The Age from 6 to 9 – Continuation

We stopped at the discussion of the age of six, the beginning of the process of schooling. Today we will continue this theme. You described the path of learning during the first three years. So what will such a school look like? How many hours a day will it operate?

All the time. Why should the child leave the school grounds? Where does he go? Out into the yard, where we have no idea what is happening to him? After all, society is still not corrected in such an ideal way that school, home, and yard would all exert an equally good influence on him.

That is why the most reliable approach is to organize the school as a beneficial environment for the child's development, and let him stay there as much time as possible, coming home only to bathe, eat, and sleep. To spend an hour with his parents and go to bed.

So this should be something like an extended school day?

I would not call it a school day. Anything having to do with study is off-putting. It is simply a long day, full of pleasant impressions.

And what about the connection with parents, brothers, and sisters?

He will interact with them in the morning, before leaving, and in the evening, when he returns. He should not be hanging around his mother, who will shout at him not to disturb her and send him off to his toys, the computer, or simply turn on the television for him, where they show all sorts of programs that we have no idea about. The best thing is for him to receive everything at school: purposefully, with rest, food, games, soccer.

With food?

Of course. All together. The child should stay at school the whole day. After all, how many hours a day does he need his mother?

That depends on how old he is.

How much time a day can she devote to him? So let it be at the end of the day, before he goes to bed – half an hour, an hour, two hours.

Say, at six in the evening?

Let's suppose so, though it is still a question whether the mother will be able to free herself up by that time. Say, from 6 to 8 in the evening. And then she will finish all her remaining tasks.

And what about homework?

No homework. Everything is done at school, everything is finished there. There is no such concept as "homework." Children hate it.

And if some exercises need to be done, is that done in the second half of the day? There is no division into first half of the day and second half of the day. This has to be approached differently. Between lessons there should be long breaks, when the children go out into the yard to run around and play. Then they return again to their activities, eat, rest. That is how they spend the day, and in doing so they see no difference: whether it is a school or a summer camp.

And are there vacations?

And why vacations? What are they getting tired from? That is not clear to me. And besides, this whole process should take place on weekends, on weekdays, and on holidays alike. And parents should be invited to the school, arranging a sort of "parents' day," holding a special lesson with them. In short, these days need to pass in the right atmosphere, and not have the child, returning to school after holidays spent at home, tell how his father took him off who knows where…

So you believe that the school should have a long day, filled with various activities.

Yes, of course.

And the whole day the child should study in a group of 10 children?

No. There are smaller and larger groups. If they are going to hold a discussion, then a small group is gathered, but if they go to a museum, a planetarium, to the sea, to the forest – then the group should be larger.

Then perhaps all together?

Yes.

And which group does the child belong to? Today he belongs to a particular class in school, and in this case – to a group of 10 people?

I do not think he should be confined only to this group. It seems to me that this should be very dynamic.

But, in principle, he should be in a group corresponding to his age?

It should be a group in which he can express himself.

That is, there will be no division into classes as there is today: 1A, 1B, 1C?

No. On the contrary. We must show the child that the whole school is a single organism, that it is open to everyone, that there are no restrictions. After all, all these restrictions later give rise to insecurity in him.

And during discussions should the groups also be changed?

That too is desirable. But here special training for the educators and preparation of the children is already necessary.

And why does such division into groups cause insecurity in the child?

Because he gets used to his group, as to his bed, his potty, his room, and then it is very difficult for him to leave the familiar setting. A feeling of fear and insecurity arises in him. Even adults experience it when leaving home. Today "forty-year-old children" do not want to be far from their mother, they relate to her like little ones.

Yes, today children have a hard time becoming independent…

Well, where does that come from?

And what about interaction between boys and girls? Can they debate among themselves? Or, perhaps, participate in some joint activities?

That will happen later and in a special form.

Do you think sex education should begin before the age of nine?

At nine years old we begin to talk with them about their gender, about relationships between the sexes, about the continuation of life. Before that, they are not capable of perceiving these phenomena. In each of them the inner prerequisites are still absent for understanding why and how everything happens.

According to psychology, children at this age very much love creativity: to make something with their own hands, to develop some skills in themselves. This gives them self-confidence. And good results are achieved through competition among them: who is the best, who is the strongest, who is the fastest, who knows the most.

