Born as a human in the early 21st century implies that we have an extensive learning process which lasts our whole life. We are unique as a species, since we have access to a large and complex neocortex which processes and rationalizes the details of our environment. In the course of our learning process, it would appear that the mind is the source of all our learning possibilities, and so the schooling systems have focused on the mind as our learning mechanism. In terms of Human Design, and using its unique system to see how each individual is designed, it becomes apparent that the mind is only a "reference library," and that to get a real education other parts of the being need to be accessed.

This article examines the possibilities for a conscious education for each individual through the knowledge of the Human Design system.

What is education?

Born in England in the early 1950's, I was required to study a couple of "dead" languages as a prerequisite to my further schooling. Latin and Ancient Greek became a major part of my life from the age of 7 years old. These days, I can remember scant phrases and words from either of these languages, but one word which stands out from my Latin days is; educare. Roughly translated into English, educare means "to draw out."

The word "education" is derived from this Latin word... "to draw out," meaning: to engage with a student in such a way as to allow them to expand on anything that they intrinsically already had within them. To educate is to encourage the student to follow whatever life path they have streaming through them, to find their own learning, their own place in their life. In ancient times some societies would encourage their youth to listen to great orators, (the oral tradition) and to be pulled into debate to enhance their skills of relating in the world around them. In this way, each person could engage themselves naturally in the environment which appealed to them.

The arrival of the so-called "Education System."

Times have changed and the means of teaching and learning have changed with the times. Not long ago, young people would apprentice with their parents or other artisans to learn their skills; that is, until the onslaught of the Industrial Revolution when fathers were removed from the home, artisans were replaced by machines and mothers were no longer able to tend to educating their children.

The modern style of schooling is a quite recent phenomenon and has been put together in a very haphazard way. The "burden" of teaching children was put into the hands of the state, and so came about teaching "systems". No longer is a student treated as a being in whom resides interests and abilities waiting to be "drawn out", but rather, children are put in a position of having to get "filled up" with sometimes useless knowledge, at the whims and discretions of a distant, so-called "education-system." The "filling up" process can, in a strange way, suit certain children in that they can somehow adapt to it without really deriving any nourishment from it, but it leaves other children completely bereft of any sense of interest whatsoever in their schooling process.

"Education system" is an oxymoron, since it completely belies the possibility of appealing to an individual. Since no two people are the same, no two people can be educated in the same way. If each person is treated as an individual, then immediately various phenomena will occur: Each child, from their earliest days, will be encouraged to find, respect and cherish their own uniqueness in the world. It will become impossible for any child to feel he or she has to take a gun to school to get his (or her) way, as recently happened in America, or for any adult to feel threatened by an ancient stone statue to such an extent that he feels required to destroy it, as recently happened in Afghanistan.

What children want

Every child wants earnestly to be able to connect with the world, to feel so connected that they can join in as a natural contributor to everything around them. They wish to make their parents and friends proud of them, but the things they are taught to see as important in school can be so askance to their own reality that they feel completely helpless in making a personal contribution that will receive not only other people's recognition, but also will empower their own sense of self worth and dignity.

We come into this life to be ourselves. We are human "beings" and not human "doings." We are not here to be programmed as a good boy, girl, student, citizen, football player, model, engineer, saleswoman, soldier or whatever - that is all incidental. Human Design shows so clearly what we come here to live out. If parents and teachers would invest the time and energy to find out a few simple things about their children and how they are designed in this life, there will transpire an extraordinary and exponential learning situation where not only will children be educated, but also their teachers. With the knowledge of Human Design, this can happen very simply and quickly. Children are smart and so ready to be their amazing selves.

First steps

When a child is born, it comes out of a fluid environment into air. Birthing is a dramatic transition which, if not handled properly, can traumatize everyone involved in a deeply emotional way. The very first thing a child has to learn is how to breathe on its own, and surprisingly, in the West, this is a part of our education which is completely ignored.

When an infant is born, the umbilical cord continues pulsing to supply oxygen while the newborn learns how to breathe on its own. The common practice in the West is to immediately sever the cord, throwing the infant into a sudden life-threatening panic. "Life is a struggle!" may be the first indelible impression a newborn receives. All kinds of needless respiratory ailments afflict young children who get treated with drugs rather than with conscious attention to the fact that they have not completely adapted to being in air. If a child learns through simple exercises to breathe consciously and relaxedly, then he or she will already be aligned with the resilience to cope with all of life's emotional traumas. This, in turn, will fortify the child from the possibility of nervous and eating disorders.

The next thing a child encounters is the realization of being in a body, being incarnate and physical. Despite what certain religions preach, being in the body is not a sin; it is a passage. The passage may last between 50 and 120 years (so scientists tell us is now possible), and during that passage it is essential to feel at home within the body. The physical body is our vehicle which allows us to fulfill whatever we need while in form. Acceptance of the physical body is lacking in most cultures. Yoga techniques provide a simple, non-competitive and intelligent means to access and engage with the physical realm from a perspective of the spiritual realm. Yoga provides a bridge to allow a child to engage comfortably with being in form.

Young children take their time to interact, becoming gradually accustomed to the world around them, spending many sleeping hours in other realms of consciousness. As they become shocked out of them by the attentions of the world, they slowly lose touch with these higher, spiritual realms. If a child is introduced at an early age to meditation, that precious space between waking and sleeping, he or she can keep in contact with a higher consciousness, and therefore develop an objectivity and wisdom above his or her presence here in the Earth plane.

