------------------------------------------------------------ ERIC NO: ED367593 AVAILABILITY: EDRS Price - MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. AUTHOR: Gerber, Alex TITLE: Synergy, Holistic Education and R. Buckminster Fuller: Education for a World in Transformation. YEAR: 1991 PUB TYPE: Position paper LANGUAGE: English ABSTRACT: This pamphlet relates this quotation by R. Buckminster Fuller to the educational process: "To be optimally effective, undertake at outset the most comprehensive task in the most comprehensive and incisively detailed manner." The principle of synergy can be used to determine when something is "optimally effective." One example of how teachers can deliberately use the principle of synergy is by integrating the curriculum so that multiple skills develop simultaneously. To undertake a "comprehensive task," education should be approached in the context of holistic and global realities (thinking and acting from whole to parts). A "comprehensive and incisively detailed manner" for accomplishing this would begin by actively nurturing a holistic attitude orientation in educators, students, and policymakers. An interdenominational, unifying ethic that could inspire people worldwide would be valuing the whole. Holistic education is a key to unlocking the potential for self-empowerment. The call to educators and others is for a rapid evolution of consciousness, approaching ever deeper into "comprehensivity," which Fuller considered to be a deeper level of realization from which one can better perceive and shape reality. (Contains 27 reference notes.) (JDD) NOTES: 16p. MAJOR DESC: Educational Change; Educational Philosophy; Holistic Approach; Integrated Curriculum; Role of Education MINOR DESC: Educational Objectives; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Integrated Activities; Self Actualization IDENTIFIERS: Fuller (Buckminster); Synergy