Educreation and Feedback: Education for Creation, Growth and Change by Paul Ritter (review)

Books 81 first wave of industrialization in the 19th century. Gustav Stickley, a leader of the Movement, published chapters in his book Craftsman Homes (1909)that bear a remarkable resemblance to some of those in A Pattern Language. For instance, Stickley's The Natural Garden: Some Things that can be done when Nature is followed instead of Thwarted is very similar to the idea behind Alexander's Pattern 172, Garden Growing Wild. Stickley's A Bungalow with Open-Air Dining Room and Alexander's Outdoor Room as well as Stickley's Halls and Stairways: Their Importance in the General Scheme of a Craftsman House and Alexander's Staircase as a Stage are other examples of the many corresponding treatments of the environmental aspects of architecture between these two authors. A Pattern Language is much broader in scope and is infinitely more flexible, however. Despite many similarities to the popularist spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement and in spite of the usefulness of A Pattern Language to the average homeowner (as well as to architects and planners), the message of the books is quietly presented. There is none of the persuasiveness of a Ruskin or of the stridency of a 1£ Corbusier; nor is there much of the folksy simplicity of Stickley's Craftsman magazine. It is likely that a following for these methods will develop slowly among architect-teachers, students and others who have the willingness to humanize the environment and the patience to learn a 'language' that will make it possible. Educreation and Feedback: Education for Creation, Growth and Change. Paul Ritter. Pergamon Press, New York, 1979. 432pp., illus. Paper, $19.00. Reviewed by RobertF. Erickson* Originally published in 1966 under the title Educreation, this book has not been revised, but the second edition has five reports on a variety of educational experiences. These pages comprise the 'feedback'. Ritter, whose field is architectural education, begins with a familiar indictment of current educational practices, relying on the writings of numerous critics and on his own perceptions of the educational system in Great Britain. His criticisms can probably be summed up as follows: Individual capacities of students are not recognized; formal education practices do not encourage individuality and creativity; teachers are selected and advanced on their willingness to continue a formal mechanical system of learning and the atmosphere in most schools is stifling to the learning process. The result of all of this, claims Ritter, is that the system defeats its own objectives and produces, at the university level, students who are introverted, neurotic and maladjusted . Readers should not be surprised at this conclusion, because the author says that he is dealing with a 'sick society' . *School of Social Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026, U.S.A. The use of such a term is, of course, the easiest way to support one's insistence on the need for change. However, upon analysis, the term turns out to be nothing but a useless generalization. In order to solve the problems of education, as he understands them, Ritter announced a new method, 'educreation'; it includes an emphasis upon individual instruction, lifelong learning, self-regulation, self-assessment, teacher-student cooperation, relaxed learning conditions, the absence of coercion and punishment, and a reform in educational administration to make it more democratic. There are many more elements than these in 'educreation', but many readers will doubtlessly note that these principles used to be found under the label 'progressive education'. Part IV, about half the contents of the book, deals with The Techniques of Educreation in Architectural Education, and this is the most valuable part of it. Ritter believes that 'educreation' is particularly well-suited to education in architecture and thinks the transformation to it would be easy. He sees the ideal school unit as including no more than 150 students, and he would have this number divided into working groups of 15 or 20 under the direction of a tutor. In addition, the school would provide lectures, lecture courses, seminars and tutorials. The emphasis would be on cooperative learning, but this would not exclude the individualist who wished to work alone. Of considerable importance in the scheme of things is the program of...