Philosophy, Principles and Practice of Neohumanist Education

Becoming One With the World: A Guide to Neohumanist Education responds to an urgent need to reconceptualize the fundamentals of education in light of the many social, ecological, and political challenges facing humanity today. It answers the call for a new educational paradigm, one based on a far richer, more insightful understanding of human possibility, one that decenters human “exceptionalism” in favor of a new ecological consciousness, one that promotes harmony and cooperation between humans and non-human others, and one that cultivates wisdom. Neohumanist education strives for a harmonious balance between spiritual development and critical engagement with the world, in the belief that an awakened conscience translates into transcending differences and creating a sense of unity with all beings. The book is designed to enhance the spiritual and pedagogical knowledge and skill of teachers, parents, and school leaders who are seeking more holistic approaches to educating young people. Both richly theoretical and eminently practical, the book applies the primary commitments of Neohumanist education—cultivating love and kinship with humans and non-human others, freeing the mind from dogma and limitations, fostering a balanced approach between inquiry into the outer, objective world(s) and the inner, subjective world(s), and awakening the desire for social and environmental justice—to the full spectrum of traditional subject matter. It draws upon a wide range of new research and scholarship to illustrate an educational model capable of maximizing human potential and inspiring young people to create a future that is just, joyful, and sustainable. ENDORSEMENTS: "What a wonderful book! Packed into its pages are decades of experience as a meditator, yogi, parent, educator, and Neohumanist. This latter is the crux of this text, designed to lay out in clear accessible language the fundamentals of this rich and inspiring philosophy and to touch on ways it can find its way into the daily flow of the classroom and school. A philosophy worth its salt is one that actually makes a difference in the day to day lives of people. In Kathleen Kesson and her comprehensive book, we find just this: practical, pragmatic insights into a philosophy both new and ancient! It is a gift to educators and anyone committed to wholesome futures for children, society and of course, the planet." — Marcus Bussey, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia "Becoming One With the World is an extraordinary book. While its primary aims are explaining the philosophy of Neohumanism and detailing a Neohumanistic approach to education, it is simultaneously a comprehensive summary and synthesis of scholarly literature in the field of holistic education. Unifying knowledge and methods from many curricula areas, including spirituality, ecology, aesthetics, literacy, cultural diversity and ethics, it offers a clear orientation to a way of educating young people that seems key to human surviving and thriving." — Aostre Johnson, Saint Michael’s College in Vermont

In Jean PaulSartre's Nausea, Roquentin feels bound to listen to the sentimental ramblings about humanism and humanity by the Self Taught Man. "Is it my fault," muses Roquentin, "in all he tells me, I recognize the lack of the genuine article? Is it my fault if, as he speaks, I see all the humanists I have known rise up? I have known so many ofthem!" And then he lists the radical humanist, the so called"left" humanist, and Communist Humanist, the Catholic humanist, all claiming a passion for their fellow men. "But there are others, a swarm of others: the humanist philosopher who bends over his brothers like a wise older brother with a sense of his responsibility; the humanist who loves men as they are, the humanist who loves men as they ought to be, the one who wants to save them with their consent, and the one who will save them in spite of themselves. . . . " Quite naturally, the skeptical Roquentin ends by saying how "they all hate each other: as individuals, not as men. " Fully aware of the misuse and false comfort in the use of the term, Professor Aloni proceeds to restore meaning to the word as well as appropriate its educational significance. There is a freshness in this book, a restoration of a lost clarity, a regaining of authentic commitment.

This book outlines the theory of Neo-Humanism as propounded by the great 20th century think P.R. Sarkar. Neo-humanism is described as humanism expanded to include the entire creation: all varieties of human cultural expressions, and the animal and plant world, even until the inanimate world. This 'new-humanism', rather than being an aetheistic concept, recognizes the value of a human beings internal world, and thus bases the inspiration of neo-humanism upon a universal spirituality which is an essential part of the human psyche, although at times unconscious. This inner connection provides the mental epansion, empathy and perception so that will allow human society to live 'neo-humanism' not only intheory mut as a real expereicen intergrated into the individual and collective self. The author also clearly and concisely describes the modes by which vested economic and media interests manipulate and distort human thinking, and how this can be combatted through rationality and proper education. This he links in a unique way spirituality, rationality and human emotion. This book offers a unique perspective for anyone interested in sociology, multi-culturalism, anti-speciesism, globalization, anthropology, alternative economics, etc.