PROJECT BASED EDUCATION: A MANIFESTO
by Rob Goldman

How do we know what we know? What is it that leads us toward the quest for knowledge? For wisdom? And what will we do with it once we’ve attained it? How many of us possess greatness but do not have the tools or the means to realize it—to cultivate it’s manifestation? As technology brings the far corners of the world closer and closer together, why do we continue to feel more disconnected from ourselves and from each other? What can we do as a society to return to a system whose values are in sync with the greater good, where wholeness and oneness are embraced as the roots of our existence?
 
As difficult as it may be to answer these questions and as difficult as it may be to imagine a major shift in the emotional, physical and spiritual health of our society, one fact remains inarguable; change happens only through action. It happens initially by a small sector of the population who can no longer deny the ill effects of a system gone awry.

Silent Hope; a contemplative garden designed by Rob Goldman for Flower Hill Elementary School in Huntington, NY

 We are the change agents of the world—the non-conformists—who will summon the courage to see beyond, and step out of customary yet perversely debilitating systems, and create a new and better paradigm. If revolt is too strong a word, we can resort to revolution. And if that’s still scary, evolution will do. But regardless of semantics, bold steps must be taken to shift our fearful, oblivious masses toward a healthier norm. From a society motivated by greed, fear and self-centeredness to one driven by passion, compassion, creativity and self-realization.
 
This action must be catalyzed astutely and charismatically, as a body at rest will undoubtedly remain at rest unless acted upon by some outside force. BOOM! The wake-up call is raging. Divorce, disease, depression, lethargy, apathy, radical materialism. Shat will it take for us to wake up? What cataclysm are we waiting for? Do we really want to pass this along to our children? We must create a new paradigm, a healthy, symbiotic, win-win model where labels, titles, competition and bureaucracy are replaced by innate passion and an aligned system for self-development, i.e. self-initiated learning. Moving way beyond a one-dimensional model of accumulated erudition and into a holistic means of cultivated intelligence.
 
Foremost by initiating a meaningful dialogue with millions of hungry ghosts—a beautiful Buddhist expression offering a profound image of lost souls, wondering the world in search of themselves. The hoards of desperate seekers perpetually struggling to answer that ever daunting question; who am I? What is my greater purpose on this great big planet for the next hundred or so years? And once I gain a glimpse of it, how and where will I find the means to realize its manifestation? Learning what it takes thrive in an incredibly complicated world, uniquely distinct yet completely integrated into the whole. Inspired to work, to evolve, to lead. To be, as Gandhi insisted, the change you wish to see I the world.
 
Not in the frantic pursuit of straight A’s, granting entrée into any particular quarter million dollar kingdom of higher education and consequently a quarter million dollar salary, but committed to becoming my absolute best. Because it feels so darn good to know that I’ve used every ounce of my God-given ability to make a difference in the world! That I have tirelessly honed my skills and my talents to the nth degree so that I may become a true leader and guide others toward their own greatness.
 
Creativity is the ultimate tool to inspire self-motivated learning. Motion picture films and multi-media presentations, for example, have capitalized on the persuasive fusion of imagery, music and language that has influenced the masses for the past 80 or so years —specifically through cinema and television, and more recently through the internet. Television commercials have swayed millions if not billions of consumers to take action they otherwise would never have taken.
 
Brilliant filmmakers, some with an incredibly social conscience, have produced soul-stirring works that have awoken an entire populous and in some cases even stirred them into action. Take the recent film, What The Bleep Do We Know, which brilliantly weaved elements of science, spirituality, art, philosophy and drama, and in the process very sneakily EDUCATED an audience of over 50 million. Now that is a brilliant catalyst!
 
Other documentary films like Paper clips and A Touch of Greatness have helped awaken many people to the vital relevance of social and emotional learning in schools, as have contemporary narrative films such as Stand and Deliver, Dead Poets Society and Lean On Me. “And I've got a message out there for those people who have abandoned you and written you off,” announced Joe Clark, the real-life principle depicted in Lean on Me. “You are not inferior. Your grades may be. Your school may have been. But you can turn all that around and make liars out of those bastards in exactly one hour, when you take that test, pass it, and win!”
 
