Philosophy of Education: Restoring the Faith
Photo Credit: Kaylen Bowman, 2010
“Whenever groups withdraw from connection, isolate themselves, and become exclusive, democracy is endangered” (Noddings, 2016, p. 36). A statement like this may seem perplexing in a world that is increasingly connected through globalized digital and social media. Yet, research shows our social communities have become increasingly homogenous – echo chambers, wherein we are more likely today to live near and associate ourselves with groups of the same racial (Whittemore, 2016), economic (Fry & Taylor, 2012), cultural (Smith, McPherson, & Smith-Lovin, 2014) and political (Iyengar, Sood, & Lelkes, 2012) orientation. From socioeconomically segregated neighborhoods to our “virtual gated communities” of social media, Americans are finding it harder to effectively and respectfully communicate across a wide segment of society (Pazzanese, 2017, para. 2). This societal framework is unsustainable, and the ensuing result has been the entrenchment of the ‘us versus them’ dichotomy, and growing distrust – distrust in civic institutions, distrust in public officials, and distrust in one another.
Public education, as it was conceived in the 19th century sought to remedy these societal divides – and it still can today! While this ideal has been complicated by the divisions that lie within our real estate and housing patterns, public education still serves as perhaps the last viable medium “for bringing people and their ideas and beliefs together, in such ways as will lessen friction and instability, and introduce deeper sympathy and wider understanding” (Spring, 2016, p. 34-35). It is for this reason that I firmly believe in the value of public education. Furthermore, I believe the varied disciplines of the social studies can help to facilitate these interactions through the contemplation of three key questions: What kind of world do we live in? What kind of world ought we to live in? How can we responsibly transform society to actualize that ideal?
What kind of world do we live in? John Dewey argued that teachers “must begin with the purposes of their students, steer them into potentially rich experiences, and watch carefully for signs of growth” (Noddings, p. 19). From day one, students bring a variety of perspectives, backgrounds and interests into the classroom. As educators, it is essential for us to foster those interests by promoting and demonstrating a curiosity for the outside world and a passion for inquiry. In my classroom, I greatly encourage students to question why we live the way we do. This can be overwhelming in an age of unlimited access to information, but my view has always been that the discipline of history can be used to break down the complex systems of the present by tracing them back to their more simplistic roots. In this sense, I believe it is critical for students and nonstudents alike to understand the progression of ideas throughout history, and how they have affected the way we lived, and how we continue to set up our societies today. Moreover, through the disciplines of history and geography, I hope to inspire students to travel both domestically and abroad; to absorb the natural beauty of the planet and its people, to see the good in the world, and to interact with a plurality of worldviews and perspectives. I believe these interactions can be both pragmatic and reflective; teaching us compassion and humility, while also keeping us rooted and in-touch with the realities and injustices of the world.
What kind of world ought we to live in? By exposing students to the wonders of the world’s past and present, they are introduced to a myriad of competing worldviews, narratives and perspectives. While gaining an appreciation for different worldviews and perspectives is, I believe, a necessary step in helping us to restore our civic dialogue, it does not mean we necessarily have to abandon our own convictions, as long as one learns to justify them by appropriate means. Therefore, in my estimation, educators are tasked with the twofold objective of both providing a platform for the open facilitation of ideas, while simultaneously guiding students to develop informed and coherent arguments to defend their beliefs. This necessitates that we help students to identify credibility and bias in arguments, promoting them to be independent thinkers who can maintain a balance between healthy skepticism and an optimistic outlook. Essentially, I want to help my students become cautious dreamers.
How can we responsibly transform society to actualize that ideal? Finally, we must help our students translate their passions into tangible results that they can be proud of and inspired by. They must reap the rewards of disciplined inquiry and hard work. Otherwise, as Jane Roland Martin has warned, “…critical thinkers become spectators rather than participants. They allow injustice and pain to continue while they pick apart arguments and make “higher” points out of the tragedies of real people” (Noddings, p. 96). While Martin is primarily commenting on the advent of ‘hashtag activism’ in social justice, her words do bring up two ideas worth further contemplation. First, the relative successfulness of civic life is predicated upon participation, and we as educators have to do a better job of getting our students to be active members of the community. I believe this can be partially achieved by maintaining a local flavor to classroom content, inviting community leaders to share their knowledge, and by pressing students to think about their respective role in the community and how they would like to improve it.
