Natural Learning
by Lee Jacknow
Former Professor of Engineering Science,
State University of New York

It was through an accidental discovery that I became aware of the work of the founder of the Language Research Foundation (LRF), Mr. Yo Sakakibara. (LRF's parent organization is the LEX Institute in Japan, also founded by Mr. Sakakibara.) It is because of the potential of Mr. Sakakibara's ideas to contribute to educational reform and to create kinder, more meaningful learning environments for our children, that I decided to write this article. I have been an educator for almost thirty years and hope that the sensibility of his approach appeals to others.

In the fall of 1996, my wife and I were visiting a college campus in another state. As is part of our routine when we travel, we were browsing in the campus bookstore. She approached me holding a large paper-bound book, which she had discovered in the math and science section of the store, and said, "Isn't this book about something that you teach?" The book, titled Who is Fourier? A Mathematics Adventure was published by the Language Research Foundation (LRF) of Belmont, Massachusetts. It turned out to hold some very pleasant surprises.

Because I was teaching a course involving Fourier math, I began looking through the book to see if it might be a useful reference for students. As I skimmed through the book, I was surprised by the clarity of writing and the way in which thoughts followed a "stream of consciousness" as they were developed by the authors. Finding myself fascinated by the book, I bought it and excitedly shared it with my class the following week. After some students asked me to order copies for them, I called up LRF to find out how such an interesting book came to be written.

In March of 1997, I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation given by Mr. Sakakibara. His message was clear and moving, and hardly a day has passed since that time where I have not thought about the things that he said. He described in a deeply emotional way his thoughts and observations about how people learn and how they do so in natural, non-school settings. He spoke of the capacity to learn as a gift of genius within all of us, illustrating his concepts with observations of young children following their instinctive natural learning process. He described how he developed a system of learning that can be enjoyed simultaneously by family members of all ages. Through his system of "family clubs" he established nurturing learning environments, free from the artificial time constraints that are often imposed by classical educational systems. Club activities are designed to build upon, and not to oppose, the way people naturally acquire knowledge and capability. He created a social system where productive learning is fun.

As an experienced teacher, the challenge for me has been to help students build their capabilities to a high level in a setting where the constraint of time often works against their success. I believe that most students want to be successful and to become educated and accomplished human beings. Since the classical academic setting is often at odds with natural learning, students frequently experience high levels of emotional and spiritual stress as they try to achieve their goals. This stress often leads to self discouragement, which in turn blocks learning and leads to failure. Students need to be monitored closely and helped to cope with their reactions. The educational environment as modeled by LEX and LRF seems to foster positive spiritual effects. Perhaps our educational systems may some day do the same.