variable implies that educators assume that the only educational outcome worth thinking about is informa

information to transmit than ever before, information has

lost its vitality, its immediacy and therefore the Haw thorne Effect cannot be invoked to get students to be industrious except in a limited number of special oases.

tion recall.

In other words, the only educational process

worth considering is information transmission.

The vitality which has carried us from steam power to the moon and to unprecedented prosperity in less than 150 years
is waning.

This single objective was certainly very important during the last half of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century. During this time an individual could master a field of study and then in a garage or basement or

basement workshop produce a world shattering prototype. began with a squeal with James Watt's steam engine, and

It

ended in a bang with the A-Bomb. When a person could take his information somewhere do something with it see
where it was leading he could get enthusiastic about what he was doing. The enthusiasm possible from the near
ness of goals carried the learner across what would other

Sighs of this problem are everywhere. Corruption in government, contemptible self-seeking in major industries, militancy, resignation, escapism in the population, col lapsing civil order in many major cities, spiritual decay in our churches, spiralling inflation which is threatening to wipe out bur prosperity, and spiralling population growth and waste accumulation which is threatening life
itself. The flywheel of our culture is out of control
"Future Shock" Toffler oalls it.

wise have been endless drudgery. But the hugeness of nuclear research, space flights, etc, lends a remoteness
even for some of the major participants in the actual

Powell, J. 0.

6.

That Precious Moment

A strange situation then

with more information

other places, other times.

Sometimes this information

to transmit than ever before, our schools have come to the end point of the cycle in which information is no longer of

preserves some of the pathos, the humor, the vitality of

the living people, the reports now represent, but often in

our "scientific" zeal to measure everything we have removed
the life from this information during the process of
changing it from observations to numbers.

general value for its own sake.

Knowledge of the topics now

no longer The Horatio

available in schools no longer liberates provides opportunities for upward mobility.

is now dead.

Alger myth of "rags to riches" for all intents and purposes

On a very large scale, we are on a collision course

The observations upon which the numbers were based

may be rather difficult to come by.

But what is to prevent

us from replication; from trying to make the same observa

on many fronts; between world population and food supply, between waste disposal and the viability of our planet,
between the supply of nonrenewable resources and our life

tions all over again with ourselves? Every year, every classroom is a wealth of uncollected data, of unresolved
human issues, of diverse family trees which lead us directly to antiquity.

style, between stabilizing population in industrial

countries and objectives to increase production the drum

Today in school we study pioneers.

It's easy.

The

of gloom and doom is being thumped very loudly.

Are there no worlds to conquer closer to home?
Have we no basis for enthusiasm left? Close examination

information purveyers have accumulated great quantities

of our near environment reveals a rich and virtually

untapped new resource and a renewable resource at that.

of books, pictures, films, etc. all of which are readily available, beautifully packaged for a price. The price, of course, is partly the cost of publication, the royalties
to the authors, the profits to the shareholders.
price doesn't concern me.

This

This untapped resource is our fellow human beings.

about ourselves.

We

The one that does is the lack of

have vast technical capabilities and know virtually nothing

We can easily obtain information on the

personal involvement. We didn't take those pictures, we didn't examine on site the remains they describe, we didn't
examine the roof joists to see how they were made before
electric hand tools and machine-made nails were available.

history of our community, on the lives of prominent people of bygone days, or about the cold monuments to the past

which are now our mouldering public buildings, our museums,

our urban blight.
family? by whom?

But what about the history of our own

Where did the street

Or the house we live in.

the school is on get its name?

When was it built, how and

But if we were to get the children in our class to study their grandparents... suddenly the flatiron, the loom, the spinnet, the horse and carriage become vital and meaningful. The pictures in the books take on new meaning, the accounts
support what our grandparents are telling us, and fill in

We know that Dick and Jane play with a red wagon, and have a dog named Spot, but what is our dog's name? ,/hat

the missing parts in their accounts.

Adventure stories,

diaries, etc. come alive with the people who wrote them,
the people the books are about, the life of that time

color is our wagon?

originate?

What games do we play, where did they

There is an insurmountable accumulation of

forever fresh, forever new through the sensitive eyes of

a chiId,

information which others have collected about other people,

Powell, J.

C.

7.

That Precious Moment

"How's your- pond water doing?" has a very different

meaning to a child than "This is pond water."

television, stores, service stations, etc.

Prom, here we

It is easy to agree at this point and say "So what?'."

So people who are turned off education will not seek the

move to the foods the families eat, the games they play, the activities of older and younger siblings, the respon
sibilities of family members, where and how are family members employed, etc. Prom here v/e can move backwards. Where did the family come from, who are the nearest rel

help of professors who behave like educators, or employment

counsellors, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. family therapists, financial management consultants, or

clergy who behave like educators.

The problems of poverty,

ecology, hostility are solvable by people with human relations and self-actualizing skills if these skills can
be made available at point of need. But how are these

atives, where do they live, what do they do, eat, etc. During this time major family events occur, A baby is born, a grandparent dies, the family buys a new
ear, or house, or they move.
goes out of business.

The candy store on the corner

Investigation of all these events

needed skills going to be transmitted from those who have

them to those who need them when those who need them are

leads us into commercial law, municipal affairs, politics,

transportation.
world events.

Finally we can add major regional and

disinterested, alienated, antagonized?

This, then, is the dilemma. To invoke the Hawthorne

Parallel to this is a path of fantasy, of

make-believe, of "just for fun." A path that leads to the "What if..." and eventually to "How to..."

Effect we must involve our pupils in their own learning. But more than this. Water stops boiling when we turn off
the stove. Similarly, we lose this effect if we are not

Can teachers think and work this way?

I believe

forever renewing it. The study the children made of their community last year has little meaning to this year's

they can.

It is the function of this book to explain how

and why this might be done.

class.

V/e cannot buy a textbook and say, "There, that is

all we need to know." In fact, although we may end up buying more books rather than fewer, there is no curriculum guide, no course of study, no ultimate single answer for the dynamic personalized and individualized curriculum. Furthermore, we are not abandoning much of what we are now doing in this changeover hv.t, rather, how we do it. The difference is the excitement, the fascination, the
eagerness, the quality of insight and the intellectual and

moral honesty and rigor which self-study engenders. What is the source of such a curriculum.
with a look at what is.

It begins

where the children in the classroom

live, the kind and history of the dwelling and the land it

sits upon, the services the family uses, telephone,

10.

That Precious Moment

PART

ONE

our public service institutions.

Recent constrictions in resource allocation to education

have aggravated an already acute problem.

THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
APPROACH

It is hoped that

policy makers using this proposed model as a guide will

distribute their resource allocations in more productive

directions than have been typical to date.

Schools have many functions, and many of these are

contradictory, or would be if we applied the same criteria

to all pupils.

Fortunately, our society needs more than one kind of educated person, and the demands for diversity are rapidly increasing. Also fortunately, each person is sufficiently
unique that with appropriate development of our human

resources, the demands for diversity of skill can be met

in the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, many aspects of our school system have not kept pace with the changing needs of a post industrial society. This problem may be caused by a too narrow viev/ held by some educators of what the school's role in the development of human resources might be. The five short papers which follow discuss a distributive
model for human resources development as related to the
educational enterprise.

Although education is the theme, other service delivery

systems, such as health care, might as easily have been

discussed in these same terms.

There are several ideas in this chapter which may be novel to the reader. It is hoped that placing such issue

into a broader space and time horizon than is usually used will bring illumination to the issues now faced by

9.

12

That Precious Moment

A THEORY OP HIGHER EDUCATION AS HUMAN RESOURCE

DEVELOPMENT

the desire of man to assist his fellows.

The demand for

training in the "helping professions" has multiplied spectacularly over the past two decades.
It is interesting to note that this pressure has been into the new "helping professions" of the social

worker, child care worker, etc. and not into the old ones of salesperson, waiter or waitress, or household help.
Suburbanites are still consuming their entire summer

keeping competitive with their neighbours in the appear

Much has been written lately about the rapid changes

which are now occurring in our life.

Must this rate of

change continue at an increasing pace as is often predicted?

Or are we in a state of rapid transition to a new and higher

ance of their yards, rather than getting together to hire a professional gardener for their block and then enjoying their yards at their leisure. Part of the problem arises from a misconstrued

order of social, political and economic stability like the

time of the Sun King in Prance, or the Victorian Era in
England?

egalitarianismj part from too rapid social and cultural change, but a large part of the problem arises from the
much slower growth in the development of service delivery

Each period of stability has been preceded by an

systems than has occurred for goods delivery systems.

During the past two decades tremendous strides have been made in the development of knowledge in the fields of

unprecedented advance in a new area in science and technol ogy. Before the Sun King was the agricultural revolution,
and before the peak of the Victorian era there came the industrial revolution. The former led to the surpluses of food which made large cities and the urban shift of popula tion possible, the second made the production and delivery of goods a viable source of economic support for urban
populations.

social, psychological, and biological science which promise

a new "humanizing" revolution and a new period of social

and political stability.

This is the point 'of View which

will be taken by this paper.

We have seen, as a result, a proliferation of material goods and a sophistication of their means of delivery to a point where some critics say that we are
about to be smothered in our refuse.

If society is to be humanized, a means for the delivery of service approaching the effectiveness of the railway as a deliverer of goods needs to be devised. In this paper I propose to put forward an approach to this
problem.

What new frontier is there to conquer?

Space?

The problem, as I see it, is that the ability to translate theory into effective action is in fewer hands
than is the development of theory and insufficient hands to meet the present needs. Also, the theory development
tradition has tended to focus on the transmission of

Perhaps, but not without more pollution and wastage of

nonrenewable resources. What about the delivery of services? At the present time there is an upsurge in
11

J.

G.

Powell

13.

14.

That Precious Moment

information about theories rather than the skills needed to apply these theories in a development sense. action and the transmission of action potential. However, action potential is more fragile under transmission conditions than the most fragile of cut glass. It cannot be packaged and delivered as a unit to its des
tination intact through several disinterested hands.

The trainee must be an active participant in the training

process engaging in sufficient supervised practice for a
protracted period that he can deliver the skill without
supervision and without diminution once in the field.

To

deliver service means to develop the skills for generating

Telling and talking is not enough.

Of course the expert

has a wider range of skills and a more profound under

standing of skills than the field worker.

Where do institutions of higher education fit into

this picture? There is need for both the theoretician

Furthermore, academic tradition has tended to deny that scholarly activity has a responsibility for the generation and dissemination of action potential. There is a knowerdoer dichotomy in our tradition. The concept of a knowl edgeable doer which arises from Maslow's concept of selfactualization is foreign to both the ranks of the academic
and the artisan.

and the practitioner.

Both these groups need an advanced

understanding of the intricacies of the network they will be serving as a prerequisite for further development. Thus the first role of any institution is the laying of this advanced foundation. Such may be considered the role
of undergraduate education in the academic sense. This

We visualize here our population as a nodal network of varying density and assume that the social problems of
that population emerge as random events within the network

part of the program should contain practice in both the

theory development and the application of developing skills. The purpose of this combination is to separate the
potential theoretician from the potential practitioner.

with frequencies roughly proportionate to population density. There may be a cynergy effect in direct relation to density for some kinds of problem (like crime, for instance).

The latter will take advanced study in the professional

schools.

The theoretician, of course, continues in his

A human resources development system designed to

develop human potential and to relieve human-to-human prob lems needs a delivery network paralleling the population
network leading to and from the experts who hold the
ability to generate action potential. This network must

theory generation and research role, as well as the devel oping of new theoreticians. The practitioner in the professional school has the role of translating theory into practice, training practioners, training trainers of practitioners, and training coordinators of practice
activities. The feedback from practice in the field serves
both for assessment of the effectiveness of service

be a person-to-person network rather than a thing-to-thing

network such as characterizes our present communications
networks. This person-to-person network is essential

delivery procedures and the exposure of new areas for

because the network is designed to transmit skill rather

than information.

theoretical examination.

If a cooperative link between

The transmission of skill involves training time and careful detailed supervision of the training process.

the theoretician and the practitioner of the sort suggested here can be effectively established then the two-way link between theory and practice so desperately needed can be

J.

C.

Powell

15.

generated through the training network from the theoretician

to the front-line service delivery agent.

ON THE THEORY - PRACTICE CONTROVERSY

This suggests that the primary research role of the

professional schools involves the development of Human

Resource Development Systems (service delivery systems)

and the elaboration of theory-to-practice translation

procedures. (Implementation Research).

Implementation research is needed to ensure that the skills being generated by the theoretician and the high

Much has already been written on the topic of the polarization between theory and practice. Sufficient to

say that the dichotomy between the theoretician and the practitioner has not been resolved where human resources development is concerned.
There are several reasons for this lack. with the two milieu are very different. To begin

level practicioners get to the front line with minimum

dilution. This process implies that a series of inter
mediate trainers needs to be generated, and facilitating

these a group of coordinators and resource managers for the

development activities. These two groups of people would

The theoretician

usually operates in a laboratory setting.

He deliberately

be expected to be employees in the front-line institutions as supervisors, special service personnel and as
coordinators and managers.

tries to control all except one or two variables and he works with a narrowly defined objective for a short space of time. Developmental characteristics are usually inves First, long term
tigated on large cross-sectional studies rather than

Within the context of the Faculty of Education at

Windsor the distinction between the training of the prac

longitudinal samples for two reasons.

titioners, the supervisors and special service personnel,

and the coordinators and managers is essentially the role

samples are notoriously messy in terms of changing economy,

longitudinal sample studies take too long to get to the
market.

of the B.Ed., M.Ed., and Ed.D., respectively.

personnel of the training institution.

The highest

degree is, of course, also a potential source of new

The practitioner, on the other hand, generally works

in some form of clinical setting. (I will include the classroom with the clinic for my present purposes). He is
working with the total problem complex rather than isolated
parts of it and with large numbers of individuals over
protracted periods.

In addition, the bulk of laboratory output is not

easily applicable to his needs. Let us consider the learn

ing disorder problem to illustrate this point.

To begin

with, the typical investigation in a laboratory setting

involves highly specialized measuring instruments administered

individually.

Only certain portions of the population

16.

J.

0,

Powell

17.

18.

That Precious Moment

are used for study and only one of several possible charac

hence lower social priority than human-to-thing or human-toidea relationships. Part of the problem arises from the

teristics are held under scrutiny.

In the clinic the one-to-

one characteristic is maintained but all aspects of each Client are under scrutiny, and in the classroom,(as in group therapy), the situation is now many-to-one as well as
having a broad basis for scrutiny.

relative absence of human-to-human service delivery systems.

And part of the problem arises from the fact that the trans

mission of action potential from the expert to the point of

need is more difficult than the transmission of information

I have not seen studies on this matter, but I sus

pect that, because of interactions, the information loads on the practitioner vary directly with the number of

or of other materializable services.

A drinking glass, for

instance, is a device for containing portable beverages designed to facilitate their consumption. As such, it is a
materialized service. There is no equivalent device for

variables under scrutiny and exponentially with group size.* In terms of demands upon time, information loads, actual and exponential case loads, and so on, the practi
tioner ia under considerably more pressure than is the theoretician. Furthermore, the theoretician can select his clientelle. The practitioner commonly must take all comers.

the containment of inappropriate emotional responses to a

social setting, making the transmission of this sort of
service much more difficult.

When the problem is put into these terms, several aspects of the problem become clarified. For instance, it
becomes evident that a systematic delivery system for
action potential is desperately needed. This need seems strange because we already have an excess of institutions

This is not to say that theory is unnecessary; quite the contrary,as our awareness of the complexity of problems of human resources development increases, so the demands for definitive answers for specified populations also increases. In this respect, the main problem of the
practitioner is that he is inundated with the case load and

simply does not have the additional resources to, 1) keep

up with the literature, and, 2) develop implementation procedures from emerging theory.

engaged in various aspects of human resource development. Schools, hospitals, mental health clinics, social service agencies, colleges, and universities are only part of the potential list. The problem is not the absence of insti tutions and agencies, but the lack within these serviceoriented organizations of systematic procedures for the delivery of relatively nonmaterializable service.
Schools, for instance, tend to deliver information

Thus we see that the roles of these two groups are different; the information demands of the setting in which they work are different; and the proportion of theoreti
cians to the immediate needs for research is greater than the proportion of practitioners to the need for service. Part of this problem arises out of the tradition in our culture that human-to-human service has lower prestige. and

rather than skills, and tend, where skills are concerned,

to be more concerned with information handling skills than with interpersonal skills. This emphasis occurs in spite of the fact that eighty per cent of employer-employee conflicts arise out of inoompetence in interpersonal skills rather than in the other job-relevant skills. A job can be
engineered to accommodate any stated level of materializable

i = v e where i = information load, v is the number of

variables involved, e is a constant such as the Euler number, and n is the group size.

competence desired.

We are only beginning, through job

J.

C. Powell

19.

20.

That Precious Moment

enrichment, and the like, to consider designing employment

situations with interpersonal and other nonmaterializable competencies in mind.

employability is concerned, the prerogative of the school

is the development of generalizable competencies., whereas

specialized skills become the responsibility of the

A second aspect of the problem relates to the

employer.

The borderline between these two responsibilities

Either way, there is cost involved Someone must

competence needs of the experts in the various positions in the needs of the experts in the various positions in the
delivery network. It is now clear that in human resources development we are dealing with a nonuniform raw material and should be attempting to output a distincly nonuniform product. This does not mean that standards of performance

is not at all clear.

both in terms of material and human resources.

pay for these resources.

Free enterprise industry is trying

to cushion its personnel acquisition and development costs,

and deal for low taxes so that these costs can be borne by

are useless but that, with over 7,000 major job classifica
tions now in Canada, standards as to particulars are very
diverse.

the public sector of the economy. The public is trying to hedge against inflation by pressing for a reduction of its
tax burden. The end result is shoddy merchandise and

inadequate service because the development of specialized

Fortunately, if the cases of extreme divergence

skills gets neglected.

from the average are removed, our population can be sub divided into six or seven generalizable groups which,

Fourth, two serious gaps emerge in the network when

the traceback is conducted. The first involves the design

because of overlaps and interactions, are serviceable by

three or four technologies which is well within the capacity of one person on a many-to-one basis provided that the number of persons and the number of variables under

of the technologies.

At present, this is in the hands of

the publishing houses and their authors.

These organiza

tions have to make economies of scale which means that the

textbooks and other relevant materials they generate are

scrutiny are not too large.

The particular skill of the

too generalized to meet the needs of any specific locality

teacher is, then, delivery of several generalized technolo

gies to a diverse group and adapting these technologies to
the range of specific circumstances she observes in the

or situation. Also, the designers are often too far removed from the implementers for the action potential to
be effectively transmitted. This means that there is a
Second, there is a
critical need for a broader distribution of design skills

actual field situation.

She needs back-up facilities to

deal with the exceptional situations, a steady input of

so that these are available locally.

updated technology, a steady inservice upgrading of her

coping skills, and the specialized skills needed to properly deliver the updated technologies. By following
the delivery network back to the theoretician who is laying

gap in the translation of theory to practice.

There does

not exist in any satisfactory numbers a group of theoreti

cians in the delivery system engaged in implementation

research. This latter person can be likened to the

the underpinnings of the updating of the technology it is possible to differentiate the roles of all personnel.
A third problem arises from the need to define the
boundaries between the several roles involved. Where

industrial psychologist who provides the link between the pure psychologist and the designer of the implementation
technology.

Actually, then, the apparent conflict between

J. C. Powell

21. DISTRIBUTING ACTION

theory and practice represents two extreme ends of a communication network which generates a conflict of interest because the middle link is missing. Each is

POTENTIAL

expecting the other, inappropriately, to fill the missing

links. What is needed, instead, is a new group of people concentrated in the professional schools and community
When trying to plan for the development of human
resources we have a good many considerations to take into

colleges who engage in implementation research and design technology so that the discoveries of the theoretician can
be translated into action potential and transmitted to the front line professionals. Feedback can also provide the theoretician with a fertile source of new problems to
explore.

account.

It is the purpose of this section to look at some

of the major ones.

To begin with, our tradition has clearly established

that the first requirement for an expert is a fluent

Once the loop is closed so that cooperation rather than contention among the several roles is generated, human resources development can begin to be effective on a large

understanding of our present knowledge in his or her area of expertise. We have not always used the most efficient methods of gaining this understanding. We have, however, developed elaborate methods of transmitting accumulated
information which are attempting to help the expert keep

and systematic scale rather than the fortuitous basis for present successes. We need some new perspectives and some
new expertise to make this approach work.
The fifth and final need is for the generation of

abreast of the burgeoning knowledge in his particular area. The difficulty we face does not arise out of information transmission. Information is a materialiaable

the new expertise which can be used to accommodate the

transition from the present hit-and-miss approach to a

fully integrated network. I am not suggesting that we abandon ingenuity or creativity in any role but that we
define the range and scope of ingenuity we particularly wish to encourage within each role and then try to adjust the delivery system in each locale to the peculiar needs of that community and to the idiosyncracies of the

commodity and with postal services, libraries, and inexpen sive electronics, its delivery is, for all intents and purposes, either nominal in cost or free for the asking. The two major costs are space for storage of information in
its materialized form, and time which is required to screen,

order, or otherwise process it into the forms suitable for specific needs. The most efficient methods now available
within these space and time constraints involve electronic

personnel within the delivery systems in that locality.

It is hoped that with the implementation of such an approach that frustrations would be reduced because we would finally begin to know what we are doing.

data storage and electronic data processing (EDP). In theory, our present information capability through the use of EDP ia the delivery of any information in any predeterminable form and in any reasonable quantity to any desired
physical location.

In this context we are not constrained by delivery

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3-

J.

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25.

26.

That Precious Moment

careful specification, and more supervision during acquisition than does information. A secondary problem

delivery systems into skill delivery systems several

essential issues must be met.

arises out of the fact that high level competence in skills is more narrowly distributed in the population than

The first need is a group of roughly twenty or more

high level experts who are established in one location so

that they can interact.

is high level competence in information transmission. What is needed, then, for effective human resources

The first task of such a group would be to help the

development, is the development of a system for the trans

mission of skills from those of high level competence with

community they will service to determine its needs and the

priority order of these needs.
The second task would be to translate the best

much greater efficiency than is now common.

The improved

efficiency for information transmission which EDP makes possible can be utilized to make training time available for skill transmission. Also, under certain insrtanxetional

available theory (on a cooperative basis) into a set of

appropriate programs, program modules, and training technologies so that on site delivery personnel can be
developed in these highly needed skills.

technologies, skills and information can be acquired concurrently. These technologies are not in common use at
the present time mainly because skill in their use is
uncommon.

Using existing front line personnel the specific

high priority skills are developed as quickly as possible

using whatever fragmentation may seem appropriate.

There is an additional problem.

Those people who

Using an extreme example, let us suggest that a

failure in sanitation leads to fear of a typhoid epidemic

have a high level of skills, being so few in number, are

for the most part, stretched to their limit in the direct delivery of their skills. Also, the financial rewards for

in some city. With hospitals, doctors, and nurses poten tially overloaded, the medical authorities decide to train
one thousand volunteers in the administration of immuniz

most of these experts in the private practice delivery of

their skills far exceed what the usual training establish

ation shots to work in teams of ten under the supervision

ment is prepared to pay.

On the other hand, human resource

development would be greatly facilitated if these experts could devote even some of their time to the training of individuals in the centrally essential fragments of their skills. The effect would be to deliver their expertise

of one Registered Nurse for each team. Such a team could immunize a city of a million inhabitants in a matter of
hours if enough vaccine were available.

This approach to a crisis can, of course, be used

in less critical situations. Wherever the primary skills
needed can be subdivided into sufficiently small units,

more broadly, freeing them to concentrate upon the rarer.

more complex and challenging cases allowing them to further
enhance their skills as well.

Such a delivery system does not now exist, although

the potential for it exists in our present school system and its ancilliary agencies. In order to transform our

the training can be done without disruption of the normal operation of existing institutions. These needs can, in this manner, be met with little additional costs.
The central group of experts would monitor the effectiveness of the delivery system to become the basis

existing educational systems from essentially information

for the beginning of implementation research.

They would

J.

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28.
27.

That Precious Moment

also monitor the training program as a beginning in their study of program technology. They would ultimately, of
course, continuously elaborate both the technologies and the
implementation procedures *

Once the technology and the implementation

procedures have begun to prove themselves, the central

of-need and back again. The first century of the of the industrial revolution has centred on the develop ment of transportation technology, facilitating the delivery of goods to point-of-need. The past fifty years has seen tremendous advances in communication technology facilitating the delivery of information to point of need.
How what we need to be able to do is to translate this

group can begin to train trainers. This latter activity is designed to disburse the expertise on a planned basis. This course of action may, at first, seem unpalatable to
the experts who have, there-to-fore, gained their liveli

information into effective action at point-of-need. Perhaps the next major breakthrough will be in skill delivery technology, facilitating the delivery of service
to point of need.

hood from direct delivery of a closely held expertise.

My suggestion is that these high level experts should receive like compensation as they develop the new expertise in the area of program and implementation
technology.

This paper has proposed that one method of dealing with this problem of service delivery is the development
of a person-to-person transmission net?/ork for action

The central problem for the delivery of service on the scale of current needs is that there are insufficient people with sufficient expertise to meet these needs.

potential from the high level expert to the front-line point of need and back again. This proposal frees the

expert from the need to deliver his expertise to everyone by dealing with only the most complex and demanding
problems and to increase his effectiveness by his

Also, there are insufficient economic resources to produce and pay for an adequate supply of high level experts to
meet these needs. The alternative is to fractionate the appropriate skills so that appropriate segments of these

collaboration on the development of effective delivery

technology. In the process of setting up such a network
we might even discover how much we need each other.
Anyway, the approach is worth a trial run.

skills oan be delivered via a training network to front-line

personnel without reduction in the effectiveness of

delivery.

However, unlike goods, and information, skills

are not easily transmitted in the form of action potential through several hands from expert to front line worker. A person-to-person training network analagous to goods and information delivery networks needs to be established, linking the point where transmission and implementation technology is being generated to the front line point of
need.

We do not yet have the technology for the

transmission of action potential from theorist to point-

30.

That Precious Moment

THE NETWORK. OP TRUST

because the psychologist doesn't understand the requirements of the many-to-one setting of the classroom
and the educator doesn't understand the one-to-one

situation of the clinical psychologist.

Time and again I have seen attempts at "inter

disciplinary teams" collapse because the senior man or

the more vociferous one could conceive of only one course
It is easier to discuss the need for a service

of action

the one he had been trained to take.

We

distribution network which transmits action potential from expert to point of need than it is to implement this net
work. There is an essential prerequisite ingredient in
this network the absence of which is an insurmountable

train psychologists to listen and approve on a one-to-one

basis, or to administer tests, or to modify the behavior

of animals, leaving each with only one principle course of action at his disposal; medical practioners most generally have a choice between medication and surgery; and so on. However, the more we learn about people, the
more evident it becomes that we are a product of a complex

barrier to the success of the network.

trust.

This ingredient is And yet

Perhaps such a statement sounds trite.

special theory lines are rife.

throughout academia the splits along discipline lines or

There seems to be a

interaction between diet, environmental irritants, micro

organisms, social interactions, stress, and personal

general inability of many people, including high level

professionals, to trust those who hold a differentiating

point of view from themselves. hypothetical situations. Let us consider two

coping skills. Approaches which treat one aspect only of this complex have only slight or short term success. Of
all the procedures developed to date the most effective for long term success involves the development of, or the improvement of coping strategies within the affected
individual or among the affected individuals. This

In one context, we find a high level administrator

of a service institution full of high level professionals,

an excellent person in his understanding of the mechanics

of bookkeeping budgets, and numerical control systems. However, his profound lack of understanding of people
shows in that his habitual stance with his own staff is

development is essentially educational, but in the sense of skill development rather than information transmission.
Information without skill in its use is of no value to a

person in a state of crisis.

There are three essential levels of understanding

one of disparagement and ridicule.

point of view.

He hears only his own

The effect upon the staff is that each

individual tries to do his best on his own, in competition

(often unconscious) with each other, each frustrating the

other because of lack of trust and direction at the top.
In another context we see a first rate clinical

each person must develop. The first level is selfunderstanding. A great deal has been written about this type of understanding, most of it revolving around some

sort of "reality principle."

This term (reality) is gener

ally undefined in the pertinent psychological literature.

The second level of understanding involves

psychologist at loggerheads with a first-rate educator

29.

Powell, J. C.

31.

32.

That Precious Moment

understanding others.

Counselling studies have shown how

problem is sufficiently important to challenge their

special skills, they will generally share these skills and work in concert quite effectively. The solution of the

skills in active listening and in observing behavior can make it possible to approach an understanding of others.

We must first penetrate their frame of reference, and from this develop a composite impression of their point of view. A more difficult course of action is for us to recognize when the other fellow's point of view is more appropriate
to the situation than our own. This second level of understanding can be expected to be very difficult for the administrator of our hypothetical instruction. His inability to apprehend the attitudes and needs of his employees in a way that is supportive of their needs and
constructive to the operation of the institution as a

problem diverts their attention from building an empire or

defending their specialty. It is this diversion which is
After several essential for third person intervention.
usually established.

weeks or months of collaboration a smooth working team is

This kind of team can only be maintained at optimum efficiency so long as it is addressing significant problems which demand the utilization of all assembled expertise.

Otherwise it is advisable to dismantle the team and set up

a new one for each new and different problem.

whole is defeating the purpose of the institution. The third level of understanding involves the

ability of the individual to bring understanding between or among others. In our second hypothetical case, if

these two are colleagues each has an important overlapping

area for contribution so long as understanding can be brought between them. The facilitator may be a third colleague if he happens to be unusually good at human relations skills. It is easier to bring reconciliation

It is most difficult to accommodate a strong and demanding personality in any context, but it is easier to do so if such a person's talents are challenged rather than his integrity. An organization which has a high turnover of its very strong people either has little service to render and

has no justification for existence, or is being badly man

aged. Educational institutions are commonly notorious for their bad management some of which are inherited.

More will be said elsewhere about the self-actualizing

person. Here, it is sufficient to point out that such a

if the third person is the employer since he can assign

overlapping responsibility.
alternative but to leave.

If one of the two contenders

is the employer of the other, the junior of the two has no An important strategy which can be utilized by administration is the common focus of pxirpose. If this focus is upon some external need which, through adequate investigation can be clearly defined, the roles of several

person first learns to trust his own judgment. Then, as his own perception of the complexity of the situation increases,
he discovers the need for trusting the judgment of others in areas where he is uncertain. If the others involved behave

responsibly and with competence, that area of uncertainty can

henceforth be delegated without the danger of the loss of
personal status or esteem to ourselves.

In this context, the self-actualizing person is now types of expertise can be stipulated with sufficient pre cision that a team approach can be effective. The importance at level two of understanding. In order to reach level

of external focus must be stressed as absolutely essential.

So long as a group of experts can agree that the external

two he has to be enough of a risk-taker to dare to trust

Powell.

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C.

33.
To A PHOGRAK A biiiT OP CCURoPS?

another.

After repeated experiences with trusting others,

we learn how to assure or to facilitate the competent

management of the affairs we delegate through the selection and/or the inservice development of the com petences of the others we choose to trust. The final step is to be able to help others to take
the same risks and threats to their personal status or

The traditional approach to education involves the

transmission of the information which is contained in a

culturally biased catalogue known as a course of study.

esteem so that they, too, can move into level two. When we have accomplished this final step we are at the third
level of understanding.

The knower tells the learner what he 'Should know, and the learner proceeds to memorize as much of the catalogue as

he can within time, background, and enthusiasm constraints.

This approach arises out of the classical humanist tradition in which it is believed that exposure of the

Rone of the individuals in our hypothetical cases have achieved level two of understanding which is the basis

of the problems these situations are generating.

young mind to the best thinking of the best minds mankind

Thus, we can see that trust is the essential ingredient in a skill transmission network. At the point of need, trust is even more important. The person needing
assistance must trust us enough to carry through with our

has known improves the learner's mind.

Also, the different

areas of knowledge in which these minds were active serve

to differentiate a number of special interest and approach areas known as disciplines. It was believed that studying each of these disciplines exercised the mind in much the

coping strategies, and we must trust them enough to show them how, and then let them do it themselves. Crises

occur- when a person has lost confidence in himself and/or

in others to assist him (in our terms when he has lost

same way that playing various athletic games exercised the body and that making a well rounded person involved exer
cise in all the disciplines.

trust).

This loss is either through a lack of coping

As Marris (1964) points out, however, the

development of a "generalized intellectual awareness," though requiring accomplished study, does not require the
study of any particular set of disciplines. Furthermore,

skills, or a lack of delegating skills, or both.

Intervention, then, involves l) a short term lifting of the responsibility for decision making, 2) a deliberate training of the appropriate coping and/or delegating skills and, 3) returning of the responsibility for decision making
to the now more competent person.

Purth (1966) points out that the development of the ability

to think in the sense of performing logical operations does
not even need language. Obviously, therefore, although

Such an approach spreads outwards like ripples on a

language facilitates the rate and the scope of application of thinking ability, it does not influence its acquisition.
Prom my own perspective, process has at least equal

pond, exposing and assisting points of need, and bringing

expert assistance to bear when lesser competence is in
sufficient. Optimum human resource development is

importance with content.

least four kinds of fact.

In general terms, there are at

Pacts of observation and facts
34.

ultimately possible only if a network of trust is

established first.

36.
J. C. Powell
35.

That Precious Moment

of opinion in the cognitive domain, and facts of feelings

and facts of feelings about feelings in the affective do main. The generation of opinions from observation and the testing of opinions by different observations involve think ing. A similar interaction within our affective life we can
call valuing. In the classical tradition we have collected the facts
manipulation of our material environment with sufficient skill to bring about predicted outcomes can be considered

operative doing or applying of theory. Figure 1 shows this twoway breakdown.

Figure 1

Subdivisions of Doing
Reflective
Reactive

and opinions of others and have proceeded to tell the learn

ers about these in the belief that the mental exercise of
Operative
Reactive

comprehending them and relating them back to us we generated the knowledgeable person. Part of the problem has been that

Reactive Reflection

Operation
Enactive

these knowers have often not been wise.

