DEFINING EDUCATION: teachers left swinging gently in the wind

What do we expect from education? An educated populace, to be sure. But what one person thinks is a "good" education, another thinks is a "bad" one. What's the level of disagreement? More than you might imagine. Let's examine some definitions and see.

 

"Education in virtue ... which makes a man eagerly pursue the ideal perfection of citizenship and teaches how to rightly rule and obey, this is the only education ... which deserves the name." 

Plato (c. 427-347 B.C.) Athenian philosopher and seminal thinker.

"There can be no true education which is not wholly directed to man's last end ... there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education." 

Pius XI (1857-1939) Roman Catholic Pope from 1922 to 1939

"The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things — the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and genuine rather than the bad and counterfeit." 

Samual Johnson (1709-1784) British lexicographer, essayist and critic.

"Education, beyond all other devices of human origin, (should be) the great equalizer of the conditions of men — the balance wheel of the social machinery." 

Horace Mann (1796-1859) American public education pioneer.

 "Education is the transmission of civilization." 

Ariel and Will Durant, (1898-1981 and 1885-1981) American writers and historians.

A chief aim of education must be to impart to the individual the courage to play the game against any and all odds, the nerve to walk into the ambushes of existence, the hardiness to face the most despicable truth about himself and not let it daunt him permanently."

Dom Marquis (1935-2022) American philosopher.

Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer; into a selflessness which links us to all humanity." 

Lady Nancy Astor (1879-1964) British politician and first woman seated as a Member of Parliament. 

Education by a national state must aim primarily not at the stuffing of mere knowledge, but at the building of bodies which are physically healthy to the core. Only after this comes the training of the mental abilities."

Adolf Hitler  (1889-1945) German despot, mass murderer and initiator of WW2.

"Education is the instruction of the intellect in the laws of nature."  

Thomas Huxley (1825-1895) British naturalist and pioneer of evolution theory.

"There is only one subject-matter for education, and that is life in all its manifestations." Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) British philosopher and theoretical mathematician.

"Education is a weapon whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and who is struck with it." 

Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) Soviet tyrant and mass murderer.

This sampling illustrates the wide range of disagreement regarding a "good" education. And this disagreement readily transitions into a wide range of conflicts and controversies. Yes, there is wide agreement that education involves the acquisition of basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic. But even here there is disagreement regarding how they should be taught — much less the ends they should serve.

Rest assured, whatever significant content and methodology educators choose will be controversial — if it isn't first neutered, of course. This is why school "leaders' stick to vague purr words regarding instructional goals and objectives. But trouble still arises because teachers must attempt to add detail in order to create actual lessons. And if that lesson involves teaching anything significant, it will generate controversy. That is when school administrators  scurry for cover, leaving the teacher swinging gently in the wind. So many teachers water down whatever they teach to render that content as unobjectionable as possible. But they often end up teaching harmless humbug that results in little lasting learning.

What is to be done? Not much in a society as diverse as ours. It's just the way things are. Of course smart kids learn anyway. But what they learn is mostly content from the hidden curriculum. That's the unofficial lessons kids absorb by experiencing school routines, rules, sub-cultures and power structures. Is that knowledge valuable? Yes, as far as it goes. But there should be more to school than that. 

Is there any way around this problem? Yes, live in an unusually homogeneous school district whose values match your own. The only other option (Besides home instruction, which is generally a farce.) is to find a private school that fits your values and your pocket book. Good luck with that.

Here's a final thought. Community consensus strongly influences how school rules are defined and enforced. For instance, years ago I taught in a rural public school serving a community that agreed on sparing the rod, spoiled the child. In consequence the penalty for serious violations of school rules was an eye watering encounter with a wooden paddle. (It was an orderly school district where instruction was possible and personal safety pretty much assured.) But that ended when corporal punishment was ruled out state wide by compassionate legislators who would never have to personally suffer the consequences of their magnanimious solicitude.