0.2 Part two: special topics

Teaching as research and action

In T.H. White's The Once and Future King , King Arthur seeks advice from Merlin, his magician and counsel. Merlin's wisdom is sought at adesperate time for King Arthur, trying to find meaning in a world gone awry. May these words create a spark of light in the midst of our global distress.

Merlin speaks:

"The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in youranatomies; you may lie at night listening to the disorder of your veins; you may miss your only love. You may see the world around you devastatedby evil lunatics; or know your honor trampled in the sewer of baser minds. There is only one thing for it, then - to learn. Learn why the worldwags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust,and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you."

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Teaching in the 21st century requires us to be continual learners. It necessitates a familiarization with a wide varietyof issues that may not seem, at first, connected to one's subject. They are, however, essential:

• Early childhood education
• Literacy and numeracy for adult learners
• Environmental education
• Education through the arts
• Girls' education
• Conflict mediation
• Special education
• Community Teaching and Learning Centers

In this part of the course, we will describe each of the above areas in a separate module. You are asked to choose 1 topic only to study.

Do the reading and the assignments for that 1 topic, and when you're finished and your mentor says you're "Ready," continue to PartThree of this course. In Part Three you will integrate what you have learned in Courses 1-4 with this special topic to create and implement a ServiceProject.

Descriptions of topics

After reading the topic summaries below, choose 1 topic only that you would like to study in depth. (You may also wish to skim the modules by clicking on the Outline button.)

Once you decide on a topic, go to that module and complete the reading and assignments for that topic only .

Early Childhood Education - Addresses the needs of our youngest learners in terms of health-issues, cognition, and creativity during this critical stage ofgrowth.

Literacy and Numeracy for Adult Learners - Focuses on the elements of creating, sustaining, and evaluating literacy training for the adult learner with the idea thatteaching parents to read helps educate children.

Environmental Education - Introduces the skills of observation, questioning, listening, and attunement coupled with a reverence for the earth and theinhabitants coexisting on our planet.

Education through the Arts - Creates a venue for different ways of knowing about ourselves and others while it sparks lively dialogue within our schools,our community, and our culture.