"what-teach-kids" In The Paleolithic Age

“What-teach-kids” in the Paleolithic Age (The curriculum development process in H. Benjamin’s “The saber-tooth curriculum”)

Justine Leon A. Uro e-mail: [email protected] July 2009

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‘‘‘What-teach-kids’ in the Paleolithic Age’’ by Justine Leon Uro islicensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Philippines License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ph/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

“What-teach-kids” in the Paleolithic Age (The curriculum development process in H. Benjamin’s “The saber-tooth curriculum” 1 ) by Justine Leon A. Uro e-mail:

[email protected]

H. Benjamin’s fictional short story “The saber-tooth curriculum” presents an interesting, panoramic, and forest-wide view of what the process of curriculum development may have been during the Paleolithic Age. The vividness of the author’s mind’s-eye account makes it seem like this cultural age of yore was just a stone’s throw away! The more important details dealing with the process of curriculum development are summarized below.

First and foremost, the hero of our story, New-Fist-Hammer-Maker, or simply New-Fist, had two attributes that are considered significant in curriculum constructing and that were rarities in humans during their time owing to their simple way of life—he was a doer and a thinker. As a doer, and hence an educated man during his time, New-Fist had not just a know-how of things that the community needed done, but also the required energy and will for accomplishing these things. As a thinker, his wondering about the current ways of his tribe and the ensuing dissatisfaction led him to think of ways that could better the life of his community—his tribe, his family, and himself.

Secondly, the background of his current circumstances led him to realize “the concept of a conscious, systematic education”2 and hence, to arrive at an educational goal. Observing his kids playing at the mouth of their dwelling-cave led him to realize that their activities, pursued for the purpose of pleasure, should 1 Benjamin, 2

H. (1939). The saber-tooth curriculum. New York: McGraw-Hill. (pp. 24-44). ibid., p. 26.

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give way to more purposeful activities—that the children’s activities played for fun involving bones, sticks, and pebbles to protect themselves from boredom, should give way to activities that will assist them in growing up as responsible adults that work for security and enrichment of their lives, in activities that involve food, shelter, and clothing, and that protected them from danger. In so doing, New-Fist would be helping his tribe better its life.

Thirdly, New-Fist decided on the activities for the kids that would consist of his educational goal. He decided on three fundamental subjects: (1) fishgrabbing-with-the-bare-hands; (2) woolly-horse clubbing; and (3) saber-toothtiger-scaring. These he decided on in answer to the question: “What things must we tribesmen know how to do in order to live with full bellies, warm backs, and minds free from fear?”3 This came to be known as New-Fist’s SaberTooth Curriculum.

Fourthly, New-Fist beta-implemented his Saber-Tooth Curriculum. He tried it on his kids by affording the kids a chance to practice the three subjects (activities) at the same time that he would carry out his own activities.

Fifthly, New-Fist qualitatively evaluated the implemented curriculum by observing what it obtained for and attained in his kids and considering the opinions of the other members of the tribe, especially the more conservative who thought the curriculum unnecessary, arguing based on two points: (1) that what the curriculum claimed to be able to attain in the children is, in fact, innate; and, (2) that human nature is immutable. New-Fist noted that the children not just liked to learn but also considered the activities more fun than playing with colored pebbles for fun. Because the kids learned well, New-Fist’s educational system 3

ibid., p. 28.

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was considered successful. To the arguments of the conservatives, New-Fist politely replied that: (1) it was the Great Mystery (The Supreme Being-Creator figure in the story) that willed that the kids be educated, caused them to want to learn, and divinely assisted them since learning is possible only through the power of the Great Mystery; (2) the will of the Great Mystery concerning fish, horses, and saber-tooth tigers can only be understood with a good foundation on these three fundamental subjects; and (3) human nature can be changed and it was this that brought the Paleolithic culture to a high level, thus making their community a great one. Thus did New-Fist gain the conservatives’ approval for the new school.

Sixthly, the tribe adopted the curriculum developed by New-Fist and, consequently, all the children of the tribe received this fundamental education in the three subjects. True to its intent at its inception, the new curriculum as it was implemented improved the life of the tribe as evidenced by the tribe’s prosperity and the adequacy of the amount of meat, skins, and security.

Seventhly, although suplementally, New Fist and his tribe got the opportunity to realize that the Saber-Tooth Curriculum will withstand the test of time. New-Fist and his tribe discovered the following two truths later on in their caveman existence: that (1) “the essence of true education is timelessness”

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(2) there are some “eternal verities”5 as the Saber-Tooth Curriculum. New-Fist realized these truths when they had to decide on whether or not to revise their first school curriculum in order for it to be more responsive to new needs brought about by environmental changes. Because of the New Ice Age, they had to consider whether the initial three subjects of fish-grabbing-with-the-bare-hands, woolly-horseclubbing, and saber-tooth-tiger-scaring-with-fire had to give room 4 ibid.,

p. 44.

5 ibid.

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for the more indispensable activities for modern living that included fishnetmaking and operating (for catching fish in muddy water), antelope snare-setting (to catch the elusive antelopes), and pit-digging (for bear catching and killing). It was eventually decided that fundamentals education as contained in the first curriculum is more important than the training emphasized in the proposed revised curriculum; that generalized agility obtained by fishgrabbing and not attainable by net-using, generalized strength obtained by horse-clubbing and not attainable by a prosaic and specialized activity as antelope snare-setting, and noble courage given by saber-tooth-tiger-scaring and not attainable by a lowly activity as bear killing, should remain as the three subjects of their school curriculum.

The New Ice Age with all its nuances, was, in a sense, a blessing in disguise for systematic education in New-Fist’s time as it gave the members an opportunity to realize the importance and timelessness of fundamentals education and its difference with training, the essence of true education which is timelessness, and the invaluable worth of the Saber-Tooth Curriculum as it is an eternal verity. — End of Summary— Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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‘‘‘What-teach-kids’ in the Paleolithic Age’’ by Justine Leon Uro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Philippines License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ph/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

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