Ikeda Center Core Conviction Two

Humanistic Education is Vital to Human Progress

There is wide agreement on the centrality of education to any efforts at personal and social progress in the decades to come. The difference of opinion is about the nature of the teaching and learning that is needed. The Ikeda Center advocates Soka, or value creating, education, a pedagogical approach developed by Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi in the early decades of the 20th century. Soka education resonates strongly with humanistic American pedagogies in the Deweyan tradition, especially in its focus on helping learners discover and develop their unique interests and capacities. In so doing, individuals can maximize the value of their contributions to our world. Further, the emphasis is not on the acquisition of knowledge for knowledge’s sake, but rather on the development of wisdom, which orients knowledge for the well being of all.