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DOI: 10.1177/104515959700800405 1997 8: 7Adult Learning

Vivian W. MottReview: Teaching from the Heart

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Review %aching from the Heart, by Jerold W. Apps. (1996). Malabar, FL: Krieger. 133 pages. $21.50 (hardcover),

u p o n scanning the pages of Appss Teachiug from the Heurt, one might be tempted to conclude prematurely that the book offers little in the way of profound or innovative inforniation and that the ideas within have little to do with adult education. Apps sug- gests that educators today suffer from an over-emphasis on the pragmatics of learning and teaching, a paradigm that he maintains is an artifact of the industrial age, but one that

doesnt serve us well in a chang- ing world. Instead, he says we need new ways of thinking, new ways of incorporating mind, body, and spirit . . . especially in our learning and in our teaching (p. 8). One way, according to Apps, is teaching from the heart.

Apps maintains that all teach- ing and learning benefit from a connection with the heart, and he includes exercises and examples to assist the reader in moving toward heartfelt teaching and learning. These include identify- ing barriers (such as fear, inner turmoil, and time constraints), understanding the importance of relationships, and undertaking self-examination to know better who we are. In partial response to the recognition of heartfelt teach-

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production line. Individuals have inalienable rights, which coin- modities do not. On the other hand, the well-being of the indi- vidual is seen a5 being directly connected to his or her output. The more education a person has, the more potential he or she has for adding to the industrial growth of the country. Hence, within this mindset, while individuals are not commodities, they are resources - resources that must he nur- tured in order to ensure the great- est economic growth. But of course, as economist Kenneth Boulding pointed out over forty years ago, the problem with view- ing people as resources is that this

conception treats the individual as an intermediate good, instead of as an end.

Is the goal of preparing indi- viduals for work the same as the goal of educating them? This question has great importance, not only for adult education, but for childrens education as well. As linkages with industry become the norm for all levels of educa- tion - including elementary schools, it is becoming increas- ingly clear that adult educators in particular, have f.di\ed to explore the ramifications of this issue. To read the current research is to be struck by the absence of debate. I n fact, very often corporate inter- ests are defined so as to embrace the whole individual. The basic

ing as unpredictable, filled with ambiguity, and sometimes even chaotic (p. lll), Apps does offer a teaching credo, techniques for group learning, or suggestions for relaxation, solitude, and journal writing. While learners and teachers alike may identify with the barriers and agree with the value of self-reflection, the reader is left, however, with questions regarding just how to accomplish what Apps advocates.

As with his other works, Apps writing style is straightforward and direct, sprinkled with anec- dotes, metaphors, and personal examples of significant experien- tial learning. His ideas leave the reader convinced of the merit of heartfelt teaching, yet uneasy about its implementation or

consequences. This response is perhaps reflective of the very pragmatic disposition of educa- tors to which Apps refers. Apps himself acknowledges that there are potholes in the road, and the road maps are not clear, but he adds I can think of nothing more important for a teacher to do than to help people become more human, the ultimate goal of teaching from the heart (p. 116). Who can argue with that? A

- by Vivian E Mott East Carolina Univmity. Cremuille. SC

premise being I suppose that a fulfilled worker is a productive one. One of the principal themes of the post-war period has been the idea that education should be a national priority because it affects American productivity and hence American world standing. While American economic health has long been connected to the diffusion of information and particularly of innovations, the post-war era has seen a greater connection than ever before between diffusion and education- al levels. As educators have long recognized, diffusion by itself is not sufficient for innovation. In the same way, the connection between innovation and educa- tion remains to be more fully

explored. As adult educators embrace the

trends laid out along the parame- ters of the learning organization, we might do well to remember that this is just a managerial trend, not an educational goal. To confuse the two, is to ultimately lose sight of the importance of the individual within our highly individualized society. This is the contradiction with which Ameri- can adult educators must grapple, if we are ever to develop a satis- factory policy regarding adult education in the workplace and beyond. A - Amy D. Rose

Northern lllino& University

March/April 1997 A 7

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