Education by Design

In Human Design, the body graph contains nine energy centers each relating to an organ or gland within the human body and each functioning within the human psyche. When your chart is drawn, it can be seen which areas of your being are consistently, energetically available to you (those that are colored in), and which areas become activated by other energies and people in your life (those that appear as white).

The reading of your Human Design chart shows you how to align with these two parts of your being, the consistent and the inconsistent. Wherever you are defined in your chart is where you are consistent and potentially stable in your life. Whereever you are undefined in your chart is where you come to "play" in your life, within the currents that come and go in your life. The part of your chart where you are undefined can either become the place of great wisdom within you, or the place of great trial, when you attempt to "stabilize" a part of you which can never be still.

Some of us are designed to be mental in our approach to our life, others are designed to be emotional, still others to be purely physical. Some people are designed to be team players, others are leaders, and others again are loners. Some people become informed through watching, some through listening and others through touching. Some people are logical, some are abstract, while others are instinctive. Some people are designed to be self-motivated, others are not. Each aspect of humanity makes up a whole, and the recognition of how to play within the whole is the key to natural health, abundance and successful education.

Imagine the difference it would make if teachers and parents were made aware of the energetic design of each child. This awareness provides instant access to understanding how to successfully relate to, and teach, each child.

In Design, it is seen that a person within two arms' length is close enough energetically to penetrate your aura and engage with your design. This means that someone standing or sitting next to you has access to your design features, just as you have access to theirs. Teachers can arrange the seating in their classroom to better enhance learning.

In a classroom situation, if you combine the energies of a motivated person with the energies of a mentally defined person, then you have a combined energy which is motivated to think and produce results. If you combine the energies of a leader with the energies of an unmotivated person, then both people have access to the other's energetic point of view, and both wisdom and recognition transpires from that contact. The unmotivated person provides the wisdom to direct the available leadership energy purposefully.

Education by Type

The Manifestor Child

It is clear in this world that some people have an easier time of getting things done than others. This generally means that they have a Design which makes them a "Manifestor." In simplistic terms, they are here "to do!" They can, if they wish, do anything anytime they like... and the rest of us (the other 88%) stand and watch them go by, or try to emulate them (generally failing), or do our utmost to involve ourselves. Generally, manifestors experience this attempt to get involved as an annoyance or obstruction

The simple understanding of whether a child is a Manifestor or not can instantly clarify how the child needs to be raised. From his or her very first moments, a manifesting child will set about doing. Whether that 'doing' means crawling through every available doorway, throwing everything on the floor, or turning a non-Manifestor parent into a whirlwind of activity are just some of the possible consequences. Manifestors can be incredibly fun to be around, or just plain exhausting!

I have met parents that, in Design terms, as a couple were non-energy beings who gave birth to twin Manifestors and have never had a day's peace since, but they are literally having the times of their lives! These parents often care for their children in relay.

The Manifesting Generator and Generator Child

Manifesting Generator and Generator children become the powerhouses of the world but they can become enormously frustrated early on in life if they do not connect with the source of their own power, the Sacral, Sex Center.

A Manifesting Generator or Generator child needs to be encouraged to respond from their own source of life-force energy to whatever comes their way. When they feel themselves respond, they eliminate any possibility of getting frustrated, trying to make things happen, because, in response, they have found their connection to their own personal life path. It is a receptive approach to life which works for them. Being told what to do is a complete drag for a Generator, but being asked to respond is a delight! It is no good asking a Manifesting Generator or Generator child "what they want to do with their life," but rather, offer them different possibilities to which they can respond.

The Projector Child

A Projector child desperately wants to be recognized for their own special gifts. Being recognized and invited gives the Projector access to their place in the world. Projectors are here to guide and steer everyone from their own special objective reality, but if they are not given access to the 'action,' they can feel personally slighted and ignored.

The more formal the invitation that the Projector child receives, the more self-acknowledgement he or she derives to meet the concerns of whatever the invitation implies. Projector children are truly brilliant at guiding everyone around them, if they are invited to do so, better even than their Manifesting or Generating parents! The other possibility, if they are not recognized and invited, is that they can feel ignored and forgotten and thus easily lose both interest and confidence in living their life, as they sadly attempt to play the roles of others in order to feel included.

The Reflector Child

Reflector children are here to become sages. They are not here necessarily to throw themselves into anything in terms of accomplishment, but rather, to observe and then act with certainty from their deeply accrued wisdom. They need time to be alone, apart from too much action and disturbance. A Reflector child should never be pushed into making decisions about anything because they will be uncomfortable with the results of such hasty resolutions.

The Reflector child can even appear indecisive as they consult with everyone and everything about all possibilities regarding certain issues. What they need to do is "take the pulse" regarding the issues confronting them, and when, after a month, they have their answer, they are the clearest of all, because they will have considered every conceivable option objectively. They reflect the world around them just as the Moon reflects the light of the Sun around us: in many phases. If the Reflector is forced into situations, they easily become overwhelmed by their environment and become despairing.

A right Perspective

We are living in an information age, or perhaps even in a post-information age. It is no longer appropriate or wise to keep on stuffing children with "facts" just to keep them busy or occupied in the name of providing them with an upbringing or an education. Parents spend less and less time with their children as, now, they devote their energies to the demands of their livelihoods. Teachers have increasing workloads and numbers of students to teach. Human Design points the way clearly, showing us how each child can best be recognized, guided and assisted in life. Take the time to find out how you and your children are designed and experience for yourself your greatest potential.

Next month: Human Design and Healing in the New Millennium.