In our method this develops in the opposite way – one must compete in how much more I help the others.

What does that mean?

They must bring into this the intention: "I want to be the very best at bestowal upon my neighbor, upon society."

And what about the striving to know as much as possible?

That is already something else. And it is not about knowing as much as possible. After all, in the society we are speaking about, we do not take into account the knowledge of the individual person. We do not give grades.

There will be no grades in such a school?

No grades, no tests.

And no exams?

And no exams either.

Then how can a child's progress be assessed?

The educator knows and understands every child who is next to him. After all, he works, together with one other educator, in a small group of ten people.

True, that really does help to get to know them. And is it necessary simply to give a verbal assessment of some of their skills?

No. We need to make it so that in the end they all come out with practically the same level of development.

But how is that to be done, if everyone is different: some are more active, others perceive better, still others are smarter?

Each one contributes to the group as much as he is able. And we assess his contribution. First and foremost, we care that a Human Being comes out of the school, and not an excellent student in the field of physics, mathematics, and the like. That is not so important to us, and I think that tomorrow it will no longer be of great significance for humanity.

Today great significance is attached to a person's personal achievements. And this, beyond any doubt, comes at the expense of one's attitude toward others.

And by this we destroy society, since one really does happen at the expense of the other. That is exactly why we "turn everything upside down," or the other way around. A person's actions for the good of society should be considered achievements. And only in accordance with this do we give him an assessment.

And how will this affect his motivation to study? Where will the child get the energy for his studies?

From what he will invest in society. And once the desire to make a contribution to society arises in him, let him then develop a striving to study, to engage in physics, mathematics – all the things he wants. But first and foremost – a contribution to society.

So even before he begins to study, he must constantly invest in society.

That is the main thing. And only afterward let him study in accordance with his inclinations.

Suppose a child shows special abilities in physics or mathematics. Will we be able to develop them within such a system of learning?

Yes, we will be able to develop them, say, in the fifth or sixth grade.

And his motivation to become the best in this field should be the striving to bring benefit to society?

Yes, only the striving to bring benefit to society. And each time he needs to be reminded that society wishes to see him precisely that way.

This is something very altruistic. I develop myself, but only in order to bring benefit to society…

Moreover, when he goes to work, then in the society that, I hope, we will build, he will not earn more than others.

Even according to his needs.

Yes, he will receive just as much as a person doing simpler work according to his abilities receives. After all, he became outstanding in the field of mathematics, for example, thanks to the aptitudes laid in him by Nature, while another does not have these aptitudes. That other person brings benefit to society by working as a plumber, while this one, let's say, became a professor or the director of a large firm. So what of it?!

Each occupies his own place – that is understandable. But what if they invest in society to different degrees?

Each invests according to how he understands his ability to bring benefit to society – according to his personal qualities.

And is the measure of his contribution assessed?

Society assesses him according to the benefit he brings, be he a plumber or another kind of specialist. Accordingly, each will be respected. But this in no way depends on how important his work is. Everything is determined only by how much of his soul he gives to it.

How can that be measured?

It is not measured. When society becomes spiritual, it will be able to assess, understand, and feel it.

But still it is not clear to me where the child will get the motivation to invest more, if he knows that he will receive just as much as another child who, it seems to him, makes a smaller contribution? And after all, children have a very strongly developed sense of rivalry.

As a result of upbringing, he values above all the approval or censure of society, he seeks the respect of society, he wishes to please it. In this is his reward, because what he needs he receives regardless of his contribution. We are created socially dependent and must make use of this. It is precisely this that is characteristic of the human being and distinguishes him from the animate degree.

And when will this stop being just words for the child?

We help him realize it throughout his whole life! School never ends, we only transfer the school framework into the framework of society. And each time a person feels that he is in some environment and, as its inseparable part, is obligated to participate in its life exactly as it was at school. Thus he advances and builds the future world for himself. In the end, becoming similar to Nature, he begins to feel himself perfect, like Nature itself! That is why there is no differentiation in salaries, but society assesses each person and censures or encourages. This stimulates a person externally. However, the main thing is the inner stimulation, when, for an ever greater similarity to Nature, he begins to feel its eternity and perfection as his own.

And how can such a school be created now, when society is not yet corrected?

