EDUCATION AND THE IDEA OF MANKIND

Discussions of the educational dilemma are a dime a dozen these days; some, however, are with a good deal more, and one of the worthiest is the collection of 12 essays here, planned under the auspices of the Council for the Study of Mankind, and dealing with educational ends rather than only with means. As editor Robert Ulich puts it: ""What we need first of all is fundamental thinking- not only about our schools and our world, but also about ourselves"". Fundamental- that's the key word. For the assumptions and/or aspirations throughout these essays are geared toward directing the differing branches of knowledge and unwieldy offshoots of mass information toward a definite development; a unity in which individual interests are part and parcel of universal concepts- above all, in which the young understand the perspectives of history and the common concerns, values and ideals of humanity as a whole. All the essays are valuable and to the point; they include delineations of the sciences and the humanities, and of the preschool, elementary, secondary and higher stages of learning. Ulich himself has a splendid opener on the ambiguities and ambivalences in men and ideas. A significant assemblage.