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The Evolution of the The And the dream?
The dream was of Egos incarnated into tiny bodies realizing as rapidly as
possible who they were, why they were here, and where they were going; Egos whose Minds would develop as rapidly as they chose and
often faster than their physical bodies. The dream was of a school where
young Egos could practice and experiment with how to handle life, where they
could change the Law of Cause and Effect from a piece of information into
knowledge—a school where young people learned to precipitate, learned to
control themselves and their environment, and learned to love themselves and
others. Our humble beginnings were in the
basement of a house which we cleaned up and painted.
We put blackboards on the walls, installed carpeting and area rugs on the
concrete floors, and lined the walls with donated books and games.
Fortunately, our teacher was not tall; so she did not bump her head going
down the stairs each day. However simple that first facility was, it did not
seem to dampen the hopes and expectations of the five students or the
teacher. We tried the “Edenic
Approach” at first although, after having read The Ultimate Frontier, we should have known it would not work. We
surrounded the children with books, games, and all sorts of learning materials
and sat back to watch their “natural” curiosity make them want to learn.
After two months, we could see that something was wrong. When the initial
excitement of being able to do anything they wanted in school wore off, the
children experienced an ever-increasing feeling of boredom. No matter how
much an eight-year-old loved art, art projects for six hours a day, day after
day, lost much of their appeal. ‘Now what shall I do?” seemed to be a
constant question for the students. Sometimes more time and energy was consumed in deciding what to do than was used in doing
it. Incompleted projects became the rule rather than the exception since the
child was free to make all the decisions concerning his activities. As we
looked at the children in our school, we saw that they were not advancing
academically, and they were unhappy. Theoretically, the children could
correct both of these situations; but in reality they did not seem to know
how nor to have developed the self-discipline to do so. It was evident that our
school needed to change, but how was the big question. We could go
back to the traditional school approach where the teacher told the students
what to do and how to do it. In this approach, the child, who does what he is told, practices what the teacher wants. And, depending on the quality and ability of the teacher,
the student gains a good education. The major problem with this approach is
that it limits the responsibility of the student for his own advancement. The
Brotherhoods teach that all Egos create their own environment and are 100
percent responsible for it, and we wanted our children to know that truth—not
just memorize it. Another possible approach to solving the
problem was to consciously evolve the school. This
meant that the central question to be answered was, “How
can we make it better?” Such a process of gentle self-correction is, of
course, slow and requires much thought by all responsible persons. Because
this approach was taught by the Philosophy of the
Brotherhoods and allowed us to keep our dream, we chose to use it. And today, six
years later, what has our school become? It is a serene environment where all
may learn. As soon as he is able, the student is expected
to assume responsibility for making all decisions concerning what he wants to
learn as well as how and when to do so. We realize that the techniques of
decision-making, positive habits, and proper
attitudes must be taught and practiced. Until an Ego reaches 10th or 11th
Degree within the Brotherhoods, he loses his
awareness of what he has previously learned when he incarnates. He must again
grow from immaturity to maturity. So he must be
given tools for dealing with life, shown how to use them, and be firmly
encouraged to practice with them. Parents and teachers must help him develop
the proper attitudes with which he can control his
environment and which make growth toward First Degree more efficient.
Positive habits must be taught, for it is easier to
keep growing positively as the forward motion of our direction carries us
along. Before he comes to school each day, the
student decides what he wants to work on and prepares a time schedule for
accomplishing his goal. His parents may help him estimate
an appropriate amount of time for accomplishing each activity until he can do
this for himself Although his choices for the day consist mainly of
conventional workbooks and textbooks, he may also schedule watching a movie,
working on a jigsaw puzzle, preparing a special report on anything of
interest to him, reading a library book, assembling a model of the human
heart, etc. Most of his work centers around
independent study, but there is always at least one group activity scheduled
each day which he may elect to attend such as singing, art, or a history
record. Anything not completed correctly at the end
of the day due to inattention, lack of reasonable efficiency, or carelessness
is taken home to be completed that evening. In this way, he develops
self-discipline and responsibility. Our school system presents the
opportunity to the student to face and solve many of the same problems he
will encounter in his adult life. For instance, there are many times when the
student is frustrated by the situation he has chosen
to experience. In Stelle, we make no attempt to take
away his frustration, nor would we deliberately frustrate him. The job of the
teacher is to help him identify the problem and then learn to
effectively handle his frustration. And
probably learning this is far more important to the maturing Ego than whether
he can multiply numbers. The academic education is complete and intensive,
but it is more than balanced by the education in
optimum attitudes, habits, and tools necessary for Egoic growth. The educational system has evolved to its
present state, and I find we are making the dream a reality. We still have
much to do that is already apparent. And judging
from past experiences, we are looking at only the tip of the iceberg. Parent
and teacher training programs must be developed. The
high school, college, and transitional school programs must be expanded and
refined. In many cases, intuition must be tested,
and ever-increasing amounts of knowledge must be created from our
experiences. As Stelle participants and their children advance, our school
will also continue to evolve. To be able to
consciously evolve an educational program over a period of six years
without sacrificing any of the dreams has been a successful test of the fact
that we are the masters of our destiny. If we will but seek to test our ideas
in actual daily life and gently correct our course, today’s dreams will
become tomorrow’s reality. ∆ |
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