The New Humanism --attunement, equipoise, limerence

David Brooks on "The New Humanism". Article here.

Interesting passage, related to Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind:

You get a different view of, say, human capital. Over the past few decades, we have tended to define human capital in the narrow way, emphasizing I.Q., degrees, and professional skills. Those are all important, obviously, but this research illuminates a range of deeper talents, which span reason and emotion and make a hash of both categories:

Attunement: the ability to enter other minds and learn what they have to offer.

Equipoise: the ability to serenely monitor the movements of one’s own mind and correct for biases and shortcomings.

Metis: the ability to see patterns in the world and derive a gist from complex situations.

Sympathy: the ability to fall into a rhythm with those around you and thrive in groups.

Limerence: This isn’t a talent as much as a motivation. The conscious mind hungers for money and success, but the unconscious mind hungers for those moments of transcendence when the skull line falls away and we are lost in love for another, the challenge of a task or the love of God. Some people seem to experience this drive more powerfully than others.

Senior classes

In the May 12th (2010) Education Week, an article reported that the Educator of the Year spoke at the White House recently. Interesting to me is that she created 15 new courses. "Once students fulfill their requirements, they can select from such classes as "on the Road," which explores metaphorical and physical journeys, "Sport, Competition, and Culture," which looks at the cultural significance of sports; and "Genders' Game," Which takes on the role of gender in history. Her name is Sarah Brown Wessling. She teaches at Johnston High School in Iowa. The National Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by ING and Target and is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers.