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After choosing the subject for this thesis, my first job seemed to be definition of terms. Just what are “methods of teaching”? Webster gives several definitions of “teaching”, among them the following: “To show; guide; direct; to make to know how; show how; to direct as an instructor; to guide the studies of, or to conduct through a course of studies; to impart the knowledge of”. These are definitions of teaching, which we all know and accept.
But the definition of “methods” is a little more difficult. Webster defines “method” as: “An orderly procedure or process; regular way or manner of doing anything.” In an educational sense, method is “a systematic plan adopted in presenting instructional material; as, the lecture method; a method of teaching.” “Method is commonly a special or definite system of procedure.”
The next step was to discover what the conventional methods of teaching are, and how they could be used in teaching The Urantia Book. The outside sources consulted seemed to pile confusion on confusion. Each author had his own interpretation of the word “methods”. One author recognized just two methods – subject teaching, that is, arithmetic, geography, history, as separate subjects (the way most of us studied); and progressive teaching, in which the project holds the important place, and the subjects – arithmetic, geography, history, etc. – are acquired as a by-product in the working out of the project. Another author listed methods as inductive, deductive, expository, demonstration, etc. Still another author defined methods as tools, techniques, devices used in teaching, such as maps, models, blackboards, and so on.
With such a range of meaning, from a general “system of procedure” down to the concrete tool, such as a globe, I have felt free to make my own interpretation of “methods”. While my primary interest has been in the actual techniques or tools for putting a point across, I felt that a consideration of the more general aspects of teaching should form the foundation for the discussion of the specialized procedures. The definition, which most nearly fits my purpose here, was found in a book titled “Beginning Teaching” by Joseph Emory Avent. “Method is the procedure by which a goal is reached, a purpose accomplished, or a result achieved. It is how you get the thing done…Devices may be thought of simply as little methods, or as parts of a larger method. A device usually involves the use of concrete materials, or concrete procedures, which may be objects or ideas…A device, then, is any little method to which a teacher resorts as a temporary means of more effective focusing of attention of pupils upon the task to be done.”
KINDS OF TEACHING
There seems to me to be two general ways of teaching – unconscious teaching and conscious teaching. By unconscious teaching, I mean showing someone else how, not by direct imparting of information, but by doing something or living in such a way that the other person observes and learns from your example. Parents are unconscious teachers to their children. Many things, which a child learns, are obtained with no conscious instruction on the part of his elders. The child himself is often unconscious that he is learning something.
On a higher level, there is an analogy in the papers, which concerns the unconscious acquiring of information. In Paper 19 we are told that Trinity Teacher Sons are devoted to conscious enlightenment. But the Inspired Trinity Spirits are believed to be teachers who operate by super-conscious techniques. “There is a vast body of essential spiritual knowledge, truth indispensable to high spiritual attainment, which cannot be consciously received; self-consciousness would effectively jeopardize the certainty of reception.” [p. 220, 4] To a certain degree, it seems that here in our material existence the method of unconscious learning and teaching is valuable, particularly in getting across the truths of The Urantia Book.
Our method of unconsciously teaching the truths of The Urantia Book will be to live them in our daily lives – to show the fruits of the spirit in such a way that people will observe, wonder, and inquire into what we have that they don’t have. Already there have been instances of this very thing happening and there will be many more as we absorb more of the truths of the book and actually try to live them.
During the ordination of the twelve, Jesus said: “And it will not be so much by the words you speak as by the lives you live that men will know you have been with me and learned of the realities of the kingdom.” [p. 1569,4]
This method of living our beliefs is well illustrated by Jesus’ life. We are told in the papers to look not so much for what he taught as for what he did. [p. 2088, 5] “It is his life, and not his lessons to the twelve or his sermons to the multitudes, that will assist most in revealing the Father’s divine character and loving personality.” [p. 1581, 6]
Jesus’ entire life on this planet was intended to be an inspiration to us so that we can learn from what he did. Before his bestowal on this planet, Immanuel, the Union of Days on Salvington, charged Jesus to do certain things and refrain from doing other things. In this charge, Immanuel said, among other things: “Your earth life in the likeness of mortal flesh shall not be so lived as to constitute an example for the mortals of Urantia in the days of your earthly sojourn nor for any subsequent generation of human beings on Urantia or on any other world. Rather shall your life in the flesh on Urantia be the inspiration for all lives upon all Nebadon worlds throughout all generations in the ages to come.” [p. 1328, 4]
The second general manner of teaching is conscious teaching, and that is the kind with which we are primarily concerned here. Every person in the world is a teacher, even though he does not realize it. Remember the definition of teachings: to show, guide, direct; to show how. There is not a person who has not shown someone else how to do something – tie a knot, set a table, hammer a nail, play a game. Even children of four or five show children of two or three how to pull a cart, build a house with blocks, and put a doll to bed. Our particular job is teaching The Urantia Book, and although at the present time there are only three of us who are teaching more or less formally, each one of you is a teacher in an informal sense. Many of you have said that you can’t teach, and yet I have heard those same older members in the group answer questions and explain some point to a newer member – and what is that but teaching?