They have had great

It is even

Enactive
Enactive Reflection

difficulties translating knowing into doing.

appropriate to profound understanding.

Operation

fashionable in certain disciplines to denigrate doing as in

The problem is fur
Different theorists emphasize one or the other of

ther complicated by Purth's (1966) finding that knowing how to talk or not, children learn to think anyway. We cannot, as educators, take credit for teaching children to think; only for the effectiveness with which they use their thinking
ability.

these forms of doing.

The introspectionists of early

The classical

psychology and the psychoanalytic schools of human behavior

tend to emphasize Reactive Reflection.

humanists tend to emphasize Enactive Reflection.

Modern

behaviorists of the Skinnerian cut tend to stress Reactive

Knowing, then, can be regarded as our present store

house of facts of all four types and the skills we have in

Operation, and developmentalists of Piaget's disposition

tend to consider the progressive movement from Reactive to
Enactive Operation.

handling this storehouse. (This output capability leads to

the establishment of four other types of fact). Doing, on the other hand, involves action.
It can

Probably the most inclusive of all approaches is

be either reactive, wherein the person responds to an en

vironmental situation, or enactive, wherein the person takes the initiative in the environmental situation. Another di chotomy of doing is also possible, namely, reflection, -//here

that of Maslow which can be translated into the present frame of reference as encompassing all four forms of doing,
with different forms coming to the fore on an interactive basis as the needs of the individual and the demands of the
situation change.

in the person cogitates over a situation, and operation

wherein the person implements a course of action related to

As I understand Maslow, he would classify a self actualizer as a person who, in the critical situations in his life space,tends more to be enactive than reactive. this analysis is accepted then it seems reasonable to If

the situation. It is from these two dichotomies that much of our theoretical confusion arises. The generation
of new knowledge from combining observations into new

postulate that the objective of schooling is to elaborate

new structures is reflective doing or theorizing.

The

Powell, J. C.

37.

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That Precious Moment

each person's skill in the enactive dimension to a point

where both his reflective capabilities and his operative

Instead, we should approach schooling from the point

of view of a two-fold elaborative sequence working from

capabilities are tuned to a functional level. Such a person would be expected to be able to take constructive initiative (including the encouragement of initiating actions from others) in the most important life situations.

propensity to action potential to competence, and from

temperament to interest to committment. In effect, we
should give the child the opportunity to explore his
environment and himself with steadily increasing self-

That is, such a person would be competent.

If competence, in this general sense, is independent of particular content, what then is the role of knowing in a society of doers? This is the point where individual
It has long been acknow differences enters the picture.

initiative in both the cognitive and the affective domains. Because of the rather consistent generalities of

the developmental sequence, particularly during the child's

early years of development, and because of the need for

generalized as well as specialized competence, large

ledged that people differ in temperament and propensity.

am assuming that out of these two, plus experience, arise
inclinations and interests. The learned part of existence

communalities exist in program needs.

What is needed in

most instances is the adaptability of the specifics of our

present approach rather than a dramatic change in content.

We need to add the enactive dimension to the learning

is the twig bending operation.

Also, I am assuming that

each person needs two kinds of competence.

The first is a

process within the capability of the learner wherever it is

missing. We also need to increase the opportunities for

generalized competence which is essentially social and interpersonal in character which makes it possible for the

operation and interaction.

Within this context the delivery

person to cope with life. The second is a specialized form of competence which each person can develop as his or her
reason for existence and which becomes the basis for voca

of a lecture on a topic, although it is by far the easiest

approach, is far less effective than methodologies which

require the active participation of the learner. There is nothing particularly startling about any of these suggestions. The major change is in emphasis.

tional and/or avocational pursuits. This is the special part of the person for which he is called upon by others to render service, and for which he is acknowledged as a
worthwhile and unique person in his own right.
An educational system designed to develop such

However, there is a significant change in the day to day

management of the educational process. adapt. The need for

adaptability produces a demand to know how when and why to

If adaptation is being systematically carried out each child is effectively on a completely individualized program wherein standard procedures are being systematically

people in large numbers cannot be readily derived from

either the humanist, the psychoanalytic, or behaviorist

models since the humanist supports enactive reflection but tends to play down enactive operating, the psychoanalyst tends to assume that exposing negative Reactive Reflection

adapted to meet his emerging needs, interests, and com petencies. If these be self directed activity needs he will The amount of supervision he gets
be working largely on his own under a steadily declining

is sufficient for effective coping (mental health), and the

behaviorist, while supporting operating tends to play down
its enactive dimension.

amount of supervision.

will be in accordance with his ability to act with

J.

G.

Powell

39.

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That Precious Moment

responsibility. If these needs" are group or interpersonally oriented, then the classroom situation is organized into diads or larger groups so that these needs can be met. If a common information need arises for which

the rest of us the value of information arises out of our

ability to use it to help us meet needs other than
curiosity.

the instructional resources centre is inadequate a lecture

is given, and so on.

It is no wonder that, by insisting that knowledge

is an end unto itself, the classical humanist tradition in

Such a dynamic approach to education cannot be

education has produced very few competent people.

It is

constructed using a course of study model although it does

not in any way deny the need for specialized activity areas
supervised by highly competent experts, not to mention the

need for specialization among learners. The thing that breaks down is the assembly-line pattern of long term
schedules of routine which characterizes the courses of

not that this tradition is wrong within the confines of a narrowly defined academic community for the generation of effective:theoreticians. Instead, we educators have been wrong in assuming that the form of education which successfully develops a limited number of superb theorists

from each generation of children should be the only form

of education to which we expose all children.

study approach.
allocations.

Instead, activities must be organized more

like a job-shop operation with highly flexible time

It is this latter approach which I will call a It is needed more in situations where skills are

It is time we considered doing as well as knowing

in our schools. To accomplish this end we need more integrated programs and fewer fragmented course.

program.

being developed than in places where information is being transmitted. Ideally, of course, all needs including

References

information accumulation can be built, as appropriate, into

a program.

I have a personal preference for the Maslovian approach as I have defined it. In such a context the

Furth, Hans G.; Thinking Without Language N.Y. , Free Press, 1966.

Marris, Peter; The Experience of Higher Education

development of Enactive Operation is the prime function of schooling. Prom this point of view the transmission of skills transcends the transmission of information in importance. Such an approach can only be accomplished in a programmed context since skills are developed only by practicing them and not by listening to others talk about
them.

London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964,

I am assuming that all human activity is purposeful. If this be so, information by itself has no inherent value

except for those limited few who find it interesting.

For

SUMMARY

42.

That Precious Moment

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

two-way communication has several gaps in it. The most serious of these gaps are the near absence of people

engaged in implementation research, delivery technology,

and training technology.

The ability to act is our most scarce and most

Our materialistic society tends to place higher

priority and supply greater rewards to those involved in person-to-thing technology than to those involved in

needed resource. The oonoept of the knowledgeable doer which can be derived from Maslow's concept of selfactualization sets the stage for our approach to human
resource development.

person-to-person technology.

Focus is upon materializable

services which leads to alienation (making people alone).

Our problem is to deliver the ability to act from

The medical profession is no exception, treating people as

"conditions" or "bodies in need of repair." Lawyers similarly reduce human problems into a technology of
language.

those who can deal with the complexities of a postindustrial society to those who cannot. Our present "clinical"

approach has proved ineffective for two reasons. First, the large volume of knowledge we insist upon superimposing upon skill development causes considerable time consumption
in the preparation of those who achieve these skills. For this reason those who possess the needed skills are too few

When viewed from this point of view, theory-practice controversies, and interdisciplinary rivalries reduce to

too narrow views the complexity of the problems under study,

and produce missing links in the necessary person-to-person communication chain required to remedy this problem. If we are to cope with these problems, a distribution system for the delivery of action potential needs to be
established. This distribution system needs a transmission

in number to meet society's needs.

Second, the "clinical

model" implies that the "expert" delivers his skills to

point of need himself, in the manner that the theory he

was taught dictates. This approach not only further

reduces the breadth to which he can disseminate, but it also restricts the manner in which he can deliver his skill. These two constraints restrict his effectiveness.
Experts are further restricted in their effectiveness

network analogous to the railway for goods, and telephone lines for information. The complexity of a switching station varies with the needs of a distribution point, A
similar diversity of available skill expertise can be envisioned for the service network so long as communication channels are open. That is, not all deliverers of personto-person service needs the same level of expertise.
The key ingredient in this network is trust. This trust is developed with the skills of those who have reached

because the competitive nature of current training proce dures encourage individual experts to at least ignore and
at most distrust the alternative expertise of those who
achieved skill by alternative routes.

In a situation where information is in surplus and skills in shortage, drastic changes in procedure are needed. A continuum is postulated from the person who

the third level of understanding namely, the level at which they can facilitate understanding among others. These

generates theory to a person who delivers service at point of need. However, this continuum which should permit
41.

individuals are self-actualizing within our present usage. Our prime need, then, is for more self-actualizing

J.

C.

Powell

43

PART TWO

THE NATURE OF HUMAN NATURE

people. These people can be developed by certain types of training program. These programs are humanizing, inte
grating, and focus upon the progressive expansion of the

learner's time and space horizons. As learning progresses the pupil learns how to take initiative for planning his
own progress. This self-teaching skill is imperative if

There are two thrusts to this chapter.

First, what

do present- theories of psychology contribute to what a

teacher can accomplish in her classroom?

her as a strategy for teaching?

Second, what

the pupil is going to be able to guide his own progress

alternatives to information transmission are available to

through the three levels of understanding.

There are, of

course, training procedures which can assist this progress

Once again I take a particular point of view.

but, ultimately, the learner must be on his or her own.

The procedures which are most effective involves

begin with the premise that the current information explo

sion is generating a surfeit of information. The basis for information transmission as a goal for education arose from

the careful observation and tracking of progress of the

learner as he or she learns to explore, elaborate, set

goals, and plan procedures to reach them. The limits of

a scarcity of information so that some people needed to be

encyclopedial in order to supply the information needs of

reality become that which is realizable.

The ultimate
Within

outreach becomes the infinities of time and. space.

each community. Thus developed the "cult of the expert." Today, however, our information delivery systems are cap
able of delivering our present surfeit of information almost

this context mankind has no limits to his potential except

his own imagination.

anywhere.

Thus, information handling is now more important

than information accumulation.

A new type of expert, focus

To

ing on doing rather than knowing is now in demand.

views of the role of education.

develop people to meet these needs requires alternative

The problem as I develop it is that present day

psychological research is pursuing issues which are unrela ted to the skill transmission requirements of our emerging post industrial society.

There is some current theory which is helpful, but

it is my opinion that an essentially new approach to human
psychological characteristics is needed to meet these new

needs.

I endeavor to present an approach to the alternative

within this chapter.

44

46

That Precious Moment

OBSERVING and THINKING

the phenomenon under analysis.

Sometimes a wave model

deals better with the problem, sometimes a particle model does. Both waves and particles are hypothetical constructs with certain mathematical properties. They do

not tell us what energy is but merely fit with certain

It is useful for an author to take a point of view.

other phenomena which can also be described mathematically

in rather specific ways.

Some authors try to avoid this responsibility by taking

the point of view that research has not resolved the issues. They then proceed to give both sides of a contro

In the field of psychology there are three points

of view around which considerable controversy continues to

versy, reporting as impartially as possible liberally citing the original sources. For the novice this approach
is most disconcerting because in the first place the author seems to have no opinion of his own. And in the

rage. The first point of view historically is that of the cognitivist who essentially agrees with Descartes "I think,
therefore I exist" and consider all behavior to originate

from an inner purpose.

A more reoent formulation of this

second place, the author fails to report the opinion-based

reasons for the point of view taken by the protagonists in

approach is to define behavior as being goal-oriented.

Formulations of this sort have difficulty defining "goals"

the controversy, leaving the reader with no basis upon

which to make judgment.

which become elaborated into potentially endless lists.

The theory does not handle learning very well.

As a counter move to the endlessness of cognitive formulations the behaviorists have followed a quite

As a contrary approach I am endeavoring' to present

a specific point of view, my own, as a basis for argument.

For this reason I use references sparingly if at all, and

different track.

They have simplified the definition of

happily stand or fall on this basis of the accuracy of my

own observations and the cogency and logical consistency
of the opinions derived therefrom.

"goal" to being some form of reward (usually delivered

from the environment) and have observed that behavior can

be shaped by manipulating the behavior which is rewarded.

This collection of "learning-based" theory does not handle

However, this is more than an argument for an

approach. It is also a model for an approach. Ever since Heiszenberg proposed his uncertainty principle the physical
scientists have known what the social scientists are only

self-initiated, anticipatory, or creative behavior very

well and gei* itself into an infinite regression when trying to identify the rewarding elements of complex material
environments.

just discovering; namely, the manner in which we observe a

situation determines the nature of the observations we can

make, and therefore the theories we can formulate from

these observations. For instance, is radiant energy a

A third approach which is a joint outgrowth of recent advances in neurophysiology, perception theory, and communication (computer-based) theory has arisen which
handles both the learning and the motivational problems

stream of particles or a succession of waves? There is no unequivocal answer to this question since it depends upon
45

fairly well, but is inadequate for creative behavior.

It has become fashionable within each of these

J.

C. Powell

47

48.

That Precious Moment

theories to formulate hierarchical models of various kinds

hierarchical structure of opinions can also be proposed to

within the framework of their particular basis for inter

form an infinite regression

research useless?

does this possibility make

What I propose is that

preting observations.*

Of course not.

At this point I shall go out onto a limb and designate these "theories" by the alternative term "opinions." This

it is necessary to invoke an infinite regression to explain any open point in a system hence to explain creativity.
Let me put it this way. A digital computer has a

approach is more than just a ploy because it gives us two

self-limiting number of configurations or states.

Any one

of its switches can be off or on. any one of its memory

kinds of "facts" to work with. The first kind of fact is the fact of observation. That which we and others can make obser vable we can assert to have "objective" existence. An effect can be observable as well as an object. There is a third form

points can be magnetized with one of'two polarities.

are no new states possible.

There

The computer would not know

of reality, that of condition. Effects occur upon objects on ly when conditions are appropriate. The purpose of science is
to formulate opinions about the conditions under which partic
ular effects occur. Thus the second form of "fact" becomes a

what to do with an unmagnetized memory point, or a switch

that was lacking current. In cybernetic terms a computer is a closed system. If it were not a closed system it
would be unreliable. In the case of the human being, the
brain continues to add cells for the first sixteen years

fact of opinion.

Thus we avoid the dilemma.

An observation

can occur without an opinion which explains its occurrence. The dilemma of science which tends to deny observations which

cannot currently be explained is avoided.

This possibility

of life after birth and continues to add connections with every bit of new learning throughout life. There is a point somewhere in life where the rate of degeneration
exceeds the rate of progeneration. Just when this event
occurs is uncertain because closed minded individuals seem

suggests opinions can be wrong or they can be incomplete. One way of interpreting Church's Hypothesis is to suggest that
there will never be a single theory which will interpret all

to begin to lose faculties earlier than open minded indi

viduals. At this turn around point the human tends to become a closed system. However, some people continue to grow intellectually and emotionally all their lives.
Let us consider this idea fron another direction.

phenomena.

This last statement brings us back to the infinite

regression which scientists loathe as a matter of principle.

Once again I will limb myself to ask the question "Why is an infinite regression so bad?" The usual answer is that because it goes on endlessly, it doesn't explain anything.
One way of resolving the problem of this regressive tendency
is the development of a metatheory. For instance, genetic

V/e are all familiar with the single switch which operates

two lights in any combination. This switch has four positions (both off, one on, one off, the other one on, both on) which exhausts the possible combinations. A trilight works on the same principle. It has two filaments,
one of which gives 100 watts of light, and the other which gives 200 watts of light. Using a 4-way switch we can
choose to have the light off, or 100 watts, 200 watts, or

transmission alone does not explain evolution.

The concept

of mutation which genetics cannot explain is also necessary. Therefore the evolution theory is a metatheory whioh encom
passes genetic theory but goes beyond it.
9

This

A fourth position, the psychoanalytic one, also uses a hierarchical approach. Because this approach invokes mysti
cal states like "the unconscious mind," it can hardly be called scientific. However it handles emotionality better
than other theories.

300 watts of illumination.

If we added a third (400 watt)

Powell, J. C.

49.

50

That Precious Moment

filament, and an 8-way switch we can choose any level of

illumination in 100 v/att intervals from 0 to 700 watts.

Invention as I am defining it involves the generation of a new state of affairs to explore. This can be accomplished

By adding one element to the system we double the number

of states possible provided that that element is appro
priately chosen. We can now talk about creativity.
in at least two forms. The most

in one of two ways.

The most common and obvious is the For instance, the invention of

materialization of an idea.

the automobile radically changed our entire social order.

Creativity comes
of

These changes, of course, involved the discovery process

after the invention was made feasible. The other form of

common form in terms

frequency of occurrence within a single person's life is discovery. I am defining discovery in terms of finding out This

invention involves the generation of a logically consistent

metaopinion which proves to have broader applicability than

the states which exist within the present system.

the present opinion or opinions used to explain present ob

servations. Such metaopinions not only bridge existing

discovery can be pursued systematically via the opinion procedure of science or systematically by seeking unex

micro-opinions which deal with separate and apparently dis

connected observations, but they often bring about new ways of observing which explain previously inexplicable obser

plained observations and certifying their existence by

appropriate documentation or by replication. be pursued in a haphazard manner. It can also Where a good structure

vations and make possible observations which have hereto

of metaopinions is absent, the haphazard approach is

probably as fruitful as either of the two systematic

fore gone unnoticed. The invention of the geometry of per spective drawing led to the discovery of the theory of

(purposeful) approaches.

It is possible that the pigeon

optics which led to the invention of the microscope which

led to the discovery of the micro-organismic cause of infec tion revolutionizing medicine. Perhaps the most important
invention in the modern era of the symbolic or metaopinion

in the Skinner box appears to be haphazard in its behavior

because the experimenter has not succeeded (or attempted?)

to communicate the terminal behavior desired to the pigeon before the experiment started. The pigeon must therefore

variety was Bacon's formulation of the scientific method.

It should also be noted that these types of

infer the changes expected from the changes in the condi

tion of reward.

In such circumstances, the experimental

creativity are interrelated.

For instance, the invention

procedure has not refuted the existence of purposeful selfinitiated behavior as some behaviorists claim but

of the galvanometer was a necessary precursor of the

discovery of the full spectrum of eleotrioal effects, making possible our present electronic technology.
the formal advancement of any science.

merely rendered such behavior impossible to observe.

The

Per

pigeon has to "discover" the desired terminal behavior by the success it has in inferring the sequence from the
successive approximations through which it is led. Either

haps it is necessary that measurement technology precede

In a similar manner, observation and opinion is
linked. Our view of the world is colored by what we have

the steps are ridiculously small or the pigeon is a pretty

smart bird to "learn" in these conditions.

Invention, the second form of creativity, has not been systematically explored by the behaviorists.

seen, and what we extract from the world to look at is colored by our view of the world. To break out of these
confines we must learn to observe more precisely, and to

Powell, J.

51.

52

That Precious Moment

formulate workable opinions which explain these observa tions. We must then learn to test these opinions with more

the teacher received his or her training.

Wltk the carrent

information explosion, most of these opinions were out of

date before the teacher learned them. He hse subsequently

highly refined observations and with the rules of logic.

Our rules of logic also need to be tested against observa tion as well. For instance, an infinite regression is not

been too overworked to update his knowledge and has to rely

upon the revisors of textbooks to keep the children "upto-date". Many textbooks, however, are written by senior

possible in a closed system. In this case the discovery of an infinite regression is the discovery of an error in thinking. A good example of this situation involves the paradoxes of Zeno. In an open system, however, the discov ery of an infinite regression may be an error in thinking or it may be the point at which the system is open. The process that links observation and opinion is thinking. As already suggested, both the admissibility of
observations and the way in which they are interpreted are

practicing teachers who may be further out of date than

most of the teachers who use these books. Thus, focus on information is not only contrafunctional to society's needs but perpetuates misinformation.
The alternative, of course, involves focusing on

the process whereby verifiable opinions are generated from systematic observations. This can be done by studying the way theories were developed. It can be done by having
the children discover "new" relationships in the sense used here. That is, the relationships are new to the children though not necessarily new to mankind. A thorough know ledge on the part of the teacher of the child's developmen

the product of the particular set of opinions being used.

Consider the variety of different things that the children in a class did during their summer vacations. How do the children view these activities in retrospect (first hand facts of opinion?) How would a child psychologist view
these activities if his focus is on mental health? How

tal sequence in the cognitive domain (as for instance from

the work of Piaget) will help her to decide which discovery

would a sociologist view these activities if his focus is

experiences are most appropriate for which developmental

levels. Children should also be given opportunities to invent both states of matter and new opinions so that they
can test out and enhance their own emerging creative

on family dynamics.

How would the geographer view these

activities in relation to transportation systems, or the

novelist seeking story material, or the economist concerned

with economic dislocation, or the anthropologist concerned

with srufcculturttf. analysis? As we can see, the same set of

activities can be viewed many ways.

For children to develop their creativity, it is

skills. This exercise is particularly important for chil dren trapped in a poverty cycle. These children must be able to realistically invent a new state of affairs fcr themselves if they are to break out of their environment.
It should be remembered that each such breakthrough effectively doubles their potential. Focus on information for these children is completely irrelevant since the usual information base in most school curricula is entirely outside of their experience. We must either start with their experiences or provide missing

necessary for them to observe how others have linked

observation with opinion, to try out this operation them

selves, to explore their environments and their minds.

Schools bent upon information transmission have passed on

simplified and unqualified versions of the opinions which

v/ere current in the popular literature at the time when

Powell, J.

G.

53.
PEELING & EXPERIENCING

experiences or "both before we can even comtemplate discovery experiences, let alone invention experiences.
The invention of a material object is both more socially acceptable and potentially more immediately profitable than the invention of a new theoretical formu

lation.

This is probably part of the reason why inventors

Traditionally we have insisted that facts may be

considered as being either observations or opinions. in fact quite possible for people to express It is and as a

of technology are more common and receive better financial

rewards in our society, with its materialistic orientation,

than do the inventors of theory.
tion skills. system.

Another aspect of the

result publicly hold

particular opinions.

Hence, ex

problem is that our schools do not seek to develop inven In fact, both invention and discovery are
systematically discouraged in an information-oriented

pressed opinions can also be used as facts of observation.

It is customary, so far as our schools are concerned,

to equate the concept of experience with the accumulation by memorization of our culturally biased collection of

Those who acquire these skills either acquire

I am put in mind of the plastic scale models now

them outside of our school system or in spite of it.

"important" facts of opinion (theories, if you prefer) and

the development of the accumulation and recitation of skills

so readily available.

They give us a beautifully realis

related thereto.

This approach is the "information

tic finished product with twenty or so minutes of glueing

instant artifacts produced in assembly-line fashion. After

transmission" mode of instruction.

These two are not the only types of fact possible,* since they do not include, among other things, emotional states. People can be observed to be having emotional ex periences, and with some sensitivity training can report their feeling states with considerable fluency and consis

the first couple, there is neither invention nor discovery

in the act of completing these sterile activities. I would sooner see a child never finish a single solid wood model which he carved himself learning the limitations of

his skill, his tools, and the medium, in the process than to produce one hundred of these precast nothings.
In its attempts to apply assembly line techniques to

tency.

Peeling can, therefore, be treated as facts related

to internal states in the same way that observations can be

related to external states.

education the schools have made themselves equally sterile. To change this we need to teach children how to observe,
how to think, and most of all how to be creative. We

The concept of facts I am presenting is rather more complex than a simple report of a state of* existence. People observe what they think they observe and feel what

become what we practice; it is time we begin to practice

what we wish to become.

As we shall see later in this part I propose eight different types of fact.
54

J.

C. Powell

55

56

That Precious Moment

they think they feel. A person's personal reality (what is real to him) may have little, if any, basis in what might
be called "objective reality." The simple fact is that in

changes in states of "feeling."

Peelings are also

observable externally through such manifestations as laughter, crying, blushing, etc.

fact of observation.

That feeling exists is a

many instances the concept of an "external objective real ity independent of the observer" often does not exist in
any knowable manner with our present technology. A good

It is my point of view that this

last statement is sufficient to admit feelings to the realm

of researchable phenomena.

example involves the "canals" on Mars.

These lines are

If feelings can be treated as internal, analogous to

observations in the external world, what then might be
analogous to opinions? "Peelings about feelings" seems to

"facts of observation" in so far as the skill of observa

tion of the astronomers who reported seeing them is con

cerned. Whether these lines are an actual observable phen

be the best description for this analogous set of facts.

The feelings we have about feelings act as

omenon visible as we approach Mars or some aspect of the human perceptual mechanism is not yet known. planet. All we know

constraints upon the feelings we experience.

A complex

is that they don't appear on closeup photographs of that

The point being made is that we may not know what
The workers in the physical sciences we are observing.

interaction accumulates as we learn to respond to the world

with feelings as well as observing and thinking.

Sometimes

these feelings interfere with our observation and our

avoid some of these problems by using "operational

definitions."

thinking and sometimes feelings enhance these other aspects

of our existence.

Opinions often contain an emotional

The area of facts which we call feeling has not been

undercurrent which leads to an emotional defence of

researched with anywhere near the precision of observa

tional facts. Part of the problem has been a point of view If, taken by scientists that feelings are subjective and for this reason are not part of "objective reality."

opinions when they are attacked. Also, the emotions are the most prepotent of
motivators. As educators we are obliged to understand the motivating effects of emotions, how they are learned and how they affect other forms of learning. Our cultural

however, as research evidence increasingly suggests,

"objective reality" is not knowable in any ultimate way

tradition has tended to focus upon the overt control of our feelings. If we have feelings of any kind we are not to

(Heiszenberg's Uncertainty Principle) then arguments re jecting subjectivity lose much of their credibility.
Another argument used against the treating of

express them, at least not in public.

unhealthy approach.

This approach to

feeling about feelings has proven to be, in general, an

feelings as facts, arises from the opinion that feelings

are illogical. This argument is spurious because it is

Alternatively, those people who get the most out of

life approach living with joy and with enthusiasm and earn

merely saying that the "logic" of feelings is not known and

is assumed to be different from the "formal logic" of science and mathematics. In fact some attempts have been

from the successes they have an euphoria or tranquility which makes the unpleasant things in life ignorable.
positive emotional base. For such courageous people

In

made to write a logic of emotions.

There are unquestion

short, all of life's experiences are approached from a

ably changes in the physiological state which accompany

58
J. C. Powell
57

That Precious Moment

hedonism does not apply.

For them life is fun, but to

If the

term.

remain fun it must be constructively productive.

Additionally, I deal in depth elsewhere with the

pursuit of a goal becomes exploitive then others and

development of coping strategies relative to the process

of valuing.
2

eventually (if not immediately) oneself will be hurt as a

result.
creased.

But, I wish now to turn to a third aspect of The

To gain the advantages inherent in an open struc

To this end we must seek not only to enhance our

creativity which arises out of the valuing process.

ture, the openness of that structure must be steadily in

own opportunities for action, but also the opportunities
of those around us. act of retaliation. An act of ours which closes the door When our acts cause others to respond

first two creative processes I have discussed elsewhere are

discovery and invention.

These are not neutral but tend to

generate positive feelings when successfully accomplished,

and negative feelings when the attempts have been unsuc
cessful. Sometimes this affect becomes observably imbed ded into the output of the discovering or inventing pro

on someone else leads that person to the desire if not the

with anger, hate, envy, or fear, we have done more harm than good, no matter what short term gains in privilege or
power we might have made.

cess.

In this case, we say that this output communicates

The process of

at more levels than strictly observation.

affective (or multilevel) communication is the third form

of creativity.

The great weakness of both the behaviorist and the perceptual theorist is their tendency to ignore or discount
the role of feelings about feelings in the self-actual!zing

Communicative creativity is particularly important

in the aesthetic pursuits of literature, painting, sculp

process. Unlike observations, feelings have both valence (are positive or negative) and direction, i.e. are focused
toward some person or event. An accumulation of negative

ture, and music, but is by no means unimportant for the

invention of more functional production. The artistic

styling and adornment of purely functional objects such as

feelings which cannot be expressed or released puts the

person in distress and does both physical and psychological
damage to that person.

bowls, chairs, lamps, etc. has been a characteristic of

human activity since time immemorial.

The pursuit of truth, joy, and beauty have been the

The accum

It is impossible to live through an event in life

without some form of emotional reaction to it.

focus of virtually all philosophies and religions from the beginning of man's expanded consciousness. Creativity is the cornerstone of this pursuit. We must not only be able to discover and invent, we must be able to communicate the
value of our discoveries and inventions to others. Discov

ulated effects of these feelings as regulated by our feel

ings about these feelings is the source of our attitudes toward specific kinds of situation, and hence our personal
value system.

ery and invention add meaning and opportunity to our lives.

I
1. In this respect I am open to suggestions for a better
term.

For this reason, I will call the relationship

between feelings and feelings about feelings, "valuing."

realize that the usual use of the term "valuing" is some

what different from the manner in which I am employing the

2.

See:

Powell, J. C; "The search for meaning."

Unpublished paper, 1974.

J.

C.

Powell

59

60

That Precious Moment

Communication shares this meaning with others.

which is in error and not we ourselves.

Also, the

It is more rewarding to share than it is to produce,

which leads to a problem in the classroom. The teacher,
who often assumes that she has more to share than anyone

effective delivery of service brings the additional reward of the respect and admiration of those we have served. Another aspect of the problem of dealing with

else, makes it her responsibility to share her knowledge

with the children in her charge. The easiest way to share
is to tell children about the discoveries and inventions of

feelings in the classroom arises because in the context of

information transmission, motivation is equated with getting
the children to do what the teacher wants them to do rather
than what the children want to do. Dealing with feelings

others and to read, review, and examine the creative com munications of our heritage. This approach can be facilitative where knowledge accumulation is concerned so long as the teacher presents these things in an entertaining and enthusiastic manner. That is, she must surround her telling

in this context of superimposition of wills because of the

knowledge gap already alluded to is tantamount to indoc

trination. The teacher recognizing this relationship can

with positive affect (emotion) in order to communicate. Additionally, the roles of storyteller and entertainer both
have time honored status.

not easily justify to herself the manipulation of child ren's feelings. Children are expected to acquiesce as part
of the traditional deference which should be paid to adults.
When a child fails to do so for whatever reason, he is in

This approach does not develop the creativity of the

children themselves. For them to gain the most out of an

violation of one of the fundamental tenets of our culture.

experience they, too, must discover, invent, and communicate.

If the teacher runs the classroom in a manner that enables

Sanctions (punishment) are expected and the teacher loses face (respect) if she fails to sanction confrontations to

her position of authority and responsibility.

as a teaching method.

This need to

the children to develop their own creativity, she is no

sanction confrontation effectively eliminates confrontation

Most beginning teachers and interns in preservice

longer the star performer in the classroom.

assumes the role of director.

Instead, she

She translates her knowledge

of desirable outcomes not into telling and performing, but

are justifiably concerned with this problem of confronta

into communicative performances given by the children.

This

tion, particularly since most of them have no training in

the counselling skills needed to help a child cope with his

latter is a far more difficult and challenging role than

being a performer oneself. It is also less ego rewarding because she must get her satisfaction from the glory she
helps others to gain.

feelings.

This concern arises, however, because the focus

When

of the teaching activity is upon the transmission of infor

mation rather than the development of creativity.

In our materialistic and egocentric culture, such

a self-effacing role is generally belittled and devalued. To provide the best possible education, we must ask our
teachers to act for the greater good in a manner that is

contrary to our culture.

In this context, of course, we

3' terns of Reciprocal affect. Thus when there is recip rocal positive regard (respect) each partner feels free to assort himself^confront) in the relationship In
this context confrontation is an extremely valuable
part of the educational process.

Mv colleague, Dr. T. David Wearne, prefers talking in

can have the satisfaction of knowing that it is our culture

J.

0. Powell

61

62

That Precious Moment

information transmission is the focus, the surfeit of

information demands that the information to be transmitted

and to share.

Dealing with feelings in this context

involves the enhancement of coping skills and the preser vation of integrity through both collaboration and con

should be preselected. This requirement of preselection similarly requires that the system superimposes its will upon the children in its charge. During a liberalization swing in society such as is now occurring, this superimposition is bound to produce a confrontation of wills. In a
context where the confronters lack confrontation skills,

frontation.

Peelings about feelings become part of the

Frustrations do not

subject matter so that each child can learn to accept and

trust those who disagree with him.

get buried to emerge in a disruptive form later, but are

accommodated as they arise. The focus is upon the

and hence the respect for each other (reciprocal positive regard) needed to make these confrontations constructive, anger and frustration destroy the communicative bond. Any attempts on the part of a teacher to maintain
her will in a dominant position during a confrontation
which has a cultural or subcultural bias must be in the

development of mutual respect (reciprocal positive regard).

The most disconcerting aspect of this alternative

approach is the potential danger of inadequate coverage of

preconceived and preselected content areas.

This danger

arises from legitimate concerns about standards of excel

lence and a preposterously outdated concept of the "edu

cated man." Our concept of the "educated man" is based

form of manipulation.

If he or she is unable to enlist the

support of the deviant child's peers

has no

isolating the child and upon the assumption derived from the classical humanism
he
and the related valuing of mental discipline that all
Such an approach

making his (the teacher's) use of sanctions legitimate

recourse but severe arbitrary action.

will develop negative attitudes on the part of the chil

dren toward the teacher and in the long run toward the
entire educative process.

people should be required to memorize in fair depth the oollected knowledge of mankind. Such a concept was still
reasonable until the latter part of the last century and

still possible until about 1950.

impossible.

