Cosmic Education
Cosmic education is that education which opens up for the child a vision of all that the world was meant to be, through collaboration of man’s efforts with God’s. “This is what cosmic education for the child entails: the image of God as He functions in the cosmos to create the earth and of man, who from his beginnings in nature evolved to create the supranature in which we live today… to bring about the spiritual union of a humanity that materially is already one.” To the child is revealed a united vision of sometimes seemingly disparate parts, of disciplines, life efforts, ways of life; indeed nothing happens in isolation – all things come together for some purpose. True cosmic education can only come about when “education is understood as a help to life and development.” Even “more than education, gratitude to God and Man should form part of Man's psychic formation. It should accompany him from birth to death.”
The child’s work in the casa is built upon, expanded and crystallized in the elementary environment where the child receives the Great Stories; the child delves into various aspects of each story, uniting himself with the work of 4,000 year old man and the man of tomorrow into whom the child is constructing himself.
Mario Montessori discusses the interconnectedness of the corals, the forests, the insects who pollinate, and others. What is interesting is the loss of the coral reefs due to various conditions which prevent them from doing their tasks, and the ensuing consequences to the earth. What Mr. Montessori wrote about is happening right here and now – the balance has been upset. The children of today will be the ones to solve the issue or to face its consequences. Balance will be restored – the question is how and when?
Man has been endowed with specific gifts which place him above nature; he is still part of nature, but is a steward over it. Man has the capability to build up and to destroy, sometimes in the same deed. Man has the capability to take nature and make it something greater than it is in and of itself: this is man’s cosmic task – to work as co-creators, with God and with mankind, to develop relationships, establish and strengthen connections, sharing with the present and future generations, by building upon the gifts given us by previous generations. The key premise: real work.
Real work ensures that the experience of each child provides for the greatest exploration of mankind’s current knowledge and power such that each child’s potential is maximized; his contributions, in conjunction with others, will continue to be built upon and expanded upon, until such a time as the work is complete.
But as each child is pursuing his own efforts, should he always be mindful of the contributions he is making for others? Not necessarily. Just as the wind, the corals, the insects, the plants, all carry out their seemingly selfish pursuits for their own preservation, they are unconsciously serving a greater purpose. As man takes these components of nature and utilizes them in a way that brings about further benefit to other inhabitants of the universe, each component becomes greater than its own nature. While mankind, beginning with the child, strives for that connection with others, it is sometimes in the seemingly selfish pursuits of self-construction of the young child and pursuit of personal interests of the elementary child in which lay the foundation for the discovery of the adolescent’s and adult’s personal cosmic task. “Each takes something from the environment, but each gives much more than it takes.” But the child is different from the rest of creation – he is aware of a greater purpose beyond his own self and he yearns to make a connection with that purpose, wondering what is his place within the cosmos; even as he cannot make out all the details, he is aware of something outside of himself, greater than himself. It is through real work and proper guidance that the child grows in his understanding and appreciation.
Through the child’s work in the elementary environment, provided in a manner which fulfills his psychological characteristics of imagination, wonder and awe, intellectual thirst, and sense of justice, he comes to a sense of gratitude: “Not by preaching, said Dr. Montessori, but by fitting them into the various expressions of activity peculiar to their tendencies of the children of this age, experience to help imagination, possibility of research of concentration, of active assimilation. They will arrive then, by themselves, to the realization of the contribution of God and Man and gradually develop not only appreciation but gratitude.”
It is through this gratitude that the child will be encouraged, invited, enticed to continue the work of mankind through the ages, uniting his efforts to all those who have come before, all those who are here with us now, and all those who are yet to come – until such a time as the work of mankind reaches its final perfection: peace among men.
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