Step 1: Philosophy
In writing a philosophy of education on which to base a school, I thought the best place to start would be to write down those values that I thought would be most beneficial for a school to promote. On a day when I was either feeling particularly inspired or angry at my current school, I came up with about 13 things that I would like to see promoted in an educational setting. After eliminating less important ones and consolidating those that fit into broader ones, I narrowed it down to three. Submitted to you for comment and criticism, here are what I have come up with.
1. Education should emphasize teaching the tools of learning over the communication of knowledge.
Our content should be outstanding. We should be hiring people who have not only an exceptional knowledge of their subject matter but also a contagious enthusiasm for it. That being said, content should not be the primary emphasis of the school. That position belongs to the teaching of the skills needed for learning. As Dorothy Sayers says in her essay entitled The Lost Tools of Learning: “For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.” Content, long holding the central position in education, should be treated as grist for the mill of critical, creative, and analytical thought. When appropriate, students should be encouraged to learn and think independently of the teacher.
To this end, we as a school should also make a commitment to what works, not what has always been done. As we encourage students to experiment, take risks, and investigate life, we should demonstrate a similar approach as we teach them.
For too long, process has been confused with product in the educational system. It simply is not the case that if a person goes through twelve years of our current system, that they can be considered an educated person. They are merely a “schooled” person. “Schooling” is not what we are after. We wish to pursue methods that treat learning as a life-skill, not something that only occurs in the walls of an institution.
With this in mind, grades should be treated as the things they were meant to be: a tool for the assessment of mastery, not as a goal or an end in themselves. This single flaw in the current educational system has been one of the biggest causes for its inefficiency and ineffectiveness in educating today’s youth. It has drained inspiration from the learning process. It has pitted teachers against pupils, parents against teachers, and parents against their children. It encourages students toward mediocrity, and it does very little to ultimately prepare students to be functioning, thoughtful contributors to humankind. Its current use, therefore, should not be emulated.
While it will be necessary for students to, at times, be divided by age, a sense of unity and cohesion among the student body will be fostered through: 1) times of general learning (where all students of a certain developmental level are taught together) and 2) Encouraging older students to play a role in the education of younger students. Within reason and when necessary, students in individual classes will be divided not by a particular age, but by subject and skill level.
2. Education should be worthwhile and relevant to a student.
How many times have the words “When am I ever going to use THIS?” been uttered by a student? All too often in our educational system, students simply don’t see what they are doing as meaningful. This results in lack-luster performance, unethical behavior (usually exhibited in the form of cheating or plagiarism), and an increase in anxiety and feelings of meaninglessness.
One of the biggest causes of this is the method we use to educate. First, while it is true that most students can say that their education was grounded in the realities of this life, they are taught about those realities in circumstances that couldn’t be more removed from it. While lectures might be necessary at times, and books are certainly important, to make them the sole means of passing wisdom from one generation to the next is absurd. Even the current trend toward “open discussion” falls short when compared to the effectiveness of actually learning by experiencing life. For this reason, students will be encouraged to learn in the most direct method possible. If studying botany, students will learn by observing plants. If astronomy, they will observe stars. Field study will be pursued.
Second, the process of dividing subjects up into neatly separated classes removes all content from any meaningful context. While specialization of labor may make sense in a factory, it does not benefit students to see history as being completely unrelated to literature and math. Integration between these subjects will be encouraged as much as possible, with all content being centered on a history curriculum.
Third, one of the biggest areas of neglect in our school system is practical skills. While most students are expected to be able to analyze Shakespeare when they graduate (at least they are on paper), they are not expected to be able to balance a checkbook or change the oil in a car. As much as possible, we will encourage the teaching of practical skills. For some, this will mean incorporating into their program a trade school education. For others, it will mean pursuing internships with “hands on” experience in one of their fields of interest. These three points under this value can be summed up in three words: Experiential, Integrated, and Practical.
3. Education should encourage students toward a sense of identity and purpose, not just toward academic accomplishment.
Knowledge, pursued for its own sake, puffs a person up, making them arrogant and giving them a sense of superiority. We are not training people solely for the purpose of making sure they have a job in the future, although we recognize the need for skills that allow a person to make a living and will promote their adoption by students. We are not training people to gain status in the eyes of those around them. We hope to facilitate students into an understanding of who they are as individuals, how they fit into the world around them, and what their responsibility to it is. We believe this to be the culmination of the previous two values.
For this reason, we hope to educate the entire person. Issues of theology and philosophy will be central to learning content, especially in the upper levels.