The information explosion

Present tight budgets are, in part, a product of a

since then has rendered the totally pragmatic approach It can still be argued that every child should be

general loss of confidence in the educative process by the community at large. Most teachers learn to avoid this
sort of confrontation through adapting the content toward
the interests of most children and making the activities

exposed to some parts of all the major areas of the study

of mankind. This exposure is necessary in order to show the child the different procedures of attack on problems

sufficiently interesting and rewarding that most children object to interruption. If the teacher then deals with
deviance with kindness as well as firmness, she maintains

in current practice.

But this does not mean that all

children need to be exposed to all or even the same

her position of respect and therefore authority.

When the focus of education is upon creativity,

portions of the available content.

The information transmission approach requires that

however, such cross-cultural confrontations are not neces sary. The need for a child to deal effectively with his
feelings arises out of the need to learn to communicate

all children are generally exposed to the same content

because there is insufficient time to do anything else.

If, however, all the children are pursuing their individual

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66
KNOWING & DOING

That Precious Moment

is true from any number of apparently supporting observations. Thus, the accepted definition "the process of knowing is related in a one-to-one correspondence with some form of objective reality," is itself patently false.
A less presumptuous approach to "knowledge" of this
Experince can best be defined in terms of the type is to simply refer to it as the accumulated store

totality of the accumulated recollections of a person's

interactions with his environment and the skills he has

house of recollected opinions

our own and others'

which any person possesses.

and to evaluate.

It is this "knowledge" which

accumulated during this interaction process.

education heretofore has sought to transmit, to regulate,

Under an information transmission ori

Within the model we are proposing for human performance, experience has at best four process subdivisions.

entation within our schools, this education has involved

These are 1) thinking, .21 valuing, 3) knowing, and, .4)

doing. Thinking is the process whereby a person links observation and opinion via logic or in the generation of
opinions via discovery or invention.

recitation which has meant that those children strong in auditory memory and high in verbal fluency were "successful."
Another form of "knowledge" which is of interest to

educators is the knowledge of the so-called "skill" subjects,

such as arithmetic. This knowledge involves the ability to
\7e have discussed
recognize the nature of the contrivance of contrived exer

context is a special developing process which relates

feelings and feelings about feelings.
these two processes elsewhere. This present discussion

cises and to perform a limited number of routine transforma

will concentrate on the other two processes.

of view.

The process

tions based upon previously memorized outcomes which are

appropriate to these contrivances.

of knowing can be looked at from any. of a number of points

To some authors it involves the recall of the

I recall the teacher who marked the child wrong for

drawing only five eggs in a robin's nest when told to draw

accumulation of opinions we have encountered and stored,

sometimes restricted to those opinions which have been

seven.

Who was right, the teacher who faulted the child

dictated to us from the culturally biased catalogue we call courses of study. In some cases, also, it will involve the reporting of accounts of specific observations designed to support these opinions. In this context, a person holding a contrary opinion is wrong, and one who cannot or will not recite the catalogue for whatever reason is ignorant or stupid, or both.

for not following instructions, or the child who "knew"

that robins never lay more than five eggs?

This contrivance can be illustrated for the first

type of knowledge as well, A broadly used group intelli

gence test contains an item something like this:
Not all birds have:

(a) beaks, (b) feet, (c) nests (d) wings (e) feathers.
How do we answer this question? Ducks have bills

This approach to knowledge is a very interesting one

because in a scientific sense we can have absolute know

ledge that an opinion is false from one contrary observa tion, but we cannot have absolute knowledge that an opinion
65

not beaks; eagles have talons not feet; pidgeons do not

make nests (neither do cuckoos); penguins have flippers

rather than wings and I will leave it to the zoologist

J.

C. Powell

67

68

That Precious Moment

whether emus have feathers or not.

Anyway there is clearly

that learning can be ultimately reduced to some form of

no one right answer to this question. Not all "knowledge" is as badly contrived .or as trivial as these two examples.

discrimination learning.

It is true that many of the

observations we must learn to make involve discriminations

But it can be argued that all contrived knowledge is trivial if we take the stance that the importance of know
ledge lies in its usefulness and not in its existence...

which can be learned in the manner demonstrated by

behavioral psychologists.

Observations which are made arising out of predictions made from the discovery of new opinions (or

the number of eggs a robin lays, plus the hatch rate, plus the mortality rate explains the population dynamics of
robins. The fact that an eagle has talons rather than

theories) or which are predicted or uncovered unexpectedly

as the result of a new invention cannot be made within the

feet explains why we never see one walking and assists us

to understand how it obtains its food.

framework of the discrimination learning paradigm proposed

by behavioral psychologists. Once these observations

One use of knowledge, then, is understanding...and

have been made, they can be taught to others by behavior

since understanding assists recollection it is probably safe to classify at least some forms of understanding as
knowledge also. It is at this point which we run into

modification techniques.
the reinforcing element.

If the observation is predicted

If the observation is not

it can be argued that the "success" of the prediction is

predicted, then the reinforcer is indeterminate and the

problems with any definition attempts regarding knowledge.

Each of us modifies our input of information to some extent

discrimination learning paradigm is not applicable.

For

based upon our experience and, except for strictly mechan

ical recitation, modify our output based upon our immediate

the proposition "all learning can be reduced to discrimina tion learning" a single contrary example is sufficient for
disproof. The discovery of the cellural structure, of

and long term objectives and upon our tendency to be

creative. With "knowledge" in this context neither fixed

living organisms following the invention of the microscope

is only one of many examples which can be cited which
disprove this proposition.

nor fixable attempts to define it against some normative

standard seem futile.

The movement away from normative to

criterion-referenced tests in education exemplify the realization that knowledge cannot be as easily defined as
once was thought.

Of course it is still possibly true that some

An entirely different kind of "knowledge" is found in the self-sustaining behavior changes the learning

theorists talk about. These changes fall into two general categories discriminative changes and performance
changes.

Typical of the discriminative changes which occur

learning can be reduced to discrimination learning. How ever, if we are focusing upon creativity rather than information transmission in our schools, discrimination learning is obviously not of ultimate importance since it cannot lead to our most important learning outcomes. This is not to say that discrimination learning may not be important; particularly with respect to the decoding aspects of communication. All I am suggesting is that the

is the development of the distinction between "b" and "p" required for reading. Some psychologists have suggested

uncritical overgeneralization which is sometimes being made from present research with rats and pidgeons to people by

J.

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Powell

69

70

That Precious Moment

behaviorally oriented psychologists is not warranted.

The alternative which might be proposed is the

will persist independent of the contingencies which accrue.

The concept of initiative implies a secondary concept of purposefulness in behavior. Creativity is not possible without

shaping of skills which is used in the performance change

paradigm of the behaviorists. If it isn't discrimination

then it must be skill. There is a problem in this approach as well. Shaping involves the successive approximation of
performance to some preselected target by means of contin
gency management. In this paradigm the learner is assumed

purposefulness. Additionally, the components of creativity, as I have already domonstrated, cannot be explained by the
behavior modification paradigm. It follows therefore that some observable behavior occurs for purposes other than the
immediate attainment of a reward.

to learn as a result of shifts in the range of vicarious trial

Such an observation is of no consequence if

and error behavior as the contingencies shift. The management of contingencies is not and cannot be performed by the lear
ner.* Within this framework a prediction for an observation

information transmission is the only purpose of education.

It has been clearly demonstrated that if information trans

mission and the routine manipulation of information via pre

cisely defined skills is the sole objective of education then the behavior modification paradigms are more effioient than present teacher-centred methods. On the other hand if the development of creativity is to be the primary focus of edu

never before made, which is then confirmed through discovery or invention and communicated to others, is simply impossible. In the experiments where animals have been able to manage their own contingencies, their behavior has become unpredic table. In experiments where animals have been encouraged to
emit novel behaviors their behavior has also become
indescribable.

cation then those aspects of behavior which are purposeful become the focus and the present behavior modification para
digms must either be augmented or discarded.

It is most disconcerting to researchers who are trying

to develop systematic methods for predicting behavior when
they discover that there are situations in which behavior can

Unfortunately, neither of the two alternatives, the perceptual approach nor the cognitive approach handle pur

not be predicted. Such an observation means that the shaping paradigm does not describe all behavior. For instance, it cannot describe creative behavior. In order to explain crea tive behavior it is necessary to invoke the concept of initia
tive. That is, at least some portions of some behavior originate from within the learner independently of his envir onment and will persist independently of his environment and

poseful behavior with much greater success because they, too, are trying to predict the unpredictable. The psychoanalytic
approach gets itself lost in mystical concepts of unknowable

forces in operation and can shed no light on the problem.

A new nonlogic or illogic (or perhaps both) is needed which consistently produces unpredictable but verifiable re sults as sometimes occurs when simulation is used. Such a a system should also be able to explain behavioral outcomes like neurosis or psychosis when insufficient verification of outcomes is attempted. The closest approach I am aware of to fit this need is N-value logic where a statement need not be

More recently some behaviorally oriented psychologists have invented the term "auto3haping" for self-managed contin
gencies. Why not call it "initiative?" There would be no

ambiguity from using this older and better understood term.

either true or false. Its truth is then contingent upon a number of parameters which are independent of the proposition

72

That Precious Moment

J. C. Powell

71

itself. Also, H-value logic is open-ended which, as I have already indicated, is a necessary condition for the explan
ation of creativity. Do creative people think contingently

clear demonstration that some forms of performance are enactive. That is, the learner takes the initiative in his environment. A baby seeks the nipple at a very young
age.

(that is in terms of N-value logic)?

If so, Piaget's dis ance.

less obvious is the fact of opinion that

cussion of human development which he terminates with Formal

nonperformance (doing nothing) is also a form of perform

A person can observe without visibly responding to
the stimulus but can later report accurately what he

Operation in 2-value (True-False) logic is incomplete. Knowledge, then, with a creative focus, is not merely information, or information plus routine skills. Bather, it
also includes knowing how to use information and when to use skills so that particular outcomes can be achieved. In this
context much of human activity is creative if only in a com municative sense. But such creativity also involves feeling

observed. Also, he can cogitate and come to conclusions without readily discernable stimulus antecedents or overt
behavior. Hence, both reaction and enaction can be reflective (internalizing) as well as operative (externalizing).
All three forms of creativity discovery,

etc. as well as observing. None of the facts nor of the proc esses relating these facts can be ignored. Knowledge, then, can be considered only in terms of the total accumulation of
experience a person possesses.

invention, and communication are both enactive and opera tive although they may have enactive (reflective) ante
cedents. The primary observable characteristic of a

In this context knowledge can be firmly held to exist

when observations contradict it, or when the concept (like the neutrino) is, by definition, unobservable. I am not suggesting
that the universe is devoid of order. On the contrary I am

creative person is that he is both enactive and operative in his performance at least in some critical areas of his life. That is, there are certain situations where he is
not stimulus hound and where he chooses action rather than inaction as an observable course. It is not until a

person behaves in this manner that he is potentially free.

Freedom is derived from the ability to take initiative.

merely suggesting that the models proposed heretofore as an explanation of this order are oversimplifications which for this reason are subject to their own error in spite of their logical consistency and observational support in strictly
controlled laboratory conditions.

However, there is a constraint.

to open-ended results.

Hot all initiative leads

Only when a person's actions are

also liberating to others can they be truly liherating to himself. He must act in such a way today that he has a

broader range of alternatives tomorrow.

at the expense of others.

Others will seek

Finally, if knowing is, at least in part, purposeful, knowing implies doing. As discussed elsewhere* doing may be considered in terms of two separate dichotomies. Behavioral studies clearly show that some forms of performance are reactive. That is, the learner responds to change in his
environment. Similarly, the existence of technology is a

to constrain him if he seeks to open outlets for himself

The ultimate conclusion which can be drawn from this argument, then, is that education which focuses upon
information transmission or which uses behavior

See: Pages 35-36.

J.

C.

Powell

73
MOTIVATION PROM OUTSIDE OR IN?

modification without clear attempts to encourage

constructive initiative are ultimately immoral.

Parents Motivation has a different meaning to the psychologist

than it has to the teacher. Psychologists are concerned

of the first half of this century have assumed in good faith that education would fulfil the liberating function-

within our society.

On the contrary, the disparity

between rich and poor is no narrower in the developed countries than in the developing countries. Perhaps this

with the dynamics of behavior and consider all behavior to be motivated in some way. Teachers, on the other hand, are

is why the public has lost confidence in our schools. so, we have a ready-made solution at hand. Focus on
creativity. This means more than busywork or more
but learning by doing to the elaborate contrivances

If

generally concerned with compliant behavior only, and are

concerned with the superimposition of their wills upon those of the children. The two types of behavior most teachers

are trying to produce (motivate) are 1) interest in the

full extent of Dewey's concept.

Dare we do less?

prescribed school-related activities, and, 2) compliance

with the edicts of the teachers and other authority figures
in the school. This definition of motivation is particularly

applicable within the context of the information-transmission

paradigm. Teachers are not entirely unanimous in this point of view
sinnce some of them at least to some extent are oonoerned

about the psychological needs of the children in their oharge. It is essentially the mental health approach to
education which has encouraged a view directed to educating the child as a whole. Such an approach requires the teacher
It does not follow, how to consider the needs of the child.

ever, that this consideration includes the best interests of

the child. Rather, it may be sufficient to know the needs of
each child so that the meeting of these might be manipulated

in such a way that the school may proceed with the

indoorination of each child with minimum resistance.

This argument leads us to our basic tenet.

All behavior
It is

is assumed in our present context to be purposeful.

possible that the environmental interactions which lead to particular current habitual behavior have been forgotten.

Such memory lapses do not make behavior any less purposeful.

74

J.

C.

Powell

75

76

That Precious Moment

Behaviorists often cringe when I talk with them about

will have the lowest value.

purposeful behavior.
ior.

However, they generally concede that

A value scale can be established on the basis of the

seeking reinforcement can be construed as purposeful behav If the learners they work with did not respond to the

degree to which the actual outcomes of a particular course

of action serve to unfold or constrain the response alterna

reinforcers they are offered the learning being sought would

not occur.

tives for all people affected by that course of action.

The

use of actual outcomes rather than anticipated outcomes as

The issue is not the purposefulness of behavior but

rather whether the source of the factors producing motiva

the measuring stick for actions gives a serviceable defin ition of a reality principle for evaluating these actions.

tion factors because there is no precedent for the correct

This approach has two problems.

The first is that

prediction of the outcomes of these behaviors in the lear ner's environment. Alternatively, some behaviors are clearly the product of external events, the startle response being
but one example.

constructive self-initiating actions have to be learned.

Unselfish love, skill in human relations, tolerance of individuality in others are not automatically part of the
human behavioral repertoire. The second problem is that outcomes often have a very broad time and space distribution
making measurement very difficult.

Clearly, the resolution to this issue is to accept the

proposition that some behaviors are initiated by environ

mental events, and some are initiated by events internal to

the learner while some come from both sources. The issue

I will endeavour, using Maslow's hierarchy as a basis, to

explore these two problems in greater depth in the balance of

this paper.

then becomes, what is the relative importance of these cate gories of behavior? At this point I reiterate my stand that
internally-initiated behaviors are potentially more important than externally motivated behaviors because it is these
behaviors which are creative and therefore potentially

Maslow assumes a hierarchy of needs including safety,

security, affiliation, esteem, and fulfilment.* The higher

needs generally require the satisfaction of lower needs before the former emerge. The most important feature of this

liberating.

However the problem is not this simple.

Freedom of choice

approach is the assumption that satisfying a need does not eliminate needs, but simply changes them.
It is not until the person is able to meet all his lower

is not the only human need nor is it necessarily the immedi ate paramount need for all children. Also, unbridled action can have both positive and negative effects. This fact de
mands either external behavior control or internally-initiated
control of the use of choice. In this context values become

level needs that the highest pursuits of love, truth, joy, beauty, etc. become pressing to him. This approach has
distinctive ramifications to our educational system.

Motivation theory can be rather simplistically subdivided

of paramount importance in education.

The value of creative behavior lies in its effect of

increasing opportunities for subsequent action.

Such unfol

Maslow's terms are somewhat different.

Particularly, he

ding consequences will be considered to have the highest

uses self-actualizing rather than fulfilment.

position on the value scale, while constricting consequences

C.

Powell

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78

That Precious Moment

into four schools of thought.

These are:

1) Hedonism

2) Deficiency
3) Growth

Growth theory is the obverse of deficiency theory and stresses the rewarding aspects of increasing coping skills. Need reduction does not explain very well the inclination of

at least some people to try to satisfy the needs of others,

even at their own expense. People who seek justice for the
relatively powerless are good examples of this form of beha

4) Personality
The oldest of these is the hedonistic theory which stresses

the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. The sup porters of this position take a cybernetic or homeostatic
view of motivation. That is, they believe that there is a

vior.

Such people are better described as being growth

oriented rather than deficiency oriented.

a growth theory.

Maslow's theory is

tendency for an organism to seek equilibrium, and there is

ample evidence that this position is entirely applicable to
the physiological needs and to a lesser extent the other

Finally, there are the personality theories of motivation.

The common characteristic of these theories is the suggestion that there are internal (temperamental) variables which dic
tate how an individual responds to equivalent situations.

safety needs.
order needs.

This theory does not adequately explain higher

This variable may be dispositional (physiologically based) or

acquired (learned).
The problem which motivational theorists face arise from

The deficiency theories revolve around the concept of a

lack or absence in the person or his environment which the
individual endeavours to correct. The learner is viewed as a

several facts of observation.

ses to environmental events.

First, it is a fact of obser

Attempts to tabulate environ The behav-

problem solver with need or drive reduction being the objec tive. Many ingenious proposals have been put forward to cope For with problems which hedonistic theory does not answer.

vation that some behaviors are directly traceable as respon mental characteristics, however, leads to infinite regres
sions in all but the simplest of environments.

instance, if the learner is seeking equilibrium one would ex pect the learner to spend much of his time in a euphoric or

inactive (quiescent) state.

However, activity rather than

Thus a

inactivity is characteristic of all organisms.

curiosity drive, and a ludic (play) drive are postulated in

order to explain this observed tendency away from equilibrium.
Another ingenious proposal involves the suggestion that infor mational conflicts arising from paradoxical events leads to a

iorists who tend to be either hedonists or deficiency theorists argue that when a behavior is not directly trace able to an environmental event, the complexity of the environment serves to obscure the initiating stimulus. The initiating stimulus cannot have been obscure to the person
who responded however or he wouldn't have responded to it.
Hence the behaviorist is found to be "begging the question"
which is a logical fallacy.
The second fact of observation is that not all behaviors

deficiency drive known as cognitive dissonance. In fact, the concept of need as prime motivation is congruent with defic iency theory. The main characteristic of this theory is its
emphasis upon the negative, i.e. all need deficiencies are in

serve to reduce drives.

them.

Some behaviors quite clearly increase

The problem is that the outcome of any course of action

some way "painful" to the learner.

The removal of this pain

in an open environment is not easily or uniformly predictable.

The single characteristic common to all open environments is

becomes the objective of the learner.

J.

C. Powell

oG

79

That Precious Moment

ambiguity (uncertainty, if you prefer).

Motivation clearly

has a sequential aspect from perception (both internal and

external) to need-definition to action (both internal and external as well as inaction) to some consequence. The ob

jective of a course of action may be drive reduction, problem solving, or growth, but the outcomes may not meet this objec
tive. Drives are reduced only to the degree that the needs
generating them are satisfied by the outcomes of the courses

of this point of view is that safety, and to a lesser extent security needs, are best met within the context of drive reduction or homeostasis. The next higher needs do not emerge until the lower levels are satisfied. Thus people are first and foremost homeostatic in performance. The ability of advanced technologies to provide for the

effective exchange of goods and services makes possible the satisfaction of these needs for large segments of the pop^
ulation with minimal effort. At this point social needs emerge and because social needs are largely other, or out ward directed, the behaviorists' point of view seems to be
generally most applicable.

of action initiated.

In an open environment the outcomes may

satisfy the need, they may frustrate the need, or they may divert the need, generating a new one. Typical of scientific research for instance is the observation that the exploration
of any problem seems to generate more questions than it
answers.

With the social needs being satisfied to an acceptable level esteem needs emerge. At this point personality
theorists make make their most important contribution.
to vary on both oultual and temperamental dimensions.

The third observation is that people respond differentially

to equivalent situations. Animals respond in an undifferen

The
For

degree to which needs other than esteem are prepotent seems

tiated fashion to a forest fire. They try to escape. People respond to a forest fire in a variety of ways ranging from fleeing to controlling, to fighting. This is merely one of
many examples which oould be cited.

instance if one person equates self-esteem with social accep

tance by his peers and another on the basis of personal integrity, the response of each to peer pressures to steal
will be quite different.

Thus psychologists tend to be differentiated upon the basis of their orientation to motivation. Those psycholog
ists who focus upon environmental stimuli as antecedent to

The issue for further growth beyond this point seems to

emerge from personality characteristics. The limited number of people who develop coping power to a point where self-

behavior are behaviorists. Those who tend to focus upon the problem-solving aspects of behavior are cognitive theorists. Those who tend to focus upon the coping with ambiguityreduction aspects of behavior are growth theorists.
theorists.

Those

who focus upon differential responses are personality

If we attempt to establish a single theory which
encompasses all these observations it must be a

effacement becomes practical can meet their esteem needs with ease. At this point fulfilment needs emerge. Such individ uals tend to be entrepreneurial in their outlook and will tend to be either elaborating or constraining in their taCrtics. The tactics they use can be regarded as a scale of
gradations to either extreme with the borderline between

what is legal and what is not

point.

somewhere below the neutral

phenomenological theory.

Maslow's theory has a number of advantages over others

because of its hierarchical structure.

My interpretation

Thus the extreme constrainer, the entrepreneur who exploits the vices or weaknesses of others for the enrichment

J.

C.

Powell

81

0 2

That Precious Moment

of the organization he controls becomes the gangland boss

or the military oommander within a national state or the

These individuals also are inclined to pursue independent

action as part of their elaborative outlook rather than to

political boss between regions or national states.

The ex

consort in a power conspiracy more typical of the eonstrain-

treme elaborator is best illustrated within our culture as

ers.

Saul Alinski and Ralph Nader being among the few

the practicing christian. In an open environment the ex treme elaborator is the move valuable person since he is the person who systematically opens opportunities for growth
among others. He is also potentially more powerful because

notable exceptions.

I am therefore of the opinion that elaborating self-

actualizers are too few in number in our present society to

have much impact upon the gross inequities built into our

his power base is built upon service rather than patronage.

Our present culture tends to try to keep the number of people who reach the level of inner strength that fulfilment
needs emerge to as small a group as possible. Those who

present social order. On the other hand, the higher the level of coping skills any individual has the less disrup tive , the more employable. the more open and dynamic that
person becomes.

manage to reach this level and retain their integrity are

This is a fascinating paradox because in effect the more

blocked at every turn becuase their potential power repre

sents a serious threat to the patronage system which main

desirable a person becomes within our present technology the

more dangerous he becomes to our present social order. Mass

tains the solidarity of our present power structure.

Usually

manipulation was probably a necessary part of the generation

these "practicing Christians" get diverted into low power

of our present technology.

To gain this achievement power

Now that

professions as a result.

Many enter the medical profession,

Hence, in part, the high

had to be vested into the hands of manipulators.

for instance, where they can act very freely within the con

we have this base of technology it is becoming less neces sary to manipulate the producers of technology because lower

straints of their profession.

prestige in which this profession is held.

A number enter

level needs can be met by manipulating the technology itself. Nor do the existing power blocks need to give up their
power. They can enhance this power by switching from con

teaching but usually find the constraints imposed by the

information transmission approach either intolerable and

they leave, or defeating and they conform. Some move to teachers' training colleges and universities where they find either an ivory tower where they can pursue their inde pendence with little direct immediate impact, or are con strained by the realities of the political environment into
which they feed the products of their services. Still others

straining to elaborating tactics.

And they can further

consolidate this enhanced position by encouraging our schools to turn out an ever increasing proportion of skillful
elaborators. The critical element of this new educational demand is for

a person to have a high ability to cope with ambiguity across

move into special service areas where the plight of the

long time and broad space horizons and to effectively utilize

elaborative tactics in concert with others. These individ

powerless is so pitiable that they can gain wide public sup

port for their actions. They then find themselves rendered

uals need to be able to establish their power base upon the

effective delivery of service and their fulfilment (or

largely impotent because of bedgetary and manpower limita tions or by the sheer massiveness of the problem.

satisfaction) from the constructive growth they facilitate

J.

C.

Powell

33

in others.

This is not pie in the sky

dedication.

it involves hard work and

EVERYONE IS SPECIAL

It is much easier to formulate our own communi

cations than help others to formulate their.

For example it
It

is easier to lecture than to develop discussion skills.

is much easier to tackle a problem ourselves than it is to

Pacts of observation may be discussed in several contexts.

The most important set of observable facts for teachers
involves individual differences.

teach others how to handle it (even when the problem is theirs and not ours). It is much easier to pursue the
routine approach than to examine the situation for its
precise needs.

There are a number of ways in which, people are different

and a number of ways in which we can consider people similar.

We shall consider the ways in which we are similar first and

A person is as competent as he dares to be and as

incompetent as his degree of avoidance of the challenge of his responsibility to others in any given situation. To dare without knowledge is foolhardy; to dare openly with knowledge is insightful; and to learn from our mistakes when we dare is genius. We can teach both coping and daring concurrently. The necessary knowledge base will acrue along

then those in which we are unlike each other.

Finally we

consider the ways in which these similarities and differences relate to the educational proposals we are presenting here.
At the outset the four types of fact we have discussed

(namely observations, opinions, feelings, and feelings about

feelings) exist for all of us. Precisely what each of ub
observes may differ but the fact that we do observe and form opinions or interpretations of these observations does not. There is sufficient constancy in some forms of observation that unambiguous descriptions of them can be found in all

with these other skills to the degree that coping and daring
are successful. The greatest advances in our civilization

occurred at the times of greatest daring. upon a planned basis. dared to try?

We now have

sufficient knowledge to be able to initiate these advances

Don't you think it is about time we

cultures. However even simple things like the sun crossing the sky to the south of us is only true north of the Tropic
of Cancer.

Another similarity among us so far as our present approach

is concerned is the purposefulness of all behavior. Once

again the specific purpose of any act among individuals may

vary vastly but this does not mean that each act has no
purpose.

Third, within the constraints of personality differences Maslow's need hierarchy seems to apply to all of us. Fourth, if our present assumption that we are living in an open system is true then creativity is more important than
d4

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06

That Precious Moment

competence with existing information. The possibility that routine work can be automated makes the creative aspect of
humanity even more important.

any other time of their lives.

Immunology studies reveal

that each person is a unique individual biologically with

the exception of identical twins.

Fifth, the primary characteristic of our most highly developed individuals is their elaborative ability to cope
with ambiguity across broad time and space horizons. Such evidence as is available suggests that this skill is learned
but must be nurtured in an open rather than a closed
educational system.

As we develop and mature other differences among us become

apparent. The first difference which is observable is tem

perament.
thereafter.

Some researchers identify as many as five general

temperament groups which are evident from bith or shortly

Not only do each of us tend to reach milestones at

Sixth, the greatest weakness of our present socio-economic situation is that those highly developed individuals who lean toward elaborative action and supportive facilitation also

different times, but also our rate of development among

separate sequences vary considerably. Those who walk at the

same age may begin talking at different ages, and so on. In effect, if we were to set up a list of the
developmental and maturational sequences we can observe and

tend to be individualistic and independent in their tendency to aotion. Alternatively, those who lean toward constraining
the actions of others for the benefit of the organizations
they manage combine forces into power consortiums which are
used to run our society to the general betterment of restricted segments of that society. Seventh, the general pattern of the motivation and the

peg these lists to a protocol based upon the median age of

achievement.*

if we then plot an "average" child he will

have a profile which is a straight line across these lists. In plotting the milestones for each child in this way we observe that no child will have and maintain a straight line
and that no two children's profiles will be or remain
exactly alike.

development of skills seems to be similar for all children. Most children creep, crawl, and then walk, in that order. The ages at which various milestones are achieved by partic

ular children can vary widely.

Piaget's observations suggest

that this sequence includes not only a child's motor skills

Also, all of us change with time. Not only are we different from everyone else, but we are different from what we were days, weeks, months, years ago. In short, everyone
is unique and constantly changing.

but particular aspects of his observation and the emergence of various cognitive "schema" as well. That is, learning to
think also has a developmental pattern.
procedures I am proposing.

It is upon this last

These observations are acknowledged by all educators. If I depart from others it is the way in which these observations

observation that I will hang most of the educational

are to be used.

At the moment there is a eontroversary raging

Let us now look at the ways in which we are different.

These differences are apparent from birth. To begin with the time from conception to birth varies considerably from child to child, as does size and weight at birth, and physical
appearance although babies look more alike at birth than at

A child's first "word" is usually "da-da." When 50$ of all children have said this word the age of the last of this group of children to say the word is the median age. We

know that the other half will say this word later, and that
some children with delayed speech may have a different

"first word."

All milestones can be scaled in this manner.

J.

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That Precious Moment

as to whether we should remediate a child's weakness or

trying to do just this sometimes with disasterous results.

enhance his strengths.

a person's weakness.

The obvious approach is to remediate

Doing this the child's overall devel

How do we go about encouraging uniqueness and avoiding

disaster at the same time?

opmental rate keeps pace as nearly as possible to the aver

The answer I am proposing to this question arises from

the concept of an open environment. In a closed environment

age.

We try to maintain for each child as flat a profile That is, we try to make everyone the same.

as possible.

there is only a limited number of courses of action possible.

In a completely open environment the opposite is' true.

This approach makes good sense within the information

transmission model of schooling.

Everyone has the same

In human history, each time a new invention has come along

it has increased the range of alternative courses open to at least some people. With the invention of writing, for

material to cover, the same minimum achievement demands to

meet and will be evaluated on standardized or at least

common examinations to be "fair" to all students, etc.

The

instance, we no longer had to memorize all the precise details

of all past history in order to maintain a record of it.

actual effect of this procedure is to take the uniqueness

of each individual and to compensate for it in such a manner

Details need no longer be lost by memory lapses.

The auto

that we attempt to make everyone as alike as possible.

everything for himself. Equality is defined in terms of

The

mobile, for instance, transformed the North American life

"independent" person in this context is the one who can do

style from a closed parochial outlook based upon extended family and a small community to an open continent-wide style
based upon mobility and the nuclear family. It is probable

treating everyone the same.

People with like paper

The mass

qualifications are interchangeable.

This approach to education has worked very well.

that the effect of the computer will be even more profound.

At no time in human history has our environment been

approach has made people so much alike that we suffer from an

identity crisis. We are alienated from each other. Our

completely open nor it is likely ever to be.

Oar range of

choice is still finite but is broadening at a terrific pace.

physical bodies rebel with nervous breakdowns, ulcers, heart attacks, addiction and habituation to mood altering chemical
ingestions. So warped are we away from our true natures and so burdened are we by the necessity of carrying the whole burden ourselves that we put our brains into a drowsy state

This is the point Toffler (1970) makes in Future Shock. The point is that there are always going to be trade-offs
and constraints. Man can fly

energy to do it.

but he expends considerable Also, the range of choice and the potential
The demands that the environ

complexity of our environment is now beyond the ability of

any one person to comprehend.

with smoke, our morals to sleep with alcohol or other nar

cotics. This method has worked so well that our prisons, our mental hospitals, our welfare roles, our residential care
centres are full to overflowing with the casualties.

ment is making upon each individual is beyond the capacity of anyoxie to cope unaided. Finally, if werwere to attempt to do
all the things which need to be done and are within our

Fortunately for humanity the assembly line man or the

company man is no longer needed to build and to maintain our

collective capacity we have insufficient human resources to accomplish it all.

The problem is one of balance of distribution of wealth

high level of technology.

We can now begin to dare to allow

each of us to be ourselves.

In fact, many of us have been

and of service.

Training everyone to be alike is self-

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That Precious Moment

defeating.
important.

Here is where Maslow's hierarchy is most

If no one person can cope unaided then he must

team up with others. But our society is most open at the fulfilment end of the hierarchy where opportunities for elaborative action (and therefore free choice) abound. In
order to be free we must meet the lower needs first. This

unwanted offspring or by leaving themselves open to the possibility for extortion or other forms of undue influence from unscrupulous persons who have access to intimate inform ation. Integrity once lost is considerably more difficult to
regain than it is to retain from the outset.

Trial marriage resolves some of the problems of casual

is where the disasters have developed.

Freedom of action to

be elaborative, that is to be steadily increasing the range of possible courses of action, must span long time and broad space horizons. Short-term expediency is generally constraning in the long run. It forces the decision maker to move

liason. The esteem needs problem can be resolved on a free exchange basis but socialization actions as singles are now

severely restricted, and neither person has the security of contract for what they have given up. On the longer time horizon children, though wanted and loved, also have the same
insecurity and if the couple separates, the damage to their children's self-esteem can be irreparable. Such liasons are
less dangerous to the individual from an undue influence

from crisis to crisis. can take.

A person is free only so long as he

has a range of choice in the possible courses of action he

He generates this freedom by skillful long-term

planning and careful execution of these plans. Keeping options open is the key to successful coping. But this approach is often misconstrued. A good example of how Maslow's need hierarchy can be applied to action decisions can be found in the "new morality" of today. (This term is

point of view than their more casual counterparts.

Group marriages like wife sharing can solve the social and security problems but can be very traumatic where esteem is

concerned as liasons shift from one pairing combination to

another.

Group marriages if legally constituted are poten

a misnomer because the course of actions advocated are neither tially much more secure financially than is the nuclear

new nor moral).

In our version of Maslow's term, safety,

Casual sexual liason unquestionably

security, socialization, and esteem needs must be met before

family or the shared households and does not suffer the poten tial of undue influences present in wife sharing arrangements.
The main weakness of the group marriage concept arises from

fulfilment can begin.

meets psychological needs, and in terms of breadth of social

contact it meets some socialization needs among many people

sufficiently alienated from themselves to treat their bodies casually. However, it normally casts the two individuals

the fact that people need intimacy and privacy as part of their security and affiliation needs. However, a person can be very intimate with a very limited number of people. Encoun
ter groups have shown that larger groups than diads can be

involved into the victor and vanquished roles, depending upon

who is the aggressor, and in so doing is devastating to the

intimate for short periods of time, but the general history of

group marriage seems to suggest that the couple is the most stable long-term relationship.

esteem needs of the vanquished person.