We are told in the papers that our entire future career will be devoted to teaching others. “As you journey toward your Paradise goal, constantly acquiring added knowledge and enhanced skill, you are continuously afforded the opportunity to give out to others the wisdom and experience you have already accumulated; al the way in to Havona you enact the role of a pupil-teacher. You will work your way through the ascending levels of this vast experiential university by imparting to those just below you the newfound knowledge of your advancing career. In the universal regime you are not reckoned as having possessed yourself of knowledge and truth until you have demonstrated your ability and your willingness to impart this knowledge and truth to others." [p. 279, 13]
Since we know that we are going to be teachers for untold ages, and since we know that this group has been designated as the “teacher-leaders” for the dissemination of The Urantia Book, it seems logical that we start right now preparing for that career. There is a very comforting statement in the papers that we will have help in this teaching career. There is one group of the Supreme Seraphim who are called Teaching Counselors. They act as “secretaries to all orders of teachers, from the Melchizedeks and the Trinity Teacher Sons down to the morontia mortals who are assigned as helpers of those of their kind who are just behind them in the scale of ascendant life…These ministrations extend on down to the individual worlds. Even the true and consecrated teachers of time are assisted, and often attended, by these counselors of the supreme seraphim.” [p. 428, 8]
One of the most important points to remember in teaching The Urantia Book is to confine our teaching to those who are truly interested in learning, those who are confused and seeking for help, those who are hungry for truth. Jesus brought this point out very clearly in a conversation with Ganid during their trip to the Northern Italian lakes. They had met a thoughtless pagan and Ganid was surprised that Jesus had made no effort to discuss spiritual questions with him. Jesus explained his attitude as follows:
“Ganid, the man was not hungry for truth. He was not dissatisfied with himself. He was not ready to ask for help, and the eyes of his mind were not open to receive light for the soul. That man was not ripe for the harvest of salvation; he must be allowed more time for the trials and difficulties of life to prepare him for the reception of wisdom and higher learning. Or, if we could have him live with us, we might by our lives show him the Father in heaven, and thus would be become so attracted by our lives as sons of God that he would be constrained to inquire about our Father. You cannot reveal God to those who do not seek for Him; you cannot lead unwilling souls into the joys of salvation. Man must become hungry for truth as a result of the experiences of living, or he must desire to know God as the result of contact with the lives of those who area acquainted with the divine Father before another human being can act as the means of leading such a fellow mortal to the Father in heaven. If we know God, our real business on earth is so to live as to permit the Father to reveal himself in our lives, and thus will all God-seeking persons see the Father and ask for our help in finding out more about the God who in this manner finds expression in our lives.” [p. 1466, 2]
In addition to confining ourselves to teaching those who are truly seeking for help, a second very important point to remember is to adapt our teaching to the pupil. His personality type should play a major part in determining the kind of teaching methods to be used. His intellectual capacity also is an important factor. Do not try to put a quart of knowledge into a pint-sized mind. We should consider the backgrounds and potentials of our pupils and present the concepts of the book accordingly. Jesus used this method in teaching is apostles. He “taught these men all they could assimilate. He did not make the mistake of over-teaching them. He did not precipitate confusion by the presentation of truth too far beyond their capacity to understand.” [p. 1535, 6]
The Urantia Book itself is presented to us following this same principle, in my opinion. While it seems to us that some parts of it are far beyond our ability to understand, still we can almost grasp most of it with a little work, and our successors in future years will understand the concepts better. I am convinced that many questions have remained unanswered and many things left unrevealed because they really would be beyond our capacity and would tend only to confuse us.
A third point to remember in imparting new truth is not to destroy old beliefs, which a person sincerely holds unless you can substitute the new truth without detriment to him. Never tear down a building unless you are sure you can build a better, more solid structure. A good illustration of this is Jesus’ handling of the whale story in talking with Gadiah. “Jesus perceived that his young man’s life had been tremendously influenced by this tradition and that its contemplation had impressed upon this youth the folly of trying to run away from duty; he therefore said nothing that would suddenly destroy the foundations of his present motivation for practical living." [p. 1428, 2]
Jesus also emphasized this point in dealing with the Persian “fire-worshipper” who resisted Simon’s method of teaching, but succumbed to Jesus’ method. Upon Simon’s inquiry as to why he had failed, Jesus said: “Simon, Simon, how many times have I instructed you to refrain from all efforts to take something out of the hearts of those who seek salvation? How often have I told you to labor only to put something into those hungry souls? Lead men into the kingdom, and the great and living truths of the kingdom will presently drive out all serious error." [p. 1592, 4]
Just before the crucifixion Jesus admonished his apostles: “Do not forget that you are only commissioned to go forth preaching the good news. You are not to attack the old ways; you are skillfully to put the leaven of new truth in the midst of the old beliefs.” [p. 1932, 1]
Dr. Sadler once prescribed an anesthetic to be used in imparting new truth. It consists of three attitudes on the part of the seeker after truth:
1. Interest – based on curiosity.
2. Belief in your sincerity – or friendliness.
3. Familiarity – That is, familiarity of the listener with the terms and examples you use.
Everyone attempting to teach The Urantia Book would do well to remember that anesthetic before operating. Otherwise the sudden injection of new truth may be exceedingly painful to the listener.
There is another admonition which we would do well to remember: “The teachers of the religion of Jesus should approach other religions with the recognition of the truths which are held in common (many of which come directly or indirectly from Jesus’ message) while they refrain from placing so much emphasis on the differences.” [p. 1670, 6]
There are two methods, which may be followed, in conscious teaching of The Urantia Book. One is individual teaching or tutoring. The other is class teaching. Undoubtedly both methods will be used, but probably the majority of this group will devote themselves to individual teaching, rather than formal class work.
Both methods have a place in the educational system, which is sponsored by the celestial personalities. In the schools of the Planetary Prince about 500,000 years ago on Urantia, the instruction seems to have been by classes, although the papers do not state that individual instruction was excluded. Since the primary purpose of the Edenic schools was socialization, it seems logical that most information should be presented to groups rather than individuals. [p. 835, 5] The exact opposite is true in the schools on a neighboring planet, though it should be remembered that those are purely human schools like our own. On that planet the entire educational system is largely individual. There are no classrooms. Each pupil studies one subject at a time. The chief object of education there is to make every pupil a self-supporting citizen. [p. 812, 7]
In the morontia schools, the Mansion World Teachers engage in individual, group, class, and mass teaching. [p. 551, 1] Both individual and group teaching seems to be carried on all through the superuniverse, with the latter probably predominating. But upon graduation from Uversa, class work is ended. In Havona, all instruction is individual.
Although we all will participate in individual teaching most of the time in the coming years, classes for teaching The Urantia Book will develop more rapidly later. A start has already been made in that direction. There are three classes in operation now. The first is this class of the Doctor’s for training teachers. Though not the first in the Forum in point of time, it is the most important, and the only one recognized officially by the seraphim under whom we work, the angels of progress. The second is Bill’s discussion class which started many years ago and which aims to teach the fundamentals of the book, and give a broad, comprehensive view of the whole. The third is the kindergarten class which I teach and which tries to present only the primary facts of cosmography and the personalities who inhabit the universe – the bare bones of the skeleton on which the rest of the book is based.
With these three classes as a beginning, it is easy to foresee other classes which will evolve as the need becomes apparent, until sometime there will be an entire school devoted to instruction in the teachings of The Urantia Book. The beginning courses of such a school will, I believe, consist of classes such as the one I am teaching. For the starting point for learning the teachings of the book is knowledge of the facts of the universe – the physical geography, the personalities who inhabit it, what they do, how the universe is administered. These are definite facts to be learned, with not much chance for differing interpretations, although the door is seldom closed completely to speculation. Once having learned these facts, the way is open for advanced classes – classes in theory based on known facts, exploratory classes which follow avenues only hinted at in the papers. In these classes, there is an opportunity for individual, differing interpretations. Such teaching requires vision, imagination, ability to build a theoretical structure or concept on a foundation of fact. But always in these classes, the teacher must have a thorough knowledge of the facts of the book.
There will be many specialist classes – that is, classes devoted to just one subject in the book. One intriguing subject is the story of mortal ascent from the evolutionary planet to Paradise Another is the story of the evolution of a planet from the beginning of a nebula through the period of light and life. The life and teachings of Jesus will undoubtedly be divided into several subjects for class instruction. The energy system of the master universe will attract some students, while prayer and worship will be the primary interest of others. There will be classes in religion, covering many aspects, for example: the evolution of religion, the practical application of religion in everyday life, and comparative religions.
In all these specialist classes, the teachers must be not only very well grounded in The Urantia Book, but also fully conversant with the general knowledge in the same field of study. That is, anyone teaching about the physical energy system of the universe should have a good background of our own physical sciences, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and so on. As I have found to my embarrassment, it is difficult to explain some points in the papers without this background. In a class in religion, the teacher must be thoroughly familiar with not only the great religions of the world but also the minor ones, in order to point out agreements and disagreements, and to answer the questions which will be continually brought up.
TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING
The majority of the techniques, or little methods, of teaching, which will be discussed in the remainder of this paper, can be used either in individual teaching or in class teaching. Although devised primarily for class work, some of them have already been successfully used in private tutoring. Others are only in the future, but I am sure they will all be used sometime, and there are undoubtedly many that I have not thought of.