1. Education should emphasize teaching the tools of learning over the communication of knowledge.
Our content should be outstanding. We should be hiring people who have not only an exceptional knowledge of their subject matter but also a contagious enthusiasm for it. That being said, content should not be the primary emphasis of the school. That position belongs to the teaching of the skills needed for learning. As Dorothy Sayers says in her essay entitled The Lost Tools of Learning: “For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.” Content, long holding the central position in education, should be treated as grist for the mill of critical, creative, and analytical thought. When appropriate, students should be encouraged to learn and think independently of the teacher.
To this end, we as a school should also make a commitment to what works, not what has always been done. As we encourage students to experiment, take risks, and investigate life, we should demonstrate a similar approach as we teach them.
For too long, process has been confused with product in the educational system. It simply is not the case that if a person goes through twelve years of our current system, that they can be considered an educated person. They are merely a “schooled” person. “Schooling” is not what we are after. We wish to pursue methods that treat learning as a life-skill, not something that only occurs in the walls of an institution.
With this in mind, grades should be treated as the things they were meant to be: a tool for the assessment of mastery, not as a goal or an end in themselves. This single flaw in the current educational system has been one of the biggest causes for its inefficiency and ineffectiveness in educating today’s youth. It has drained inspiration from the learning process. It has pitted teachers against pupils, parents against teachers, and parents against their children. It encourages students toward mediocrity, and it does very little to ultimately prepare students to be functioning, thoughtful contributors to humankind. Its current use, therefore, should not be emulated.
While it will be necessary for students to, at times, be divided by age, a sense of unity and cohesion among the student body will be fostered through: 1) times of general learning (where all students of a certain developmental level are taught together) and 2) Encouraging older students to play a role in the education of younger students. Within reason and when necessary, students in individual classes will be divided not by a particular age, but by subject and skill level.
2. Education should be worthwhile and relevant to a student.
How many times have the words “When am I ever going to use THIS?” been uttered by a student? All too often in our educational system, students simply don’t see what they are doing as meaningful. This results in lack-luster performance, unethical behavior (usually exhibited in the form of cheating or plagiarism), and an increase in anxiety and feelings of meaninglessness.
One of the biggest causes of this is the method we use to educate. First, while it is true that most students can say that their education was grounded in the realities of this life, they are taught about those realities in circumstances that couldn’t be more removed from it. While lectures might be necessary at times, and books are certainly important, to make them the sole means of passing wisdom from one generation to the next is absurd. Even the current trend toward “open discussion” falls short when compared to the effectiveness of actually learning by experiencing life. For this reason, students will be encouraged to learn in the most direct method possible. If studying botany, students will learn by observing plants. If astronomy, they will observe stars. Field study will be pursued.
Second, the process of dividing subjects up into neatly separated classes removes all content from any meaningful context. While specialization of labor may make sense in a factory, it does not benefit students to see history as being completely unrelated to literature and math. Integration between these subjects will be encouraged as much as possible, with all content being centered on a history curriculum.
Third, one of the biggest areas of neglect in our school system is practical skills. While most students are expected to be able to analyze Shakespeare when they graduate (at least they are on paper), they are not expected to be able to balance a checkbook or change the oil in a car. As much as possible, we will encourage the teaching of practical skills. For some, this will mean incorporating into their program a trade school education. For others, it will mean pursuing internships with “hands on” experience in one of their fields of interest. These three points under this value can be summed up in three words: Experiential, Integrated, and Practical.
3. Education should encourage students toward a sense of identity and purpose, not just toward academic accomplishment.
Knowledge, pursued for its own sake, puffs a person up, making them arrogant and giving them a sense of superiority. We are not training people solely for the purpose of making sure they have a job in the future, although we recognize the need for skills that allow a person to make a living and will promote their adoption by students. We are not training people to gain status in the eyes of those around them. We hope to facilitate students into an understanding of who they are as individuals, how they fit into the world around them, and what their responsibility to it is. We believe this to be the culmination of the previous two values.
For this reason, we hope to educate the entire person. Issues of theology and philosophy will be central to learning content, especially in the upper levels.
posted by Stephen | 3:36 PM
2 Comments:
On value two -- we were reading "She Walks in Beauty," when a student asked the dreaded question, "When am I ever going to use this?" I replied, "To dream darlin'."
On three -- very few students hate elementary school, and I think there are a few things to be learned from the lower grades. They involve parents; as the seasons progress, so does their knowledge of them; they integrate subject matter; and, one teacher knows her students inside out.
One of my big gripes about the current system is that it doesn't support the family. It expects the support of the parents -- baby is waking, more later.
YES YES YES !!!!! Sign me up!!!!!
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