The Educator’s Personal Qualities
– Just like any other profession, the profession of an educator involves professional deformation. That is, any activity a person does changes him, distorts his personality, and tapers certain personality traits.
– Except this profession, since all the people in the world will have to become both their own educators and students of themselves. And each of them will have to position himself the same way in relation to others. A person rears society, the environment, and the environment consists of everyone, so everyone should be both a teacher and a child.
– For many centuries teachers received officer’s titles. They walked around with weapons and other male attributes. Half of the educators in your organization are also former army officers. They are serious, athletic men.
– Many of them served in the army and some have high officer’s titles.
– Is it appropriate to bring back masculinity to the male collective to differentiate men from women, to alter the “unisex” society that now exists?
– There shouldn’t be any “unisex”! Boys have to feel like men, like the owners of the planet, preparing to truly possess it. And not only the planet, but the whole universe. This is necessary.
In our groups we study man’s nature, his freedom of will, the opportunity to realize it, and a person’s influence on the world. By studying it, we see that you cannot conquer Nature by force. Currently, man is doing nothing but mutilate it, creating an inhabitable environment for himself. So it’s unlikely that children will respect strength in their educators and teachers.
Boys have a physical inclination for sports and games. This gives them a physical outlet to let off steam when needed. And there are educators who hold these sessions. But of course, they don’t influence the children with their physical force.
– We said that educators have to alternate, and a boy has to be accustomed to expressions of completely different qualities in the educators. But on our part, we are insufficiently brought up and therefore, without noticing it, an educator automatically suppresses the children. What can we do so this won’t happen?
– Everything has to be aimed at enabling the children to self-educate themselves, so they will organize themselves and hold their own discussions, and courts. The educator is like a “secret agent” in their midst, slightly guiding these processes.
But if the situation becomes heated and the children are unable to set things right on their own, then this is the only case when the educator can express himself as an organizer and educator, use his authority, and force them to get back to the correct state.
– How can we prevent the educator’s authoritative influence from becoming a reason to fear him?
– The use of physical force is not even a topic for discussion! Children have to see that the educator intervenes only in order to put them back into the boundaries. And to achieve this, he can only use explanation.
In every group of 10 children, there must be 2 educators. And if any child becomes disobedient and interferes with everyone’s studies, he should be influenced through the group and this has to happen immediately. Every child should constantly be formed through the group. That is the only way it should happen.
Of course, this is an art! But it’s an enthralling art, which gives you the chance to see the fruits of your labor immediately.
It is expressed in children very quickly and remains in them naturally. They immediately adapt and then immediately forget because egoism constantly grows, especially during childhood. It explodes, as if nothing was created a minute ago, instantaneously erasing everything, and you see an egoist in front of you all over again. So where did everything go? It did not go anywhere. It’s just that greater egoism has come to the surface now. It is constantly growing, and an educator must form it into an altruistic, integral attitude to everyone.
– You said that it’s very important for an instructor to treat a child like an adult. But a child is not an adult.
– He shouldn’t be treated like an adult, but as an independent, responsible person. However, this should be done without forcing or pressuring him. It has to happen on the level that a child has to behave according to his age.
– There is a difficulty here. On the one hand, I relate to his opinion seriously and respectfully, but at the same time, I always have to remember that he is still a child. Or is that wrong?
– Our entire life is a game. What does that mean for us? We have to show children how we relate to them and the kind of behavior we expect of them. Once we are convinced that they have understood and accepted our approach, that they have seen it, we ask them to show the same approach toward younger kids, which allows us to see how they have understood it. That is, we check whether they can “settle into” our character, understand us, and demonstrate this to the younger children. This should be done carefully and tenderly, unnoticeably straightening them.
Who are we raising in a child? An educator. When he knows what it means to be an educator of a younger child, he understands me better as his educator as well. Thus, we develop a relationship of equals. When I teach him, he understands why I am behaving this way and builds his behavior accordingly. A few days later, he will go to the younger group and display the same behavior.
Within every person, we are creating his “self,” his juxtaposition with the higher level—the educator—and with the lower level, the students, in relation to which he is the educator. It turns out that every person is a student of the higher degree and an educator of the lower one.