How can we responsibly transform society to actualize that ideal? Finally, we must help our students translate their passions into tangible results that they can be proud of and inspired by. They must reap the rewards of disciplined inquiry and hard work. Otherwise, as Jane Roland Martin has warned, “…critical thinkers become spectators rather than participants. They allow injustice and pain to continue while they pick apart arguments and make “higher” points out of the tragedies of real people” (Noddings, p. 96). While Martin is primarily commenting on the advent of ‘hashtag activism’ in social justice, her words do bring up two ideas worth further contemplation. First, the relative successfulness of civic life is predicated upon participation, and we as educators have to do a better job of getting our students to be active members of the community. I believe this can be partially achieved by maintaining a local flavor to classroom content, inviting community leaders to share their knowledge, and by pressing students to think about their respective role in the community and how they would like to improve it.
Second, inquiry is limited in its usefulness if it can’t be applied. For this reason, I am a firm proponent of the cap-stone project as a summative assessment. While the standardized test has its place in measuring student success and outcomes, cap-stones allow students to pick a passion of their choice, develop it, and produce a tangible piece of work that they can be proud of. Whether it’s restoring a car, building a greenhouse, producing a piece of literature, making an historical argument or doing environmental research, students are tasked with the responsibilities of the professional and allowed to bring their ideas to fruition.
By reflectively contemplating the above three questions, I believe public education can help us to reinvigorate our community life, to trust in one another, and to restore faith in our civic institutions. But it begins with inclusion, integration, and an open platform from which competing ideas can be debated. Thankfully, I believe the state of Alaska still truly values public education, and is dedicated to the mission ahead. By changing the culture, one school at a time, we can help to transform the classroom once again into an invigorating environment: where questioning, curiosity and creativity are emboldened, laughter and light-bulb moments ubiquitous, and where discourse can be spread freely and respectfully across a wide segment of society – from poor to rich, black to white, conservative to liberal and vice versa.
Personally, I hope to bring a contagious passion, curiosity, energy, creativity and sense of humility to the classroom wherever I teach. I want to help students digest complex information so that they too can relay it on to their friends and families in layman’s terms. I want to inspire kids to challenge norms, while understanding the need for order. I want my students to look at the world around them with the same amazement they had as toddlers exploring their surroundings for the first time; to treat others with care and compassion, and most importantly to understand that as human beings we have a moral obligation to help each other get through this life, learning, loving, laughing… and rocking out!
Works Cited (in order of appearance):
Noddings, N. (2016). Philosophy of Education (4th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Whittemore, A. (2016, Dec. 19th). The Experience of Racial and Ethnic Minorities with Zoning in the United States. Journal of Planning Literature, vol. 32 no. 1, 16-27.
Fry, R. & Taylor P. (2012, August 1st). The Rise of Residential Segregation by Income. Pew Research Center: Social & Demographic Trends. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/08/01/the-rise-of-residential-segregation-by-income/http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/08/01/the-rise-of-residential-segregation-by-income/
Smith J., McPherson M., & Smith-Lovin L. (2014, Apr. 24th). Social Distance in the United States: Sex, Race, Religion, Age, and Education Homophily among Confidants, 1985 to 2004. American Sociological Review, vol. 79 no. 3, 432-456.
Iyengar, S., Sood G., & Lelkes Y. (2012, Sep. 17th). Affect, Not Ideology: A Social Identity Perspective on Polarization. Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 76 no. 3, 405-431.
Pazzanese, C. (2017, Mar. 21st). Danger in the Internet Echo Chamber. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved from http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/03/cass-sunsteins-republic-explores-dangers-of-social-media-curation/http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/03/cass-sunsteins-republic-explores-dangers-of-social-media-curation/
Spring, J. (2016). American Education (17th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
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