It can also be danger

The cas-

ous to physical safety because of social diseases.

ualness of the relationship makes no provision whatever for security needs. On a longer time horizon the two persons may have compromised their freedom of action by generating an

In addition to this, living in an open environment is stressful. People engaged in self-actualization cannot do it

all the time.

Everyone needs a time and a place to unwind.

If the purpose of a marriage is to provide a sanctuary then

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That Precious Moment

the most workable arrangement has proven to be the nuclear

irresponsibility

morality and immorality can be

family

man, wife, and their children. For this reason, it is best if it were

established on an empirical psychological basis in relation

to this hierarchy.

But for such a marriage to work it must actively seek this

sanctuary quality.
set.

If we define morality in terms of action intended to enhance opportunities for ourselves and others, and immoral

established to develop a sanctuary relationship from the out

In this context all of the old hang-ups upon which

ity as actions designed to be restrictive, then satisfying

needs in ways which deliberately prevent ourselves or others
from elaborating higher needs is a wrong course of action.
In this context taboos and other social constraints are

marriages have floundered can be resolved.

Neither man nor

woman needs to be a masterful lover since the lifetime com

mitment gives them fifty or so years to learn how to satisfy

each other's physical needs. Hence abstinence before mar

necessary, and freedom is not gained by violating them. move in control patterns from constraint to restraint to

We

riage is a legitimate expectation for both persons for the

reasons already given. The decision to marry should be a
The primary objective of each cautious and a mature one.

facilitation to elaborative self-expression as we move upward

in the hierarchy of these needs.

partner should be to be a person first and a man or woman

Freedom, in other words, is not automatic.

of love and consideration for others;
horizons.

It is earned.

second. As two people they form a unit designed to meet the problems of living in a complex world more effectively than
either can achieve separately. Children in such a union have

It is built piece-by-piece out of restraint and integrity; out

out of esteem shared;

out of responsibility assumed across long time and broad space

two purposes. First, they enrich the relationship by grad ually extending the sharing and caring capacity of the couple.

We learn to cope bit-by-bit gaining strength from

each success and succor from our loved one at each setback.

Second, they provide for the continuation into the next

generation of the key to successful living the couple has
found in this one. I could continue in this vein for some time. It is

We are given the responsibility we demonstrate that we can

handle, and support from those whom we serve if we handle

this responsibility wisely.

The ideal classroom is like the ideal home I have just

described. Since we are trying to develop cooperation we

obvious that we should consider the development of success to

be a slow process requiring compromise and adjustment over a

long period of time. The important point for our present pur
The manner in which a person

need a diversity of skills to share.

In such a context it

is pointless to try to make or even treat everyone the same.

poses is the realization that there is an interaction between

levels in Maslow's hierarchy.

Sinoe the time we have is limited, our time is better spent

elaborating each other's strengths and skills rather than

satisfied his needs at one level influences -she opportunities he has available for satisfying his needs at higher levels.

hammering at the known slow growth areas.

we be concerned about it.

Only when a

weakness interferes with progress in the strength area need

At this time we have the means

Thus the greatest amount of restraint and/or controls are

needed at the lowest level of the hierarchy in order to allow
elaborative possibilities at higher levels. between freedom and license The distinction responsibility and

(transferring the strength) the motivation (restoring progress) and the sense of self-worth (from long-term success) in each child to solve the problem. An open

J.

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93

concept of education does not involve letting children do

as they please in all activities. They must be constrained until they learn to exercise the inner restraint which makes higher level elaborations possible. Individualizing instruction in this context involves the elaboration of individual goals. than focus. Methodology changes less People identify themselves with the unique

OUT

OF THE DARKNESS

individual they are becoming with special competencies to share with others so that all can cope better. In this
concept of education we start with the observable fact that

In order to deal effectively with human characteristics we need to extend our concept of facts
somewhat further. One fact of observation is that some

people cope with their world better than others.

The

everyone is unique and through an elaboration process we hope to achieve a workable form of the construct:
IS SPECIAL!

psychoanalytic and clinical psychology approaches attempt

to explain these observations. The proliferation of
clinical approaches suggests that clinicians have not

EVERYONE

developed a satisfactory answer to the diversity of human

behavior.

Toffler. Alvin

Future Shock. N.Y., Random House, 1970.

Once again, the infinite regression suggests an

open point in the human predicament.

An effective unitary

theory of human performance must accommodate the abnormal

and paranormal parts of experience as well as the more

common or "normal" sector of our lives.

Another thing we have to account for in our approach is the diversity among humanity. Why do two people who observe the same event often give quite different reports of that event? .Vhy do some people succeed in our present
approach to education when others don't?

If each nerve cell is itself an analogue computer responding to energy configurations or patterns and are connected to each on a digital basis much of the operation of the brain can be explained. However, there still remains a problem that contact between one part of the
brain and another seems to occur without neural connection.

It is obvious that the brain resembles a digital computer in its structure, but its operation has remained a mystery.

Little, (1964), made a proposal that large organic

94

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That Precious Moment

J. C. Powell

9?

molecules like D.N.A. might be superconductive at normal

lifetime project. This type of flux cannot be expected to occur unless each individual involved has a high level of

temperatures.

The superconductive proposal suggests a

personal integrity so that he or she can safely dare to

lower the personal barriers to communication. Only honest

solution because any nerve cell could then communicate

with any other in a manner similar to a radio transmission.

In this case the brain may be regarded as a carrier

people are trustworthy; their misadventures are honest

mistakes not deliberate attempts at exploitation. Under standing, when defined in these terms, becomes the basis
for a network of trust.

of an information-processing system which would appear to

be an integrated and coherent force field.

Very little seems to be known about force fields or

the conditions under which these fields can be integrated

Why, then, are we not dominated by psychic events

around us? Perhaps some forms of severe emotional distur bances may involve the excessive impositions of environ mental forces. Por most of us our "consciousness" is too

and/or coherent. Ball lightning, for instance, is still an enigma, and northern lights are still regarded as a high altitude phenomenon in spite of the insistence of people who have lived in the north that this phenomenon
comes to the ground. Work with high energy plasmas have

"noisy." Our attention-focusing processes and our think ing probably drowns out these more subtle incursions

except in unusual circumstances.

These unusual paranormal

not yet clarified what makes for coherence or integrity in a force field, but very high frequencies seem to be
involved. We would expect, then, to find high frequency
emanations from an active brain.

events may often become documented as "mystic" experiences.

The "subconscious mind" so often referred to in

psychoanalytic writings may be those parts of brain activ ity, such as breathing, which are outside our "stream of
consciousness." It may also include the range of sublimrinal and extrasensory responses which do not reach the conscious level. It is possible that hallucinatory drugs

If the cells in the brain are operating as a radio

within itself, there is no reason why similar events

cannot occur between two active brains or between any inte

grated and coherent force field and an active brain.

Such

suppress the "stream of consciousness" allowing these

"unconscious" events to take precedence. Meditation may

a proposition would explain much of the paranormal events

such as ESP which are arousing so much interest these days.

produce the same effects except that conscious control is

maintained so that there is less danger of "loss of self." Transcendental meditation may be able to bring the full range of unconscious events to the conscious level. The concept of the "unconscious" or "subconscious" mind may well be an illusion based partly on the "noise" of normal brain activity and partly upon the neea to keep
information demands within manageable limits, hence we

If this approach is correct then true love or true friendship might be explained in terms of the steady
increase in harmonious extrasensory flux between or among individuals as common experiences and understanding

increase.

If this be true, then "love at first sight" may

be an extrasensory event, but to consolidate or become

"coherent" so that "two become one" a long period of time
and a considerable number of mutual positive experiences

will be needed.

Also, to remain coherent, effort must be

reduce or remove from consciousness particular activities like breathing, and habitual behaviors after they have

expended.

True love and true friendship would be a

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9b

That Precious Moment

been overlearned in the same way we block out excess

observations to the objective bystander. If we can have operative output, what about

background noise. intrusions.

We may be able to use the "noise" of

our stream of consciousness to divert or block out unwanted

reflexive output?
tion of terms.

This dichotomy sounds like a contradic

Similarly, by focusing on our own conscious

The price we

However, is there something that a person

ness we can avoid communication with others.

can be asked to report that he has done, which does not

involve the formation of opinions, and which does not

pay for this gain is egocentricity and alienation. If, however, we are too unrealistic in this process, our repeated failures to cope can lead to a data overload
wherein our consciousness cannot control or override the

necessarily produce visible behavior?

question is "planning."

The answer to this

Plans may or may not be executed

On the

and their formulation may or may not be accompanied by

observable actions on the part of the planner.

other activities in our brain.

These pressures then

encroach, unwanted, upon our consciousness.

event may describe insanity.

This possible

other hand, plans, in any stage of development, can be

reported to others.

Elsewhere we have discussed four types of fact,

On the basis of the usual problem-solving and model-

namely, l) observations, 2) opinions, 3) feelings, and, 4)

feelings about feelings. All four of these facts are
"observable" in the sense that the detailed content of

building techniques, we should now see that we are working

on a three-dimensional model for human performance. The

poles of these dimensions seem to be:

I. Reactive - Enactive*

each can be collected using various recording devices.

Taking a less objective or detached view gives us still

other types of fact.

II.

Reflective - Operative*

III.

Input - Output**

First, we consider an event as a transformation (or

change) of an object over a period of time. This special kind of observation is not directly observable, but must be
inferred from the repetition of similar events. The obser

This approach will give us eight cells (or cubes).

These are:

vable appearance of the act of running, for instance, may

vary widely from person to person, but always represents a certain type of locomotion with characteristics which dis

1. 2. 3.
4.

Reactive - reflective - input (Peeling) Enactive - reflective - input (Observing) Reactive - operative - input (Peelings about feelings) Enactive - operative - input (Porming opinions)

tinguish it from other forms of locomotion such as walking,

crawling, eto. These operative type activities when viewed from
inside the operator may either be enactive as in the conscious implementation of a plan or to varying degrees
reactive as in habitual or reflex behavior. These output

5.
6.

Reactive - reflective - output (

'

Enactive - reflective - output (Planning)

aspects of human performance give us two more kinds of

These two dimensions are developed in the section entitled "Knowing and Doing."
Newly introduced in this section.

facts, namely: activity.

implementing, and reflexive or habitual

These two kinds of facts are, of course

100

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99

7.

Reactive - operative

8.

Enactive - operative

- output (Reflexive or habitual action) - output (Implementing)

Figure 2
<ubC

What would fill this unidentified cell indicated by

the question mark?

actions.

In the three-dimensional concept it

is flanked by Peeling, Planning, and Habitual or Reflex

The logical missing category would seem to be
This cell would seem to be inaction or action paralysis.

the seat of the subconscious, the black hole of human

existence.

Cell five is not the only form of inaction.because

a person can decide not to act or can discontinue a course

of action.

Override is not just a reflex phenomenon as

the sport of karate demonstrates.

Also, through the

DEHAVloA

development of self-understanding and the higher under

standing levels, the subconscious may well be cleared of its ominous and threatening reputation and become the
center for spiritual growth rather than terror and action paralysis. It is interesting to note that a three-dimensional
Unconsciov

model for human performance is not original with myself. The best known one is Guilford's model for intelligence. My approach is quite different, however, since I am trying
to work out a model for total human performance and not just one aspect of it. If we can draw the present model as a cube we make some interesting observations. The exposed six faces can
be generalized as shown in Pigure 2.

iRRATrOftlAt

AW/o

INSERT PIGURE 2

HERE

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102

That Precious Moment

V/e notice that the exposed faces seem to blanket

the observable behavior of people and to interrelate these

whether by "black art" meditation or by suppression of

consciousness through drugs.

six categories in a logical manner.

Also,

irrational or

nonrational, and unconscious behavior become legitimate parts of observable behavior. These six faces are:

What about the opposite direotion.

Information and

hypothetieating skills are both needed for effective

planning. 1.
2. 3.
4. 5.

If Type I invention (hypothesizing) is derived

INTERNALIZING (or receptive) BEHAVIOR

CONSCIOUS (or considered) BEHAVIOR EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR (or action)
UNCONSCIOUS BEHAVIOR RATIONAL BEHAVIOR

from observation then the interface to the unconscious

must be "recollecting."

Where does Type II invention (materializing an idea) fit in? Perhaps between opinion-formation and
implementation. Would discovery be the opposite process to the materialization process, and so on... In retrospect, the model I have presented here has
proven to be very interesting in its development. Intro

6.

IRRATIONAL and/or NONRATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Of these six the only one which is not readily

observable is reception from the environment. This behavior can be observed in search strategies as in

ducing a rational basis for ESP and other paranormal phenomenon and suggesting that these experiences are generally seated in the "unconscious" has helped to

pupilometry and eye fixation studies, and indirectly in memory and discrimination studies.
The eight small cubes or cells are our eight forms

explain the origins of psychoses.

Also, since psychoses

of facts about people.

Another dividend is found by

seem to emerge from this unconscious area, the importance of positive interpersonal relationships (love) with their
positive ESP counterparts helps to explain the need for

considering the surfaces of the cells which face each

other.

These interfacing cell surfaces may represent

internal operations rather similar to the Guilford cells.

understanding and applying Christianity.

You see, the

The model is currently incomplete. interfacing is obvious.

However, some

acknowledgement of an ESP component in life suggests that we are sensitive to the unconscious and unexpressed att

When going from observing to

opinion-forming we obviously have the thinking operation.

Similarly, going the opposite direction, from opinions to

itudes of others as well as those openly stated. Hence, if a person's "vibrations" contradict their verbal and/or
nonverbal messages they become suspect. Cultural dif

observing, an "hypothicating" or "predicting" operation

seems in order. We have also suggested the "valuing" process,
interface "feeling" and "feeling about feeling."
For those who enjoy playing with models working through the remaining twenty-two interfaces could be

ferences may produce the same impression as attempted

exploitation and could be the source of "culture shock."
Therein lies one need for understanding.

Without integrity and understanding, the network of

entertailing.

For instance, going from planning into the

trust we so desperately need is impossible to set up.

in a quasi-scientific, manner the reason for this

The

unconscious cell would seem to involve meditation.

approaches to our subliminal processes become

Also,

present model explains in a logical, but unfortunately only

imperative need for understanding and how to establish an

if this is correctly labelled, the dangers of incautious

obvious

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SUMMARY

103

answer to this need.

If, indeed, as we propose here, it

THE NATURE OP HUMAN NATURE

is the unconscious which is the seat of empathy and true

love then out of the darkness of our unconsciousness may
emerge the key to our future.

Little, W. A. Superconductivity at room temperature Scientific American. Vol. 212 (2) Feb. 1965.
From the arguments put forward in this part of the work

it should be evident that present theories of psychology

tend to be fragmentary. This is, they tend to look at bits

and pieces of human performance rather than performance as

a whole.

Of the several models proposed, one that is open and growth oriented would seem to be the most likely to explain
all human phenomena.
The model actually proposed is derived from Maslow but

goes beyond it by proposing an elaboration and interpretation

of other approaches within this basic model.

Insert FIGURE 3

Here

In Figure 3 "the articulation of the parts proposed

throughout the sections are presented. I make no pretence
It does that the model is complete or even accurate.

illuminate some phenomena not effectively integrated before

this.

And it does lead to a number of fascinating hypotheses

Moving from

which can be investigated.

Some of the process links are obvious.

PLANS to (UNCONSCIOUS) MEMORIES is probably meditation.

The link between CONSCIOUS ACTION and OBSERVATIONS is

probably searching or data collecting, and so on.

Others

such as the link between FEELINGS and OPINIONS and vice

versa are more difficult to define.

104

The internal diagonal

106

That Precious Moment

between OBSERVATIONA and HABITUAL ACTIONS would clearly be shaping as defined by the behaviorists and possibly the
reverse would be discriminating.

Creativity seems to be a fact of observation as to the primary characteristic which distinguishes humans from other
W
2
0

animals. It is difficult to explain creativity within approaches which deny purposeful behavior. Also, it seems clear that morality can be defined in psychological as well
as philosophical terms once certain assumptions are made.

is 2. of
rfj-

If our universe is open rather than closed, the only logical way for mankind to grow is to expand the range of alternatives open to us by using our creativity. But selfish use of creativity or the abuse of our fellows by
alternatives rather than elaborate them.

misusing creative products or actions serves to constrict Within this

IS
c of

context the "old-fashioned virtues" are actually part of the ultimate nature of the Universe rather than the opiate of the masses as Marx suggested. And the hero of the piece becomes the positively self-actualizing person just as
Maslow predicts.

My own reading of the New Testament in this context has

P-

led me to the conviction that this positively oriented self-actualizing person is actually the practicing Christian. Much of the mystery goes, as does all of the
puerile narrowness most of which is derived from The Old
Testament anyway.

The model proposed here goes even further

if the

integrated and coherent force field hypothesis holds. In this case such spiritual phenomena as mediumship and life-

after-death the indestructability of the man in harmony with his universe all become plausible within the knowledge
of the physical sciences.

In this case man is actually the magnificant creature

which Christian theology proclaims.

And it makes the way

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we habitually treat our fellows, including the way we educate them, nothing short of criminal. Is this opinion both the challenge and the prospect? If so, many exciting possibilities emerge let us
explore these ideas further...

PART THREE

SCHOOLS FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

This present section will look at

schools from several

points of view.

What is a "good" school?

Is there more In

than one viable way of delivering a good education?

what circumstances is any particular approach the best?

The section begins with a look at systems analysis as

an approach to understanding the educative process. I

then present a second three-dimensional model, this time

as an approach to understanding various approaches to
schooling systems.
In the balance of the discussion I look at the detailed

characteristics of the various approaches proposed. of these approaches is most applicable.

then endeavour to -indicate the circumstances in which each

As a secondary goal I also endeavour to indicate how

any of several types of observer might identify the nature

of approach in use in a particular school. of the approach to the setting. This should

assist these individuals to determine the appropriateness

106

110

THE IKS and THE

OUTS

OP

IT

"1
There are a number of writers in administrative

science who have been busily pursuing the latest band wagon of management systems analysis. Systems analysis is essentially a computer-based

idea arising out of the theory of self-regulating mech

hi

anisms (cybernetics).
central concepts: 1.
2,

In this approach there are four

input
process

3,
4.

output
feedback

These concepts are related in a loop fashion as

shown in Figure 4.

Insert Figure 4 Here

As we can see from Figure 4 some form of flow is

envisioned wherein some kind of input is transformed by

some process and the transformed version then forms an output. Some form of regulation is built in through feed
back either to the process or to the input. As an example,

a plant takes ore concentrate as input and produces metal

pellets as an output. Quality control examinations on the
finished pellets is the basis for adjusting the process so

that the purchaser's requirements are met.

109

Thus, feedback

Powell, J.
Ill That Precious Moment

:.

112.

is used to regulate process.

I have suggested elsewhere that the appearance of

an infinite regression may suggest that we are in the
presence of an open system.

The orders from the purchasers will be determined

by their needs.

A drop in demand will cause an inventory

The reverse can be

pile-up of pellets and this information can be used to

reduce orders for ore concentrate.

Another problem which arises from systems analysis

is that it does not cope with unexpected changes within

applied to declines in the inventory or pellets up to the

capacity of the plant.
regulate input as well.

the system or any of the impinging systems, nor does it

accommodate known changes with unknown effects or undeter

Thus, feedback can be used to

mined side effects.

These unpredictable elements also

More elaborate processes can be considered in this

potentially explode the system into an infinite regression.

same manner and a variety of inputs and outputs can be

When studying complex systems like economic systems,

biosystems, or school systems, the possibility of exploding
the system when using the systems analysis approach renders

considered in the short run and capital, new processes etc.

are longer term inputs.

Outputs can be any of the full range of goods and services available in our elaborate economy. Also, parts
within the system can be analysed in the same manner as a
total system.

the overall application of this tool theoretically

inappropriate.

Further sxipport to this negative conclusion arises

from the observation that human invention and discovery clearly demonstrates that the human network is an open and
dynamic system. We are faced with a dilemma. It is
evident that so long as the information levels are man

System analysts study an operation and produce flow

charts which are more elaborate but identical in principle to Figure 4.. Everything is so neat, so pretty, so sanitary
that it is very tempting to use systems analysis for
everything.

ageable, a school system based upon the combination of

information transmission and behavior modification (both of which can be considered static and closed) is amenable to a systems analysis approach. Alternatively, a school
system oriented toward the uniqueness of the individual

But systems analysis contains a number of problems if applied indiscriminately. To begin with, every system
operates within a field of other impinging systems. Where a simple system is concerned, the impingement of these

other systems may be relatively inconsequential or directly

manageable.

When we are dealing with complex systems, however,

this impingement may become critical and this means that

and the elaborative development of creativity is not amen able to systems analysis as an overall approach to planning. With these concepts in mind systems analysis can be used to look at parts of a school system, provided that it is used creatively and it is kept in mind that in open
systems the whole is often greater than the sum of its

impinging systems must also be analysed in order to under

stand the operation of the basic system.

As systems

become more complex, the input, process, output, and feedback

parts. It should also be remembered that a procedure based upon inappropriate assumptions is only useful within very
narrow limits and in the absence of an alternative more

dynamics increases by a multiplier factor that approaches

an infinite regression.

appropriate procedure.

113

That Precious Moment 114

Let us consider the implications of closed system

models in open systems as applied to such popular current concepts as accountability.

The basic principle of accountability arises out .of a commendable idea. People spending or receiving public funds should be held responsible for ensuring its appro

priate use.

Agreeing that this objective should be sought

the next question is "How?"

Obviously, a program, to be funded, should set

objectives and should be evaluated on the basis of how

well these objectives are met.

The setting of these

objectives, the design of programs to meet them, and the determination of resource requirements to implement these
programs looks like a problem for systems analysis.
What is not so obvious is that some kinds of

objectives are easier to set than others.

The easier it

is to set an objective the easier it is to measure that

objective.
Figure 5.

Consider the following problem as shown in

A jar is half full of water. on the surface of the water.

happens when the jar is tipped.

A toy boat is floating

03

Which of the diagrams shows what

Insert FIGURE 5 Here

Studies in child development make it quite clear

that preschool children would have trouble answering this question with the "correct" response "C." The problem is that each of these answers is "logical" and each is possible within special conditions. If we assume that the toy boat is

free floating (not fastened in any way to the sides of the

jar) and the jar is wide enough to permit it to remain up

right, and the jar is wide enough to permit it to remain

J.

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116

That Precious Moment

upright, and if the water is in its liquid state "C" is

the children involved.

correct.

Thus in this one problem we have three levels of

objective. The lowest is represented by the young child who has insufficient understanding of "floating" to be able to select among the alternatives, or level 0 understanding.
For a child to arrive at the "correct" solution in these
circumstances it must be either a matter of "chance" in

The next higher level of understanding involves the child's ability to transfer the concept correctly into novel
situations.

It is the pursuit of level 1 objectives and the basic

which case he will not systematically repeat the same answer,

or "insight" in which case having figured it out, he will systematically repeat the same answer. The second systematic

skills leading up to it for which systems effective. The seeking of single answers trived problems are easy to structure and Hence most accountability approaches have

analysis is so to trivial or con

program in advance.
tended to concen

trate thrusts in those directions. These approaches, however,

often fail to distinguish between level 1, and the psuedo
level 1 of memorization.

repetition ("correct" response #3) is from "knowledge" rather

than from insight, thus demonstrating the accomplishment of
level 1 understanding. However, a child can memorize an ans

The writers of the programs still have the perplexing

problem of what to teach beyond the technical aspects of the

wer without understanding the principle hence the only cer tain method of separating level 0 from level 1 understanding
arises in the ability of the child to explain as well as
state the true state of affairs.

Three "R" skills. No evidence indicates support in general education terms for any one set of content over any other,
and with a surfeit of information available selection becomes

This "knowledge." once held, tends to be fairly

stable over time and is the easiest kind of human behavioral object to write and the easiest one to measure. The curve of

a complex technical and political problem leading to compro

mises which please no one, and produce children who all think
alike.

distribution of memory skill in the population as a whole

A third level of objectives occurs with the more

seems to be "normally" distributed as would be expected for "random" events, and the retention or "decay" curves and the

mature person who realizes the conditionality of any state

ment and endeavors to spell out the conditions under which

methods of influencing them are also known.

and neasure information recall.

Y/e know exactly

what we are doing as educators when we focus upon information

each might occur. Once again, a first encounter with a given problem requires insight. So, we have three levels, the per
son who doesn't know, and discovers, the person who knows and

In this context research evidence shows very clearly

that programmed instruction in any of its several forms is

can apply, and the person who knows, and who applies and who
elaborates through discovery and/or invention.

more efficient in terms of acquisition time than any other

procedure except peer tutorials.

The message

is clear, for accountability at this

Let us reconsider Figure 5 If the water is grozen alternati-ve A gives the correct transformation. If the mast is fastened to the side of the bottle alternative B is
correct. And finally if the water is frozen and the hull

level our present schools should be abandoned in favor of

teaching machines with the children helping each other as

need be and supervised by adult baby sitters for the sake of

is preheated and inserted just prior to tipping the bottle then alternative D is correct. In other words, there is a

*0

00

I
3
o

I
R
(T

120

That Precious Moment

SCHOOLS AS SOCIAL SYSTEMS

adults write the wisdom of the ages. It may be that the child is "mentally retarded" or "emotionally disturbed" or "delinquent." In any case, the child is either viewed as needing protection or needing removal from society to

protect society.

Perhaps this protection of society in

volves no more than keeping children off the labor market

In a recent article, Carlton (1974) proposed seven

different images or models of the school.

in order to preserve a limited number of employment pos sibilities for adult workers, or to enable both parents or the single family head to work. Or it may be that the
child has proven dangerous to himself or others or otherwise
needs "therapy" in a "closed" environment.

In this paper I will present my own formulation of the Carlton paper. I have already proposed a threedimensional model for human 'behavior. It is reasonable to

Since the pupils in this setting are considered

assume that all human activity should parallel in some way

the characteristics of a single individual. The parallel institutional dimension to Locus of

incompetent, the superimposition of adult will upon the children is quite legitimate. This superimposition jus
tifies the almost exclusive use of extrinsic motivation in the development of a learning atmosphere.
Arising out of the Cartesian tradition of the blank

Control (Reactive - Enactive) aspect of the individual

must, of course, for the school be its Approach to Motiva

tion (Extrinsic - Intrinsic).

A similar parallel to Level

of Consciousness (Reflexive - Operative) can, for the

school, be a dimension of "Approach to Information"

page, we also find a focus upon knowledge. Knowledge is seen as a commodity of high value. It is the narrowly held expertise of the professional, and as such the route
to "upward mobility." Knowledge in a scientific sense is also "theraputic" because we can use it to tell us what is

(Knowing - Doing). Finally, we can parallel the dimension of Mode of Environmental Interface (Input - Output) with
"Approach to Authority" (Public Concensus - Individual Responsibility).
When we approach the school from these three

"true" and "right." Because of the "punishment" emphasis of the entrinsic motivation, learning is not expected to be
fun. Therefore, information, when transmitted in the

dimensions, we get eight models rather than Carlton's

custodial setting, is presented in its most sterile form.

Since the aristocrat or the professional is the model of the ideal man, the objective of education or

seven, and we also get a hierarchical progression from the

most closed to the most open of possible systems within our

three dimensional model.
The Custodial Model for Schools

therapy is to impress each individual with his personal

responsibility for his own actions.

At the closed end of this spectrum is the "Custodial"

If the "incompetence" assumption is carried to

school.

In this approach to education, the pupils are in

extremes, responsibility is not considered possible.

In

some way considered to be incompetent.

It may be simply

this case the focus becomes self-care and docility

that the child is assumed to be a "blank page" upon which

119

(chemically induced if need be) with only perfunctory

J.

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That Precious Moment

emphasis upon any other aspects of learning.

Even the
ity.

The socialization stress of the familial approach

also makes group concensus the legitimate source of author However, openness is confined to activities within

much touted behavior modification tends to be focused upon

reducing self-abusive and disruptive behavior or developing

self-care skills.

the group.

Outside influences are suspect.

For this

Thus we see that the custodial model actually

reason innovation in the familial school follows innovation

accommodates a range of situations wherein the emphasis is

in the community.
Such a school is often as much a social center for

upon extrinsic motivation, knowledge, and the holding of

individuals responsible for their acts. It can be held

the parents as it is a learning center for their children.

School - community relations are stressed. Home and School

legitimate both logically and practically in a range of special situations wherein "incompetence" can be assumed.
The tendency of some "working class" parents to avoid
contact with the school may arise from their view of the

groups are active.

If sufficient affluence is present,

Where parents are sufficiently

parents may become involved in the educational systems as

aides, volunteers, etc.

a very pleasant one.

school as a baby-sitting institution which is charged with the responsibility of making their children competent.

free to enjoy their children, the school setting can become

Kindergartens in established middle
Montessori

This approach is particularly likely if the parents regard

themselves as incompetent as evidenced by their own
economic or social situation.

class districts are often run in this manner.

schools, to be effective, must be run using the extended

family characteristic of the familial school. The level of

Clearly, the custodial approach is closed, and often

education within this model is conducted in a residential

academic growth in the familial school is dependent upon

the fluency of the parents rather than intervention of the

setting.

City Center schools are often inclined toward the

school.

The apparent snobishness generated in private

custodial approach as well.

The Familial Model

schools operated for the wealthy is often derived from

acceptance of the familial model, as are the schools of closed religious sects.
issue.
A.

A somewhat more open approach can be found in the

These schools generally occur in

familial image of the school.

Like the custodial approach,

settings where upward social or economic mobility is not an

Perhaps the most famous of all familial schools is
B. F. Skinner describes this S. Neal's Summerhill.

motivation is extrinsic in the familial model; not on the

basis of incompetence, but on the basis of the preservation of the "good name" of the family, community or school. The primary focus where information is concerned is "getting along." (Jetting along with others socially,

approach very effectivel

in his book Walden Two.

Insofar as people should be motivated by appearances

rather than by integrity and a sense of justice, the fami

lial approach is probably one of the most effective. It

cooperating and contributing to the well-being of the group

become the goals for education. Such knowledge as is needed is justified in terms of the benefits accrued to the group
rather than the individual. Thus the focus is on doing

certainly produces the happiest schools but at their best

do little to develop creativity. To be effective, however, these schools must be small, and the community feeding the
school have a relatively stable population. The increase

rather than on knowing.

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That Precious Moment

of physical mobility of families and the consolidation of

schools which has occurred over the past twenty-five years has virtually wiped out the familial school.
There have been attempts in recent years to change

experience considerable " culture shock" and have

difficulty adjusting and being accepted.

The major disadvantage of the religious model is

that the network of trust which becomes established within

theraputic communities from the custodial to the familial

approach. Attempts to do this have met mixed success at
best for a number of reasons.*

the system is based upon like-mindedness.

The inventive

breakthrough which opens new possibilities is often beyond level one of affective understanding (understanding oneself).

The Religious Model It will depend upon the situation whether schools espousing the religious model are more or less open than familial schools. Where the sense of family is extended upon lines of religious affiliation the geographical and

Of course, schools of religious orders may reflect more open

models than this one.
The Economic Model

In many instances, this approach to

education characterizes the established middle class.

In sharp contrast to the religious model is the

population linkages the outreach of the religious may

transcend regional and even national boundaries. Focus is

economic model.
allocation.

The focus of this model is upon resource

So far as the supporters of the economic

upon group membership rather than national identity or

parochial interests. There are other important distinctions. A person

model for schools are concerned those who know how to han
dle resources efficiently are the ones who should have the

right to allocate them.

Thus the focus is upon individual

Education is

accepting authority based upon faith must be intrinsically

motivated to survive as a different person in a conforming

responsibility rather than public concensus.

for work, for decision-making, for producing saleable

world.

This otherworldliness also forces focus upon pres

Such openended

cribed knowledge as defined by dogma.

actions as are permitted involve either "good works" of

"evangelization."

skills. Hence doing rather than knowing becomes paramount. For efficiency's sake, people are to be as interchangeable as possible so that the minimum qualifications at any level
of accomplishment must be as uniform as possible. Motiva tion is extrinsic and based upon material rewards for

My contacts with parochial schools suggest that they

can be very open where group betterment is concerned so

specific accomplishments rather than upon peer pressures.

The economic model school can be expected to have a
strong vocational bias, and to make a clear distinction

long as dogma is not violated.

Discipline tends to be
Such

more severe than the custodial and familial schools because

self-motivation is encouraged from the outset.

between vocational and leisure-time activities, the former

stressing productive, the latter consumptive activities.

schools often produce a very pleasant working atmosphere, particularly with the "in group." Outsiders, however may

In these latter respects, the economic approach, although varying widely among examples, tends to be more open than

As we will see later, the establishment of familial schools in city center may prove an effective strategy
for breaking the poverty cycle.

the religious model.

Invention and discovery, however, are

still the prerogative of the select few.

J.

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126

That Precious

Moment

125

The Political Model

protecting regional special interests.

Thus the avoidance

Unbridled individual action can lead to a tyranny

of confrontation or conflict becomes the prime strategy of

policy. This policy is reinforced by a philosophical justi
-

of powerful individuals.

Those who hold the resources can,

In

in the economic model dispense them as they please.

fication for peer group coersion based upon "democratic

principles" and for acquiescence to the authority of concen

contrast to this approach, the political model focuses upon

the leadership-followership roles and in so doing a shift

is made from individual responsibility to public concensus

sus on the basis of loyalty and self-sacrifice.

Thus the political model also represents a range of

approaches to education which varier on the basis of the

as an approach to authority.