Edutainment is media content intended to simultaneously entertain and educate, and it is one of the most powerful wake-up tools we have at our disposal. Concise, lyrical, captivating, emotional, intelligent, dramatic, sophisticated and above all…cool productions provide a new and exciting delivery vehicle for a menu of vitally relevant messages that must now be heard. Such inspirational productions emotionally engage viewers and beg them to look inside themselves for answers. They speak a language that when fluently spoken, cannot be ignored, and they do so in a way that is thought provoking and self-empowering.
 
Imagine restructuring the very nature of students’ daily educational experience. By creating an enriching encounter that is situated in reality—not sequestered in concrete institutions of rhetoric, but melded into experience with the bowels of life—we can awaken to and merge with the energy of the universe. There, we are inexorably inspired to know—to learn, to work, to give, to build, to lead and to live in harmony with all. And we will thereby CREATE a healthy, prosperous environment, one that organically supports and holistically improves the very nature of our world.
 
Ideally I see this in the form of large scale projects based in history, the arts, social issues, science, mathematics, environment, language, agriculture, etc., at times in cooperation with the greater community. Paper Clips is a fascinating example of such a project.  These long-term works cultivate a ripe learning environment, integrating children at several grade levels to learn from one another through their involvement together. They provide a container for learning that goes way beyond present-day didactic systems.
 
Large scale, challenging projects offer students an opportunity to co-create something from conception through execution and compel them to learn all of the skills necessary for its success. They foster teamwork, creativity, intellectual growth, emotional development, social consciousness, confidence and pride, in other words a complete education. Not to mention the potential for contributions to ones own community, and thereby the world. Can we possibly say that about today’s institutional learning paradigm?
 
The following excerpt from Barry Carter’s book, Infinite Wealth, offers profound insight and an optimistic prediction of the future of American education:
 
“We can expect to see schools and the notion of education replaced with a new system based upon the broader concept of knowledge creation and knowledge flow. Education is externally driven and done by one person to another. As in all controlled economies there is one person in control. Knowledge creation and knowledge flow is internally driven, self-directed and fun. The concept of knowledge creation and knowledge flow is interwoven into every aspect of every person’s life everyday. This is opposed to the concept of education being confined to the younger years of one’s life.
 
Socialization will take place daily through small, local and global learning communities, clubs and organizations. Rather than mass production-based factory schools with hundreds and thousands of children in single buildings, the local privately-owned, for–profit learning communities meet in small buildings equipped with the latest in advanced information technology. In addition, there will be global learning organizations that meet through the virtual-reality Information Superhighway.1

In regards to socialization we must ask ourselves, why do our children have to be socialized with hundreds and thousands of others in a single building? When and where in society do people have to interact in large numbers like this on a routine basis? This only occurs in factories…Today we need a new learning model that socializes our children to thrive in a New world of collaborations within small groups, relying heavily on self-direction, creativity and synergistic relationships.”
 
I completely share in Mr. Carter’s view as to the need for communal learning. We must put in place strong, empathetic leaders who are driven to ignite passion and encourage students to engage in the work that is necessary to thrive. To grow. To become wholly functional human beings in a very difficult and complex world. We must inspire curiosity and empowerment by involving students in work that they genuinely care about, in a way that is stimulating, fascinating and fun, and thereby offer an impetus for evolution and eventual transformation.
 
It is only through a process of self-motivated change that we may see a viral, societal shift away from an ego-based existence and back to the core human values that form the foundation of a healthy culture. We must pave a path of creative living, encouraging people to find their voice, to realize their full potential and commit to its development—from the inside out.
 
Self-worth is the basis of all positively self-motivated action. We must therefore take significant steps toward creating a vital, engaging, multi-level learning system that not only builds intellectual prowess, but one that also shapes fully functioning, healthy, compassionate beings. We must redefine “intelligence” as a multi-faceted revelatory capacity that grows out of a healthy, centered body, mind and spirit. Once this more accurate, holistic archetype is embraced, a self-perpetuating teaching/learning cycle will organically ensue.
 
We live in an utterly overcomplicated world plagued by fierce competition and egotism. Only by eliminating the clutter and distraction—both materially and egoically—can we hope to reconnect with our vitality and thereby find some sense of peace and satisfaction. Only then might we step outside of the organized, systemized, sterilized, computerized, televised, corporatized, tranquilized, beurocratized, desensitized, super-sized, terrorized, paralyzed existence that supports a Starbucks on every corner of the free world and revel in our uniqueness.
 
Our children are our only hope.