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                      %SECURE CONTEXT FOR EDUCATION 871015

     The   responsibility   of  the   educator   (teacher,
professor,  mentor)  is to provide a secure context within
which  students  feel  free to fail safe in  educing  each
other, including the educator.

     Mutual educement is possible only within the  context
of security.   The degree of educement which is likely  to
take  place is dependent upon the degree of felt security.
In  a  threatening and mutually defensive  context  little
meaningful educement is likely,  because each person is in
a  defensive  posture which inhibits openness and  honesty
about mistakes from which all participants might otherwise
learn.    In a threatening context it is natural  for  all
participants to hide their mistakes and make whatever they
have   done   look  as  good  as  possible  in  terms   of
conventional criteria.  What people learn in a threatening
context  is  how to be defensive and how to promote  their
own isolated short term advantage.

     Threats undermine education by the very nature of the
relationships  which  are induced  by  threats and counter
threats.    Education  has to  do  with  educement:   with
learning  how to be open and honest with each other  about
each other's experiences, feelings, thoughts, perceptions,
mistakes,  conclusions, etc.  Playing dishonest games with
each other undermines education.

     The traditional responsibility of an educator focuses
upon the subject matter of specialization of the educator.
Such    a   focus  is  based  upon   a   carelessly    un-
articulated theory of education;  a theory which says that
the  quality  of expertise in the specialty  is  the  most
important  aspect  of the qualifications of the  educator.
Such  a  carelessly un-articulated   theory takes no  note
of  the  importance  of  a  secure  context  within  which
students may feel free to fail without threat of  personal
rejection.  When proper note is taken   of  the importance
of  a  secure  context,    the importance  of expertise in
some  specialty can be  securely placed   in  its   proper
context,   and  accorded  its  proper consideration.    It
is   a  mistake to be  indifferent  to expertise   in  the
area  of specialization of the  educator;  it  is  also  a
mistake to make such expertise  the  primary consideration
in  a  carelessly un-articulated    theory  of  education,
which is then thoughtlessly followed without consideration
to its consequences.
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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