Thus the political model

substitutes "tyranny of the group" for "tyranny of the

differences in the dominant cultural values between regions and upon the ability of special interest groups to motivate
their membership to action. Thus the political model

powerful individual" as in the economic model, or "tyranny

of dogma11 as in the religious model. Because the emphasis of the political model is upon

stresses extrinsic motivation, knowing, and acquiescence to

public concensus. The school systems which this model devel op are as open or as closed as the cultural forces the par

leadership-followership and hence the survival of national

or regional special interests (as contrasted with universal ity or the Heavenly Kingdom) knowledge becomes focused upon
"good citizenship." This term is variously defined but generally stresses national heritage and tradition, patri

ticular system represents.

However, since power is gener

ally held more broadly than in the economic model and per
suasion becomes more important than knowledge, the political model is generally more open than the economic model.
The Collegial Model

otism (as exemplified by national heroes) and selfsacrifice to the greater interest of the nation. Such skills as we encourage are considered as assets or resour

Another sharp contrast can be drawn where the collegial model is concerned. This approach tends to focus

ces of the state.

The state, therefore, has a vested

interest in regulating, certificating, accrediting, etc. the various aspects of education in order to "ensure a
minimum standard of excellence" in the overall operation of
the school.
It was Jefferson who said that "the function of

upon the necessary knowledge base for the development (in graduate school) of invention and discovery skills. At its
ultimate, the prime focus of the endorsers of the collegial
approach is the pursuit of new knowledge for its own sake.

Because this activity is often interesting and sometimes even

Government is to provide for the people that which they

exciting, intrinsic motivation is stressed.

sibility becomes the approach to authority.

Also, the expert

There is often a

cannot provide for themselves."

The primary functions

should make his or her own decisions hence individual respon

assumed by most governments to meet this end are the

regulations of public behavior, the allocation of scarce resources, and the provision for national security. To

mutual distrust between the collegials and the politicals

since the former do not respect consensus as a basis for

ensure the equitable execution of these functions, govern

ments in the West have tended to develop elaborate systems

decision making where knowledge is required.

Since resear

chers working separately find themselves in competition with

for enlisting or determining public concensus, and for

others for scarce resources and must convince the politician

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That Precious Moment

with what they already know

that their own project is the

of the community school is upon intrinsic motivation, doing

and public consensus.

most important, collegials generally support a "governance by experts" approach to authority.

The role of the school in the collegial model is to sort like-minded people into the various professions, and to

These are the seven models which Carlton presented although I have discussed them in somewhat different terms.
The Humanizing Model

keep those who are likely to "tarnish" the image of the pro fessions out of them. Screening is rigorous and inter
personal competition stiff. Openness in intellectual areas

Model number eight is similar to the Community model

except that it focuses upon level three of affective under

is at or near optimum (for those who succeed) but this open

ness is gained at the expense of interpersonal understanding.

None-the-less, the collegial approach may be critical for the

development of top quality theoretical researchers.
and individual responsibility.
The Community Model

This

model, therefore, stresses intrinsic motivation, knowing.

standing (brings understanding among others) which shifts the learner's approach to authority from consensus (even among a community of experts) to individual responsibility in the sense of shared competence or "Brother's Keeper." Deliberately opening alternatives for others is the most open of all possible courses of action. Since this approach tends to help others to be their best possible selves, I am calling
this approach to education the Humanizing Model. Of course I consider this last approach the ideal one

Recognizing the lack of interpersonal understanding

which occurs in the collegial model and the danger inherent

in the "concensus of ignorance" which the political model can generate, many educators are now advocating an attempt

but I have no illusions that it could (or perhaps even should) be universally implemented in the near future. Also, there
are situations where each of these eight models are approp riate. Clearly, children who are a danger to themselves and/or
others need something akin to the custodial model. As Maslow

to combine the familial, economic, and collegial models

into one. Thus the community model was generated. School should be a pleasant place, but rigor cannot be sacrificed.

indicates, phsiological and safety needs must be met first.

Consensus becomes agreement among a community of scholars,

(the interdisciplinary approach) and productivity the basis

for the recognition of merit. Since the activities in the

For youth who might otherwise be trapped in a poverty cycle the economic model approach to making them employable and hence meeting security needs may be a legitimate approach to
secondary education for these individuals. Before a person can stand on the strength of his own competence, he must still be able to have some form of strength to protect him

school are designed to be interesting as well as illuminating

intrinsic motivation is fostered.

Like the political model, the community focuses upon level two of affective understanding (i.e. understanding others) but the purpose of this focus is "enlightened
self-interest" rather than "persuasion."

Cooperation is stressed over competition and most

competition is with the learner's own past performance, a

further builder of intrinsic motivation. Hence the focus

self from the tyranny of the ill-advised or ignorant group. The religious model would seem to have superiority in this aspect of education just as the collegial approach seems to be necessary to produce first line theoreticians. The familial model seems to have proven very
effective where very young children are concerned in both

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That Precious Moment

interrelated.

3.

It should focus upon the development of

inner-directedness.

pupil-art not teacher-art. And the desks only rarely will be found in row patterns. In fact, chairs, tables,
carpets, cushions replace desks in the more progressive
schools of this type.

To be properly run all such schools will employ

adaptive programming if not individualized instruction. The goals for education in the short run should be set for

We should ask several teachers how they are implementing the philosophy of the school. They should be

each child separately, designed to meet his or her unique development needs, with interaction planned to encourage solidarity and a sense of belonging to a special group.
Interpersonal conflict and the malicious

able to tell us exactly how they do this, show us examples of pupil work which illustrates the procedures they
describe.

As we walk the corridors, there should be happy,

busy children sounds around us. Only on the rare occasion should we hear a teacher raise his or her voice. The children we meet should be polite and helpful.
It should be evident from the reaction of the

exploitation of one child by another should be discouraged

by means of role-play experimentation, discussion of moral issues, morality-stressing literature, and supportive interpersonal relations techniques. For us to determine this, we need to visit the school library, observe the classroom activities, and examine the disciplinary
procedures employed.

teachers that visitors are a regular and welcomed event.

The principal of the school should be clearly on good

terms with the' faculty. It should be evident that he

We should see that the children are happy, busy,

and productive. If we observe one child being mean to
another, and we observe that the teacher also observed

visits classes regularly for the purpose of support and

encouragement, particularly for new teachers to the school. In the religious school, however, bureaucratic routines should also be clearly in evidence. The transi

this, we should see the teacher dealing with this meanness

inr a constructive and loving manner (and not in a

tion from constraint to self-restraint requires a good

deal of constraint at the outset.

punishing manner which merely aggravates the problem). Individualized programs are more effectively operated if the school does not purchase class sets of textbooks. Also, grouping by interest is more effective in many instances than grouping by achievement. We should also observe a good deal of sharing and helping of each other. Older pupils will be actively helping the skill development of younger ones. Teachers

There should also be some form of token economy or

point system wherein privileges are earned. I will discuss the reason for this in a later chapter. All these details
should be laid out in a school handbook.

Schools of this type work best for the eight to eleven age group or Grades three to six, and can be some what larger (say up to twenty teachers) than the familial
schools.

will spend little time, if any, giving lectures to large

groups. Children will be writing and illustrating their own stories rather than coloring pretty pictures from

In terms of noise level, the religious school falls

workbooks or stencils.
learning materials.

They will also be making their own

between the familial and the custodial. The familial school being full of singing, laughter, and sound of

The classrooms will be decorated with

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That Precious Moment

activity.
presence.

The custodial school usually is like a tomb

where you would have to see children to be aware of their

It is not necessary for a parent to track the

able to genuinely prepare youth for vocational entrance. I realize that this approach shortens the training time and in the short run puts heavy demands upon the new

information flow as carefully as it is for a teacher to do

job segment of the employment market. But we are talking

about a new brand of graduate as well. The self-actual izing person generates his own opportunities. Also the
social, ecological, and economic problems of the world

so. However, I have a checklist available for parents who want a guide to assist them in assessing the type of school they are observing and its quality. The economic model for schools relates primarily
to secondary and post secondary institutions.
respect I have a particular bias

In this

which is that if an

require more competent people for their solution than the combined potential output of all the world's schools over the next generation, if we could start this more effective
approach tomorrow.

appropriate development of children is produced by the schools before the age of sixteen, post secondary voca

This is the misconception of today. existing market conditions.

We cannot

tional training institutions are redundant.

this time, is already thinking logically.

The child, by
If he. or she

improve world conditions if our manpower planning follows

The adaptive lead time is too

has also developed autonomy, initiative, industry and

skills in reality testing, he or she should be able to

develop competence and a consolidated sense of identity

concurrently.

I have taught in a wide variety of subject areas,

social settings, and ability groups and have come to the

firm conclusion, based upon hard evidence, that properly

organized an average pupil can accomplish at least twice as much in skill development, information accumulation. and the like than is now being gained.

long for such short-run contingencies. No, to be effective human resources development planning must lead expected conditions by at least ten years, and better, twenty, or a full generation. How then, should a prospective pupil or his or her parents select a school for vocational prepar ation? To begin with, most vocational schools today tend to follow a boom or bust cycle. An an example, in recent
years the sale of gasoline-powered equipment for industrial and recreational use has vastly exceeded the number of

trained repairmen available.

Chain saws, lawn mowers, out

It would seem

This observation suggests that for the academically

inclined, the present standards of our best high schools can be completed by the end of Grade Nine, and the equiv alent to a general studies bacheloriate by Grade Twelve. The universities would then be freed to develop the polished theoreticians we so desperately need. The commu nity colleges wou_id be freed to fill the social education role which will facilitate the development of a network of trust, and the vocational secondary school would then be

board motors etc. have flooded the market.

that the vocation of small motor mechanic would be ideal.

However, tooling for training in this vocation is rela tively easy since only minor adjustments are needed in an

auto mechanics shop, and many people will think the same,
so that when the energy crunch hits about twenty years from
now repairmen for internal combustion engines will be a
glut on the market.

In order to lead the market by twenty years small

150

That Precious Moment

J.

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149

transportation when the third big push at the interstellar

motor mechanics trainees should be recruited from the ranks

level occurs.

Perhaps forty to fifty years, sooner if

of the currently unemployed who are at least thirty-five

years of age.

enough time and money are devoted to fundamental research.

The most likely way for this timetable to be shortened is

Where, then, should the ambitious young man look

for training which will assure long term employment.

To

begin with, the increasing shortage of foodstuffs and the

for the western nations to fail to control current infla tion and to have the resulting depression lead to a third world war. Wartime has always been a time of rapid
technological growth.

piling up of garbage which we are now experiencing sug

gests that both agriculture and environmental studies are

In any case, a fifteen year old today could live

potentially profitable areas for consideration. In agri culture, also, both government policy and agribusiness are
moving to assure supplies and stablized markets.
resourceful person. As our population becomes more affluent and better

through the second generation space probes, the beginning of colonization and the beginning of the third generation
interstellar probes during his or her expected working
career.

Hence

there is considerable money available for the talented and

Similar analyses can be developed from other current

informed they are becoming more discriminating in their purchasing habits. For this reason, marketing technology,
which is burgeoning now, and will continue to do so for
fifteen or twenty years and will then level off. We

trends. Recreation, counselling, education, all have bright futures as our orientation shifts from things to
people.

Which school to choose?

First, the person seeking

From this infor

training must know his or her present strengths and weak

nesses as well as likes and dislikes.

should not enter this area if our training time is longer than five years because all the ground floor positions
will be gone after that time.

mation a map or decision tree of possible alternatives can

be drawn up. The costs and time durations of alternative training programs and possible sources of financial assis tance should be included on each branch. This is the

If we are looking to a period of training of five to ten years, then transportation technology is ideal
since important shifts toward mass transit are foreseeable

basic decision tree.

From here the potential student

in about ten years time.

It will take that much lead time

should investigate a number of schools for their quality.

Lesser known schools with a dynamic faculty are better bets than more established centers with less momentum. A person's first job is dependent upon the quality of the school attended, the third one upon the quality of one's
own work record and reputation. For this reason momentum

to adapt policy, gear up industry, and begin to shift

public attitudes. If more than ten years training is the prospect then aerospace technology beings to look good since about that time second generation (nuclear powered)
space vehicles will be becoming feasible, and the second

big push of man into space will have begun.

It will

is more important than prestige.

Some prestige institu-

depend upon how rapidly the understanding of such phenom

enon as parity breakdown and time reversal develops to a point where they become applicable to vehicular

tations, however, provide momentum as well by attracting both high power students and high power faculty. The key
word is INVESTIGATE.

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That Precious Moment

The decision tree is then corrected or augmented with the findings of the investigation and the best route

Once again, information tracking is essential.

The

economic model is best suited for vocationally-oriented

secondary schools, community colleges and professional

chosen.* The tree should include both short and long term goals. For instance, the Grade Nine pupil may have to pass Math 10 with an A to be certain of an Honors High
School graduation, and he may need the latter to be cer

schools.

Also the more high powered the program the

better- since a person's momentum toward further self-

development is more valuable than the specific things he

or she learns or the skills he or she acquires.

tain of admission to XYZ university in his chosen field

with the scholarship he or she will need to attend this
particular institution.

Schools which demand achievement must also provide opportunities for development within their offerings. The

Failure to reach one of these decision points leads

to redrawing the tree to look at the other alternatives and to investigate other possibilities.

programs must be tailored to the individual needs.

must ask for the moon but provide the rockets.

They

Parents

and students alike should avoid schools which do not make

There is no such thing as failure when a reality testing approach like this is used; only setbacks. It is
because the self-actualizing person approaches life in

such demands and provisions like the plague.

To do less

is economic suicide, because schools which do not chal

lenge all comers to the optimum of their capacity are not

only economically assassinating their graduates but the

this manner (although perhaps not this systematically)

that he or she is unbeatable in the long run.

nation and the world which must ultimately survive upon

Vocational and professional schools at the present tend to take a shorter view than this. They pride them
selves upon their placement rates in the first job fol

the developed talent available.

makes the decisions?

Faking it is a game in
Who

the education system which humanity cannot afford.

we all lose by default.

Ultimately each one of us does or

lowing graduation.

However, even professional people

frequently have three positions during the first two to

five years of employment.

I personally am in my fourth
Hence momen What

position since my Ph.D. graduation in 1970.

tum and flexibility are more important than specific

training where continued employability is involved.

are the sustained employment records of the school you are

considering? If they cannot tell you, consider another
one which can supply this information.

There is a mathematical procedure for determining the best route which is too involved to be discussed here.

154

That Precious Moment

SCHOOLS THAT ALIENATE

process from Europe around the turn of the Century.

original tradition was quite different.
in a print shop.

The

Benjamin Pranklin,

for instance, learned his skill in writing while working

However, after the great depression of the 1880's,

and because of reports of high injury rates among children

"Open the door, Richard," runs the first line of an old song. Someone is not responding to the needs of others.
This is what alienation is all about.
perspective and become alone.

working in industry a strong political movement toward

universal education was established. We naturally looked

When each of us

to Europe as a model.

focuses on the components of our world as things, we lose

system.

Education in Europe, however, was a two-process

For the working classes, the apprenticeship model

For the Aristocracy, on the other

Do our schools do this? Many would say "yes."

What

was still in vogue.

might happen in a school system which would cause the most

human of enterprises to become the most dehumanizing? My first encounter with the concept of the custodial school (Goffman, 1954) was profound. I saw the dehumanization process under every bush, and, in fact, wrote an extended essay on the topic* I have done much rethinking since then because it was unreasonable to con sider professional educators as culpable as the "Schools
as Prisons" approach suggests. It now seems to me that the alienation process has

hand, there was a quite different approach.

Based upon

the Medieval Cathedral Schools and severally known as the

Lyceum (supposedly because of its Greco-Roman origins), the Gymnasium, or (in England) the Grammar School (because
Latin grammar was taught there), this school was a formal
approach to education.

The formal approach had worthy traditions; the

methodology was lecture

recitation

and "Socratic"

discussion in which leading questions brought the learner

come about much more accidentally and much more subtly than even Fromm considered in his remarkable essay Escape from
Freedom.

to the point of expressing the predetermined outcome of a sequence of questions. The approach was justified by such
Baconian (scientific) method of enquiry.
Century the so-called Age of Reason,

philosophers as Descartes, Kant, and the success of the This logico-

Two particular models for the school seem to me to

deductive approach had its practical origins in the 18th

The Romantic movement of Rousseau, Pestilozzi,

be particularly involved (aside from the custodial model).

These are the political model, and the collegial model. I will devote this paper to these two models as they relate
to the alienation process.

Montessori, Neale, and Dewey upon whom the humanizing

movement is based had not yet had much impact upon educa

Part of our problem in education in North America arises out of our uncritical borrowing of an educational
Available on request.
153

tion in Europe when we borrowed the original models. We missed an important point, however. The education of European Aristocracy for the entrepreneurial, diplomatic and military careers was superimposed upon an

J.

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That Precious Moment

existing literate culture where books were read for

Of course the scenerio I have just described is an

recreation,and discussion of the arts was dinner table

oversimplification.

Some children were fluent enough or

These children
And so North

fare.

The son learned to boss the gardener as he learned

intrigued enough to become excited by the material to

which so many others could not relate.
became the upwardly mobile the new elite.

to talk. Content analysis of great literature was a deep ening experience elaborating the understanding of materials
which were common knowledge among these children.
an elitist education for the elite.

It was

America generated an elite based upon education rather

As such it was an

than on inheritance.
success.

This generated the New World myth

extremely effective method for the preparation of the youth for the leadership roles they were expected to assume in an essentially static society. The system had another advantage. In a society where the bulk of the population had no formal education but who were being needed more and more in the record keeping segment of a burgeoning indus
trial complex people could be repositories of information
and were of immense value.

that education in the classical sense was the key to

One major change which was made in the transplant
of this educational system was its modification from
essentially a privately funded system to a state funded

system.

This change has led to some profound attempts to

But

encourage democratic principles in the schools.

We often forget that both public libraries and mass education are actually 20th Century phenomena.

talking about such complex concepts is not generally very broadly effective, and attempts to get pupils to practice
democracy have generally been abortive.
Part of the problem has been that the school

On the other hand, North America was settled largely

from the peasant classes of Europe with a quite different

administration under the constraints of legislation and

cultural background. But a two-level education system here was untenable because of our deep involvement in the great
egalitarian experiment. It is natural that we chose the

state regulation have been either unable or felt unwilling

to give any real responsibility to the pupils. This fail ure has led to the mockery known as "student government"
which mainly serves to demonstrate to most students that

system that was used to produce the diplomatics and entre

preneurs in Europe.

But the system worked best with people

For most North

the power establishment would retain control, no matter

what.

for whom the schools served to elaborate the cultural

experience of their home environment.

There is another problem.

Democracy is a system of

American children, however, their first encounter with "great literature" was in school, as was shown when the
detailed analysis was conducted. The effect of this situ

government which was designed to meet other kinds of

ation was to destroy the beauty of literature (which was

remote from their experience anyway), and to develop a hearty dislike for this type of material along with the
anti-intellectualism characteristic of our present North
American culture.

problems than the industrial or post-industrial society. The first requirement of the democratic system is a well informed electorate, like the aristocracy of ancient Athens or the House of Lords in England. In both of these
cases the governors were selected from the well educated

segment of society.

More important, they were (at least

until the United Kingdom established the House of Commons)

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That Precious Moment

also responsible to the well educated segment of the society. In addition to being a gentlemen's club, the
democratic form of government also originated as an off

done more, and done more harm, than any other approach to
education.

It has similar origins to the political model just

discussed since it is derived from the elite schools and
universities of Europe.

season activity for gentlemen farmers when the pace of

life was slower and the decision demands less complex.

It would be difficult to find a democracy in the

It also derives its aura of legitimacy from the

"classical" traditions of the Renaissance and the success

world that is not in some form of deep political trouble at the moment. This is not to say that any of the other

of science and technology.

Science and technology have been

forms of government which mankind has experimented with are any better for a postindustrial society. Probably the best form of government for a postindustrial society is the adhocracy coined by Bennis. But in order to work, the
network of trust being discussed in this book is necessary

largely produced by the intelligensia.

This is the type of school which sociologists refer

to as having a "gatekeeper" function.

and to keep all others out.

That is, its main

function is to preserve the professions for a select few The basis for the selection process is interpersonal

and the proportion of self-actualizing people in the popu

lation will have to be much larger than at present. Also,

competition which, in collegial schools, begins in the

democracy as a form of government is more flexible than any other when transition to new, even more open, forms of
governance are being considered.

primary grades or even in kindergarten.

know that

Psychologists

"readiness" is an important factor in learning.

Children have to have reached an appropriate neuromuscular,

It is important, then, that pupils know the kinds of knowledge and skills which are necessary to make democracy or some more open form of government work. It is obvious
that honest and honorable people need less regulation of
their activities than do others. Resource allocation is

visual-auditory perception, and language level before they

can learn to read.

There are many interacting experiential,

environmental, and maturational factors which affect the timing of this point of readiness. Some children can and
do learn to read at the age of three, others may be nine

still a necessary function and the supervision of service delivery is still essential.

or ten before they can start this complex process. Putting five and six year olds together into a common reading pro gram provides opportunity to excel, for some, and dooms
others to failure. The failure is obvious and immediate.

As we can now see, the political model for the schools

has been alienating because of the manner in which it has been

handled,

Hone-the-less, it is an ideal model for schools in

early adolescence following the development of a strong sense of ethics, and before vocational or professional

preparation has taken place.

More details of this approach

are given in my discussion of adolescent development.

Another model for education has proved to be

The teacher, and some of the pupils obviously make sense out of those peculiar marks on the page. Some manage to "fake it" by becoming skillful picture readers, and developing excellent memories. However, as they advance through the grades the pictures in the books become too
few and the memory burden too great. Thus, the first pupils who learn to read have, and generally maintain, a

extremely alienating as well.

The collegial model has

J.

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That Precious Moment

competetive edge.

Those who do not quickly learn to read

alone but are happy to have it that way.

If this form of

often suffer serious damage to their self-concept; the most intelligent and sensitive are hurt the most deeply. Collegial schools continue this weeding out process,
pitting pupil against pupil until only the most facile have managed to survive. Each ia honed against the other

alienation maintains our momentum in the bootstrap oper

ation of thrusting mankind from the caves to the stars

then let us accept this necessity and parasite the ingen

uity it helps to produce but we don't have to live with

these individuals, and we don't have to subject large

segments of our children to the kind of meatgrinder edu cation the intelligentsia thrives upon. We must also develop our practioners our doers and for this
operation we have more humane means.

until his tongue is razor sharp, his wit is acid, and his willingness to score points for himself by tearing another to shreds is deeply ingrained. He is then prepared to
enter the sterile and puerile "publish or perish" world of

the academic.

He has learned to use his intelligence to

intimidate rather than to facilitate and to defend the

To humanize our society we must learn how to live together not apart. Although each has a contribution

sanctity of his knowledge haven by insisting that knowledge for the sake of knowledge is the only legitimate pursuit of man. Men of action are ignoble individuals because they
condescend to do things.

to make, neither the political nor the collegial model can

accomplish this higher and more generally needed end.
free!

It

is through communication, not isolation, that we are set

Let us grant this point

that the theoretical base

Goffman, Erving. Asylums:
Essays on the social situation of mental patients and otherinmates. H. Y.. Doubledav

for our present amazing technology was prepared in pre

cisely this way academic pitted against academic.

Furthermore, to develop the penetrating theoretician, it may be necessary to subject those inclined in this way to
precissly this kind of rigorous training.

(Anchor). 1954.

My complaint is not with the rigor of training

necessary to produce first calibre theoreticians. It is

with the insistence by the supporters of the collegial model that we must subject all children to this devastating
process for the sake of producing a limited number of

intellectual leaders. Rather, I believe that the model is too broadly applied, and that it generates the lack of trust across disciplines which has prevented the full
utilization of professional human potential to date.

Generally, interdisciplinary approaches do not work among

graduates of a collegial school system.

Such people are so alienated that they are not only

162

That Precious Moment

SCHOOLS THAT LIBERATE

teachers in junior high schools.

The single major characteristic of the community

school is its focus upon "allowing others to be." This is essentially level two of affect understanding. Pupils in this sort of school often select among a

As we have seen elsewhere some approaches to

number of alternatives and pursue work in a project or contract format. Counselling, particularly vocational

education tend to be alienating from the outset.

The cus

counselling, is stressed, and the relationships between the

school and the larger community are strong. In this latter

todial, economic, political, and collegial models all tend

to be alienating, each for a different reason although
none of them need to be if appropriately utilized.

respect the main difference between the familial and the community schools is that in the familial school most con
tracts are confined to the parents of the children in the
school. In the community school these contracts are with

Alternatively, both the familial and the religious

models tend to be liberating within the context of either

the community or philosophical constraints. If inappropriately applied both of these can be alienating as
well.

the community at large, and in all sectors, professional,

In this section I wish to discuss the two most

business, entertainment, etc. as well as with the parents. Observing such a school we see a wide range of course offerings, and the pupils generally industriously

liberating models the community, and the humanizing

models. It should be kept in mind that both of these, when abused, can be alienating as well. The community model, as already indicated, endeavors to establish an interdisciplinary community of scholars who work on a collaborative basis with each other and the

engaged. The student government is usually strong and carries a responsible role in the internal operation of the
school.

School spirit is high as is evidenced by an actively

supported intramural recreational program, sports, chess,

drama, etc.

Also, the intramural program gives the school

students (or in the secondary school, the pupils) so that a mutual exploration of environmental and theoretical
issues is established.

a broad competetive and team work reputation. Such schools often have specialized programs in such areas as performing arts, usually having more applicants than positions.
Staff meetings are interesting and generally

At the present time, this model seems to function best after preliminary competences have been established, as in a progressive and dynamic graduate school. Some extraordinary secondary schools have managed this same

atmosphere.

A group of high school teachers I know estab

lished a meteorlogical station and one of the first air

polution watch centers in Ontario in this manner.

161

Similar

productive. The principal of the school is usually a strong personality who keeps the meeting moving briskly, and keeps them focused upon the issues under discussion. These meet ings deal , in general, with matters of import. It is usually fascinating to watch such a person chair a meeting. He usually endeavours to have every issue require a "yes"
or "no" decision. If more than two different opinions are

events occasionally occur under the auspices of individual

J. C. Powell

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164

That Precious Moment

Princeton, Sloane

or. in Canada, the University of

As a result, although the principals are

expressed he will subdivide the issue into two or more issues in order to restore the "yes," "no" balance. Thus he keeps building decision trees on issues, and guiding

Western Ontario.

generally dedicated, hard working, and intelligent individ uals, through lack of adequate training, schools are gener
ally rather badly managed. This fact may be part of the reason why the public has lost confidence in our schools and has expressed this loss of confidence by restrictions
in budgets over the past five years. I have attended four high schools as a pupil, taught

the decision process along the most efficient routes.

others later he will suggest that this one be deferred.

If

it looks as though a current decision may interfere with

Thus premature closure of an issue is generally avoided.

This is not to say that he maintains his own way on all issues he facilitates the decision process rather than
controlling it.

in seven, and supervised in several others, totaling about twenty. Only one of these would I classify as a genuine
community school. This is the only statistic I have to work with, which suggests about five per cent of all sec ondary schools are of this ilk. I stand to be corrected on this and have prepared some measuring instruments which can
be used to determine the status of any particular school in the eightfold system presented here. I have neither taught in nor observed a humanizing

This behavior is "letting others be" in a grand

style.

Not all principals of community schools are this

schools are rare. this much admini
rather than in from the teaching

good and this may be part of the reason why community

schools are this good, and why community It is far more likely that a person with strative skill will be found in business education. Recruiting of administrators strators contributes as well.

ranks is part of the problem; underpaying school admini

The principal of a three

school although I have heard about several which suggests that they are rare enough to be newsworthy. Perhaps one
in one thousand schools. About one in twenty teachers seem

thousand pupil composite high school may have an annual

operating budget of four million dollars or more.

Small

to achieve this quality, but these teachers are rarely

moved into administrative positions.

businesses with this size of annual gross will generally

pay their manager two to three or even more times the salary a secondary school principal is usually paid. When competing on the market for management talent, there is generally no contest. Only rank beginners, or the unsuc cessful will apply at these rates. Hence, attempts to put
businessmen in as principals have generally failed. Alternatively, appointing teachers out of the

I would expect a humanizing school to have several

distinctive characteristics.

To begin with, the focus of such schools would be

upon "helping others to become."

For this reason we would

expect organized chaos to reign. Students would be com peting with their own past performances, setting their own
objectives, evaluating their own progress.

classroom, as has been traditional, has only by accident

led to producing first rate administrators. When training for principalships is provided, it is

In addition, much emphasis would be placed upon the sharing of emerging competences, upon developing human and

rarely, if ever, of the quality provided for middle manage

ment in the business schools of Cornell, Harvard,Pittsburg,

interpersonal relations skills. As such, formal subjects of study may not exist and classrooms would be expected to be

166

That Precious Moment

J. C.

Powell

165.

style.

Such counselling as is done usually emerges out of

converted to various kinds of resource and activity

seminars, conferences, or planning sessions, but may occur in

the group role play sessions where interpersonal skills are being explicitly practiced.

centers.

Nor will we find timetables in the traditional Meetings are scheduled as appropriate

sense of the word.

in much the same manner as occurs in a business office.

All the necessary knowledge and skills to make a

school like this work are available now. The better business

Pupils will be engaged mainly in individual and group projects under the facilitative supervision of the teaehers. Sometimes contracts will be used to help set objec
tives and standards. Pupils may spend much of their time
outside of the school building in newspaper archives,

schools could provide training in how to manage such an oper ation and the futurology outlook. The better humanistic

eclectic psychology departments can provide the interpersonal

trainer skills. The better clinics for disturbed children

university libraries, the municipal council chamber, the courtroom, etc. Curriculum emerges as a continuing process from the study activities and the shifting interest matrix as pupils gain, and increase their competence. To accomplish such a schooling, a strong foundation
must be laid beforehand.
with elsewhere.

have the development fostering knowhow.

The better programs

in communication arts and technology could provide the knowhow in the engineering of learning environments. Unfortun

ately, there are not many teacher training institutions which

have all these skills under one roof.

The how of this will be dealt

My own work is endeavouring to put together the

measuring instruments for teacher skills, school approach,

The staff will spend long hours working through cooperative curriculum development, and in committee

and quality, community needs, and aspirations.

I am not proposing so much that is new as I am suggesting that education is a vastly more complex process

meetings with students keeping all activities coordinated and program content tight enough to meet diploma demands. Staff meetings, on the other hand, tend to be perfunctory and rubber stamp because practically all policy is set up
in committees involving all pertinent individuals including
community members as needed. Another distinctive feature of this type of school is the fact that there is no clear transition point between

than tradition has treated it.

Many of the arguments about This approach has Instead,

education in the past have been for the exclusive advantage

of one method or approach over another.

been too simplistic as research has clearly shown.

another is better.

we should ask when a particular approach is better and when

This information is lost when averages

are compared or significant dimensions are ignored.

It is also simplistic to say there is no best way;

school and college, or between school and employment.

Finally, such a school would be expected to devote a heavy emphasis to avocational as well as vocational inter
ests. Long time horizons, and broad space horizons are

rather, we should examine which kinds of students function

best in which kinds of circumstances. Mass education has

failed because the wrong industrial model has been applied.

always being explored, and momentun toward further develop

ment after graduation is explicitly included in the planning
of all activities. Also, contingency planning is practiced

We have tried to use a mass production model everyone the same

treating

trying to make people interchangeable. On the other hand, if we

And arguing the successes and the failures in terms of a

"normal curve of intelligence."
agree that everyone is different, then there can be no

so that the pupils can develop a self-actualizing life

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170

That Precious Moment

SUMMARY

possibilities, particularly at output.

SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE

However, where I

felt that some form of transition was needed I provided no

direct route.
collegial.

There are, therefore, no direct connections

between custodial and political, and between political and

Leonard in his fascinating book Education and Ecstacy

I do not intend to suggest that each of these should be

self-contained schools since we are now burdened in North

( ) provides a scenerio from the extrapolation of many present trends in education. It sounds in many ways
similar to the community and humanizing schools described
in this part of the present book.

America with large numbers of huge, unwieldy consolidated

school buildings.

It would, therefore, be necessary at

least in the short run to subdivide the staff and pupils

However, he makes the same error as other theories in trying to expound one ideal approach rather than a
composite.

into "houses," each pursuing a different philosophy in

competition with other segments of the same school building.

The alternative is an elaborate transportation system.

My own approach is to propose a variety of alternatives depending upon the situation and the nature of the poten
tialities of the pupil population. Figure 6 gives a network diagram illustrating this point.

The fundamental philosophical position I am taking is

that there is no one best method of education separate from

the needs, aspirations, learning style, competency level and community situation of each learner. Once these several

parameters are known, however, there is a "one best method"

for that child.
Insert FIGURE 6 Here

If optimum provision is to be made then a

variety of learning atmospheres must be available. The eight models for schools help us to bring these diverse
considerations into focus and also help us develop a means for dealing with them.

The design of this network is based upon the assumption

that the child is placed in the beginning processess of his or her schooling upon the basis of his or her unique
characteristics with respect to the school model best

This part of this book has proposed that there is no such thing as the school system. Rather, there are a

equipped to develop these.

in the decision.

I include parental preference

variety of possible approaches to schooling.

The next part

as an alternative since their judgment should be included

of this book looks at the diversity among learners, both fundamentally and along the developmental continuum.
Schools of the future will be more characterized by

Any of the outcomes can be achieved from any starting point although some paths may be circuitous, this time depending upon the progress of development and the emerging
goals of the learner.

their diversity than by any basic similarities which might

be evident today.

I make no claim that Figure 6 is exhaustive of the

169

PART FOUR
YOUR WAY OS MINE?

ON GROWING UP

When a person first begins to study the biological

sciences the most remarkable aspect of the world of living
things is its diversity.
Elsewhere I discussed the problem of two people who

have difficulty relating to each other because of differ

ences in their viewpoints. I have also indicated that

The same impact occurs when a teacher first begins to

become child-oriented rather than content-oriented. Each

their may be at least eight different points of view as to

which form of school is most effective. In this section I

child is so different from another that the suggestion that we attempt to individualize instruction is overwhelming. In the life sciences, however, as we progress further,
we find certain fundamental characteristics repeated over and over again. The same is true with children. As educators we do not need to meet all the needs of each child at the same time. Ordinarily, two or three, or

will look at the cultural aspects of these differences.

