CIVILIZED MAN'S HISTORY BEGAN WITH THE PROCESS OF GATHERING KNOWLEDGE AND, WHEN NEW KNOWLEDGE BEGAN TO CONFLICT WITH OLD KNOWLEDGE, THE DEVELOPING OF A CRITICAL AND QUESTIONING ATTITUDE. SINCE THE RENAISSANCE AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT THERE HAS BEEN A CONTINUOUS EROSION OF THE IDEA THAT EDUCATION AND THE POWER IT FURNISHES OVER SOCIETY ARE THE PRIVILEGE OF AN ELITE, AND A GROWING AWARENESS THAT EDUCATION DOES NOT MEAN BEING CONDITIONED TO CONFORM INTELLECTUALLY, POLITICALLY, OR THEOLOGICALLY, BUT IS CONCERNED WITH HELPING THE INDIVIDUAL TO INTERPRET AND INTERACT WITH HIS WORLD. BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY, IN THE LAST TWO DECADES, HAS FURTHER LIBERATED THE COMMON MAN AND BECAUSE INFORMATION IS SO QUICKLY SUPERCEDED BY NEW INFORMATION, EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS TODAY MUST PRODUCE LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WITH CREATIVE AND CRITICAL INTELLECTS WHO ARE FLEXIBLE, INSIGHTFUL, AND RETRAINABLE, AND HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES AS WELL AS MECHANICAL SKILLS. THIS KIND OF PERSON CANNOT BE PRODUCED BY AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WHICH OVEREMPHASIZES REGIMENTATION, BUSYWORK, DRILL, AND MEMORIZATION. ALL TOO OFTEN, TEACHERS OF ENGLISH SUFFER FROM A LACK OF "IMAGINATIVE PARTICIPATION" IN THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF YOUTH. THE OVEREMPHASIS OF SKILLS AND FACT-FINDING PREVENTS LEADING THE STUDENT TO THE CREATIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SKILLS IN THE COMPLETE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF IMPRESSION, INTERNALIZATION, AND EXPRESSION. TEACHERS OF ENGLISH MUST HELP THEIR STUDENTS TO THINK AND FEEL MORE DEEPLY, LIVE MORE ABUNDANTLY, AND CREATE MORE FEELINGLY AND UNDERSTANDINGLY. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN"ENGLISH IN AUSTRALIA," NUMBER 5, AUGUST 1967. (DL)