Walter Oliveira Alves:

"The Spiritist Doctrine has a notably pedagogical character"

An insight on education made by a Spiritist theorist of education,
he says it is urgent to invest in the Spiritist Centre aiding
the psycho pedagogical preparation of the workers
in the areas of kids and teens

Graduate in Pedagogy, Philosophy and History of Education and Psychology of Education, Walter Oliveira Alves is the director of IDE – Institute of Spiritist Propagation, from Araras (SP), city where he was born and currently resides. Spiritist for 35 years, lecturer and writer, he is the author of the following books, all being published by IDE: God, Our Father (for kids), Education of the Spirit, Introduction to the Study of Spiritist Pedagogy, Pedagogical Practice in Evangelization (vols. I, II e III) and The Theatre in the Education of the Spirit. From his dedication to education, started the Annual Meeting of Evangelization, the

dynamic sites of pedagogy and the magazine Spiritist Pedagogy, topics on which Walter gave us the following interview:

O Consolador: Why this interest in Pedagogy? And how can we understand Spiritist Pedagogy?

I have been interested in Pedagogy since I was a kid. I have always thought of being a teacher. But this interest increased when I had contact with the Spiritist Doctrine. We understand as Pedagogy in general, and especially Spiritist Pedagogy, the science and art of education, the process in which develops the "germ" of perfection in the inner self of everyone, immortal Spirits that we are, children and heir of God. It is the gradual and progressive development of the powers of the soul, through the exercises of love and the knowledge of the truth, truth that is related to our current development state, it means, the laws that govern our lives and mainly "the knowledge of himself". Spiritist Pedagogy represents the return of LOVE and UNIVERSAL TRUTH to the pedagogical scene of mankind through the courage of expressing this truth with no prejudice, no half-truths, as Eurípedes Barsanulfo did.

O Consolador: The magazine of Spiritist Pedagogy is the outcome of the Annual Meeting of Evangelization?

The idea to come up with the magazine Spiritist Pedagogy, as well as the site www.pedagogiaespirita.org, was born in New York, because of our trip to the United States, in a cycle of seminars and lectures about Spiritist Education. That’s why; the site Spiritist Pedagogy has an international character. Today, the magazine Spiritist Pedagogy has collaborators from many parts of the globe, United States, Brazil and several countries in Europe.

O Consolador: How did the initiative of the so-called Meeting of Evangelization, in Araras, started?

The meeting in the period of the Carnival started 23 years ago, due to the necessity of preparing evangelists in our region. Over the first years we covered only the region of São Paulo, then we spread all over Brazil and some confreres in other countries.

O Consolador: Are the sites linked to the publication already active? Could you tell us a bit about each of them?

Born in New York, the site www.pedagogiaespirita.org  has the objective to help Spiritist educators, especially evangelists. There are several items such as: 1. Magazine Spiritist Pedagogy; 2. Virtual School, with on-line courses for free; 3. Evangelization, with a link to the site; 4. Spiritist School, corresponding to studies about pedagogical application in a genuinely Spiritist School and 5. TV Educar - a TV on the internet for education that will be activated this year. The site www.evangelizacaoglobal.org is focused to help the Spiritist evangelist.

O Consolador: How are the annual meetings in Araras organized? What are the criteria and applications?

The meetings are organized by a pedagogical team and offer theoretical basis for the pedagogical practice in Evangelization, as well as workshops: music, theatre, dance, plastic arts and literature for kids.

O Consolador: How do you rate the application of Spiritist pedagogy in the institutions?

In our point of view, the Spiritist Doctrine has a notably pedagogical character. When the man is presented as a Spirit in a development process, a process of evolution, gradually developing his soul, the "germ of perfection" or the Kingdom in which Jesus referred to; the Spiritist Doctrine becomes a pedagogical guide for all the humanity. It is the rebirth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its original form, as it is said by Kardec in The Gospel According to Spiritism, and, at the same time, it offers new teachings that Jesus, as the true Master, could not teach back then, because of the level of evolution of the "students" of the time. In this sense, the Spiritist pedagogy is present today in the mind and heart of the Spiritist educators, teacher, evangelists or parents. It is present in the youngsters and adults that work on the evangelization for kids and teens, which preach at Spiritist Centres, which take part in study groups, in the charity activities exercising love towards one's fellow beings.   

O Consolador: Preparation has been one of the greatest difficulties in the Spiritist movement – or the lack of it – for workers in this area (childhood and adolescence), especially the carelessness of many directors for this important question. How can we overcome it?

Progress is slow, but it is steady. Exactly for not being elitist, the Spiritist pedagogy expands its studies in all fields of knowledge. But today it is urgent to invest in the Spiritist Centre aiding the psycho pedagogical preparation of the workers in the areas of kids and teens. The Spiritist Centre represents today the Spiritist School in its fullness, beauty and dynamism, offering the basis for the building of the knowledge inside us, the spread of UNIVERSAL TRUTH, it means, this knowledge that frees the soul from prejudice and dogma and, at the same time, fosters the exercise of LOVE.  

O Consolador: What is the best hint to catch the attention of the kid and transmit the Spiritist thinking?

Education, in its global aspect, is not limited to Spiritist teaching. Knowledge is indispensable and necessary, but not enough. The Education of the Spirit has as an objective the entire development of the Spirit, the potential of the soul, in all aspects, intellectual (cognitive aspect), moral e affective (affective aspect) and will (volitive aspect). The knowledge that the Spiritist Doctrine offers, clearly, structured by Allan Kardec, starting with The Spirits’ Book, is tremendously attractive for kids and especially teenagers. Topics such as reincarnation, immortality of the soul, Law of cause and effect, are everywhere, in movies, documentaries and even in soap operas. 

The Spiritist Centre has, therefore, the objective to clarify, solve doubts and offer this knowledge authentically and deeply, through the works of Kardec and other Spiritist ones, psychographed or not. But the kid, the youngster and all of us learn it by living, in its intellectual, affective and volitive aspect. We should work the "want", the feeling and the intellect, all together. We see it   in Pestalozzi when he says that the child should be stimulated in intelligence, in feelings and senses (intuitive method). Besides, Pestalozzi has got the best definition for education, which can be used for all of us:  education is the natural, progressive e harmonious process of all the faculties of the human being".

O Consolador: What is the importance of art (music, theatre, dance, plastic arts and pedagogical activities) in the education of the Spirit?

Art exercises a huge influence both in the affective as in the volitive aspect. As it is centered in creativity, it meets the needs of intense movement, expansion and actions of kids, teens and adults. Not only motorial actions, but the intense movements of the soul in true expansion of feeling and wishing. The Spiritist Education has the task to lead this creativity to the upper channels of life.

O Consolador: For those that are away and don’t have either opportunity nor resources to take part in events of preparation and recycling like the ones from Araras, but have loads of love and good intentions, what resources would you indicate to make classes attractive and pleasant?

We suggest them to visit the site www.pedagogiaespirita.org, where we have some free courses. The applicant can also participate of the list Spiritist pedagogy, broadening, in this exchange of ideas, studies and practice, their view on education in its entire aspect: the education of the Spirit.

O Consolador: Those who want to subscribe to the magazine, how to? Is it a publication for the pedagogical practice, as we can assume from the title?

There you find both the theory and the practice.

The subscription can be made on the site www.pedagogiaespirita.org  or directly on the link: www.pedagogiaespirita.org/revista/assinatura.htm/.