Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.
Norman CousinsRead
Education fails unless the Three R's at one end of the school spectrum lead ultimately to the Four P's at the other-Preparati on for Earning, Preparation for Living, Preparation for Understanding, Preparation for Participation in the problems involved in the making of a better world.
Interpretation
Education should lead to practical skills and understanding necessary for contributing positively to society.
Norman Cousins emphasizes that the true purpose of education is not merely to teach the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic (the Three R's), but to prepare students for active engagement in the world. This preparation includes earning a living, understanding the complexities of life, and participating in efforts to improve society, thereby creating a well-rounded and socially responsible individual.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire students about the road ahead.
Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.
Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.
Although a man may have no jurisdiction over the fact of his existence, he can hold supreme command over the meaning of existence for him.
People are never more insecure than when they become obsessed with their fears at the expense of their dreams.
Reverence for life is more than solicitude or sensitivity for life. It is a sense of the whole, a capacity for inspired response, a respect for the intricate universe of individual life. It is the supreme awareness of awareness itself.
Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.
A man is not learned until he can read, write and swim.
Teach by doing whenever you can, and only fall back upon words when doing it is out of the question.
Our teachers are operating just as effective leaders in the business world do. They set a vision that most people think is crazy. They convince the kids why it's important to accomplish the goal. And they are totally relentless.
Emotional 'literacy' implies an expanded responsibility for schools in helping to socialize children. This daunting task requires two major changes: that teachers go beyond their traditional mission and that people in the community become more involved with schools as both active participants in children's learning and as individual mentors.
The method of instruction in Scouting is that of creating in the boy the desire to learn for himself.
Woe to him who teaches men faster than they can learn.
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