The sensation that you are a link in this chain has to be natural for every one of them. This is the basis for society’s integration, with each of its members suppressing himself both as a student and as an educator. This is studied as part of the basics of group interaction.
For the sake of attaining an integral society, I have to consciously lower myself before the environment, practically annulling myself before society. And on the other hand, I have to elevate myself in order to feel society’s dependence on me, and affect it with the importance of the goal.
The lowest level and the highest level have to be realized in every person. And the difference between them determines a person’s inner height.
- Should the educator also be on these two levels? Also, should he have a vividly expressed childish, playful part in him?
– Of course.
– Very often the people entering this profession had a problematic childhood and wish to compensate for it through the children.
– I understand. Often the people who become educators lack self-esteem. They go to a group of children in order to rescue themselves, to compensate for their lack of feeling of safety and confidence.
But in our upbringing we have to choose completely different people and form them! I would accept to this course anyone who wants to join. At the very least, a person will learn something and will move closer to the new, integral society. Something will penetrate him and he’ll change. Afterwards, good instructors should be selected out of them, people who can play and position themselves well.
Instead of their “I,” they have to have the importance of the goal. “We” has to occupy the most important place within them. This kind of person should not be afraid or ashamed of not having an “I.” He is not like a rooster that wishes to rule over everyone. He is proud because his job is necessary for the collective, because we will find the truth and our new existence in our unity.
– There are several ways to determine the qualifications for people who work with people. I will name three of them.
-
One is tests. When a person passes them, he gets a diploma and may start working.
-
The second is when a community of educators determines that the person is suitable for it. The opinion that “he is one of us” is enough to consider him professionally qualified. That is how psychotherapists are accredited.
-
And the third way is when the children themselves decide whether this educator is suitable for them or not.
In your opinion, what should be the criteria to determine whether an instructor is ready for this job? What should make him qualified enough for people to entrust him with children?
– Every man has to be a father and every woman—a mother. Every person has to understand what is an integral society and how to interact within it, both with adults and with children. Therefore, everyone has to complete these courses, which should be opened everywhere.
All the mass media channels should talk about this constantly. It is necessary to free up every working person for a certain number of hours a day to study these courses.
If an adult who has completed studying these courses, and understands their importance, is drawn to working with children, he can be selected for learning how to be an educator. But even those who are not selected for it will become better parents and better members of society because they will understand the necessity of interaction among everyone.
During the study we notice the people among all of the students who are able and willing to be educators. The selection process here is very simple because there aren’t many people wishing to be educators. Working with children is not easy. It requires patience, attention, and the ability to constantly be under pressure with children.
This is not a job, but a vocation! Only love and a sense of responsibility can give one the strength and the patience for it, and allow one to make this choice. It is where we create a new humanity.
I hope that there won’t be problems with the work force. It’s not difficult to tell whether a person is right for this type of work. Perhaps certain tests will have to be prepared. But I don’t think they will be tests on paper or multiple-choice exams. Rather, the selection will happen in practice.
A great number of educators will be required for children and adults of all ages and of all levels of preparation. I think there will be work for a lot of people in this area. This can solve the unemployment problem that will be exacerbated all over the world as we cut back on the production of unnecessary products.
– Should we pay attention to the children’s opinion about whether or not they like an instructor or educator?
– Yes. We have to pay attention to the children’s reaction and together with them discuss why they like one educator or why they don’t like another. The educators should also explain why they act the way they do. They shouldn’t conceal the methods of their influence, have secrets, or secretly manipulate the children! Definitely not!
Educators and children go through the process together. We are creating a new society and are working together on our evil—our egoism, trying to give it the opposite quality of bestowal and love.
This does not and should not involve any secrets or manipulations. There shouldn’t be any teacher’s rooms where they hold closed-door conferences or short coffee breaks. On the contrary, we can discuss everything with children absolutely openly. This is a completely different approach to life!
We are facing nature’s challenge. It created us as egoists and is placing a task before us—to change ourselves. This is our common problem! And to the extent that each of us feels that he is an active participant in solving it, instead of passively waiting for correction, to the extent that he independently forms himself and the environment, the process will be creative.
It will be important for everyone. Every person will feel his responsibility and won’t be able to escape it. In this regard, children and adults are equal.