To begin with, research evidence has shown that for

right-handed people, the left half of the brain is pri marily responsible for locomotion, and the right half of the brain for linguistic pursuits. If this generalization is true, then we would expect the degree to which these two

occasionally four needs dominate a particular child's

halves of the brain can act independently to influence the nature of human interaction, and hence human culture.

present developmental status.

There are fundamental

similarities among children in the best available procedures

to meet particular prepotent needs.

In this case, we would tend to expect two or perhaps three general orders or classes of human culture, one

Some of these needs are physiological in base, others are

psychological, and still others are socio-cultural.

This part addresses the diversity problem by deriving a multiple category system designed to both elaborate and simplify our approach to this diversity. By becoming more astute observers we can more clearly identify the prepotent needs evident within our classrooms. Identification is the necessary first step toward facilitation or intervention as the need may be. It helps us to cope, and with our skills enhanced, it helps the children to cope more effectively
than would otherwise have been possible.
171

kinesthetic group of cultures (K culture), a language oriented or literate group of cultures (L culture), and
possibly an integrative form of culture which relates to

the integration of both hemispheres ( M culture ).

This approach is probably an oversimplification as

there are probably many subgroups, variations and over-

lappings among these various cultural groups. convenience, I will treat each as distinct.

However, for
The

Triads of this sort are common in human analysis.

The opposite is true for left-handed people.

172

J.

C.

Powell

173

174

That Precious Moment

socialists tend to broadly divide our society into three classes. Freud talks of three subdivisions of the person

ality (the Id, Ego, and Superego).

Harris, (I'm CK -

You're CK) talis about the Parent, Adult, Child triad of transactional analysis. (1969) Guilford analyzes intel
ligence in three dimensions. Three is common in folklore

The nonlinear aspect of thinking would tend to produce intense emotional responses, and to generate deep hos tility as well as intense joy. To preserve safety such cultures would tend to try to avoid confrontation and per haps to seek tranquility in meditation and through mystioism. Thus we would expect such phenomena as serial love

three wishes, three golden apples, three billygoats gruff,

The Holy Trinity...

affairs or marriages (rather than promiscuity), a dis

respect for authority other than self and a deemphasis upon if not open hostility toward intellectual pursuits.

I am trying to develop in this book what is essentially

a three-dimensional model for human performance.
respect we are not yet at the end of our triad.

In this
In this

We would also expect an emphasis upon pgnual dexterity

and rhythmic body movements (athletic and manual labor

section, , however, the body, mind, spirit (or soul) triad

is as useful a general analogy as any, and can be related
to the three levels of understanding already discussed.
The K Cultures

oriented) and a work hard, play hard philosophy with a hedonistic emphasis of work as little as possible, grid
play as much as possible. If the worker feels that he is

Research evidence into left hemisphere functions of the

brain suggests a nonlinear operation which treats events as global rather than sequential, and wholest rather than

being exploited (gaining les3 than his employer for his efforts) he may engage in a variety of subterfuges such as
sabotage, rip-offs, slack-offs, absenteeism, etc. In our present terms such a person tends to function
primarily in a reactive fashion and hence in the bottom

analytic, hence the relationship between kinesthetic (the

physical action), aesthetics (love, truth, beauty) and creativity (illogic or nonlogic), and possibly emotionality
which seems to emerge from this part of the brain.

half of our cube. We would find feelings, and feelings about feelings predominating in input, and expressing un
conscious drives and displaying largely habitual and reflex

If we were to extrapolate from present knowledge to a culture based primarily on left hemisphere functioning,
what do we get?

(stereotyped) behavior.

This is the environment dominated

form of man which often seems to be the sole human survivor

in the writings of the behavior theorists.

The nonlinearity would suggest short time and space

horizons, a deeply rooted mysticism, and a largely self

and family group (or tribal) orientation to peer

relat i onshi ps.

We can recognize in this description the paleolithic (old stone age) man whose culture would seem to have survived from preclassical times among the illiterate
peasants of Europe, the tribalisms of Africa and of the North American "Indian." Its flowering seemed to have

This latter orientation would tend to produce strong

emotional ties with the immediate family group. However,
these emotional bonds may be unstable for several reasons.

occurred in the Orient, where mysticism has been developed

to a fine art.

To begin with, the short time and narrow space horizons would tend to make the person live in the present only.

It is found in North America today largely among the

"working class" and occurs in its most degenerate form in

J.

C.

Powell

175

176

That Precious Moment

the ghetto culture. I am making two suggestions.

standards) which often characterizes E cultures. First, this set of

The

rationalizing game of choosing one's assumptions to justify

one's actions is a favorite of L culture individuals, as the energy crisis, Watergate, The Great European Wars of
this Century, etc. are ample proof.
The main orientation of the L set of cultures involves

cultures has an ancient and noble history, derived as it is from the hunting and fishing cultures of man's antiquity.

Second, there is no essential difference in the basic

characteristics of this set of cultures whether they be

found among the peasants of Southern Italy, the Indians of

an "every man for himself" approach to life.

This expres

Mexico, the Blacks of the United States, or the rice paddy

workers of Thailand. The heritage is different, not the
cultural characteristics.

ses itself in a number of ways ranging from a "knowledge

for its own sake" approach to academia to a "dog eat dog"

approach to business.

It is this approach which supports

This observation also may challenge arguments that

the patronage approach to power in contrast to the cor ruption approach of the K cultures.
subtle corruption.

certain racial groups are less intelligent by suggesting

rather that for cultural reasons these individuals are

Patronage is not

It tends to be covert rather than

intelligent in a different manner than the linear logic characteristic of intelligence tests. The collapse of
these cultures into their various degenerate forms may be

overt, and need not involve direct transfer of money. More common with patronage is the ascriptive transfer of power by individuals for the purpose of gaining privilege from
the powerful.

a product of culture shock when overwhelmed by the

materialistic power of the "L" Cultures.
The L Cultures

The historical origins of the 1 cultures is much more recent than the K cultures, being perhaps no more than ten

The right hemisphere of the brain wherein may be seated linear logic and language, would be expected to produce
sharply different from the K set of cultures.

thousand years old, rather than one hundred thousand or

more years old for the K culture. Its origins are probably

neolithic (new stone age) arising from the expanded wealth

of sedentary agriculture and the influence of the story
teller and the witch doctor cum priest over the general

Language would be used for communicating ideas rather

than emotions and developing understanding of others rather

than manipulating others.

The relational logic of language

when used formally would suggest that such cultures would have relatively longer time and broader space horizons than
the K cultures.

populace. The L cultures have never represented the total population of any country, but being power oriented and
very efficient in the management of materials these cul
tures have dominated their geographic regions wherever they

Marriage, for instance, would be long term affairs, if only for the sake of the children. Cheating would be permissible, provided one is not caught. In fact, reason

have emerged in Europe, North America, and latterly, Asia

and Africa.

I cultures are not all "bad."

The first real flowering

justifies all in the L set of cultures so that we can expect this set of cultures to be amoral (having no morals)
rather than immoral (not able to live up to the cultural

was in Ancient Greece which gave us democracy, among other

gifts.

Much of the Great Works of Literature and all of

our current technology have had their origins in the L

J.

C. Powell

177

178

That Precious Moment

cultures as well.

I am suggesting that members of the M culture

Representatives of the L cultures tend to be enactive and tend to represent the top half of our cube. These are characteristically represented by people who bury their emotions, endeavor to observe accurately, form supportable opinions based upon observations and linear logic, and

represent a mediative blending of the other two.

These

are our self-actualizers, our fully functioning persons.

With the reactive and enactive aspects of human nature

blended into an harmonious balance with the full capacity

of the brain potentially available a "miraculous" trans

plan and implement these plans with a cold indifference

to nonquantifiable or nonpredictable consequences.

formation often occurs.

Once a person's time and space

horizons beoome very large or perhaps even infinite in

As an example of the power of the L culture, one need

scope, the need for self-restraint, absolute moral

integrity, trust, and love become obvious.

only to realize that as late as World War II still at

least 40$ of inductees into the U. S. armed services were

The truly powerful person can dare to be patient, kind,

considerate of others, gentle because he or she enhances

functionally illiterate, and as late as 1961 the average

Canadian had less than a Grade Nine education. From this

rather than depletes power by these means.

Such a person

data, it is obvious that only a small proportion of a

is unbeatable, in life the pinnacle of a service-oriented movement, in death a hero or martyr, an object of
adulation.

country (perhaps no more than 20$ of the total population)

need be members of the L culture to have an overwhelming
technology emerge.

Not very many famous people have reached this pinnacle in two thousand years of history Jesus, of course, and

You will notice that I am suggesting that the impact of these cultures have been dramatically swift less than

two hundred years in Western Europe, less than 150 years in North America, less than seventy years in Russia, and less than thirty years in China has transformed essentially
agricultural economies to industrial ones.
The M Culture

Schweitzer, and Cardinal Leger.

increases.

Ghandi, perhaps Lincoln, and Churchill, certainly Moreover, a person's power

steadily increases as point of contact with Universal Power Some, like Kuhlman and Roberts become foci for healing, others like Dixon become prophets, or like Rous seau, Pestalozzi, Montessori, Dewey, or Neal become teachers.
The power of these individuals far exceeds their

I am going to refer to the M Culture ("M" for Mediative)

in the singular for two reasons. First, I use the singular

contemporaries.
competence.

It is more than charisma, it is pure

because the explicit founder of this culture formed less than two thousand years ago is a single person, Jesus of Nazareth. Second, I use the singular because this culture
has a number of universal aspects which tend to bring its

The pressure of society on them to conform on

the one hand, and to render direct service on the other,

generally forces these individuals to operate in isolation

from one another.

Their tendency to give of themselves

members to common ground whatever their heritage.

That is,

unstintingly often forces the less spectacular of them into

K cultures tend to be regionalistic in viewpoint, 1 cul tures tend to be nationalistic in viewpoint, and the M
culture universalistic in viewpoint.

relative obscurity.

Unlike Kings, Presidents, or Generals

they tend not to have the public status which leads to a

record of their exploits, hence they tend to be low profile

J.

C.

Powell

179

people.

I would guess that about two per cent of our present

THE EYE OF

THE BEHOLDER

population in North America have taken this transforming

step and are having impact in their own milieu out of all

proportion to the normal patronage based power of our

present social order.

I also suspect that the M culture is too recent to

have developed the cynergy which characterized the indus trial revolution produced by the L culture.

However, rather than needing fifteen per cent or so for

cynergy as did the L culture, I suspect that only about one-third of this would transform our present social order

There is a controversy raging behind the scenes among philosophers and psychologists about the nature of reality. Close examination leads the most solid objects to become
mostly empty space. We have to revert to sense data

(information gained through the senses) for our knowledge.

However, sense data is notoriously unreliable.
And yet in a very special way all inventions can be said

if a network of trust could be established by these

individuals.

If our schools deliberately set out to produce selfactualizing people, rather than to prevent their develop ment as we do now, this marginal transformation would oceur very quickly and the transformation could be accomplished in thirty to forty years. Is there a need for this much haste? The prophets of

to be extensions of man's senses or capabilities.

The

problem arises because our scientific approach tends to look

for continuity in experience. The focus is generally on the inclusion operation rather than the disjoint exclusion op eration. For instance electromagnetic energy is seen as a
spectrum ranging from very long radio waves through short

doom and gloom give us about fifty years before the popul ation explosion in K culture areas swamps our L culture by
sheer weight of demand for food. About the same time scale is given by the antipolutionists before we poison our oceans to the point where we shut off our supply of oxygen.

waves, visible light and ultimately, X Rays and cosmic rays. This spectrum is seen as continuous. Perhaps it is, although the possible effects of different wave length are substan
tially different.

But radiant energy is discontinuous.

Sound for instance

The nuclear arms race with India now in the club, and Israel and the Arab nations clamouring at the door may give
us even less than fifty years.

is a very different phenomenum from light, and is more akin to mechanical forms of energy transmission. Gravity must be a form of energy since it imparts an acceleration to objects
yet it seems to be discontinuous with either sound or

There are many trends which suggest that mankind is on a

runaway express train heading for disaster with all of the

electro-magnetic phenomena.

In fact matter itself is dis

train crew dead.

Someone is going to have to figure out

how to work the brakes before it is too late.

In my view,

redesigning education to develop 3elf-actualizers is the most effective and simplest method to accomplish this task.

continuous hence the impression of empty space. Are there other forms of energy which we have not yet detected? Most probably. Spiritual forces for instance
sometimes affect photographic processes but in a discon

Harris, Thomas A.

I'm CK. You're OK;

A practical guide to

tinuous manner, hence are generally treated as nonexistent

180

transactional analysis

N.Y.. Harper and Row, 1969.

J.

C. Powell

181
162

Ft GU R E

by the scientific community.

This pressure for continuity has had its impact on educational practice as well. We have been searohing for the one method which is most effective for teaching. In this we have failed miserably. As recently as this year

learning s t y l e s as basic DiFFCRENces in "Dominant

INPUT MODALITIES

just past (Walker et al, 1974) we find a summary of research

on a comparison of curricula which still uses the amount of

information transmitted as the only variable used to assess

the value of a procedure. It is obvious that the lecture

method would not be likely to develop the verbal fluency of the learner as well as the seminar method, nor the written fluency as well as the project method. Why do we continue,
then, to compare these three methods only on information

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acquired? If the methodology is discontinuous, the results should be also. In this situation it is helpful to know that alternative methods of teaching do not interfere with the amount of information transmitted. This knowledge means that we can get on with the job of teaching other things than "knowledge" in addition to "knowledge" with impunity.

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Why should we bother?

There are several reasons.

First,

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because mankind's distinctive characteristic is creativity

and this characteristic needs enhancement. We know that

creativity is stifled and even destroyed in an educational

KlNer-rMFTK

system which focuses exclusively upon information trans

L-eAnweai

mission.

Second, the information explosion has made the

transmission of enough information for the learner to catch

up and keep up an impossible task. Third, changes in our technology have made the ability to use information more important than the ability to reoite it. These two aspects

IT IS AS*WHeO THAT THt b1ft|60Ti# OF iH.LHtH AMiM THff ***** TV PCS WOWI.0
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of information (recitation and use) are at least partially

discontinuous where recitation is concerned. I have more

to say about these three aspects of learning later. Finally, the evidence is growing that children themselves are discontinuous in their learning. They do not all learn

J.

C.

Powell

187
WHY DOH'T WE GROW UP?

tl
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k:
01

and emotionally ill children should be cut in half again since the special problems of these children not only doubles the load on the teacher, but their special needs place demands upon each other which interferes with learning
if more than six children are present.

t<

a1
en

This present section has given an indication of the

reasons why instruction should be individualized and some indication of how this should be done. When we look at

Most writers distinguish between development-learned

S<

changes and maturation, changes of biological origin. However these two processes are so closely interlocked that
it is virtually impossible to separate them.

longer time spans than one year or at groups at transitional

S(

points between phases we see the need to take maturation

levels into account as well. The next section deals with

Similarly, most writers distinguish between cognitive

tl
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(intellectual) and affective (emotional) development.

Once

this latter problem.

again the way in which a person feels about himself and

others is so closely interlocked with how he thinks and what

tl

Silberberg, Norman E.

Iversen, Iver, and Goins, Jean T.

Which remedial method works best?

he is willing to think about that these are also inseparable. We have already seen Maslow's hierarchy. Our question
now is how do we use it for planning how to teach?

Journal of Learning Disabilities.

Vol. 6 (9), Nov. 1573

Walker, Decker F.
tl
an as
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Piaget talks about two processes 1) assimilation, and,

2) accommodation. When discussing assimilation he talks about accepting present experiences as being enough like past experiences to be treated as equivalent. In this case
the structure of existing knowledge is not changed. Accom modation on the other hand involves an experience suffic

and Schaffarzick, Jon, Comparing Curricula,

Review of Educational Research.

Vol.

44 (1), Winter, 1974.

w
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iently different from past experiences that a new experience category or a reorganization or reinterpretation of past experiences or both is required. However the "K" culture punishes interpretations of experience outside of the milieu
and the "L" culture punishes emotionality particularly among

be
ii

boys.

Both these approaches tend to restrict the range of

accommodation possible.

tl

There is also the possibility that a data overload occurs.

Harlow's experiments with monkeys who were deprived of

bf
w> oi

sanctuary clearly shows that orientation breakdown occurs if

escape from overrich environments is impossible.
188

I have

190

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J.

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Powell

189
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;ing whid
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already mentioned this effect when related to perceptually

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handicapped and emotionally ill children.

section.

I deal with the

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same problem related to ambiguity tolerance in a later

The positive emotions attached to manageable accommodation

is often referred to as curiosity drive. The negative emotions often attached to excessive accommodation demands are

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often referred to as cognitive dissonance.

attempts.

Cognitive dis-

11
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between ] it resear<

sonanee leads to either physical or psychological escape

tl

Aggression, withdrawal or their fantasy counter-

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practice
which lei

parts are common.

Erikson's system of development revolves around whether

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few crit:
to an alt

or not assimilation is appropriate or accommodation to

information stress situations is successful. If assimila

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he infanl

tion is inappropriate errors imbedded into the interpreta tion compound so that the need for accommodation within
subsequent similar situations is increased.

i.

.chieved.
lother anc

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hroughoul

The nKn culture members typically escape to their familial

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sy betwe*
esolved.

sanctuary. The short time and space horizons and the intense intragroup bonds tend to make a wide range of accommodations
unnecessary because their effects are either overlooked or have more impact upon outsiders and enemies than they do

; s 0

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on procec

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chedule ]
availab]

within the familial group.

For instance, criminal activity

s
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is common in the "Z" cultures because it does more visible

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5 M
Kt S

hould bee

harm in the short run to the "enemy" (the conspirators among

the intellegensia whose object is to keep the members of the

.is appros
11 as me

I *i!f

"K" culture down) than it does to oneself.

In this culture
Hence police

Ssi 8

ti

I
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fety and

short-run effects are all that matter anyway.

if

.cerned.
he affed is is no1
ildren 01

become "pigs" (an incorrect allusion, by the way, to Orwell(1954)

in his sociological novel Animal Farm)in an inappropriate
slur upon the enforcers rather than the generators of regul

..ft

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I M
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ations.

At the other extreme the mafia is, in effect, an

werfully
into the

extended family. Erikson further suggests that if adjustment to any

MtffM

J.

0. Powell

Powell

195

particular experience category is unsucc*

resulting personality diffusion at that ]

further development unless or until the ( In this case although his theory is sequc-

realizable happen. "Good old-fashioned Morality" is the best course for mankind, not simply because it says so in
the Bible, but because God's message to Moses and his rel atively unsophisticated times was based upon a full know

READING THE MESS

hierarchial he is taking a similar positj

Rather more specific than either Maslc

ledge of what His creation, Mankind, is like.

reality tests.

The concept
In an interesting little book cal

Havighurst's ooncept of developmental ta.< prepares lists of specific developmental be successfully accomplished at particulf further development to continue effectivi
It would seem from this discussion th!

Those who fall short of the Christian Ideal

of "Love" and of "Helping others become" are less effective

people for this shortfall.

Tears. Dreikurs & Cassels (1973) pre

only four reasons why children misbe 1. 2. 3. To gain attention To gain power To seek revenge

Table 2, seen in this light, is more than a developmental

protocol. It is a lifelong educational program in which a person's capacity to deal effectively with his or her environment can double as his or age doubles. Just because
most people behave like children or adolescents does not

theorists (Piaget, Maslow, Erikson, and 1

possibly be related into one comprehensi' In Table 2 I have attempted to do this.

4.

To destroy themselves

Each of these are easily identifii

own approach for corrective action.

Insert TABLE 2 Here

Once again the many blanks and my own

indicate the tentativeleness of the mode,

mean that they need to. We have barely begun to tap human potential. What we now need is to get the knowledge and skill being developed by our top experts quickly from point of generation to point of need. By quickly I mean without the 15 to 50 year lag that our present educational system
has built into it.

Why, by asking the child, of course!

are...?."

Why is it that such obvious and s:

observation are so frequently overlo<

child is like better than the child 1

fascinating results occur from this pres< Table was prepared by plotting Erikeon's Maslow's and spattering Havighurst's dev into the appropriate cells thus generate,
arrangement is by phase and the vertical hierarchy.

We can do it.

Let's start now.

Let's grow up together1.

best, if not his parents?

teacher?

Who, thirc

Our methods of observation

Coopersmith, Stanley. Antecedents of Self-esteem San Fransisco, Freeman, 1967.

powerful and sophisticated during th<Why, a clinical psychologist with an

Orwell, George. Animal Farm

N.Y., Harcourt,

hour of administration and an hour ar

Brace Jovanovich, 1954.

what it takes the classroom teacher s

The first observation I made at this

direct precursor of self-actualization s

find out.

Of course, the same psyche

same information in ten minutes to h

pation of Achievement" which emerges dur school years. This observation brings t literature on self-concept, achievement
which are reportedly related to academic

interviewing of the perspective teacl

suffice?

and one-half hours when on fifth or ]

I guess the answer to this questic

Below this we find Industry (willingness

seems related to the "risk orientation"

give ITPA's (and other tests) for the

children misbehave. Some use these c-

procedures to show off their "experti

196

J.

C.

Powell

197

198

That Precious Moment

attention.

Others use it to insert their influence into a

find in ourselves as causes of difficulty or inability to attend? The most obvious is fatigue. Accompanying the

learning situation which would otherwise be closed to them

(power). Still others use them to demonstrate that the judgment of mere teachers cannot be trusted (revenge).

inattention of fatigue is a general listlessness, awkward

ness, pallor, dark discoloration around the eyes, puffy

(Without much success I might add).

While still others use

eyelids (also a symptom of allergy) and redness in the

whites of the eye3. In extreme cases involuntary episodes
The child who is of falling asleep can also be observed.

these instruments because they know how to give tests but they don't know how to deal with children. If they are very busy giving tests they can avoid being called upon for

inattentive may be exhausted.

We can generally find out

help, thus totally demolishing their credibility in the long

run.

about his sleep habits from parents and/or his peers as well
as from the child himself.
more protective of girls.

Boys are more frequently subject

This illusion of action against a background of total

to exhaustion than girls are since our society tends to be

immobility is typical of a great deal of our theraputic activity today. We take tranquilizers instead of facing the
causes of tension or stress which is troubling us.
sympathy rather than empathy.

We seek

If the inattention is accompanied by puffy eyelids, scaling on the face or hands, wheeze or chronic cough,
watery eyes, and the fidgets, we can suspect an allergic
reaction. If accompanied by sudden changes in emotional
If the inatten level personal stress may be the problem.

We assassinate rather than We procrastinate rather than

confront.

We cover up our own incompetence rather than

seeking competent assistance.

work with others.

tion occurs with some activities and not with others, then
we can suspect that the stressful activities are beyond the
child's level of skill development. If inattention accompanied by cocking the head from one

A good example of this involves the seeking of credit of

worthwhile actions. Within the context of political deci

sions credit must go where the power originates.

That is

the point where action potential is generated.

tivity is emasculating himself.

Any creative

side to the other or tilting the head in a "sidewise glance"

we can suspect hearing loss. Similar to "fidgety" movements during silent reading may signal vision problems. Finally, if general inattentiveness is accompanied by

person who tries to get short-term credit for his own crea

If he presses for acknow If he

ledgment he is seen as seeking power for himself.

waits until he is himself powerful he is neglecting the

absence of fatigue, vision and/or hearing problems, and/or

allergies or drug reactions, in the presence of awkwardness

development of the skills which will make him successfully

creative. We become what we practice. Therefore we must Children
practice what we wish to become.

and fidgets, we can suspect one of the several special

learning disorders.

Now let's apply this concept to the classroom. are childish.

To isolate these we need to observe what happens when a

They tend to try to avoid situations which

distress them.

If they cannot avoid these situations they

short attention span what do we

child copies material from the board. Does he overcomplete, undercomplete, distort parts into different shape, rotate or
reverse part or all of the copied material?
does he reproduce auditory material.

lash out in self-defense.

Similarly, how

Take one simple

Can he sequence

J.

C. Powell

199
200

That Precious Moment

correctly?

Can he meaningfully repeat statements in his

own words?

Can he rhyme, remember a series of digits or

Does he respond to some kinds of audi

nonsense syllables?

simple observation any sensitive teacher can make. In twenty minutes we had a plan of action that worked. The

tory stimuli but not to others? All of these questions can be quickly answered by the teacher who stops talking long
enough to watch and listen.

experiences I have had suggest that creatively following the

leads provided by sensitive observation work about eighty

per cent of the time. The teacher has to break free from the guide book and the control of the curriculum and observe

When a child reads aloud, what problems does he have?

Are his substitutions and omissions meaningful?

Does he

carefully what the children actually say and do.

from there.

Then plan

pause at particular initial consonants or consonant blends?

If the plan doesn't work we should observe once

Doea he stumble over particular types of words pronouns

prepostitions verbs in past tense or in the gerundive or

again and change our procedure.

At the third failure (about

participular form? Does he confuse adjectives with adverbs, become upset with inverted order or guess wildly from
some structural clue like the initial consonant?

five per cent of the children with problems we should seek expert assistance immediately. Our request should be care

fully documented with what we have observed, what we attem

pted, and what resulted from our attempts. Furthermore we should not allow the "expert" to hide behind fancy test results or jargon. It is assistance we

For example, I once assisted with a child who would

proceed something like this: Stimulus:
Response:

BRING
buh
r-r-r

in

guh
bear:

want not confirmation that a problem exists, or fancy phrases. The true expert visits the classroom (several times if need be) and first checks the teacher's observations

to see if having a visitor makes a difference. If not, the

expert tries to find something the teacher has missed in her

Upon investigation I found he had an auditory memory of only two elements (determined from digit span and nonsense syllable tests). The teacher and I discussed his problem and decided to reduce every word we possibly could to two
parts. Thus: Stimulus: BRING

report.

If he cannot do this he then (and only then) uses

the specialized test batteries available to track down that

illusive problem.

Response:

Br - r - r
ing
bring:

)
blends

This procedure plus training in auditory memory was so

successful that the child gained 20 I.Q. points (from

This approach has several advantages. First, it acknowledges the teacher's competence. Second, it gives the expert a chance to see the child in the setting which is involved in the problem. Third, it gives the expert an opportunity to quickly catch up in his knowledge of the child to a point equivalent to that of the teacher. If the

retarded to normal) and began reading fluently inside of

about six months. He, himself, described the event as
"opening his brain."

expert then spots something which the teacher has missed, the expert is also acknowledged as fallible (heaven forbid)
and can learn more himself or herself. Finding an answer for the sticky problems give the expert more to look for iii

Giving an ITPA would not have done any more than a

the future. This process enriches the entire school system.

J.

C.

Powell

201

202

That Precious Moment

Extreme cases, of course, will need a further referral

to the highly specialized clinics where research into the

played

carefully reality-tested will serve to make the

most difficult problems is being done.

being refined.

Also where inno

creative and flexible thinkers upon which our future depends?

vative procedures gleaned from teachers in the area are Thus the loop is closed. The most advanced practices are

If so, teachers are forever liberated from the content

bug-a-boo and can turn their attention once and for all to

the more challenging and more important task of teaching

children.

under development in the regional center, which disseminates

the procedures and the observations upon which they are

based to the experts in the schools and to the classrooms

where these children are living and working. The effective

Dreikurs, Rudolf and Cassel, Pearl.

Discipline without
Tears.

ness of the implementation of these procedures (including successful innovations by the teachers) are fed back to the regional oenter as seeds for further research. Of course,
teachers and school support personnel are also involved in

Toronto, Adler, 1973.

research.
available.

Perhaps at less sophisticated levels, perhaps

not, depending upon the skills, time, and other resources

For instance, if the procedures which help the

exceptional child perform better are actually essentially

good teaching techniques, then these procedures should en

hance the performance of the children displaying average or

above average progress as well.

Virtually no research at Nearly

the present time is being conducted in this area.

all research with children of average or better progress is

conducted upon groups rather than upon individuals, even

though we know clearly from past results that nothing is to

be gained from group oriented research.

Once again, the key is sensitive observation and creative

action. And also once again, our first source of infor
We know from research mation should be the child himself.

that a child will learn to think relatively independent of

the subject taught and in some cases relatively independent

of any teaching whatsoever. Deaf children, learn to think
Does without a concomitant development of language skills.

this mean that any content well taught

properly role-

204

That Precious Moment

WHERE ARE THE ROADBLOCKS?

action permitted to the individual.

These papers have the

two-edged quality of both enabling and constraining action.

Once a range of action has been made legitimate those actions not specified, by implication, are excluded. The effect of this approach is to engender a sohnitzeljogt* among the aspirants to specific courses of action. The school system has traditionally been the gate keeper of the action capacity based upon certification.
Tradition has also dictated that the schools deliberately

If we wish to implement a course of action such as a

particular approach to teaching or to school system man agement , we need to know what roadblocks we might
encounter.

restrict admission to professional training programs.

order to maintain status and economic benefits to the

The

This present section will discuss the concept of power

as a means of addressing roadblocks to implementation.

supply of experts is controlled at a level below demand in

Power is, in simple terms, the ability to act in a given situation. There are several aspects of this
ability. These are:

professional.

This process has suffered a short term set

back recently when universities shortsightedly overextended their programs for the purpose of financing their community

1. 2. 3.

Capacity or competence to act. Situational opportunity to act. Breadth of impact of the course of aotion.

4.

Support of others in the course of action.

aspirations and produced an "oversupply" of professionals when the governments of the industrial nations (also short sightedly) shifted their attention away from fundamental
research in response to the egalitarian clamour of the economic underprivileged. Of course, the needs of the

I will deal with each of these in turn and stipulate in conclusion some basic considerations for accomplishing a
goal.

underprivileged should be addressed, rut not at the expense

of the future of our society. My criticism here is that this course was taken at the expense of the fundamental research establishment rather than some other segment of

Capacity or Competence to Act All actions can be scaled on an unsuccessful - success

ful dimension.

The degree to which the action achieved

the economy.

The problem is, of oourse, that costly

its goal without resistence or interference is one way of

measuring success. Changes are likely to be more long lasting if persuasive influence rather than coercion is
employed. In the modern world there are several methods of

activities with uncertain or remote benefits are difficult

to justify on an expediency basis.

Paper has been assumed to be equivalent to competence.

The educational establishment has been one of the prime

establishing capacity to act.

The most important of these

perpetrators of this myth.

Skill can, however, be acquired

is paper authorization. Capacity to act is made legitimate by a diploma, certificate, or job specification. This paper usually states or implies the zone or nature of
203

Sohnitzeljogt is a popular German children's game which

can be freely translated as "Paper chase."

206

That Precious Moment

J.

C.

Powell

205

changes will be cosmetic rather than fundamental.

through alternative procedures than formal education and
formal education is no guarantee of skill or competence.

First

of all cosmetic changes are more obvious, are easier to

Ultimately, as self-actualizing persons, the most competent

are self-educated. Of course schools do have an important

support and cause less disruption to the existing power structure than do fundamental changes. It is easier to add vocational wings to Secondary schools than to get Secondary
schools to develop job-entrance skills. It is easier to build schools without walls than it is to get teachers to collaborate in service delivery. It is easier to produce elaborate unitized instructional systems than it is to meet the individual needs of pupils. Also, we can imply to the uniniated that the vocational wing means job training; the

role in laying the foundations, by providing the momentum, and providing a facilitative environment.. On the other

hand, no amount of narrowly-defined training can by itself

generate oompetence. This is the basic fallacy behind much of our present schooling. Information and wisdom can, and of course do, occur simultaneously in one individual, but not necessarily, and wisdom is not produced by information.
Situational Opportunity

open area building means that the teachers in it are co

operating, and the presence and utilization of a unitized

It

Action requires more than capaoity or competence.

self-instructional system is meeting pupil needs when, in

also requires opportunity.

We are assuming throughout this

Some need is to be

fact, these objectives are not being achieved.

Fundamental changes take a long time to accomplish.

book that all actions are purposeful.

met, or some objective is to be sought.

The actor however

must be in a situation where he can meet this need (at

least in part) or seek this objective. For instance, I have suggested that self-actualization is not, in general, a legitimate objective in a custodial or familial school setting. The setting itself is inappropriate. The founda tions can be laid in these settings, but the explicit
skills needed beyond these fundamentals cannot be accom

Even slight progress can be a tremendous long run break through. Such activity is not for the impatient or easily discouraged. It is also the most rewarding type of change. The benefits are many for all concerned including the

change agent himself. A word of caution, however. The person who affects a fundamental change and hangs around
in that particular situation to glory in his or her accomplishment usually destroys the gains made. This occurs because, to last, the gain has to be consolidated.

plished. The roadblock in the custodial setting is the incompetence assumption, and in the familial setting, the
need for within-group solidarity.

The temperament of a change agent needs to be such that he

or she will probably be seeking further changes before the situation is ready to absorb them. The pressure that results usually develops sufficient frustration that the change, in spite of its benefits, is abandoned.
In the best run organizations the change agent is

Of course most settings are flexible enough that they

can be modified, at least to a degree, in the desired

direction. In situations where there is a power vacuum,

that is, where the authority for particular courses of

action are not yet vested, considerable change can be
made if pursued skilfully.

The best most people can hope to accomplish is this

reassigned as soon as the changes begin to become func tional. If the organization is insufficiently flexible to move the change agent then he or she ehould have the

situational modification type of change.

Also, most

J.

C.

Powell

207

208

That Precious Moment

foresight to transfer voluntarily even if it means seeking

employment elsewhere.

The Support of Others

Also, not all self-actualizers are change agents. are consolidators.

Some

Ideally, the two should work collab-.

oratively transferring power back and forth as the situa

One approach to group dynamics involves the power shifts which occur. People are constantly lending or removing support from each other as the situation changes. Support is neither universal nor unconditional, and an individual's
power is dependent upon the support he or she possesses at
any given point in time.

tion demands.

