WGU: Education - Ani Heng H01

Ani Heng H01

“Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token save it from that ruin which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and the young, would be inevitable. And education, too, is where we decide whether we love our children enough not to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices, not to strike from their hands the chance of undertaking something new, something foreseen by no one, but to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world.” - Hannah Arendt (“Between Past and Future”)  

Growing up:

Education is a large part of our childhoods, yet it is one of the central experiences of growing up, according to Neiman. However, since we are subject to an education that we do not choose, how is it that we “grow up” and find our own autonomy in the field of education? 

The massive role of parents: 

Undoubtedly, parents play a huge role in our growing up. They are the principal figure on which we formulate our own opinions throughout our childhood and much of our adolescence. As infants, we have no other option than to rely wholly on the care and guidance of our parents as a means of biological survival. However, even in this stage of our childhood, our parents' actions are a good indication of how we're able to grow up at a later stage. Neiman specifically cites British psychoanalyst DW Winnicott in his belief that a "good-enough" parent rather than a perfect parent would ultimately prove a better fit for an infant because of the onset of anxiety. With this anxiety, Winnicott believed that an infant would be able to "experience herself as an autonomous being who can act in the world." In other words, by experiencing anxiety the infant would be better able to make decisions for themselves and thus be able to grow up through a better-developed sense of independence. * According to Winnicott, an ideal situation with the "good-enough" parent would involve the parent initially being attentive to every need of the infant, but then slowly starting to move away from attending to their every need, allowing the child to experience failure, which then enables them to "adapt to external realities."

 

However, as we move from infancy and continue to develop and form new experiences and relationships, we begin to gain more individuality separate from our parents. This process is especially prominent during the adolescent stage. In fact, Neiman defines the process of growing up as “a process of sifting through your parents’ choices” and deciding which ones you will choose for yourself and the ones you’ll reject" processes which most often appear in adolescence. These choices can range from something as simple to taste in music to something as deep as religion. As we make these decisions for ourselves, we begin to obtain a more defined sense of autonomy. But how does this sense of growing up apply to education specifically? 

*It is interesting to note that while anxiety, according to Neiman, is a positive in the development of infants, anxiety in newer generations is becoming more and more prevalent, to the detriment of the population, it seems. Find more specific statistics on anxiety in America at Forbes Health.  

Parents and Education 

Perhaps the biggest, most impactful decision a parent makes for their child is their education. Location and public versus private are just some of the parameters that can provide significant changes on a child's education and subsequently, their growing up. However, like many decisions in our early childhood and adolescence, it is not in our hands, but that of our parents. Even if our parents are invested in the quality of our education and try to find the best option available to them based on things like income and location, there certainly are shortcomings in in the current state of education across schools in the United States. This begs the question what is the goal of education and does education in America satisfy this goal? 

 Historical Figures’ Perspectives on Education: 

While it would be unrealistic to find an exact definition of education, since this goal varies from person to person, examining different perspectives on education's goal can better narrow down a more defined goal. 

Johann Bernhardt Basedow: 

Basedow, a German pedagogue, founded the Philanthropium, a school based in Europe, in 1774. This school was the subject of Kant's praises and sole subject of his fundraising because believed that this school achieved the goal of an "education institution, which is fitted to nature. Uniquely, this school was based upon Rousseau's educational principles.  Rousseau's philosophy education seems most aligned to what I would personally believe should be the goal of education. 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

Rousseau, an 18th century philosopher, believed education should "develop a person's natural goodness and potential" (philonotes.com) as based on his belief that humans are fundamentally good but are corrupted by society and culture. His educational philosophy emphasized the individuality of the child in allowing them to develop at their own pace through the indulgence of their natural curiosity of the world around them. He believed that formal instruction should only being until a child reached age 12 and that it should be based on this principal of a child's individual interests. Rousseau also encouraged a well-rounded education involving developing them physically, emotionally, socially, morally, and intellectually. The idea of "negative education" was important in his philosophy and described a learning process wherein a child is able to learn through experience instead of through the instruction of a formal teacher. Ultimately, natural development was the key principle of Rousseau's educational philosophy. 