Some of these methods are used in the schools, which we will pass through on our assent through the universes, but the papers mention others, which are far beyond our present concepts. We are familiar with laboratories, and we now there are laboratories for scientists on Jerusem. Adam and Eve studied in the division of experimental energy as applied to living forms. They were expert anatomists before they came to Urantia. [p. 828, 3] We also know there are planetary life-planning laboratories on the Life Carrier worlds of Salvington. Universe physicists and electrochemists serve there as technical assistants to the Life Carriers. [p. 398, 1] And we are told that the star students on Uversa work with the aid of a multitude of mechanical instruments and physical appliances, [p. 339, 1] so it is safe to assume that there are laboratories on Uversa also. We can understand laboratories.
But in the classes conducted by the Masters of Philosophy on Paradise, we are told of other methods, which are far beyond our present comprehension. “These Paradise philosophers teach by every possible method of instruction, including the higher graph technique of Havona and certain Paradise methods of communicating information. All of these higher techniques of imparting knowledge and conveying ideas are utterly beyond the comprehension capacity of even the most highly developed human mind. One hour’s instruction on Paradise would be the equivalent of ten thousand years of the word-memory methods of Urantia. You cannot grasp such communication techniques, and there is simply nothing in mortal experience with which they may be compared, nothing to which they can be likened.” [p. 303, 2] The Havona graph system is also mentioned in the discussion of the Intelligence Coordinators (a group of Tertiary Supernaphim) with the statement that it enables them to assimilate as much information in one hour of Urantia time as would require a thousand years for our most rapid telegraphic technique to record. [p. 289, 1]
Although Paradise and Havona methods are out of our reach, there are specific techniques, which can be used here and now, and among them are the following:
1. Learn by Doing – One of the most important techniques of teaching is to let the pupil learn by doing. This method is being stressed in modern education for it has been discovered that this is one of the best ways for the student to make the information really his own. Several small colleges are operating on the basis of part study, part work, so that their students may apply practically, the theories, which they acquire in class. Boys are not only told how to run a farm or a business. They actually operate the farm or the business. Girls are required to run a home on a fixed budget, to care for children while they’re studying childcare, and so on.
This method is not only one of the best in our present Urantia teaching. According to the papers, it is also used extensively in other, better schools than we have on Urantia today. In the schools, which were established, when the Planetary Prince first arrived on Urantia, the plan of teaching was carried out by establishing industrial schools in which the pupils learned by doing, and through which they worked their way by the daily performances of useful tasks. [p. 751, 1] This method was also followed in the schools of Eden. The elder children taught the younger – another form of learning by doing. [p. 835, 1] While Jesus was on earth, there was a school at Bethsaida for the evangelists, taught by the apostles. “This school was conducted on the plan of learning and doing. What they learned during the forenoon they taught to the assembly by the seaside during the afternoon. After supper they informally discussed both the learning of the forenoon and the teaching of the afternoon.” [p. 1657, 6] We are told that, in the advanced ages of an evolutionary world when education is the watchword of these ages, every child is provided an opportunity to learn by doing. [p. 577, 2] The schools on a “neighboring planet” are described as largely consisting of individual instruction designed to make every pupil a self-supporting citizen. Books are used only to secure information that will assist in solving problems arising in school shops. At a very early age, pupils become assistant teachers, instructing those below them. [p. 812, 3] In the discussion of the Celestial Overseers (the inspectors of the Nebadon educational system) there are several paragraphs on the system of education in general which bring out specifically the fact that we learn by doing.
“On the universe headquarters itself are numerous Melchizedek schools, the colleges of the Universe Sons, the seraphic universities, and the schools of the Teacher Sons and the Union of Days. Every possible provision is made to qualify the various personalities of the universe for advancing service and improving function. The entire universe is one vast school.”
“The methods employed in many of the higher schools are beyond the human concept of the art of teaching truth, but this is the keynote of the whole educational system: Character acquired by enlightened experience. The teachers provide the enlightenment; the universe stations and the ascenders’ status afford the opportunity for experience; the wise utilization of these two augments character.”
“Fundamentally, the Nebadon educational system provides for your assignment to a task and then affords you opportunity to receive instruction as to the ideal and divine method of best performing that task. You are given a definite task to perform, and at the same time you are provided with teachers who are qualified to instruct you in the best method of executing your assignment. The divine plan of education provides for the intimate association of work and instruction. We teach you how best to execute the things we command you to do.” [p. 412, 4]
Learning by doing leads directly into the project method of teaching, which is emphasized so strongly in progressive schools. Projects promote the integration of learning. Subject matter is learned more thoroughly and in greater amounts. A project is an activity that involves planning and construction, the search for materials, and the evaluation of proposed solutions.
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