Such a procedure, however, precludes the

possibility that any ultimate solution will ever be found.

Most people in our culture do not take such a farsighted

and fundamental approach to life. The result is that we

Actually, competence has two components, the ability to

act successfully, and the ability to lend and win support

effectively. Competent people possess much personal power.
The more competent a person becomes the more he or she can

tend to leap from one bandwagon to another trying vainly

to find the philosopher's stone the one which works for
everyone.

afford to be kind, patient, and gentle.

One thing we should remember is that for the general populace a high level of competence is very intimidating.
Highly competent people are not easily influenced. On the

Breadth of Impact

Small scale changes within restricted situations are

easier to make than large scale changes.

rooms.

Teachers can,

for instance, have profound impact within their own class

And these impacts can extend outwards into the

other hand it is difficult for a relatively incompetent

person to lend support to a person he or she cannot influ

community through their pupils across several generations.

However, as long as education is effective or not on the

ence.

Their own relative incompetence stands exposed by

The safest route therefore is attack or at

comparison.

basis of single classroom units, each new generation of

teachers will have to rediscover for themselves the funda

least nonsupport rather than support.

For this reason it

is rare for highly competent people to gain any significant

management status in a highly bureaucraticized organization.
This latter event occurs because of the fundamental

mental intimacy of the precious and delicate act of teach

ing. So long as teachers are isolated from each other a

pupil's success on anything other than his or her own

initiative is fortuitous at best.

weakness in our present political system.

Power, currently, Thus

is sought for the purpose of dispensing privilege.

It was not until we know which aspects of this complex process are most effective with which kinds of pupils in which kinds of setting that we can systematically produce large numbers of young people to whom we can confidently
trust the future.
Somehow we must break down the alienation which our

people tend to support others from whom they can expect

personal gain, that is, for patronage. The exception to this is the powerfully self-competent person. Ordinarily the self-powerful person does not gain a position of power
although he or she may have considerable influence on

occasion.

These are the characteristics of the patronage

culture has forced upon our teachers so that they can learn
to work together to bring their collective wisdom to bear

political system which we find everywhere and not just in

the national capitols.
There is an alternative power base - service. Most

on mankind's most pressing problem

survival.

J.

C. Powell

209

210

That Precious Moment

commonly service is usually personalized and is delivered

In addition, the competent person builds support among the powerless around him by helping them to become more

by the experts themselves to the point of need. That is, if the point of need is recognized by the needy and the needy feel endangered enough to seek assistance. We find
such service delivery tending to be confined to the "help

powerful than they were.

At this point he must begin to

To make it work

establish a network of trust among the people he is serving. This network of trust is his power base.

ing professions" and perileral to uhe fuudajkfeuiitil power structure of our society. Also, the pressure upon the

he must remain trustworthy.

He cannot permit himself to be

corrupted by the expedient.

If this power base is smooth

professional to personalize his or her service negates the

establishment of a network of trust.

running the lack of conflicts enhances his status among the

powerful.

They are, unknown to them; having a service

Suppose, however, the competent lent support to the less competent by assisting them to increase their competence

power base being built for them through him.

Ultimately, if an expedient action conflicts with the

needs of the network of trust, a little skill on the part

(level three of understanding, helping others to become).

In such a circumstance the less competent have self-

of the competent person is all that is needed to force the patronage system to back down. This observation explains why self-actualizing people are also powerful people.
Concluding Remarks
The roadblocks arise from courses of action which some

improvement to gain from the highly competent and have a legitimate reason to lend support to such a person. If the

competencies differ both groups gain through the sharing of competencies. In this collaborative setting a network of
trust can be established. In such a setting the most

one person or group perceives as being disadvantageous to their person or their objectives. Such esteem-lowering

competent in a given situation is the most powerful in that

situation.

People would be expected to lend and/or gain

support in accordance with the demands of the present situation and the short, middle, and long-term objective of
the group or groups involved.

actions as sympathy (as contrasted with empathy) or advicegiving as contrasted with collaborative planning (or
facilitation) or negative confrontation (quarrelling rather than discussing) all are roadblocks. Apparent attacks on special prejudices, vested interests, or powerblooks also
can cause others to try to prevent the success of our

trust needed to make himself powerful.

How does a competent person establish the network of First, he or she

knows that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

actions.

Failure to accept offered assistance, thoughtless

Hence he seeks out the powerful in a given situation and

overlooking of attempted kindnesses, misconstruing of

He may already know how to successfully implement the procedures he enquires about. However, seek ing such advice can help him to avoid the pitfalls of special regional circumstances. Also, his success in following the advice lends support to the currently power ful which would give them reason, presently, to support
him.

asks their advice.

attempts at friendliness or otherwise failing to under stand the other person can lead to unintentional hurts, and block communication. Finally, premature negative judgment of the intents of others breaks the bond of trust and blocks any subsequent action. Above all, we should
accept in others as well as in ourselves the very human propensity to make mistakes. Mistakes arise from

J. C. Powell

211

WHO OWNS THE PROBLEM?

over-confidence of the actor, lack of understanding on

everyone's part, unknown and/or unknowable factors oper ating, or our asking inappropriately for action from

another by overestimating or underestimating their present

competence level.

A collaborative assessment of the situation facilitates

the development of everyone involved, and eliminates the

need for blame and the breakdown of trust. Of course, if

When we are working with people we need a means of identifying the nature and location of the problem or
problems to be solved. Several years ago I developed an approach to human

our objective is exploitation others are quite justified

in their attempts to block our actions and to frustrate our drive for power. Thus, in the ultimate, only the honorable and gentle self-actualizer can possibly win.

performance (Powell, 1967) which postulated the need for a

concept of "error tolerance." The idea was that while scanning sensory data the learner had to stop his scanning at some point. If at that point the "inclusion operation" is still in force, the experience will be classified as equivalent to the previous one in memory with similar scan even if the next element in the scan would have contradicted
this classification.
assimilated.

In Piaget's terms this experience is

Similarly, if a sufficiently large number of elements in

a scan are different (excluded) from all the experiences

recalled, the experience will be classified as a new one

even in the case when a broader scan would not have so
classified these experiences.

In order to be able to expand upon these two operations a third one coupling them is required. This gives us three

operations (rather than Piaget's two).

1. Inclusion

These are:

2.

Exclusion

3.

Coupling

Let's illustrate these points by defining these three

operations. 1. Inclusion A = A
A is the same as A
212

J.

C.

Powell

214

213

That Precious Moment

2.

Exclusion

A / B
A is different from B

As substages, counting involves attaching numerals in succession from a previously memorized sequence to each member of the Chain 1, remembering the last numeral in
sequence. Performing this same operation with Chain 2 and then comparing the resulting two numerals against a SAME DIFFERENT criterion.

Coupling does three things. a. It extends the field of scan - a form of inclusion.

b.
o.

It combines the inclusion and exclusion operations

into chains.

It specifies the termination point of a scan - a form

of exclusion.

Step 2, the scan step, involves not only the simple

comparison of elements but the suppression of elements in Chain 2 which have been identified in Chain 1. If this

Now let us look at several problems. First, if our learner makes a one-unit scan then not only is A = A but also A = AB because the scan stops with the completion of
scanning the first unit. Now consider the problem: AB = BA

suppression operation is not included, the relationship:

AAB = BBA will be called true.

Thus we see that the equivalence of AB to BA is a very

complex operation when the only strategies available are inolusion, exclusion, and coupling. It takes children about

We know that these are equal, but for a one-unit scan

and even for a two-unit scan these will not be considered

equal because of the reversal of order.

This problem is

similar to the conservation problem which Piaget discusses. In order for a computer to pick up the equivalence the
following heuristic is needed.
Consider: AB = BA Chain 1: AB Chain 2: BA

seven years to gain this level of sophistication. However, depending upon scan and decision speeds, and upon whether coupling permits "clustering" and/or "sampling," these
three strategies are not only a necessary and sufficient

set for all the logical decisions known to man, but in this
latter case can be very efficient.

For instance, the letter "p" is part of the cluster

Compare:

Step 1:

Does each Chain have the same number

"b,d,p,q."
DIMENSION 1
DIMENSION 2

In this cluster the most efficient sample

LEFT
UP

of elements? (Answer yes or no). If "no" exit (Chains are not equiva lent).
If "yes" continue...
Step 2: Does Chain 2 contain an element
equivalent to the first element in

involves the two-dimensional aspects of the tail

RIGHT
DOWN

Completing the two by two table we get:

DIMENSION 1
Left

Chain 1 (answer yes or no). If "no" exit (Chains are not equival
ent) . If "yes" repeat Step 2 until either a "no" is encountered, or until all
elements of Chain 1 have been
UP

Right

DIMENSION

2 DOWN
P

compared.

Only when this last comparison is "yes" are the two Chains
equivalent.

Target

t "

Powell

215 216 That Precious Moment

The learner needs perceptual stability and the ability to make these discriminations before "p" can be successfully
discriminated. The child at least is conserving and ap

up into six zones.

First, there are those behaviors of

Second, there are

mine which are acceptable to both of us.

those behaviors of yours which are acceptable to both of us.

proaching concrete operations before these capabilities are present. This observation implies maturity between the ages
of five and seven years must be acquired before this task

Third, there are those behaviors of mine which are unaccep

table to me. In this case I own a problem. Fourth, there

are those behaviors of yours which are unacceptable to me. I also own a problem in this case. Fifth, there are those behaviors of yours which are unacceptable to you and,

can be performed successfully.

Thus starting children to

read at five and one-half years may be too soon for some

children. Evidence suggests somewhere between one child in four and one child in eight are not able to make these dis
criminations at five and one-half years. Hence the pro

finally, there are those behaviors of mine which are un

acceptable to you.
problem.

In these latter two cases you own the

duction of special learning disorders, by. the school'. It is a well established biological fact that although maturation generally follows similar patterns, the precise

The following diagram summarizes this relationship.

INTERPERSONAL ZONES

sequence varies to some extent, and the precise timing of particular events in the sequence varies widely among
individuals. Because of this timing variability independent maturational milestones have no natural order although they
may have a "most common" order.
I
A

ml:

YOU

OWN
PROBLEM

: ;
;

My behavior unacceptable
to me

Your behavior to me

: :

unacceptable :

The problem with teaching reading at five and one-half years of age is that we have to assume that the most common
order (which actually occurs about forty per cent of the
time) is the only order which occurs.

Mutually Acceptable Behaviors

NO PROBLEM

: : !

Although we know that the general sequence is from tactile - kinesthetic, to visual, to auditory, children may fixate in any of these or in combinations of them. Also, if any one of these is slower to develop than is common, the
balance is disrupted and "normal" teaching will not be
successful.

: : '.

I My behavior unacceptable I I to you

Your behavior

: YOU

OWN

unacceptable :

to you

A PROBLEM

from

"b" has no problem until we start to teach him to read.

At

Beyond this maturational problem are the child's experiences which can serve to advance or inhibit advance
ment in any or all of the sequences.

this point his behavior becomes unacceptable to us. We OWN THE PROBLEM which we promptly sell to him AT THE EXPENSE
OF HIS SELF-ESTEEM.

The problem with education then is largely that we try

to get children to do what we consider important and we fail them if they are unable, disinterested, or otherwise

This brings us to the interpersonal model which Dr. Wearne and I are developing. We can divide our life space

218 217

J.

C.

Powell

O
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refuse to comply. We do not ask the child what he is

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capable of doing, would be interested in doing or would be willing to attempt. We do not select learning experiences
on the basis of the fact that they are a vital part of the.

-i

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FT

CC
m 5m rn
-HlJ -O

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learner's day-to-day life.

operation.

Nor do we then proceed to help 3h? -J\

4 X >

him stretch himself beyond himself in a "bootstrap"

We tell the child about broader horizons rather than

0 B
3

facilitating the expansion of his own horizons.

We talk
m

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to him about the thinking and discoveries of others rather

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i

than helping him to develop his own thinking and to discover his own relationships, using the work of others as a model
to imitate for the foundation but to go beyond into his
own landscape.

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So long as the child is reality testing all the way any

constructive situation he can imagine and then generate is

true, good, and beautiful. This is the New Testament. This V 9 is the "suffering of little children to come." This is the
beginning of the Millennium.

J1 * ti

2 9 * >
3
n

I
3

Why do we pressure children to be adult before their time and yet refuse to release them when they begin to demand equal privileges? Hush...for this is the clarion call... listen, do you hear it, the trumpet of Gabriel? For there
it is loud and clear in the laughter of children we are

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helping to become...THEMSELVES.

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Powell, J. C. A definition of experience based on a primitive learning model, Alberta Journal of

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Educational Research. Vol. 13 (4), dec. 19oT

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220

That Precious Moment

SUMMARY

Table 3 is a tentative expansion of the distinctive

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY REVISITED

characteristics of our three basic culture groups.

The basic procedures a teacher should use for teaching can be derived from Figure 6, temperament considerations,
The essential argument of this part is that the diversity On the other hand, it may be suf ficiently systematic that a small finite number of adaptable strategies will accommodate the great majority of these
among children is great.
diversities.

and a combination of Tables 1, 2, and 3. This combination can be used to determine the general thrust of all class room activities once the status of each pupil and of the

instructional situation based on these categories is known.

For this reason I am endeavouring to develop measuring

instruments to estimate these status values.
There remains the question as to what the classroom

Also, the physically-based diversity is considerably

smaller than the experiencially-based diversity. Physicallybased diversity would seem to require diversity in teaching strategy. A limited number of strategies may be sufficient
to meet these learning needs.
Experience-based diversity is much easier to accommodate

using this approach looks like.

of the final part of this book.

This topic is the thrust

with content adaptation. Content, unlike the learning environment is capable of virtually unlimited adaptation.
The problem here is that the traditionally content decisions
are made external to the classroom and process decisions are

made internally. The result has been the neglect of process both in educational research and in program planning.
Hy point of view is that the role of these two

instructional variables should be reversed.

That is, process

should become the prime focus of external planning and re

search, leaving the teacher free to select content on the

basis of the pupils1 experience-base and emerging interests. The diversity of this experience is clearly evident from
the brief summary given in Table 3.

Insert TABLE 3 Here

219

THE VIEW PROM THE FRONT OP THE ROOM

PART FIVE

WITHIN THREE

WALLS

Up to this point I have proposed a multidimensional

The classroom is a place of almost incomprehensible diversity, and of extreme contrast. It falls upon the
teacher to bring order out of a potentially chaotic
situation.

model for human performance and human interactions.

this part we focus upon the classroom itself.

In

If the universe is open our social order is potentially

open.

In order to realize this openness, the classroom

But experiments with open education In this

At the outset the contrasts are usually more evident

to the novice teacher than is the diversity. The most

itself must be open.

have generally been relatively unsatisfactory.

obvious of these contrasts to the teacher is the gap be

part I look at the classroom from several points of view in an attempt to explain why open education has failed and how to correct this problem. I do not go into details about the specific "how to" of
classroom techniques. I shall leave this discussion for

tween what she knows and what the children know.

This gap

which is often referred to as the "generation gap" when

communication breakdown occurs across it, is irreversible. The teacher continues throughout life to expand her compre
hension of her university-generated knowledge base. In

subsequent works.

Instead, I shall focus here upon the

contrast, she is repeatedly being confronted with an annual

renewal of children who are approximately at the same un sophisticated level as the first lot. As her knowledge

understandings and personality dynamics that a teacher planning to run an open classroom needs to consider.

increases, her ability to bridge the gap usually increases as well so that the children in her charge make progres sively larger average gains up to the limits of the process within whole group instruction.
It is natural for teachers to attack the most

obvious contrast first. In the first place, her success and all of her training (with the possible exception of

some of her teacher training) has focussed upon informa

tion transmission. Information has been, until very

recently, a scarce commodity. natural and valid.

221

It is still scarce in the

developing areas of the world, making this focus both Third, when doing was a required out
come, it has been found that up to a point the knowledgeable
222

J.

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223

224

That Precious Moment

can develop action skills (on an average) more rapidly

than the unknowledgeable. Finally, with the tenure of
female teachers tending to be short, and male teachers

who have withdrawn.

The third form of contrast which the teacher might

observe is much more subtle. This is the contrast among

tending to work with preselected groups in the higher levels, this information transmission focus can be expected
to remain the primary one of education far beyond its use ful tenure, unless, concerted and deliberate intervention is
undertaken.

individual class members in their degree of acceptance of

the particular information being transmitted.

This contrast

becomes evident to the teacher only if she begins to focus upon more than the class average performance such as her "success rate," the reasons for wrong answers on tests, or

The second most obvious contrast which the teacher

encounters is between the verbally fluent and the verbally

some similar problem. This range of performance is the product of the multiple interacting individual differences
within the class and is the usual entry point for the

incompetent in her class. In general, the verbally fluent express themselves well and acquire information quickly,

exceptional teacher into the recognition of and the

beginning of attempts to deal with this diversity. The teacher's ability to control the class is the
critical variable so long as information transmission is

while the opposite is true of the other group.

Being part

of the verbally fluent group herself a generation earlier

she finds it easier to identify with this group than with

the other. If she can maintain sufficient control of the

the focus.

The size of the class a teacher can effectively

entire group that the nonverbal segment of the class does

handle in this case is dependent upon the number of poten

not disrupt the class, she will tend to address most of

her teaching to the fluent group during her second, third,

tially disruptive children present and her ability to

isolate these children from each other and/or her ability to keep them occupied with constructive rather than disruptive activities. Once diversity becomes the focus,

and perhaps fourth year of teaching. Some teachers become particularly skillful at keeping the nonverbal group occupied with interesting nonverbal activities that lead to obvious intellectual (but not verbal) fluency. Their development, as a result, never progresses beyond the non
verbal level of development.
fluent out of his class.

however, the critical variables become the range of diver sity present interacting with the degree of deviation of pupils from the easily educatable, docile, verbally fluent,
broadly interested child. Arguments over class size rage
because most teachers do not directly attack the diversity

The secondary school teacher

with tenure and political influence can preselect the nonThe easy focus with the verbally

fluent, as already suggested, is information transmission.

problem. Often they don't have either the skills needed or the time or opportunity to develop these skills, and be
cause practically all studies of teacher and method effec

Thus, information transmission gets locked into the system.

Also, for the nonfluent, the line of least resistance is

tiveness have been measured upon the basis of short term

accumulation of information.

withdrawal, first psychologically, then physically making

information transmission a successful tactic for those who

Once the teacher has confronted the diversity

remain, and concealing its failure by the absence of those

problem squarely, her approach to teaching changes

J.

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225 226

That Precious Moment

radically. Her focus shifts from control and information transmission to the specific ideosyncratic needs of each individual child. These needs cover a broad spectrum and often are not directly related to information accumula

they become more fluent. Second, the increase in success of these children tenas to contribute to a more, positive attitude towards the subject matter, making them more willing to learn. The drawbacks of this approach involve
more preparation time on the part of the teacher because instead of preparing what to tell the children she has to prepare activities which involve the children themselves

tion.

For this reason, the first effect of focus upon the

whole child is a substantial decline in the aisacureablo

academic growth in the short run.

Also, although there are individual differences among teachers in this matter,

in talking and writing.

It involves the teacher attempting

probably the upper effective limit of class size for "whole

child" teaching is about half that for "information trans

to systematically anticipate the complications which will

mission" teaching.

In the long run, the consensus of

research evidence is that the information accumulation is

at least as much under "whole child" teaching as it is for

"information transmission" teaching.

However, few studies

arise for the children with respect to vocabulary and con cept development in advance of the teaching situation rather than inferring it from class participation res ponses. If the tasks she sets are too easy they will quickly bore the class. If they are too difficult, the
children won't be able to do them and we are back to
where we started.

of this sort have concerned themselves with the cumulative

effects of "v/hole child" teaching over a period of time

longer than one, or at most, two years' duration. Also, the nonacademic effects of "whole child" focus are seldom,
if ever, measured. In short, We do a great deal of verba

However, the attempt brings its own reward since

lizing about "whole child" teaching, but only occasionally practice it, and even less frequently study its advantages

(if any) on the full spectrum of dimensions upon which this

approach may be relevant.

the difficulties these children are having are more broadly and quickly identified when they are talking and writing about the concepts involved than when they are listening to the teacher talk about them. If nothing else, such activ ities tell the teacher what to talk about, and from what viewpoint and not what level to approach these concepts.
A second drawback of this approach arises from the

If we push the concept of diversity to its ultimate,

every child should be on a different program. The logis tics of such an approach seems impossibly complex. For tunately, there are a number of strategies which can be applied which simplify this task. To begin with, certain foci have higher short runs payoff than others. For

instance, a focus on the development of verbal fluency for the nonfluent, although very slow going at the outset, lias high payoff in academic average performance of the whole

class. This improvement occurs for tv/o reasons. First, the quality of the answers of the nonfluent improves as

fact that increasing the verbal output of the students increases the teacher's marking load by a factor of thirty or forty depending upon class size. There are several ways of reducing this load. These include peer marking, pupil self-evaluation, spot checking, teacher aide markers, and colleague cooperation. However, if the teacher is to ex pect that this increased workload is to be systematically attempted by the children, then she must insure that the efforts are systematically looked at by someone other than the child himself with sufficient frequency that it is

228
J. C. Powell

That Precious Moment

227

worth the child's while to put out the effort.

It is a

independent learners.

The independent learners must not be

safe generalization that most children will at least

overburdened with tutorials since their own progress could

attempt to do most of what is asked of them.

tain the attempt.

If they find

then be in jeopardy.

An added advantage of focusing on

that they can do most of what they attempt they will sus
If they find they enjoy what they do

strengths and using these strengths as a resource is that

self-worth can become identified with areas of strength

then they will begin to take some initiative.

The strategy of developing verbal fluency focuses

and cooperation can be developed in the context of the responsibility of the strong to share their strengths.

on a particular generalized form of defeat.

This is one

This procedure can be used for any content which can be

organized into a sequence of skills. Arithmetic and mathematics are obvious first candidates, but oral reading,

method of individualizing instruction, namely, the clus tering of deficit by type and the treating of the posses
sors of these deficits as a group.

social interaction, information gathering, and vocabulary

If the

Another way of clustering is by strengths.

development materials can also be so ordered.

In a diver

teacher encourages independent development among the more

sified classroom in which many different kinds of skill are

facile learners, she can be freed of some teaching time to

work with the children who are having problems. Of course

being developed almost every child can probably have some

strength to share.

she must, in fairness to the children pursuing an independ ent course, periodically review their work with them to
assure them of their continuing success and to ensure that they are not encountering problems which are beyond their

Another way for dealing with diversity is to

homogenize the class members on the basis of interest

rather than skill. In this approach several children

pursue the same interest and are encouraged to delegate

the skill demands of the pursuit appropriately to utilize

present capability.
direct

The main drawback of this approach is

of the most facile learners

that the teacher can no longer, in good conscience, take

credit for the successes

the strengths and enhance the weaknesses of all the group

members. It is the rare teacher who uses this approach

in the class (if. indeed, she ever could).

smaller gains of the less self-teachable.
compensation, however.

She must, in
There is a

effectively.

However, from my observations it is the only

As a

this alternative approach, take credit for the relatively

teaching airproach which accommodates both the information

and feelings dimensions of learning concurrently.

model, the language experience approach to reading, and

the group project approach to the social, biological, and

If the less facile child has accumulated a deficit

behind his developmental potential as a result of neglect

physical sciences are best suited to this method of bring

ing structure to diversity. It is the most highly moti

from whatever source, the breakthrough which increased

attention often produces freqii.ently leads to very rapid

vating of all approaches for the children because they are pursuing their emerging interests. It is the most reward ing of all approaches for the teacher because to be
effective she must be an important facilitator at all levels of achievement for the children in her charge.

initial gains.

Teachers can legitimately take a great

To aid

deal of satisfaction from these spectacular gains.

her in the development of skills once the breakthrough has

been i:;ade, the teacher has an important resource among the

J.

C. Powell

229

230

That Precious Moment

For this latter approach, there are four critical

so that an attempt at implementation on a researchable

variables.

First, the teacher must understand in depth

the facilitative process and he effective in its delivery.

Second, the children must have ready access to vast re sources. Third, the teacher cannot have direct responsi bility for more than about twenty-five children and she needs substantial clerical assistance for this many be
cause of the elaborate system of profile data which must be

scale can be made. The seconu responsibility "of these institutions is to do a cost benefit analysis on this

approach so that the advantages to be gained and the price

to be paid can be known.

Armed with this latter information it then becomes

the responsibility of teachers with implementation capa

bility to sell the public and their representatives in the administrative hierarchy of the school system on the advantages of implementation in such settings as the bene fits outweigh the costs. If trust and skill are to be

maintained in a current status.

And finally, the teaciiers

must be able to work cooperatively with other members of

the team so that conflicting encroachment upon resources,

duplication of efforts and so on do not clog the works.
In retrospect, the way in which a classroom is

disseminated throughout our society the implications of

the implementation procedures must be fully understood,

and accepted by the majority. There is no other way for a democracy to work. In all this the most critical aspect
is the view taken from the front of the classroom.

managed is dependent upon the observational, delegative,

and facilitative skills of the teacher. The teacher who

views the classroom as a private field of activity where

the gap between her knowledge and that of the children is to be bridged will tend to try to make every child like herself, and will look most favorably upon those children most like herself from the outset. This prooedure fosters disrespect for diversity and lack of trust for persons displaying individuality. Such an approach is contrafunctional to the needs of our society as it is now emer

ging. On the other hand, for the teacher to focus upon the diversity in the classroom requires better training, more
material resources, and a smaller class size than are currently available. The relative absence of this latter
approachs and the virtual absence of research into its

benefits has led to a complete ignorance on the part of the taxpaying public about the advantages of such a procedure
in relation to its cost.

It therefore becomes the responsibility of the

training institutions to develop-the observational, dele

gative, and facilitative skills, presorvice and inservice

232

That Precious Moment

KNOWLEDGE OR WISDOM?

Another problem arises. As the demands upon each individual become increasingly specialized, the amount of

particular knowledge each person requires has been growing beyond all precedence. Again, EDP (electronic data proces sing) can assist but to do so it requires the person to
possess a great deal of flexibility in thinking and infor
Research into educational methodology has produced two generally consistent conclusions. First, there is little
difference among the various possible methods where infor

mation application skills. Information has a very broad range of applicability and is, for this reason, seldom
mechanically stored in the form best suited for most con

mation transmission is concerned.

learning to think is concerned.

Second, there is little

ceivable immediate needs.

It is therefore necessary for

to choose among various possible areas of content where

the user to be able to transform, or to know how to trans form (using EDP) this information into the form most
suitable for its present need.

From a theory of science point of view these findings

have important implications. First we can conclude that the

search of a particular "best method" of teaching is in vain. Second, the mental discipline hypothesis that particular kinds of knowledge exercise the mind in particular ways is
false. The conclusion we can draw from the refutation of

the mental discipline hypothesis is that the "knowledge for

its own sake" postulate which is derived from the mental discipline hypothesis is probably not viable.

This statement brings us back to our comments about the different kinds of fact. For instance, the process which generates opinions from observation is thinking. Different "disciplines" gain their distinctive characteristics in two ways. The first distinctive characteristic relates to the nature of observations which any discipline considers to be

This is not to say that the pursuit of new knowledge for

the sake of curiosity in special circumstances is invalid.

admissible, For instance, electro-magnetic phenomena are not ordinarily considered applicable to sociology. On the other hand, interpersonal data may be applicable to both
sociology and social psychology.

Curiosity has been shown to be one of several competing vital needs of humans. On the other hand, the pursuit of
knowledge as an activity independent of human needs or the human condition cannot be validated.

The second way in which two disciplines are distinct involves the kinds of transformations of information which are permissible during the opinion generation process. For

instance, interpersonal data can be transformed into opin

ions either in terms of the ways in which the individual

It is also evident that any successful person must have a storehouse of readily available knowledge in memory in
order to perform his or her day-to-day responsibilities. This knowledge must be both in the general information and

influences the group (as in social psychology) or the ways

in which the group influences the individual (as in
sociology).

special purpose categories. However, with conversational mode computer terminal becoming available, the need for
memorizing information may be diminishing.
231

This generalization gives us a tool for the classification of opinions in accordance with the nature of the observations

utilized and in terms of the processing strategies utilized

J.

C.

Powell

233 234

That Precious Moment

to transform the observation into an opinion.

One way of

2.

Random that is, represents a wild guess and cannot

be predicted.

defining flexibility of thinking is in terms of the ability

to use a variety of transformations on a given data set.

Within this context, some transformation will give "corre-ct"
results. To be "correct" the resulting transformation must

3.

Redundant that i3, contains no useful information

not already known from the right answers.

generate all known phenomena related to this data, or to supply a reasonable explanation why these phenomena do not
occur in this case. In addition, "correct" solutions also have the property of predicting unknown outcomes which can be experimentally verified.

Work by people in the field of diagnostic testing have chal lenged the third assumption in this special area. Piaget's work provides indirect evidence that the second of these is
false. More recently my own work has clearly refuted all three assumptions in the context of multiple choice tests.

Put another way, good interpretations of data lead to

new conclusions which have simplicity, parsimony, elegance,

Assumption No. 1 (linearity) is still true for True - False tests. By implication my finding suggests that the tra ditional approach to testing is invalid except where simple
recall is involved (if there is such a thing as "simple"
recall).

and can be reality tested. ods of reality testing

about feelings.

There are two fundamental meth experimentation for opinion

testing, and role playing which can be used to test feelings

More recently several other tests have been

It is probable that the disallusionment of teachers with

the standardized testing movement is an outgrowth of realities of human performance underlying these observations.

developed.

One very interesting test involves refutability.

That is, does the data transformation produce predictions of

observations or events which can be demonstrated to be false?

The importance of "wrong" answers when teaching people

how to think arises in their usefulness for determining

Second, is the procedure "correct" as described above? Third, which strategy the learner applied to the data set under consideration. When the teacher focuses exclusively on is it "useful?" That is, does the procedure produce a large right answers he or she tends to teach information rather number of as yet not observed phenomena which can be tested?
Concepts like simplicity, parsimony and elegance have
than thinking.

proven to be more difficult to define in operational terms.

To give an example, traditional approaches to test
utilization has teachers adding the "correct" scores and

How has our educational system existed all these years

(sometimes after a scaling procedure) reporting the results.

This procedure assumes that it is sufficient to consider
sight answers since wrong answers contain no useful infor mation. 1. This assumption has been carried over to classical Linearly dependent that is, we have the necessary

and been wrong? The answer is that it was not wrong. Until recently the information transmission model has been both necessary and sufficient for the needs of our society. We are in the process of entering an era where information
transmission is somewhat less necessary and is clearly no

longer sufficient for an adequate education.

test theory which treats wrong answers as:

What charges need to be made? Essentially, an elaborative education requires qualitative rather than quantitative

and sufficient information to know if an answer is

changes (except perhaps where class size and school size are

wrong by knowing whether or not it is right.

236
J. C. Powell
235

concerned).

The key to these changes lies in the

communication characteristics of the classroom.

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To begin with, there are three basic patterns for

classroom interaction.

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we see a diagramatic representation of each of

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these three patterns. Part (a) shows the lecture wherein the message flow is in one direction only, from teacher to pupils. Actually this process is more complex than this as
we shall see shortly.

Part (b) of Figure shows a "tutorial" pattern. This is the typical pattern for the "Socratic Method" of teaching.
Message flow is two-way (interactive) with all traffic being
routed through the teacher.

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Part (c) shows a "typical" discussion pattern in which

the interaction has no overt controls, and therefore is characterized by a superficially random interaction pattern.
Both the pupils and the teacher select from their

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background and from their environment during interaction.

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The teacher attempts to supply a communality of experience within which all pupils interact. Hence learning is nor
mally assured unless some form of interference occurs or

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unless some pupils' experiences are sufficiently divergent

that communication breaks down. The illusion of communica

tion often occurs in any of these patterns because they are

commonly dominated by the portion of the class which have the greatest knowledge of the topics under examination.

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37

iN3WNOaiAN3 wooassviD

238

That Precious Moment

Figure 8 helps to clarify the lecture pattern.

3DN3a3JM31NI

The

teacher performs the combining and selecting operations and

tells the class the results.
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By making the presentation

interesting and by using procedures which help to ensure

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that each pupil is isolated from each other control is

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television advertising.

These procedures are similar to the ones used by In this way undisturbed attention is optimized. The pupils learn in proportion to the amount

ensured.

of interest they have and the amount of redundancy in their

experience to the topic presented.

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The implication of this argument is clear.

Those who do

best in school in the typical lecture or tutorial setting have a great deal of understanding before they enter the
school situation. Thus most of their learning in school is

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type 3 (consolidation) and type 4 (maintenance).

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observation may occur because it is the teacher who typ ically does the data gathering, selection, and consolidate
If the pupil has been exposed to much of the same data the

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teacher's selectionand consolidation serves to strengthen

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the pupil's own understanding.

On the other hand, if the

pupil does not have the same breadth of exposure to the dati
base what the pupil learns is either dependent upon his own

ability to reduce ambiguity or his ability to transform the

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data into familiar terms.

Ambiguity reduction skills ( i.e

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type 2 learning) are not usually taught in school nor are

data transformation skills usually taught. Or else he uses
the teacher's reduction of the data as his data base and further reduces it to the subset of conclusions he can

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memorize (often without understanding) from the teacher's

presentations.

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However, the classroom is potentially a much more comple:

and more subtle system than the mass communication model

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implies.

Figure 9 illustrates this point.

J.

C.

Powell

239

240

Insert FIGURE 9 Here

See

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CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

If the teacher uses the pupil's present direct experience

background and then augments it with the pupil's own dir

ected investigation the data base each pupil brings to
learning is as broad as time and resourses will permit.

The teacher can broaden this base even further by assigning

a different portion of the investigation to each pupil.

The

children then are brought together to exchange information

and/or experiences and to select, consolidate, and interpret

their experiences,collectively.
In this manner the great bulk of the learning becomes

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interactive rather than transmissive. results.