Immanuel Kant 

Kant, an important philosopher of the 18th century, was dissatisfied with the European education system of his time. He said about education, "Children are sent to school initially, not with the intention that they should already learn something there, but rather that they may grow accustomed to sitting still, and observing exactly what they are told to that in the future, they may not put into practice, actually in instantly, each notion that strikes them." In other words, he believed that within the traditional schooling system of his time, children were molded into complacent creatures rather than having the freedom to learn and grow, an idea most characterized by Rousseau's educational philosophy. While Kant doesn't believe in "breaking a child's will," Kant still emphasizes self-discipline as an important principle in education. Two ideas he puts forth in this regard include delays of gratification and skills that require "tedious exercises" (i.e. languages and music), both of which build one's self-discipline by making the distinction that not everything is learned through wonder and "natural inclinations." In this way, Kant believes this will allow one to obtain more freedom by allowing them to not be reliant on others.

Kant's Three Principles of Education: 

1.          From earliest childhood, the child must be allowed to be free in all matters except in those where may injure itself as, for example, when it grabs an open knife.

2.          The child must be shown that it can only reach its goals by letting others also reach theirs.

3.          One must prove to it that restraint is put on it, in order that it may be led to the use of its own freedom that it is cultivated, so that it may one day be free that is so that it not depend on the care of others.                   

   

Modern School Systems

The question now becomes: does modern day schooling provide the necessary conditions for children to flourish in the ways described by Kant and Rousseau, in a way that enables children to grow into independent adults who have been allowed to indulge their natural curiosities and build their self-discipline? In WGU, Neiman describes traditional schooling as "better than none at all." This idea is most evident in the fact that education is more valued in parts of the world where a family's finances or even the political climate can limit a child's access to schooling. Neiman specifically cites Malala Yousafzai, an incredible young woman from Pakistan who, when speaking out for her right to education in Swat Valley where girls weren't allowed to go to school, was shot by the Taliban. However, despite the notion that any education at all is better than none, it does not mean we should be content with the current state of education, according to Neiman. While education, in some ways has improved over the years, as in the removal of corporal punishment, for instance, there are certainly ways in which it is still flawed. 

What are some realistic ways we can improve upon our current education system? 

There are a few main points of improvements within the education system that students generally agree upon, including the elimination of standardized education and the addition of financial education. I personally believe that standardized testing directly opposes the goal outlined by Rousseau and Kant. In my experience, much of the valuable class time was spent preparing us for such testing as the SAT, which specifically taught us to learn the test rather than the skills within the test. Even so, I felt that those skills did not help us become well-rounded learners. Classes that I feel would've been helpful, especially in high school, would be classes that taught us practical skills such as doing taxes. I also think that standardized testing is an ineffective way of testing us, especially since each individual learner is different. This brings me to wonder what an education system that is catered to each individual learner would look like, since I would imagine to incorporate a system like that in a single classroom. The current system at MTSU, involving a well-balanced mix of lecture-style learning and hands-on learning is quite nice, and I have enjoyed it so far. 

  

Should we get rid of standardized testing? - Arlo Kempf

Summary: Standardized tests often measure the wrong things, thus giving innaccurate results. It doesn't account for important factors such as test anxiety or reading disabilities and doesn't measure things like creativity or collaboration. By creating "the right tests for the right jobs," standardized testing may be of more use. 

 Why The Education System Is Failing America | CNBC Marathon

 

Summary: Common Core curriculum, low teacher salaries, and poor sex ed are some of the issues facing the modern education system in America. 

What can we do? 

Since it is ultimately clear that the education provided to us by our parents was flawed, what are the ways we can repair this and improve on the education we didn't choose? Neiman provides one clear answer: make our own choices. Specifically, she cites three specific action items that can help us develop into better, more well-rounded adults that aligns with a more ideal goal of education, as outlined by Kant and Rousseau: 

1.  Avoid places where you are the smartest person in the room and seek out those where you aren’t. 

2.  Take knowledge from the classics and learn from them. 

3.  Just like your relationship with your parents is your relationship with culture - first examine it then decide which parts you’ll make your own.