MIDBRAIN ACTIVATION August 10 -2014

Contents

1. Quote for the Week
2. Editorial
3. Feature Article
4. Tips & Tricksl
5. Feedback
6. Q & A

Quote of the Week

"People are shaped by people. There is no genuine education without earnest life-to-life interaction and inspiration."

Daisaku Ikeda

Welcome to our weekly newsletter.

We have always stressed that the purpose of midbrain activation is not to get our children perform magical feats but whole brain, whole person development.

Today, we are proud to bring to your attention, the work of a Japanese educator who has devoted the past 50 years to answer some of the questions we humans have always pondered:

• What does it mean to be human ? • What is the purpose of education? • Does knowledge always lead to wisdom?

What follows is a very brief summary of a wealth of thought –provoking material found on the Soka Website. Please take time to read at length.

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Enjoy

THE BACK ISSUES ARE AT...

WHAT IS SOKA EDUCATION?

WHO IS DAISAKU IKEDA?

"A wisdom-based education leads to the question that all generations must face: What is it to be human? How we answer that question determines our life philosophy, our morals, and the way we educate persons.

For the past fifty years Daisaku Ikeda has sought to answer that question. His work is more than the sum total of universities, high schools, grade schools, cultural centers he has founded. His work is more than the sum total of the dozens of books he has published. His work answers the question of 'What does it mean to be human?'"1--George David Miller

More than 250 academic honors from universities in 40 countries bestowed on him, are further indication of the extent of the influence of Ikeda's thought and activity.

The Elements of Soka Education –( humanistic, humane or people-centered education)

The quality of the relationship between teacher and student is the basis of Soka education.

The key element in Soka education is the quality of the relationship between teacher and student--the teacher's sense of care for the student, their efforts to appreciate and develop the unique character and potential of each learner.

Ikeda says, "People are shaped by people. There is no genuine education without earnest life-to-life interaction and inspiration."2 The teacher's depth of character is crucial in this equation. "The level of culture that teachers have attained in the depths of their lives through their own personal effort is conveyed from one human being to another, from teacher to student."3

Why Education?

"I consider education to be the culminating undertaking of my life. That is because the victory of education means the victory of the people."

"Education must foster people who intuitively understand and know--in their minds, in their hearts, with their entire being--the irreplaceable value of human beings and the natural world. I believe such education embodies the timeless struggle of human civilization to create an unerring path to peace."2--Daisaku Ikeda

Ikeda regards education as fundamental to peace and positive social change. Through his dialogues, writings and collaborations, he has been active in reorienting education toward

Wisdom and Knowledge

"Knowledge alone cannot give rise to value. It is only when knowledge is guided by wisdom that value is created. The font of wisdom is found in the following elements: an overarching sense of purpose, a powerful sense of responsibility and, finally, the compassionate desire to contribute to the welfare of humankind." The distinction that Ikeda makes between knowledge and wisdom offers a useful insight into the nature of Soka education.

Education often focuses on the transmission and accumulation of knowledge. But, as Ikeda notes, "Knowledge itself is a neutral tool that can be used for good or evil. Wisdom, in contrast, always directs us toward happiness."

Ikeda has called the confusion between knowledge and wisdom one of the grave failings of modern society. He likens knowledge to the ability of a doctor to discern the cause or nature of a person's illness and wisdom to the doctor's ability to successfully treat the disease.

As he notes, "The suffering generated by the grotesque imbalance between our knowledge and our wisdom is succinctly symbolized by the fact that the most sublime fruit of our science and technology has been nuclear weapons."

Similarly, the "explosion" of knowledge within the past century seems only to have compounded the inequalities on our planet. This is of course not to deny the value of the pursuit of knowledge, only to show that the relationship between knowledge and wisdom must be properly considered. Ikeda affirms that with the advent of an increasingly knowledge- and information-based society, it becomes all the more crucial that we develop the wisdom to master these resources of knowledge and information.

Furthermore, knowledge must be tied to purpose in order to produce value. Ikeda says, "Unless we continually ask ourselves, 'What purpose does this knowledge serve?' we are liable to fall into the trap of pursuing knowledge for its own sake." 5

Education that neglects to orient itself to some larger purpose may end up producing individuals who are "knowledgeable [but] immature and coldhearted as well."

Certainly, it would seem that only a wisdom-based education that directs students toward the richness of our common humanity can provide an antidote to the powerful dehumanizing forces so rampant within contemporary society

Educational Proposal "Education is in no way limited to classrooms but is a mission that must be undertaken and realized by human society as a whole. We must now go back to the original purpose of education--children's lifelong happiness--and reflect upon the state of our respective societies and our ways of living."1--Daisaku Ikeda

"Education deals with the essence of what it means to be human. No undertaking is more

The task of education must be "to stimulate and unleash the wisdom that lies dormant in the lives of all young people." This is a process of drawing out the inner potential of individuals, as opposed to "a forced process, like pressing something into a preformed mold," 4 in the way much of modern education is doing today. Creative Education: Overview

"Education makes us free . . . It is through education that we are liberated from powerlessness, from the burden of mistrust directed against ourselves. The individual who has been liberated from self-doubt, who has learned to trust in him- or herself, is naturally able to believe in the latent capacities of others. Education enables us to look beyond superficial difference to perceive the great earth, the great sea of life that sustains us all."

.Education has a profound mission within society, in Ikeda's view. It is "not simply the transmission of knowledge. It is not simply the development of talent. Education is a great enterprise of steadily and surely passing on the fullness of humanity . . . Education is a process of becoming fully human."

The values that underlie education, he observes, shape individuals and society, for better or for worse. The development of a humanistic, nurturing society largely depends on a humanistic orientation in education, one that directs students toward the richness of their inner lives and the interdependence of their lives with the lives of others and with the planet itself. Indeed, the rampant exploitation of people and of the natural environment, so characteristic of our global society today, can be seen as a direct failure of education.

From Ikeda's perspective, the reformation of education is integral to the establishment of global peace. For this reason, his educational endeavors have not simply been limited to the development of the Soka education system but encompass various efforts to promote humanistic education on a global scale. In a society that serves education, learning is regarded as the very purpose of human life-that which makes human beings truly human--rather than simply a means to an end, a way to make people useful to or competitive within society. When education is treated as a means rather than an end, this "reinforces a utilitarian view of human life itself . . . A certain type of personality, not the full development of personality, has been sought, as if casting individuals from a uniform mold."2 The central tenet of Ikeda's thought, is the fundamental sanctity of life, a value which Ikeda sees as the key to lasting peace and human happiness. In his view, global peace relies ultimately on a self-directed transformation within the life of the individual, rather than on societal or structural reforms alone. This idea is expressed most succinctly in a passage in his best-known work, The Human Revolution, Ikeda's novelization of the Soka Gakkai's history and ideals: "A great inner revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind."1

SOKA WEBSITE

MORE USEFUL RESOURCES

Resources #2. SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN BASED LEARNING

1. Create a safe climate for learning 2. Encourage a Growth Mind Set 3. Emphasize Feedback 4. Get Bodies and Brains in Gear 5. Start Early 6. Embrace the power of novelty Bonus Project : Build A Brain Owner’s Manua

Follow the link below.

BRAIN STRATAGIES

MIDBRAIN ACTIVATION PARENTS GUIDE

Your investment of time and effort will not only profit your child(ren) but help us in our vision of creating a World Without Blindness project.

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