By Christine de Marcellus Vollmer.
When I was young, and later when I had young children, the most destructive thing lurking in the schools was so-called Sex Education. It was genital-based, graphic, and corrupted the whole notion of love.
Today that has blossomed into something unimaginably worse: gender ideology. Boys and girls are subjected to great vulgarity, total confusion and excruciating doubt about their very identity. They are being brainwashed through schools, social media, even Disney and advertising. Families are being torn apart by the pressures exerted on them to conform and by the tragedy of seeing their boys and girls persuaded to destroy their fertility and their personalities with hormones and irreversible mutilations.
There is only one way to neutralize the pressures, the lies and the “obligation” to “support” what is evidently unhealthy, physically and mentally. The way to neutralize these falsehoods is to give the young and growing child a clear vision of being a unique and valuable girl or boy, with purpose and significance, living among others according to the natural human rules of love, consideration and respect.
For this was born Alive to the World (AtW) in the late 1990’s just when this gender ideology was being formulated by huge international interests for reasons too shameful to go into here.
Alive to the World (AtW) or Aprendiendo a Querer, as it is called in Latin America, is an educational tool to help children and youth grow with purpose, dignity, and a healthy and happy sexuality, using a K-12 curriculum designed so that schools can easily provide it. Based on what truly makes it possible for life as a couple to be long-lasting and happy, its delightful storytelling technique illustrates the understanding and practice of the universal values such as patience, perseverance, loyalty, reciprocity, fair play, solidarity, honesty, and a positive attitude to life in community. This content is delivered through a fun, on-going and evolving novel about Charles and his cousin Alice, and a large group of friends, schoolmates, and surrounding community.
At each successive grade level, the characters age a year and the program addresses the issues most important and intriguing for each age level of the pupils. The pedagogy undergirding the story uses the latest knowledge of brain development and the resulting universal progression of existential stages[i]. There are student books for each grade level, K-12, each with 35 weekly chapters, and teacher guides that offer structured, but flexible use, already prepared for time economy and effectivity. Materials for parents are also available in the same style to guide mothers and fathers in explaining the more intimate parts of human procreation with scientific precision and in their own style.
Alive to the World attracts and involves the young readers, who identify with the varied characters in the story and learn through them and though the adventures and problems they encounter, the practical workings of the Golden Rule and justice, solidarity, teamwork, etc. The advantage to this method is obvious: they discover values, virtues and rewarding relationships for themselves. No preaching! The “mysteries” of attraction, infatuation, commitment and true love become clear. They understand and make these things their own.
All children and adolescents desire to be worthwhile and admired. Learning the logical steps towards integrity and responsibility provides increasing self-respect and self-confidence, leading to success in the different facets of their lives. It has been demonstrated by extended experience in the most varied socio-economic surroundings that AtW helps students to bring out the positive in themselves and to get over the negative, as they learn to have “grit, gratitude and generosity”, in keeping with the research done by Seligman and Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania on the elements for success.
The students come to understand themselves, each other, and their goals in life, and love these books because they learn what is right, without judging but with abundant information and a healthy openness. The regularity and continuation of the program offers its own benefits of consistency and esprit de corps to the student body as peers reinforce each other.
Alive to the World has a solid pedagogical base, designed and structured using Backward Planning, Big Concepts and Scaffolding, as well as story-telling, to effectively teach integrity, critical thinking, negotiation and decision skills, and bring out the potential in every pupil.
AtW was proven effective according to an early study from the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy Institute of William and Mary College[ii] as teaching democratic values, equal rights and respect between boys and girls. Additional results tracked in Venezuela, Perú, Mexico and Puerto Rico demonstrate successful reduction in school violence, bullying, desertion and most importantly, teenage pregnancy.
Because of the great need and international demand, Alive to the World is now being implemented in selected schools in 22 countries, and available in eight languages, with local adaptations. A modern interactive digital version is available in English and in Spanish.
[i] There are many and varied studies. Brain science is new, and the UCLA team of Allan Schore and Daniel Siegal e.g. The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience, who are probably the foremost in this field have been most helpful. But before the brain science started coming in (1990+) already these progressions were noted by Piaget (evolving capacity to reason things) and David Isaacs who did a lot of work on ‘windows of opportunity’. We have juxtaposed these and others for AtW. Our experience with different countries and varied socio-economic levels confirms the impression that this progression, given adequate nutrition and care, and allowing for individual talents, is similar in everyone.
[ii] Under the supervision of Professor David Finifter, researchers Erin Wilson and Danielle Peregoy found statistically significant changes for the better in the young people’s attitudes towards statements such as “Girls and boys have equal rights, “Boys and girls deserve equal respect and treatment”, “It’s OK to disagree with others” and “Rules are always important”. One of the largest shifts in attitude concerns agreement that “Everyone has a right to their own opinions.” Study available upon request.