Monthly Archives: August 2013

Distance Learning, Part 2

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(Back on the CAM, Herbal, and Naturopathic trail)

The modern version of the correspondence course is distance learning. No one questions now that colleges or high schools or even post graduate studies can take place through a computer or over long distance without the student setting foot in a classroom.

My observation is that all trainings, even college education, are only preparation to enter a field or profession. Education is not a guarantee of excellence, but simply that the student has met the minimum requirements to practice or work in their chosen field. One acupuncture school graduate I knew said that his education, after four years, was really just enough to begin to understand Chinese Medicine. It would take many years for him to become truly competent and become excellent. In the mean time he and his fellow graduates would start “practicing.” Massage school, not matter how good the school, only prepares you to enter the profession. The first thousand massages, the first thousand bodies you lay your hands on is the apprenticeship.

Competence in practice is gained on the job, through experience, and after learning the theoretical basics, fundamental techniques, and lexicon of a particular field. Many Chiropractors I know believe that the actual practice of Chiropractic can be learned in 2-3 semesters of learning after extracting the extraneous medical knowledge and educational padding that has accrued in their four year educational process. (I also know a few Chiropractors who said what they needed to know to give adjustments in practical terms could be learned in three weeks). Ironically, many Chirorpactors have to graduate before they can learn Chiropractic philosophy and truely understand their profession's history.

I have not taken any distance learning course in Naturopathy. I'm sure there are some exellent courses out there. At some point I would hope that a student of such a course would have a mentor, tutor, and ultimately a practical exam. I have taken and studied herbal courses through distance learning. All the criteria I have have laid out as being important were met. There was a mentor, there were tests, there was a graduatiion exam (which I took closed book), and there were practical classes that had to be attended “on campus.” I found this process as being deeply rewarding and a true educational experience. I spent many hundreds of hours beyond the credit hours awarded studying herbs and herbal healing. Every moment of it has benefited me and my patients.

I would say that there is a necessity for distance learning in alternative medicine. There are very few places to learn quality traditional naturopathy, herbalism, or other forms of natural healing. Unlike the modern medical educational system, you can't go to your local community college to take a course on herbal healing like you can nursing. One day there will be institutions like that in the United States. In the mean time we have to get education where we can.

 

Alternative Medicine: Distance Learning

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Alternative Medicine: Distance Learning

(This would include Herbs, Naturopathy & Natural Healing)

Distance learning has been a part of natural healing education in America since at least the early 1900s. In an earlier post, I commented on an offering by Benedict Lust, the father of Naturopathy, in which he offered to teach nature cure through a correspondence course.

Correspondence courses have had a bad odor about them in the not-too-distant past. I remember comic books from the 1960s that offered to teach home auto mechanics and criminal investigation through correspondence. This seemed unlikely to me even then as a child. Later, there were correspondence courses offered on television by companies who used minor celebraties to pitch for them. It seemed like an endless list of professions they offered training in for the prospective student. I'm sure the question in many people's minds then as now was whether they were legitimate trainings or certifications.

A partial answer to “legitimacy” is that many skills and professions are not licensed or regulated. However one obtains training is then entirely legitimate if there is an actual course of training and the company or institution offering the course is not a diploma mill. (Diploma mills I shall address at a later date). If there is an adequate course of training that prepares a person for entry into a field or profession, then that is all anyone could ask for. I have come to this conclusion based on my own experience, and have a number of reasons to back this up. I shall give two here.

There is a lot of book work in learning natural healing, far more than most people understand. A student should be able to study and read books and course material at a distance as well as in a class room. It is important to have homework or tests that are sent in and read and graded. There should be a mentor or teacher that the correspondence student has to ask questions of or to monitor the student's progress. If those requirements are met, then there is no shame learning through a “correspondence course.” Let me reiterate: there is no quickie way to deeply learn natural healing–you have to study, study, study, and many of the books are very expensive. Then you have to practice.

Distance learning is now an accepted part of our culture. People expect to be able to take college level courses at a distance on the computer. There are some for credit classes in alternative medicine offered at universities and accredited schools. Some of them can be taken online. The material and literature those courses are drawn from are not from higher education, but from books and practices developed by practitioners from over a hundred years ago. Some of those practitioners may have started out with correspondence courses. Distance learning in alternative medicine has come full circle.