Rational emotive education

William Knaus Fort Lee Consultation Center Fort Lee, New Jersey T he cummulative effects of technological, economic, political and moral change have made the task of teaching increasingly complex. Both the school and the educator are forced to modify traditional roles and methods in order to maintain contact with today's students. It is essential that educators mobilize to meet new challenges through the development and implementation of strategies aimed at harmonizing traditional and humanistic principles in education. Our goals now include not only teaching youngsters basic skills but, also, how to learn and how to cope more effectively in a progressively more sophisticated and demanding environment. Teaching children how to cope with the stresses of modern living is a valuable educational objective. Unfortunately, due to severe personnel shortages in the mental health field, the gap between available service and need is great. Consequently, many psychologists and educators have sought to develop mental health programs that help prevent emotional/ behavioral disturbance which can be utilized in the school setting. The goal is to foster psychological growth by teaching skills that enable youngsters to more effectively and objectively deal with personal problems.