Education Committee Annual Report September 2004
Greetings! I am looking forward to working with you all in Kansas City and submit the following to report the progress we are making with our vision.
The constitution states:
Section 11.14. The Education Committee: The Education Committee shall find, prepare, and qualify teachers of The Urantia Book, who shall be persons of high moral character, devoted to the teachings and principles of The Urantia Book; it shall seek to interest such suitable persons in preparing themselves to teach the truths of The Urantia Book and to prepare and qualify such persons to teach The Urantia Book. Etc.
Excerpts from the retreat summary of the General Council mid-year meeting:
· Create an Urantia University, both in physical locations and on the Internet, dedicated to training teachers and fostering the development of leaders. Re-activate The Fellowship as an educational institution.
· Take more active and systematic steps to develop a Speakers Bureau, perhaps in conjunction with the efforts to get the School going.
The Education Committee is very aware of the paramount task of ahead of us. We have had ongoing dialogue on how we can approach this task effectively.
We have narrowed it down to two main objectives:
I have met with Bill Rocap who is a professional website designer/educator. We have talked about the basic web design. It will include all the bells and whistles of Flash that benefits people with a broadband connection while including the same informative content with HTML dial up connection. It will include basic facts of the Urantia Book (our local universe/superuniverse etc.) There will also be links set up just for student access, (subject matter etc.) The web has obviously many educational possibilities; it’s also a great place to show off what we’re doing.
Thomas Orjala is meeting with the committee this weekend to discuss and propose a program for young adults.
As we progress in creating our curriculum, I think it’s important to talk about it publicly, be inclusive, for instance, by asking people on Socadmin what they think would be needed (attributes/knowledge) from a teacher/presenter of the UB. Let’s create a buzz about it.
We need to truly know what we’re presenting and to whom we’re presenting it- know our audience. To have this work effectively we will work with experienced individuals in creating a curriculum that would not only encompass the UB, but also the study of subjects that help us better understand, become more aware of and sensitive to our fellows’ religious backgrounds and experiences. Subjects that include the tools needed in the presentation/public area such as interfaith studies, public speaking, possibly areas in science & psychology. Some of these studies can be taken outside our organization, i.e., Toastmasters etc... We are also analyzing what has worked and what hasn’t worked in the past in looking at present day successful internet/correspondence schools. One of the patterns of revelation is to bring people in. Once the curriculum is in place, the committee will start by inviting a small group to become certified presenters/teachers. This will also include an end of the year education conference where participants come together for shared experiences and graduation ceremonies. Once we have presenters, we will concentrate on different venues for them to participate.
We have also found a volunteer to help the committee with on-site responsibilities for summer study seminars. These responsibilities would include rooms, food, registration and the like, so that the committee can concentrate more on the conference itself.
I have also spoken with Polly Friedman who is working with various Urantia organizations to have organizational representatives work as study group leaders in new countries where the revelation is taking off.
Thanks for your attention here, have a safe trip and I’ll see you in Kansas City!
Respectively submitted,
Gary Deinstadt