Beyond Knowledge and Learning
I t is said that most truly educated persons possess an exquisite spontaneity, a quality that results from their having found the courage and freedom to he themselves, and from their having hecome selves that they and others can respect. Although this soontaneitv. mav.not embodv all that characterizes the truly educated, it is of such importance in making their lives successful and fulfilline that it merits examination. The problem of our age is not somuch the making of a commitment to achievement and learning as it is the development of a workable and viable personal philosophy. Unlike their predecessors, contemporary individuals are not told by traditions and values what they should do. Many do not even know what fundamentally they wish to do. The waning of traditions has left us without the moral compass that gave meaning and direction to the lives of previous generations. Large numbers of individuals now seek meaning and direction for their lives in formal education. For the most part, they find education preoccupied with transmitting information, discovering new technical knowledge, and developing work skills. The individual who would be educated while pursuing knowledge and developing work skills in educational institutions must work persuaded that life itself and the knowledge gained in formal education have meaning far heyond normal classroom activities, and that even as these activities can help, hut never assure, that the individual will succeed in creatively applying what has been learned, so also formal education or knowledge can enlighten and prepare, but never program the individual to find the meaning in life situations. Among formal education activities that can enlighten and prepare individuals to find such meaning are those-that help us understand who and what we are; those that encourage us to examine what and how to value: and those that teach &how to respond creatively to adversity. Althouah cultural anthro~olow.sociolow. and nsvcholoev have amassed vast quantitfes oTdata on
