Introduction & CCCI00-Preface Questions

[Jeremy Chance]

 Hi Everyone,

As this was the first email where I privately suggested an approach to creating a form of assessment for the four books of Alexander, I am re-sending the email so it is part of the archive of the new Google group that I created to track these emails. Maybe just my own?

cheerfully

Jeremy

ja...@mac.com

090-2284.0869 (Japan +81)

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jeremy Chance <ja...@mac.com>

Date: 6 February 2007 12:18:48 AM

To: Antoinette Kranenburg <a...@KensingtonAlexander.com>

Cc: Sarah Barker <saba...@sc.edu>, Bradley Diana <Dmbra...@aol.com>, jackson renee <sloan...@neo.rr.com>, Mills David <dav...@performanceschool.org>

Subject: Try these out!

Hi Antoinette and Others,

It has occurred to me that, whatever the questions are that we develop, we must also develop the answers!

And the answers need to be well referenced to Alexander's writing, otherwise it becomes too subjective. This project could be longer than we imagined. I think Catherine's format of questions is a good one - the answer is hard to dispute. But the drawback is that they become quite specific, hard to make general questions.

Anyway, this year I decided to develop questions on CCCI as it is the book we are studying this year at ATA. I am going for an approach in the middle - not too broad, but not too specific, and also giving it a twist by using a language in the question, that is NOT posed in the way of Alexander's own expressions.

anyway, I do propose that whatever questions we develop, we simultaneously develop answers that rely heavily  on Alexander's writings and avoid ambiguity. Is it possible!? Maybe...

An example of how we might do this is given below:

***

1. What is the essential base upon which all our beliefs are founded?

2. How does a practical working knowledge of epistemology aid our self-improvement, growth and progress?

ANSWERS: (both from CCCI Preface from the 1955 Edition)

1. "Hence it may be of interest and value to give consideration to the use and functioning of the human self that makes possible the registering of experience upon which religious and other beliefs are based. Certain it is that without the functioning of the human sensorium this registration would not be possible, and hence it will be seen how all-essential it is that the human sensorium should function as a reliable register in order to minimize the effect of sensory illusion in the forming and assessing the validity of the beliefs upon which our judgment of reality depends."

SIMPLE ANSWER: Human sensorium.

2. "The nature of this functioning determines the nature of this registration, and this in turn determines the nature of the experience upon which belief is based, and is, therefore, the forerunner of all we finally accept in arriving at our judgment in the matter of reality. If the Leaders in the religious life of the past and the Prophets had given due recognition to this in assessing the nature and value of the experiences upon which they believed religious and other beliefs should be based, their followers would not have been so frequently led into error by mistaking illusion for reality. Instead, they might have been led to unknown experiences far beyond the present limit of human conception of experience, as they passed from the instinctive to the conscious in changing and improving the use and functioning of the human self."

Then at the end he summarizes:

"My earnest plea is for the unprejudiced consideration of the education that I have advocated for the gaining of unknown experiences in the improvement in the use of self. This is an education equally for the adult as for the child, and involves improvement of the nature of their sensory appreciation as an essential training for a more trustworthy registration of any other experiences which may come to them, so minimizing their present liability to fall into error even if they inherit a "high sensuous endowment” such as Professor Perry tells us that William James possessed.

It is true that dependence upon instinctive reaction meets the needs of the animal kingdom, but the world crisis of our day serves to show that such dependence no longer meets man's needs when he tries to translate into practice his idealistic theories with regard to self-improvement, growth, and progress."

SIMPLE ANSWER: None.

***

So - we could file that away (I did) and, slowly build up a collection of questions and answers that could then become the basis for figuring out a process of assessment for ATI/Alexander's writings.

Does someone want to work on another book? Probably not. Then wait four years, and I will have finished it as I plan to develop this for my school. I will keep posting my questions on CCCI this year as I develop them. If you want to be out of the loop, please let me know!

cheerfully

Jeremy

ja...@mac.com

090-2284.0869 (Japan +81)

On 28/01/2007, at 7:42 AM, Antoinette Kranenburg wrote:

Hi Sarah,

I've gotten carried away cooking for friends who are coming over in a little bit.  Papers still all over where we are to eat.  So here goes.

Though the PDC hasn't met since the AGM, there has been email exchange with Jeremy Chance about developing questions for the F.M.'s writings part of the Demonstration of Knowledge.   At the AGM Jeremy Chance, Nancy Williamson offered to help with that.  Rob Bushong just agreed to pitch in too with this.

We have a bar chart indicating relative importance of topics from F.M.'s writings developed in Budapest.  It seems the next step is to match the topics marked important in the bar chart, with questions from the site.  Then come up with questions for topics not covered.

Catherine's emailed that ATI is welcome to use the questions on the website.  That's a great starting place. (I have a concern that it not become Performance School Demo of Knowledge, rather than the ATI DofKn.)

Jeremy pulled the questions regarding MSI from the Performance School site and will do that for CCI next.  I will give Rob Bushong a copy of the questions and the bar chart.  (I have not heard from Nancy yet, may try to phone)

The PDC aims to have a pool of questions on the writings sorted by the April Board Meeting.  At the next AGM the PDC will take on involving the membership in developing the ethics Demonstration of Knowledge. There are other things on the PDC to do list that need attention.  I will ask us to meet by phone soon.

I hope this makes sense to you Sarah.  I'll be happy to clarify as best I can!

I had forgotten you are our new Board liaison and will copy you to PDC email from now on.

Have a good Board meeting and give my best to all,

Antoinette

On Jan 27, 2007, at 9:47 AM, Sarah Barker wrote:

Thanks Antoinette.

I look forward to talking sometime soon and I'll look for you update today.

Sarah

On 1/26/07 8:51 PM, "Antoinette Kranenburg" <a...@KensingtonAlexander.com>

wrote:

(301) 946 8170.

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