|
Dear Reader,
Will you join me on a journey?
In 1974 I gave up orthodox medical research on powerful drugs that worked in the brain and set out on a trail to find out what it is about dolphins that gives them such a special place in our hearts. It was a change I have never regretted for one minute for since then I have led an enchanted life. Along the way I have made many discoveries, all of them apparently by chance. I have often asked myself if this was really so, or was I guided by some higher force. I honestly don’t know.
My quest to find the quintessence of dolphin magic has taken me to many unexpected destinations including schools as far afield as New Zealand, USA, Egypt, Bahamas, Sweden and Japan. Looking back I can see that there have been many metamorphical signposts that have indicated which direction I should take next. Now I have come to a point which many say is the most important place in my life because it indicates how I can help children around the world find a pathway into the future.
We are in the throes of a communications revolution. The use of fibre-optics, land based transmitters and satellites have transformed the way in which signals are exchanged between telephones. Personal mobile telephones are commonplace. The speed with which information can be exchanged and transactions made gets faster every day. This has brought about profound changes in the pattern of our lives. Teleworking is becoming commonplace as more and more people work from home. Electronic mail is the preferred method of exchanging letters by many who now look upon the postal service as slow and outdated and refer to the physical transport and delivery of letters as ‘snail mail’. These transformations have been made possible by the development and commonplace use of ever more powerful computers.In 1974 computers were large and complex. They still are complex, but they are now small and in one form or another have invaded most of our homes. And just as the discovery and applications of electricity have changed the life of every man, woman and child on the planet so too have computers. Whether we like them or not computers affect all our lives. Indications are that as time goes by their impact will be even greater. Computers have brought us to the dawn of a new age. An age in which almost all of the knowledge known to man is available via the World Wide Web. Access to this information is the gateway to ever greater prosperity.
In a coruscating televised speech entitled The Struggle for the Soul of the 21st Century William Jefferson Clinton extolled the need for the rich nations to help the poorer countries and create a more just society. He also pointed out the astounding speed with which the World Wide Web has invaded all our lives. When he became the 42nd President of the United Sates of America in 1993 there were 50 sites on the World Wide Web. When Bill Clinton left office in 2001 there were a staggering 350 million sites and rising.
There are many languages on the web but the one that dominates all others is English. Governments are aware of this of course. That is why there is such a strong emphasis on the use of computers in British schools and every child in China now has to learn English. So no matter whether you live in a first or third world country a knowledge of computers and an understanding of English is essential if you want to have some sort of influence on your own future and ultimately the destiny of mankind.
Those of us who live in English speaking countries are lucky. We are surrounded by English on all sides. It is part and parcel of our everyday lives. Therefore learning to read, write and speak English should be easy. If we approach it, not as a chore, but as a journey full of adventure and fun, it is.
Learning English, however, is much more than a route to financial wealth. It is a doorway into another world. A more spiritual world. A world of imagination. A world of timeless books whose magical stories will stay like treasures in our minds, to be savoured in moments of quiet when we realise that the material goods we have striven for are not quite as satisfying as we were led to believe.
I love stories, I love finding out how things work and I love sharing my enthusiasm and the joy of my discoveries with others. That, I have to admit dear reader, is why I am inviting you to come on a journey that will take us into the minds and souls of children. We will have dolphins as companions along the way. The direction in which we shall go is signposted IDEAL, which is an acronym for Integrated Dolphin Education And Learning.
This particular signpost emerged following the publication of my book Dilo and the Treasure Hunters by a group of youngsters in a project (DPP 2000) designed to give them practical experience in creating and running a commercial enterprise. I observed, again apparently by chance, that when the students took the books into schools and used them in English lessons, children with special educational needs (SEN) responded exceptionally well. Subsequent investigation showed that my Dilo books helped students of all abilities to learn to read and write quicker.
Looking back it seems quite natural that dolphins should be able to do this. Well over a decade ago I discovered one of the secrets I had been searching for. I observed that dolphins could stimulate our brains and change our way of thinking. I then proved that dolphins can help people overcome clinical depression. Others demonstrated that dolphins can benefit brain damaged children by encouraging them to learn to read and speak. This power to heal can be explained by the beneficial influence dolphins have on the human psyche. I suspect that is why to kill a dolphin was punishable by death in Ancient Greece. It was from a host of observations and deductions such as these that the concept of IDEAL, as I call it, has evolved.
With IDEAL I want to make the lessons I have learnt in my lifetime, especially from my studies of dolphins, available to others. One of my reasons for being so emphatic about incorporating dolphins into educational programmes is that these delightful, intelligent, playful sea mammals learn extremely quickly. If we open our minds we can learn a lot from them. The ocean is their natural home, school and playground. These three elements of their lives run seamlessly together.
In contrast we live in a world which is more structured and divided into distinctly separate compartments. This is especially so in formal education which is geared to the ultimate goal of passing examinations. Some youngsters find this an easy path to follow. Others don’t. For them alternatives have to be found if they are to succeed later in life. IDEAL helps them to blend education into the other activities of their lives. IDEAL acknowledges what all teachers know, namely that learning, especially our nature language, does not begin and end in the classroom. It is a continuous process that starts slowly. The speed with which we pick it up is strongly influenced by encouragement from those around us.
When parents become grandparents they realise that learning continues throughout life and that it can become a two-way experience. Pupils obviously learn from their parents and teachers. But adults can learn a lot from children if they choose to watch and listen.
A group of very bright youngsters who exemplify this point are the so-called Indigo Children. They want to change the world and seem determined to do so. Because of their sometimes disruptive behaviour they may be categorised as having special needs. However, some adults are now reclassifying Indigos and thinking of them in terms of having special capabilities rather than special needs.
If you watch dolphins you soon get the feeling that life for them is fun. Everything they do becomes part of a game, even when they become adults. And that is perhaps the most important lesson they have to teach us. Indeed, this may be one of the many reasons why humans have such an irrational love of dolphins. They seem to be saying to us that no matter what hardships we face, life should still be fun. It’s a question of attitude.
I hope you get as much pleasure from reading this book as I have writing it. The task was demanding but immensely enjoyable due in no small measure to the encouragement, help and co-operation I received from all those who provided the essential back-up, i.e. the computer setting, printing, proof reading etc. needed to bring a book into print. To all of them I offer my most sincere thanks.
Now, like a ship alongside a jetty, this copy of IDEAL is ready and waiting to take us on our journey.
“All aboard.”
North Ferriby.
|
