The psychological impact of schooling is examined within the context of a new school of British psychoanalytic thought. It is concluded that schooling is maddening, in the sense used by Laing, Cooper, and others. A rationale for a sane humanities program is established consisting of two components: the nuclear and the cortical. The nuclear is the center of the program; the cortical refers to peripheral elements. The nuclear is the basic encounter or training group; the cortical component is music, dance, the fine arts--studies traditionally associated with the humanities. The study recommends that (1) this new humanities program should be tested throughout elementary and secondary schools, (2) teacher education programs should reflect the humanities program, (3) pilot humanities programs should be established in colleges and universities, and (4) schools and colleges of education should study the dynamics of a genuinely humanizing, educative ambience. (Author/DI)