A Teacher’s Perspective When one thinks of education today, many rather negative complications come to mind such as teacher strikes, vandalism, lowering of academic standards, and alcohol and other drug problems that are increasing in the public schools throughout the country. However, as a teacher with experience in public education, I would like to point out that the successful operation of any school depends largely upon concerned parents, fine students, dedicated teachers, and capable administrators whose actions are not highly publicized. They remain behind the scenes working many hours trying to build an educational system that will allow each individual to advance at an optimum rate. These are the people that are attracted to Stelle, and because of this, we will not be faced with many of the problems that consume vast amounts of time and energy in the ordinary public school. When an entire community is devoted to guiding the next generation so that it will operate at a greater proficiency in all areas of advancement, you have an educational tool of great significance which cannot be found in many communities. This is one of the pleasures of teaching in Stelle. While teaching in public school, it had been my experience to witness the deterioration of civilized behavior, general knowledge, and respect for one’s self and others despite the efforts of many fine individuals. I eventually came to the conclusion that in order to reverse this trend, it would take the cooperation of the entire community. However, because of the many diverse opinions as to what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, the probability of a massive cooperative effort occurring was not very likely. In fact, it was disappointing to see that community involvement only resulted in the lowering of academic standards. There are also a number of educators that are pendulum swingers in that they swing with any new educational experiment as gospel. I have seen administrators, teachers, parents, and students being confused by the ‘‘new” mathematics and the “new” English; I saw many highly advanced technological wonders being introduced which seemed only to entertain the youngsters; I have even heard some “qualified pedagogues” say that we should observe the children more because we can learn so much from them. In Stelle, we are able to learn from the children, but this is not our area of major emphasis. For the last few years, the “in” thing is the open classroom where children display their remarkable adaptability to learning in spite of the confusing environment in which they are placed. It is a surprise that someone has not seriously started a kiddie lib movement, or perhaps they have. We in Stelle have the opportunity to reverse these trends. Our school is a very quiet place, a very busy place, and above all, a place that provides opportunities for growth. When one walks into its luxurious atmosphere, it is noticed that people are communicating in soft whispers. The loudest activity is when a three-year-old sharpens a pencil. Soft classical music permeates the rooms with gentle encouragement. The Stelle School does provide a more pleasing environment than what is ordinarily found in schools. Because of its design, the wall-to-wall carpeting, the individual lighting system, and the silence, each person gets the feeling of privacy even though ten people may be in the same room with him. In all school systems, experts agree that it would be better if the teacher and the parent would function as a team, but all too often one or both members of the team will not accept their responsibilities. As a result the parent openly finds fault with the teacher; the teacher openly finds fault with the parent; and the child has his two feet firmly planted in midair. We believe that fault-finding is a waste of energy. We have the parents, faculty, and students who recognize that each must accept his responsibilities, and effort must be exerted before accomplishment is attained. With the guidance of the parents and the faculty, the child schedules an amount of work each day that will be a challenge for him to complete. As a result of accomplishing his daily goats, his monthly and longer-range goals will also be reached. The school is goal-oriented, and each person involved in it realizes that it is a privilege to be able to work for advancement. This core of students, parents, and faculty is providing examples of motivational responsibility that any successful educational system must have. Many readers of this will easily see that it would take a change of consciousness of monumental proportions for a public school to achieve this degree of success. Our library and other informational sources are now of the scope that we are able to offer courses in any significant subject that is normally available in high school, and this training is designed to guide any scholar to the point of accepting what we believe are college-level challenges. The Stelle University will not be a school that gives merely an extension of high school work. It will provide practical opportunities for doing original work, as does our adult educational program. The responsibility, however, is on the individual to motivate himself without the lecturing and prodding of his professors. If a student believes that another educational system offers greater opportunities, he is encouraged to receive his education elsewhere. If however, the student feels that he does not have to be spoon-fed information, and if he is willing to work with the amount of effort and precision necessary to provide spiritual and practical advancement for himself, then his contribution will be accepted by the Department of Education in Stelle. Our students understand that the fruits of one’s efforts are directly proportional to the amount of energy invested in it. They also know that to give service and assume responsibility as they are able are high goals to be pursued diligently. We have the task of building the foundation for the greatest civilization that has ever existed on this planet, and it will be done.
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