Some central principles of Humanistic Education

Simon Marshall, DOS, Pilgrims Teacher Training Division, UK

[ Editorial note: I think it safe to say that most of the Pilgrims trainer network and author group would be able to sign up to 95% of the principles set out by Simon below. Almost any of us would be able to produce a slightly different list from Simon's, but the differences, I think, would be of emphasis rather than manifesting strong ideological divergences.]

This list is influenced by a previous formulation by Peter Grundy.

- Learners are human beings and should be respected as such
- Language learning has an affective (emotional) as well as a cognitive (analytical/knowledge based) side
- Learning is a holistic process, involving mind, body and heart
- The desire to learn is an inborn human quality
- Different people have different ways of learning, all of which need to be acknowledged, valued and nurtured
- The learner is at the the core of the syllabus
- For learning to be meaningful and long lasting it needs to be relevant to the learner
- Cooperative learning is productive learning
- The teacher should encourage learner autonomy
- The teacher is a facilitator, enabler and animator rather than simply an instructor
- The teacher is co-participant in the learning process
- Healthy group dynamics allow learning to thrive.
- Mistakes are inevitable stepping stones to learning. Indeed, they should be regarded as "a gift to the class"
- The teacher should not do for the students what the students can do for themselves
- Learner participation breeds motivation, confidence and success
- Individuals and groups learn things in every lesson that the teacher does not consciously teach
- Teaching and learning are a joyful, life-affirming processes