You need to free yourself from the world you are accustomed to and delve into new thoughts, into an integral approach to the world. Then you will be able to grasp its qualities that are being revealed today. You will understand the qualitative changes. And you will begin to understand what the system of raising a person should be. First and foremost, one must raise a Human Being! And only then a specialist in some field.

Today we observe the opposite.

Yes. So then, if we raise a Human Being who will be in harmony with Nature, in balance, then he will begin to apply his knowledge, sciences, and technologies for the benefit of society and Nature, and not for harm. And that is why we must, first and foremost, care about upbringing, and only then about education. In this abiding care we need, beginning from a person's birth, to build for him the right environment, the setting in which he will learn integral connection: he affects the environment, and in response the environment affects him. He reveals himself as a particle of the world. And, uniting with everyone, he feels himself as if dissolved in Nature.

In the system of upbringing that exists today, the emphasis is directed at giving the child knowledge, while everything else is supposed to somehow come by itself. There is even such a concept: "One must give the child the tools so that he can learn." If we create the kind of system of upbringing that you speak of, will it not destroy in the child the striving to distinguish himself?

In our system of upbringing I too assess myself, and others assess me – by the benefit I bring. And they give out encouragement or censure. After all, even today you wish to earn more, to become famous, to be strong, and so on, in order to earn the approval and respect of society. You are in fact working for others. You are carrying out the instruction of society. You wish to be important in their eyes. You yourself need little, but everything beyond what is necessary you acquire so as not to lower yourself in the eyes of society.

This is well known.

But in society this is not investigated and not taught, not talked about and not censured, because it is not profitable to the producers of all sorts of things we do not need. They produce, they impose on us the importance of having them, we work in order to pay them for these things that we do not, in principle, need, because they have convinced us that otherwise we are worse than others…

And will encouragement help us rid ourselves of the production of unnecessary things and thereby stop depleting natural resources?

Imagine that your children read laudatory reviews about you – how pleasant that is for you and what a great reward it is. And if it is the opposite – what a terrible feeling of shame plunges you into darkness… But that is a separate, large topic.

And what is to be done with problem children who are developmentally behind or hyperactive?

It all depends on how we organize them. We can give them the opportunity to move more… After all, we are talking about the fact that the school will not be in the form in which it exists today. The teacher, say, will sit under a tree surrounded by children and talk with them. Then they will go into the classroom, watch a film, and discuss it. Then they will play soccer… After that they will go to eat together, and into this too an element of play needs to be brought. Let everyone help one another. After eating one can sing songs, that is, do some things that bring the children closer together, that cultivate in them the habit of being together. This is good! It will give them confidence, unlike what happens in school today. After all, the child comes there as if to a battlefield. Perhaps in the middle of the day they need a break for sleep, since we are talking about him being at school until six o'clock in the evening.

And what is to be done regarding problem children, say, those developmentally behind?

Hyperactive children, for example, can be brought together into separate groups, so that they do not disturb the others.

And what should be done with those who have specific problems?

For them too special classes need to be formed. After all, we see even in our everyday life that they either require constant support from those around them, or we create special institutions for them. Therefore we need to provide them with the opportunity to develop with the help of appropriate educators and to teach them to make use of one another's help. After all, among them there are many who can participate in mutual help.

And so, we have continued discussing the theme of the school. We spoke about how the school day should be a day of pleasant impressions. Instead of an obligation, it should become for the child a day of pleasures, and so much so that he does not want vacations. Because this day includes everything: study, and outings, and soccer. The child stays at school until six o'clock in the evening, returns home, interacts with his parents, goes to bed, and in the morning returns again to school for the whole day. There he can also rest. Everything is arranged dynamically, there are no fixed classes that divide the children. On the contrary, in order to develop self-confidence in them, they are, as it were, constantly "mixed together"…

We use all their natural inclinations: envy, the striving for honors, and so on, in order to develop them for the good of society.

It is precisely in this vein that we speak about rivalry among them, that is, competition in who will bring more benefit to society. And this is the opposite of what happens today, when everyone, thanks to his personal achievements, considers himself above the rest.

This cannot be allowed. Only a contribution to society is encouraged, and only then does he have something to be proud of.

Thus the child grows, striving toward the goal that we have defined as the attainment of perfection, when he begins to assess himself from the standpoint of his attitude toward his "neighbor" and gradually to "come out of himself." In this way we build a new system of upbringing.

And it is based on love.