Much of types 1 and 2

learning (ambiguity reduction and understanding enhancement)

The children become very enthusiastic about the
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learning process because their own advancement becomes selfevident .

The role of the teacher in this latter situation changes. He or she is no longer the filter through which all infor

mation used in the classroom must pass. develop their own structures.

Instead he or she
INTE RACTION

helps the pupils to filter their own information and to

Finally, the teacher helps
the pupils to reality test as many as possible of the

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opinions they have formed.

any of three methods:

This testing can be conducted in

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(experts) in the field.

The teacher focuses upon communication traffic control

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rather than upon information transmission.

In this approach

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each pupil's exposure to data base substantially increases.

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That is, he or she finds his own relevant data.

Each pupil
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J.

C.

Powell

242

241

That Precious Moment

then is specifically taught how to transform this data in

several ways until the best fit for present needs has been found. Properly managed, the information content handled
This increase

years of teaching experiences. However, also in my experience, once these strategies are made explicit many
more than five per cent can effectively use them. Invariably the pupils' enthusiasm for learning and both the quantity and quality of their output increases with the successful introduction of interactive learning. Further

by each pupil in interactive learning is greater (not less)

than in information transmission learning. for interactive learning.

in data base is the reason why progress is slower initially

But the pupils are not only being exposed to a much
larger range of data management skills with interactive

more, it is becoming evident that the necessary teaching

strategies for the interactive mode of instruction can be

taught.

Isn't it about time we began to prepare teachers

learning . (Not to mention the interpersonal skills they are also developing). It is this increase in facility in
data management skills which has the long term pay-off and
ultimately leads each pupil to independent learning.
Structure cannot be abandoned as has so often been assumed

in this way?

in the so-called "Free School."

Rather the structure imposed

is of a higher order, more complex, and more subtle, i.e.

less evident than in the information transmission mode of

instruction.

Because of the increased ambiguity each pupil

faces and the increased variety of response permitted, the

structure must actually be tighter for interactive mode

instruction.
ation.

The teacher spends much more time designing

and maintaining the structures than in communication gener

The generation of communications is transfered to the pupils.

Slowly the pupils learn how to design their own

structures and as they do so the teacher transfers control

from his or her structures to those generated by the pupils.

Structure and control are never abandoned as some advocates

of open education would seem to suggest.

To my knowledge, interactive instruction strategies are

generally not developed in teacher training institutions.

However, in my experience about five per cent of all tea chers discover this approach in its various forms within

their own classrooms, just as I have done during my twenty

244

That Precious Moment

THE ILEAL TEACHER

for its social rather than its intellectual attributes. The alienating forces in the school have helped them to
consolidate their "E" culture characteristics.

The rebels may be academically successful, in which case

they become the classroom lawyers and the political figure

Goffman, in his book Asylums (1954), points out that the

response of inmates to total institutions, though diverse,
follows predictable patterns. When schools become closed

head within the school, or if not they are usually forced out of the school. These two groups represent the largest portion of the pupils in whom creativity is not yet
destroyed.

institutions, and alienation occurs, these same patterns

seem to emerge.
involve:

The groups

which Goffman designates

Those who are engaged in conversion tend to identify with the staff rather than their peers and are consequently rejected by both groups. It is this group which frequents
the guidance office, for instance. A limited number of pupils become focal points for the suppressed aggression of staff and pupils alike.
generally become the class clown.

1. the system workers

2. the colonizers

3. the takers of the intransigent line

4. the converters

Those

with the personality strength to withstand scape-goating

5. the focal points

6. those engaged in situational withdrawal

7. those who "play it cool"

A few "shy" types are so utterly destroyed by all the covert hostility that they spend all their energy in trying to be inconspicuous. The size of the group engaged in
situation withdrawal is another indication of the amount of

Within the context of the secondary school or university

which produces these effects, we find the system workers

generally form the academic elite of the school.

This group
Con

alienation present in the school.

has adopted the goals of the school as their own, and in

general succeed in meeting the expectations presented.

A few individuals "play it cool."

These pupils go their

own way extracting from their peers and from the instructors

formity to please expectations is more subtle in this group

than in others but it nevertheless is strong. In fact, the basic outcome of the degree to which a school is alienating
may be the amount of peer conformity evident. By forming material interactive study groups these pupils enhance their
social lives and meet school expectations simultaneously.

according to their own needs. These individuals are quietly nonconforming. They often puzzle the teachers because they
are "potential" leaders.
roles.

That is, their personality

There are two

strength is evident but they do not assume peer leadership

These are the self-actualizers.

reasons why they do not assume direct leadership role3.

First, they have discovered that the use of influence is

They are also developing the "likemindedness" basis for peer

selection basic to members of the "L" cultures.

often more effective than direct displays of power.

Second,

The colonizers, on the other hand, are the largest and

most conforming of all groups. These pupils are in school

they are too busy developing their own competencies to wish

to take the politicing time needed to be effective overt

243

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248

J.

C.

Powell

247

OPERATING

MOOALtTV
0

Insert FIGURE 11 Here

(See : Over)

*
D 5 *
SI ^

3 m
*
I
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In this Figure we see an additional hierarchy which moves

from self-orientation to others-orientation to elaborative-

! t

3
*
u

orientation.*

Here onee again we have the three levels of

understanding discussed elsewhere.

others).

(Namesly:

understanding

self, understanding others, and bringing understanding among

? \

c? That is, he or she is self-actualizing

He or she recognizes both intrato
i

1* ft
s
0

The ideal teacher, then, is one who focuses upon helping others to become.
with respect to others.

mi

and inter-individual differences and help children expand

their uniqueness.in a self-competitive manner rather than
trying to get everyone to run the same race.** Can we be more specific about the characteristics of such

w 2
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a teacher?
book.

The following precepts should make the approach

9.

P c -y

quite clear and will summarize the ideas presented in this

M ^

Precept 1,

Focus on Understanding

As already mentioned, the ideal teacher focuses upon all

three levels of understanding. As a member of the "M"

c *; 2
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5 ft *

1
NIk"

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m
ft.

(mediative) culture he or she endeavors to bring others into

membership in this-same emerging culture. Understanding is the primary prerequisite for love, and Love is the First Law
of Christianity.
Precept 2. We Live in a Probabilistic World
j.
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2 5 i

5* ^h

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Whether we like or or not there are no hard and fast

H 1*8

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5
* A measuring instrument focusing on both pupil and teacher activities is under development.

tarn
*

** A marking scheme designed to produce this effect is under development.

*t J

< 8

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5S

J.

C.

Powell

249

250

That Precious Moment

rules.

The likelihood of changed outcomes increases as

is more satisfying and more permanent than personal success

preconditions are changed.

It should be clear, however,

The ideal teacher

at the expense of others.

The ideal teacher focuses upon

that we must change the right conditions.

the success of his or her pupils as a measure of his or her

recognizes the need for both rigor and flexibility and

encourages these skills in others.

personal shortfalls. He or she demonstrated by enhanced pupil success. Relationships with peers and authority
figures follow the same pattern.

Precept ^.

Absolute Honesty and Moral Integrity is the First Priority of a Leader ~

Either we are competent or we are

Precept 7.

Maintain Our Physical Well-being

Ws cannot fake it.

As the people in the forefront of a Hew Age

self-actualizing teachers are under tremendous strain. We

not.

The ideal teacher knows his or her competencies and

limits and calls upon the competencies of others as needed.

all stand psychological pressure best when we are physically

at our best. The ideal teacher therefore is very concerned
For this reason he about his or her physical well-being.

He or she develops the same approach to life among his or

her pupils.
Precept 4. If at First We Don't Succeed Try Something Else

or she does not smoke or take drugs, drinks in moderation

To produce a desired effect involves changing the

operating conditions. outside a system. No effective changes ever occur from

if at all, and maintains an appropriate diet and exercise

level for optimum fitness.
the same path. Precept 8. Establish a Sanctuary

Pupils are encouraged to follow

The failure of one procedure is a clear

demonstration that the appropriate variables have not been

changed.
pupils.

The ideal teacher is not only flexible in this

The human engine is like a battery-driven electric car.

sense, but encourages the same sort of flexibility among

It needs psychological or spiritual recharging on a regular

basis.

For this reason we need a sanctuary in our lives

Precept 5.

Continually Test Ourselves Against Our

Environment "

from which we can operate and to which we can retire for

spiritual food.
We become

Meditation is a help, but the best sanc There are no temporary routes

The only way to build competence is to try.

tuaries involve more than one person drawn together in the

what we practice, therefore we must practice what we wish

mutuality of deep affection.

to become.
objectives.

The constraints upon us are determined both by

Once again, honesty and integrity are needed.

to this sort of relationships, no short cuts.

The insti

our lack of competence and the way we choose to pursue

The ideal teacher knows that he or she is a model for others

tution of marriage is the best model for an effective sanc

tuary yet devised by man if we are prepared to treat it as such. The ideal teacher is happily married in this sense.
Protect Ourselves Prom Others

to imitate and behaves accordingly.

Precept 6. Build Up the People Around Us
Our Lord said that he
Joint success

Precept 9.

Not everyone in the world is thoughtful, kind, or honest. We must learn to protect ourselves from the tho^^ghtless,
misguided or unscrupulous acts of others. This means that

If we are to establish a network of trust we must focus

upon service rather than upon power.

who would be master must first be servant.

we are prudent and cautious.

The ideal teacher, therefore,

J.

C. Powell

251

252

That Precious Moment

insists upon fair and considerate treatment from others just

as he or she endeavors to be fair and considerate of others.

actions only delay growth.

Therefore, the ideal teacher is

facilitative and supportive.

by anyone in his charge. Precept 13.

He or she does not deliberately

Pupils will not grow outward beyond themselves if they are

not encouraged to include the needs and wishes of others into their plans for action.
Precept 10. Protect Others From Us

undercut anyone, nor will he tolerate such a course of action

Consider the Long-term Consequences

The hood of our car extends one-quarter of a mile down

Being human we err, are illogical, or nonlogical at times.

The more action and risk-oriented we are the more likely we

the road (our stopping distance) at sixty miles per hour.

We should drive accordingly.
or school.

Similarly we should not change

are to make mistakes.

Also, what is right for one person

pupils so much that they cannot function in the next grade

The ideal teacher focuses upon both structure

may be wrong for the next.

To join us in a network of trust

We must, there

others must conceive of us as trustworthy.

and flexibility.

The foundation must be solid, the skills

The teacher

fore, provide others with an opportunity to protect them

selves from us. The ideal teacher does not therefore

developed, and consolidated into usable wholes.

must never sacrifice quality for quantity or fundamentals

attempt to conceal his or her prejudices, his weaknesses,

his basic humanness. The best protection we can give to Pupils are encouraged to behave
others if for us to love them so much that they can safely

for high-sounding frills. Children learn to think logically but it takes them at least 16 years. Their growth is a
bootstrap operation, one skill building upon the other until
a dynamic whole is produced. Therefore the ideal teacher

love us without obligation.

in like manner.

has the children do the data collecting, sorting and organ

izing. They are the ones who need to learn these skills.
He or she makes sure the The teacher already has them.

Precept 11.

If We See Something Which Needs Doing. We Do It

Procrastination is our worst enemy.

To lose an

opportunity to serve, to learn, slows our own progress and

delays needed improvement among mankind. action. Our knowledge of
our own competence is usually sufficient justification for

pupils do their investigations carefully and thoroughly and communicate their findings to others skillfully. Gaining
these skills and learning to share is what humanistic
education is all about.

If we doubt our competence we call upon our network

of trust to bring collective competence to bear upon the

problem.

The ideal teacher is prepared to make waves and is

The person who lives up to these precepts is not a paragon in the usual sense. Provision is made for the probability
that mistakes will be made.
transportation.

able to swim, but does not engage in unilateral action

except in extreme cases nor ill-considered action except

If we are going to ask for the

moon we must provide the ability to generate the means of The purpose of this book is to make
precisely such provisions.

accidently.

'Wherever possible all persons affected are

included either directly or indirectly in the planning and

implementation of action.
Precept 12. Use the Positive Approach

Essentially what is needed in education is for teachers

to try, to test their trials, and to share their results. This is a challenging approach in which there is no room for

We are growth oriented.

Destructive or exploitive

fakers or exploiters.
the risk

The results seem invariably to justify

come on in, the water is fine I

Goffman, Erving. Asylums:

Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other jLnjnates , N.Y. , Doubleday (Anchor), T9~5T7 '

254

That Precious Moment

WHAT ABOUT JOHNNY?

diagnosis from prognosis.

These two statements are both

forms of information which are essential to the operation

of a school. Present status statements are facts of obser vation. These are the raw data for any behavioral trans

formations to be planned.
to this data.

As such they are primary data

no effective course of action can be taken without recourse

Elsewhere the author has discussed the problem of
differential methods vs differential goals as a means of individualizing instructions.*

Where should Johnny be?

Present status, however, begs the question "Where

If we acknowledge that every person is different, we

must agree that each has different patterns of strengths as
well as different patterns of weaknesses. What are the

implications of the evidence suggesting individual

uniquenesses to the educator.
What can Johnny do now?

should he be? The answer to this question must be answered both retrospectively and prospectively. Johnny's present status is certainly the product of his range of experience. But it is also a product of the

appropriateness of those experiences to his temperament,

his learning style, and to the timing and potency of these
experiences.
potential from his present status alone.
atatus data.

The first question facing the educator is, "What can

Johnny do now?"
several others:

This question can be used to lead into

We cannot, with confidence, predict a child's Criticism of the

arbitrary use of I.Q.'s is one example of abuse of present

In addition to our knowledge of present status, if possible we should collect data concerning how Johnny got there. This data is equally important with present status
data.

1. 2. 3.
4.

As compared to whom else? As compared to what else? What should he be able to do?
What must he be able to do so that I
him?

can teach

A good deal has been said and written about starting

the teaching operation from where the child is.

narrowly defined single-minded goal

But this

A third kind of data which is essential is the

approach is often circular because it assumes that some

such as Mathematics

comparative data which gives the anchor points for inter pretation of present status. The most functional form in

210

is our only objective. Also implicit in the status question is the

teachability question.

"How can I teach him mathematics

which this third form of data is presented has proven to be average development statements for a comparable group of individuals. This third form of data is of equal impor
tance with the other two.
three forms of data needed.
1. Where is he now?

if his I.Q. is only 83?

Here we observe the abuse of

Thus in present status there are

present status information.

Essentially our first step is to be able to separate

status statements from goal statements; to separate

2.
3.

How did he get there?

Where should he be?

See Powell, J. 0., and Wearne, T. David. (1973).

253

J.

C. Powell

255

256

That Precious Moment

Where from here?

begin to take responsibility for first selecting and later

designing his own learning experiences.

The next step is to draw a profile which compares

Johnny's present status with the average and to indicate wherever possible the antecedent factors which seem to
have contributed to deviations from the average on this

Second, it is necessary to bring Johnny's parents

into the scene so that they can be assisted in supporting Johnny's development. If the parents cannot supply, for
any reason, all the desirable support, other persons and
agencies should also be enlisted.

profile, both for deviations above and below the base line.
At this point the teacher is now in a position to

begin to map Johnny's potential. Her first map must be very tentative, and will be primarily concerned with the design of learning experiences projected to ameliorate low points and strengthen peaks in his profile. As she imple
ments these plans and observes the profile changes which occur she can begin to elaborate this map within the context of the way in which these experiences are designed. At this point a new kind of information input
becomes essential. This new kind of information involves

Third, it is

necessary to bring the school's

administration into the picture so that material, space,

time, and workload requirements for the optimal programs
can be facilitated.

Sealing with extraordinary changes

The procedure from here is to design a collaborative

interim and long term plan for fostering Johnny's optimum

development, and to implement the initial phases of the
plan.

the determination within the limits of our present know

It should be kept in mind that this plan is by no

means fixed. To begin with, the shifting dynamics of Johnny's interests and capabilities are always a source
for program revision.

ledge of which learning experiences are likely to be most

effective with children with profiles like Johnny's.

The degree to which Johnny's gains match, the expectations generated by present effectiveness knowledge represent the degree of confidence our teacher can place
on her map of Johnny's potential. She now has a tentative map along with a confidence

In addition to this, there are two extraordinary

sources for program change. Pirst, an extraordinary change in program can be brought about as a result of a break

through in knowledge concerning children with Johnny's

statement as to its reliability in both the short and long

term.

profile characteristics.

His teacher may, herself, be the

source of this breakthrough.

Involving others

The second possible source is an unpredicted extraordinary change in Johnny.

to both possibilities. It is unreasonable to expect our teacher to do all

Although our teacher's relationship with Johnny is

Our teacher must be alert

still primary, she must now begin to bring significant

others into the information scene now available. First,

in so far as he is capable of dealing positively with self

these things by herself.

we need, therefore, an organized

knowledge she should share her- knowledge of Johnny with him. It is only when Johnny fully understands his own learning style and his temperamental characteristics that he can

system of informational support for the teacher so that she can function within the dynamics of this system.

J.

C.

Powell

257

258

That Precious Moment

Keeping track of progress

Most kindergartens and our best grade one classes now function in this way. However, with the economic and human limitations within which we must function it is not

gained will be quickly lost unless maintained through practice either arising from an abiding curiosity and
refined interest, or through vocational demands.

As he matures his interest and needs extend steadily

outward from the confines of his family and his classroom

possible to have all our children taught from beginning to

end by their primary grade teachers.

At this point there tends, in our present system,

to be a breakdown in communication which arises both out

and increase in their realistic logical depth. Developing an outward outlook and maintaining a reality base requires
considerable finesse and must have support relinquished in

of the transition to a new teacher and the failure of the

appropriate amounts.

Johnny needs to learn how to gain,

maintenance and forwarding of the records which began a

year or so ago.

Compounding this problem is the fact that except

organize, and use information for himself. He needs to organize, and use information for himself. He needs to learn how and when to make decisions, how and when to share

for certain areas like physical education developmental

protocols are not available in sufficient detail to be

decisions when politic to do so, and what kind of things

are within his influence and competence and what are not. He must also know how to gain needed skills or to trade off

useful for direct educational planning beyond the ages of eight or nine years. However, recent developments in the
special education area, regarding behavioral objectives

his competencies for the competencies of others when filling

his needs.

and in cognitive development should make it possible for a team of teachers to do the initial development of &-ny
tentative protocol which might be needed.

To accomplish this feat involves a very sophisticated

school system backed up by an equally sophisticated infor mation system which brings many community resources to bear
for educational, social, and vocational assistance and support. Community resources are called upon for field

In addition to the problem of communication between

teachers there is also the problem of communication between one level of school and another, and between one school

trips, speakers, support services, work experiences, voca

tional guidance and placement, and recreational outlets. It is necessary to seek, organize, execute and record all

system and another (as children move with their families)

and between the school and the community at large. All of these activities require the systematic
accumulation, up-dating, and transmission of information.
Assisting Johnny to make decisions

these activities and to coordinate them into an integrated

program. It is also necessary to dovetail them with the

programs for all the other Johnnies and Jennies in the system.
Summing it up

As Johnny moves through school his needs change, and so.therefore, must his program. Ultimately he will move into the adult world with whatever independence
Skills, self-support and self-initiative skills he has

The process of facilitating Johnny's development from a

totally dependent neophyte to an independent and self-

actualizing adult, if it is to be done systematically for as

many Johnnies and Jennies as possible, involves an elaborate and systematic information system. This system

gained by the combined effects of his home, nis social

environment and his schooling.

Such knowledge as he has

J.

C.

Powell

259

interpenetrates from the school into the total fabric of our

A BOOTSTRAP OPERATION

entire society even into the halls of higher learning where

some of the Johnnies go for further development, and where

the theory and practice of education are generated and
expedited.

The focus and central source for the data in this system is Johnny himself, Johnny's information system is part of a

dren in the school system.

network which emanates from, and feeds back to, all the chil The supervision, management, and coordination of this total information complex is the respon
sibility in a differential manner of all the several personnel in the school system.

I have attempted in each section to end upon either a note of inspiration or of challenge. Since this is the last part of this present work the challenge will be ever
stronger and more explicit.

To begin with our schools are faced with a dilemma. With ninety per cent of all scientists who ever lived alive

What about Johnny?

To assist him at the optimum level

and working today, the rate of production of new knowledge

is amazing. This production occurs so rapidly that theo-r ries are being turned over about once every seven to ten
years. On the other hand, it takes anywhere from fifteen to fifty years to get scientific "facts" into school
textbooks.

marks like "A,B.C" or "S,I,N" or "78" are of little or no

value unless clear performance meanings can be attached to these values. The failure of our present schools arises

out of inadequacies in our system of coping with the infor

mation demands of the scope, sequence, and interplay of the

developmental demands of the learning situation complex. Where we go from here is still uncertain but many of the
avenues are becoming apparent, as this book indicates.

For instance when I was in grade school more than thirty

years ago, my teacher explained the propagation of sound from a tuning fork in terms of "compressing" the air as it

Information-handling procedures on this scale are certainly

worth trying.

swung to the right and "stretching" the air as it swung to

the left. This explanation is of course incorrect. About fifteen years ago I wrote to the author of a textbook about their perpetuation of this error. Talking to some teachers this past Pall (1973) indicated to me that at least some

Powell, J. C. & Wearne T. David.

Individualization and Goals

in elementary education. Dec. 1973.

OECTA Review.

teachers and textbooks are still perpetuating this error.

This error is in fact, in relation to the best available

present theory, one that has lasted at least thirty years'.

The same problem exists in any subject area. More

literary works have been written and published in the past

fifty years than in all recorded history before this time.

And yet, most courses in English literature at the college level terminate about 1900 A.D. There are certainly not as
260

262

J.

0. Powell

261

FIGUR1

\z

many courses in 20th Century Literature as there are for all

other periods.

"Types

of

Learning

Simarily, substantial discoveries have been made in

cultural anthrology since the Second World War, most of
which have not found their way into many high school history
^eVEL. OP W/S^5T ACCJflACY

texts.

Biology, physics, and mathematics are no exceptions.

=z.

The "New Mathematics" for instance was developed about one

Hundred years ago before some of the major breakthroughs

such as non-Euclidean geometries which led to relativity
theory and so on.

\ Forgetting
Uj
u

The simple truth is that many of the "facts" which are taught in school are either out of date or demonstrably false. New knowledge is being generated more rapidly than
it can be processed through the typical committee and

2
<

* o

publication mill which is required to get it into school

textbooks. This log jam of information is getting steadily

DE VEUO PN\NTA L.
L~ARNIN6

i
n
c

worse by the day.

RNI*J<3

(JNDEf^

Until recently the expert needed to have a large store

MB/GUlTy
HSouiOATIoN

of knowledge in his or her head because facts were not con

>

veniently or instantly available in any other way.

most frequently required information in memory.
With the advent of high speed data processing,

Hence it

(J

was necessary for the expert to have stored at least the

PHASF

8
NTBNANCF

conversational mode interaction and network hookups from

phase:

computer

to computer the latest knowledge is potentially

available with electronic speed at the press of a button.

This change in technology has made it less necessary for

people to be repositories of information.

Instead, if

information is promptly at hand via a computer terminal

Understanding
Begins

people need skills in interpreting, selecting and applying

information. facts. Thinking skills now become more important than Nor do we need to be concerned about the accuracy of
~ CHARAc-r&n.iST>cs fcAPID LEARNING I

the data we process since with reality testing procedures being developed and an electronic library immediately at
TvPt

hs\

hand the accuracy of any data can be checked immediately if

CD

<S>
CD

feUOW

LeA.NiN6

+-

nwcH FROST* at.om

($)

uirru Lev,jJC, -> MuW Boeeo^ <p wot VA*\Eu

264
J. C. Powell

263

FIGURE*

13

Teaching Str.at-e.<3^
necessary.

No.-i

Not only does data not need to be accurate to demonstrate process but finding errors well concealed in inaccurate data

Cur\] "Tracking

is a powerful teaching tool.

errors in our own thinking.

More important

is discovering
TFACHER'S fijucSTiosJS

Two characteristics typify creative people.

The first is
X

a powerful ability to penetrate through information to

Actual

L*ARNtNcz cvfi/e"

IX

fundamental structure. To develop this skill the learner need3 to be taught how to set his own standard and objec

k
-1

tives and to reality test these by attempting to develop his

or her own projects.

I
0

The second characteristic is the ability to make

intellectual (or intuitive) leaps.

discovery method of teaching.
I

This skill can be taught

0
L

also by using a mind stretching procedure such as the

T
STE* TOO

UHDERz / 'I
ST*.NO N<i

will outline here an alternative method of mind

stretching which is my own development.

To begin with we need to classify learning into four

types as shown in Figure 12.

U*/

>^o ASKS S/MPU

LeAnht'H*)

ev t/vryp^cT^ci.y
L.A&GE s-rtrP

Insert FIGURE 12 Here

IN

<PwS3T/tfV

-T/MS

This typical learning curve makes the characteristics of

-TOCHER IS

each learning type clear. Type 1 is characterized by very rapid learning. False starts and errors disappear rapidly
as the learner converges upon the appropriate new behavior.

tfWTraY PupiUS1

POINT APPRoX/MATeS pReSfNT LEVEL - ^ftAXa O APPROAC//,

-fASY TO -/vtP*-oy
>

AB/ANTAfifS

Type 2 learning is characterized by slow progress many errors and false starts. Understanding develops more rapidly than success until the point of full understanding
is attained. Then Type 1 learning begins.

D/SAEyvAA/TAGFS PUPu% dFTEN hAA*S

S(-owER THAN oPTi/VIJM

PRoC,ftS

12>BcAOS P

Unlike the computer which cannot tolerate ambiguity the human brain has a tremendous capacity for dealing with ambiguous stimuli. With clustering and sampling procedures

Too MANN SMALL STEPS

PRoGftesS MOT Evident

To Pop\uS MANV

I3comE TboReo,

266

FIGURE
J. 0. Powell

AH

265

TeACWiNS Strategv No. 2

the human train can pull structure out of very vague data.
Thus the final step to full understanding often involves an intellectual leap. There are two possible approaches to types 1 and 2
learning. The more common one can be described as "curve

Stretching

gTC>

tracking."

This procedure is illustrated in Figure 13,

X

-=9- Te*cHETft'S QoSST,oS

--Actual la*hiH6 CoRvff

k
s.

Insert FIGURE

13 Here

#
(&EGIHS HtRE

The basic idea of curve tracking is to try to enter the teaching cycle at the level of student understanding and to

t
0

develop this understanding at the pace of the typical curve. This procedure starts with very small steps and increases the pace as the ability of students to respond correctly
increases. All steps are expected to remain within the

RAPID UPAHNIN6

learner's easy capability.

If they do not, the unexpectedly

STEP

is >PeCTfc

large step is seen by teachers and pupils alike as a teacher

error rather than a stretching experience. This approach reaches its pinnacle in programmed instruction. Pupils often become bored with the latter parts of a programmed course as their ability to learn outstrips the 3mall steps
in which the program is written.

The alternative is to use a stretching procedure as is illustrated in Figure 14,

TFACtiSR'S ^s/TAY PO/NT APPROXIMATES Pup/ts' optimum i^/it/al srae-TcH PoitiT

ADVANTAGES - ^Ax/M^es Lea-rwinj^
LEADING IS l*A6fce RAPID THAU PRtDlC-reD SW f M&ORET.CrtL.
_ Process
TOPuPi'-S

Insert FIGURE

14 Here

(See : Over)

The objective of this procedure is to enter the teaching

sequence at a point where the most flexible learners can

achieve full understanding with a single leap and then to

cLfARLV ffVioFN-r
AfTER INIT/A*

steadily simplify the procedure until most have leapt to

full understanding. The teacher then provides the balance

2DlS/\D\/AA/rA<5'.S V/g:p.S

St ftir SS*t>. TO \=>UF>H-S

usE

Vnrricour t o

J.

C. Powell

267

:68

That Precious Moment

of the information for those who have not yet understood

and takes another leap upward in complexity. This is a

doubled their average marks after six weeks' mind stretching

remediation. It is usual for the teacher who starts this to

frustrating way to learn particularly in its early stages

and much of types 3 (consolidation) and 4 (maintenance)

learning need to be supplied initially to make sure that the full understanding is consolidated into relatively error
free practice. On the other hand the learners also learn to

be unable to keep up with the pace his or her pupils set. For this reason it takes two or three years to set up one
year's program.

The constraints we are putting upon the minds of our

children is nothing short of criminal. There is no excuse

cope with frustration and ambiguity. As they do this the size of leap they can make increases. They become keenly aware of their own progress and are excited by it. They

for this waste of human potential.

With a good classroom

library (no textbooks) an interactive computer terminal, a

class of less than 25, and an imaginative teacher who dares

learn to expect stretching and tend to approach even the simplest problems at a highly complex and sophisticated level often to the extent that they are able to discover the
fallacy which oversimplification has introduced.

to stretch the minds of the pupils in his charge, there is

no known upper limit. In fact if the universe is discon All we need now is a

tinuous and open as this book suggests there actually may

be no such thing as an upper limit.
few more teachers who dare...:

Progess by this latter procedure is rapid to the point Great vistas explode before the learner's eyes, and he or she becomes hooked on learning.
of being spectacular.
This stretching procedure is both a powerful tool and a difficult procedure to employ. It should be attempted
sparingly at first until the novice becomes skillful at curve tracking and knows how to pitch tasks at various
levels.

My approach to teaching is to ask for the moon and to

provide the stairway. Mind stretching is this stairway. The upper levels of human potential are unknown. In my own
case I have seen a "slow learner" gain ten reading grades in
one year. A city center Grade 6 class made six times as

much progress with me as they did with the previous teacher.

A sharp drop-off in progress beginning in Grade 4 is usual

in the city center setting. A group of high school students did two years' work in one (during class time without homework) and passed both years' work with honor marks.

Teachers working under my direction have experienced the same dramatic successes. Pupils in secondary math have

270

SUMMARY THAT PRECIOUS MOMENT

TABLE 4 It should now be evident that information transmission

AMOUNT OP CONTROL

should no longer be the primary process focused upon in the

USED BY TEACHER

classroom.

Nor should sameness among children (making

DOMAIN

everyone alike) be the primary goal of education.

Once these two thrusts have been abandoned the first

impact is the tremendous diversity evident. Not only is each child different, but each child is at different levels
of development in various subdivisions of his or her
performance.

:Level of ; under

Control

standing

Cognitive

Affective

Psychomotor

system applied

: :

Learning
: -1
disordered

Emotionally
disturbed
Disabled

Theraputic

When we focus upon sameness it is the among-individualsdiversity which is of primary importance. In this context,
: o

normative marking systems are most important because these

remove the within-individual-diversity and allow educators

Ignorant

Egocentric

Awkward

Overt control:

to focus upon competition between individuals.

which is alienating.

As I have

Constraint
: l
Awareness

Self-knowing

Controlled

+Empathy

indicated earlier it is this competition between individuals If the focus is to be upon within-individual-diversity,
OthersRestraint : Transferable oonsciousness Coordinated +Confrontation :

then such marking schemes as A,B,C,D,F, or stanines, or

percentiles, are inappropriate since these remove most of

the within-individual-differences when they are calculated.
: 3
Elaborative

Collaborative
Mediative Dexterious

;
:

+Consultation

Teachers will be happy to hear that this means that "marking to the curve" has no place in an individualized approach. When primary focus is upon competition with one's own
past performance then age and grade norms or criterionreferenced tests are more appropriate than scaled norms.

Actually, both pieces of information, a score for between-

individual variability, and a set of scores accommodating

within-individual variability should be combined for the
269

J.

C.

Powell

271

272

That frecious Moment

ideal marking system.*

Once children become self-competitive it becomes easier

Within this context the role of the teacher in terms of communication traffic control becomes clear. He or she

for them to become cooperative with each other.

Since self-

actualizing individuals tend to be self-competitive, it follows that the schools should focus upon developing
self-actualizera.

focuses upon skills development using content initially derived from each child's direct experience. Prom here the
experiences of the children are steadily and systematically enhanced. That the children be interested in the things
they are exploring is more important than that particular
content be covered. This conclusion can be taken first

It is encouraging to note that the most outstanding characteristic of humanness is creativity. Also, the most outstanding single characteristic of young children is

from the motivational power of the Hawthorne Effect, gnrt

second, from the finding that content is relatively
inconsequential where process development is concerned.

curiosity.

Information transmission requires docility among

learners for the superimposition of wills to take place

(endoctrination, if you wish).

But enforced doeility is

ultimately minimizing
our

However, the teacher's communication skills, selection

of materials available and experience entertained can have
a profound influence on the interests each child is devel

gained at the expense of curiosity

self-actualization.

creativity while competition between individuals minimizes

Thus the two traditional thrusts of

oping.

Control is not removed, but merely made more covert.

or she can assume some

educational system tend to alienate or dehumanize our

children.

Once the child demonstrates that he

of the responsibility for control of his or her own progress,

the teacher transfers this responsibility.

On the other hand, elaboration of the young child from

his now and self-orientation, characterized as egocentricity

In other works, in this model for education, freedom is

earned as the learner develops competence from his or her
self-competitive activities. It is not thrust upon the
learner as has occurred in the "free school" movement.

by Piaget, cannot be gained without structured experience.

I have endeavoured to make it clear that the greatest
amount of structure is needed for the lowest level needs.

Openness at the top requires a firm foundation to be

realizable.

Using the stretch procedure judiciously, in a proper balance with all four types of learning, can be expected
to generate an exciting learning atmosphere.
continuous.

The teacher with this sequence in mind will view control

of the classroom as indicated in Table 4.

The teachable

points in each child's experience will become almost That precious moment of intimate communication between a

Insert TABLE 4 Here

learner and his environment will become a frequent and general experience. By learning to share these moments with

others, many more will presently emerge from the educative

process as creative, self-actualizing, scrupulously honest

I am developing a procedure to do this.

and caring individuals.

and Trust can be built.

Prom this point a network of Love

And the satisfying of the human

J. C. Powell

273

needs which now threaten to destroy us can be undertaken

with considerable hope for success. Anyone care to try a hand?