A Conversation With Educational Pioneer Phil Moore, Author of “The Future of Children”
Aired 22 May 2018 at 5:00 PM EDT
“We need to evolve from children of God to adults of good.” — Swami Beyondananda
There was a joke years ago about how we will know when the world is right-side-up: Schools and children will get all the resources they require to thrive, and the Air Force will have to hold a bake sale every time they want to build a new bomber.
This joke has gotten less and less funny over the years, particularly now when the word “school” is too often paired with the word “shooting”. As the toll seems to be mounting from our societal “priorities” that put nurturance last, here comes a book that not only asserts that children will have a future, but tells us a “love-based education” is the key to that future.
Meet Phil Moore, who, as director of Upland Hills School for over 40 years, helped provide that love-based education, in an environment where each child is known, and both freedom and structure are used appropriately. Influenced by J. Krishnamurti and R. Buckminster Fuller — who called the process of ordinary education “de-genuising” — Upland Hills embraced the task of bringing forth the genius in each and every child, in the context of nature and community.
Upland Hills School is truly a one-of-a-kind — and now that Phil is director emeritus, he has taken on the mission to export the principles, practices and lessons of Upland Hills School to the world at large. In the spirit of Bucky Fuller, he has named his platform for transforming education “trimtab” — which is the small device that moves the rudder and helps the ship change course.
If you’re curious about how children can become citizens of an evolutionary future, and how teachers, parents, grandparents and caring adults can create a loving learning atmosphere for kids, tune in