"Beauty is truth, truth beauty--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
-William Butler Yeats
The connection between education, philosophy, and politics has been a much-investigated and very controversial topic throughout the years. In Global Ethics we have read several texts pertaining to the idea of education and its effects on democracy, specifically, how shaping education will in turn shape a society. Nowadays, people often view educational goals in two parts; on one hand we have the epistemological aspects of the term, and on the other there are the social responsibilities that need to be taught. The idea that civic responsibilities need to be taught in school has, in recent years especially, emerged as a very troubling topic. When one intertwines education with politics, complications are sure to follow...
In the Kahne - Westheimer article, we are presented with a framework for raising socially responsible citizens within a democratic framework. Citizens are grouped into three categories: personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented citizens. I do not agree with this trichotomy. A citizen can be part of one of these groups, or part of two of them, or three, or none. I also think that there is a plethora of problems associated with the joining of politics and education. We now look back at the educational systems of Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia with a combination of horror and disgust. It is obvious that we are right and they were wrong is it not? That is what we have been conditioned to believe, that democracy is in fact the best (or, the least bad) form of government. I think that there is an alternative to teaching people to fulfill a political obligation to serve the community, and that is teaching them to uphold an ethical responsibility to the tribe. I say tribe because I want to bring the discussion back to a more primal period, when flashy terms like "community" (and the various connotations associated) did not really exist.
I mentioned in the introduction that many people view education in two categories. On one hand we have the process of rote memorization, remembering facts and statistics, and on the other we have the more important process of teaching civic responsibility. I do not think that this duality exists. I think that the epistemological and ethical goals of education are harmoniously intertwined. "Truth is Beauty, Beauty is Truth". Teaching students facts has been misrepresented by new-age educators in my opinion. It isn't about facts, it is about Truth. Students must be taught about the Truth, their origins, the past, the present, the future. When interpreting the Truth, Beauty is apparent. There is a keen sense of awe that we all experience when we gaze into the depths of space through the Hubble Telescope, that sense is beauty. When we teach people about the Truth of society, the philosophical ideas connected with community, mutual necessity, altruism, they will see beauty in that and feel an obligation to help others. You do not teach people to serve others. You inform people, and leave them to decide. The real goal of education, in my view, is to teach the Truth, and the students will find Beauty. This is true freedom, teachers have a right to inform their pupils, it is the sacred duty of an educator, and the student should retain the right to choose what to do after this.
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5 comments:
"You do not teach people to serve others. You inform people, and leave them to decide."
I really like these two sentences. It is so true. Educational systems should teach students the truth, and leave it to the students to decide what to do with it. No one should be forced to do community service. HIS should educate its students about community service, and the importance of it, and let the students decide if they want to participate. I like how you take the article and look at it from a perspective that most of us wouldn't even consider. Do you think we should have more of say, the justice-oriented citizen, or do you think we need a combination of the three? Great post!
I agree what you have said. I think those three type good civic is combined or mixed into characteristic of citizens. There is no people that is purely have one character.
I always enjoy reading your writing. They're always phrased so nicely, and your ideas are different from everyone else's, your point of view unique. It seems like a good idea to educate people, provide them with the information and leave the rest up to them to decide what they want to do with that knowledge. But I think sometimes knowing the truth isn't quite enough; you have to experience it to really connect to it. And after the experience, you can decide.
Nice opening. You grab your reader with the controversy right away.
Educators over the past few decades have been wrestling with how best to teach students. Human bias and the quest for truth are issues that have led to recent innovations in education. Some questions to further your personal ideology:
Once again you take issue with the term “community”. I think it's about time you really unpacked that term for your readers. What is your critique based upon? Another question: whose Truth are you talking about? Is there really one essential Truth? Is one person's truth more true than another's? From what vantage point are the facts of history and science based upon? The history of kings? Or the history of the aboriginal peoples who are being wiped off the planet? Whose scientific research gets published? The science subsidized by corporations? Or by independent researchers?
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