(article ) What is Education?

Chapter 17: “Loop” of indoctrination

Leave a Comment / Chapters, EDUCATION - as if our lives depended on it, Part 4 /

PART 4 Chapter 17: The “Loop” of indoctrination We learn to reason in the world of our origin. A whole fabric that we take to be most reasonable was acquired before we could reason, and we pass much of this “taken-for-granted” on through the reproductive cycle. This is a challenge to educational justification, which cannot […]

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PART 4 Chapter 17: The “Loop” of indoctrination We learn to reason in the world of our origin. A whole fabric that we take to be most reasonable was acquired before we could reason, and we pass much of this “taken-for-granted” on through the reproductive cycle. This is a challenge to educational justification, which cannot

Chapter 18: Educational Justification

Leave a Comment / Chapters, EDUCATION - as if our lives depended on it, Part 4 /

Chapter 18: Educational Justification In popular and public discussion, what passes for justification in education is ethically questionable – generally serving the interests of parties other than learners themselves. Since we must, in education, make decisions for learners – and often about the sorts of people they will become – sound ethical justification is crucial.

Chapter 18: Educational Justification Read More »

Chapter 18: Educational Justification In popular and public discussion, what passes for justification in education is ethically questionable – generally serving the interests of parties other than learners themselves. Since we must, in education, make decisions for learners – and often about the sorts of people they will become – sound ethical justification is crucial.

Chapter 19: An educational constitution

Leave a Comment / Chapters, Democracy, EDUCATION - as if our lives depended on it, Ethics and justification, Part 4 /

Chapter 19: An educational constitution A sound, ethical justification of education would enable us to draw up an educational constitution protecting the development of the human mind from the beginning of development. This would establish a genuine right to an education worthy of the name, and be prior to any other constitution, establishing the conditions

Chapter 19: An educational constitution Read More »

Chapter 19: An educational constitution A sound, ethical justification of education would enable us to draw up an educational constitution protecting the development of the human mind from the beginning of development. This would establish a genuine right to an education worthy of the name, and be prior to any other constitution, establishing the conditions

Chapter 20: Education as procedural

Leave a Comment / Chapters, EDUCATION - as if our lives depended on it, Part 4 /

Chapter 20: Education as Procedural Educational policy-making, planning and assessment should be procedural. It should not be about specifying content or outcomes, except in the most general terms. If we intend to respect learners for the self-determining people they are entitled to become, we should not be trying to settle their beliefs or understandings, but

Chapter 20: Education as procedural Read More »

Chapter 20: Education as Procedural Educational policy-making, planning and assessment should be procedural. It should not be about specifying content or outcomes, except in the most general terms. If we intend to respect learners for the self-determining people they are entitled to become, we should not be trying to settle their beliefs or understandings, but

Chapter 21: It can’t be done

Leave a Comment / Chapters, EDUCATION - as if our lives depended on it, Part 4, Uncategorized, Working for educational change /

Chapter 21: The denial of education It is often assumed that there is no alternative to conventional schooling. The problem is not practicality, but lack of will and imagination. We fear genuine education and assume that the “powers that be” would never allow a thinking population. We are captive of ancient, pre-democratic fears, and of

Chapter 21: It can’t be done Read More »

Chapter 21: The denial of education It is often assumed that there is no alternative to conventional schooling. The problem is not practicality, but lack of will and imagination. We fear genuine education and assume that the “powers that be” would never allow a thinking population. We are captive of ancient, pre-democratic fears, and of

A liberal education – Part II: why it needs replacing

Leave a Comment / Democracy, Educational theory and practice, Ethics and justification, History, Liberal Education, Problems of living well, Schooling /

A liberal education – exit stage right. Part II: why it needs to be replaced A liberal education has progressively been destroyed. The previous article explains why it won’t do any longer – but also the unacceptable price we pay for not having an education that fulfills several of the needs that a liberal education

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A liberal education – exit stage right. Part II: why it needs to be replaced A liberal education has progressively been destroyed. The previous article explains why it won’t do any longer – but also the unacceptable price we pay for not having an education that fulfills several of the needs that a liberal education

The meaning of education

A liberal education – exit stage right. Part I: the attack

1 Comment / Democracy, Educational theory and practice, Enlightenment, Ethics and justification, History, Indoctrination, Liberal Education, Problems of living well, Schooling /

The liberal education tradition has been largely destroyed by neo-conservative assumptions. Identified with a range of academic disciplines, and pursued for its own sake, it has suffered from association with the life-style of the European aristocracy, the former leisured elite. Despite this, it had important functions in enabling a challenging of inherited beliefs and assumptions,

A liberal education – exit stage right. Part I: the attack Read More »

The liberal education tradition has been largely destroyed by neo-conservative assumptions. Identified with a range of academic disciplines, and pursued for its own sake, it has suffered from association with the life-style of the European aristocracy, the former leisured elite. Despite this, it had important functions in enabling a challenging of inherited beliefs and assumptions,

Wagon

Respect for persons – the justification for education

Leave a Comment / Educational theory and practice, Enlightenment, Ethics and justification, Problems of living well, Respect /

Western ethics, since the Enlightenment, has been remarkably silent about the idea of self-respect, or a duty to oneself. Some philosophers even doubt that there is such a thing. This might signal to us that the whole idea is simply mistaken. I think, however, that the gap here is another hold-over from the circumstances of

Respect for persons – the justification for education Read More »

Western ethics, since the Enlightenment, has been remarkably silent about the idea of self-respect, or a duty to oneself. Some philosophers even doubt that there is such a thing. This might signal to us that the whole idea is simply mistaken. I think, however, that the gap here is another hold-over from the circumstances of

An Ethical Manifesto for Education

Leave a Comment / Ethics and justification, Respect, What is education? /

An Ethical Manifesto for Education Education is an ethical concept. Here is an outline of the way in which education, worthy of the name, can be grounded in the fundamental, equal intrinsic worth of all human beings. The purpose of education is an application of the principle of “respect for persons”, and the discussion explains

An Ethical Manifesto for Education Read More »

An Ethical Manifesto for Education Education is an ethical concept. Here is an outline of the way in which education, worthy of the name, can be grounded in the fundamental, equal intrinsic worth of all human beings. The purpose of education is an application of the principle of “respect for persons”, and the discussion explains

The difference between education and schooling

What is the difference between education and schooling?

Leave a Comment / Educational theory and practice, Ethics and justification, Schooling, What is education? /

The difference between education and schooling Many people confuse education and schooling. The difference is huge. Education is an ideal. Schools are institutions set up to formalise teaching. Schools need not be educational at all, and often aren’t. Indeed, they can indoctrinate. It is the ethical concern of education for learning to live well that

What is the difference between education and schooling? Read More »

The difference between education and schooling Many people confuse education and schooling. The difference is huge. Education is an ideal. Schools are institutions set up to formalise teaching. Schools need not be educational at all, and often aren’t. Indeed, they can indoctrinate. It is the ethical concern of education for learning to live well that