Lessons for Education from Philosophical Ideas
A STUDY of the philosophy of education seems imperative today, for we are in a critical era of transition.
There has always been change, but seldom at our present accelerated
rate, creating in many individuals what I term the sickness of
"future shock."
In such an age, it is easy for people to embrace more and more
change with little thought to eventual consequences or to resisting
change and keeping old values no matter what.
Educational philosophers, regardless of the particular theory
they embrace, suggest that the solution to our problems can best be
achieved through critical and reflective thinking.
In one basic sense, we can say that the philosophy of education
is the application of philosophical ideas to educational
problems.
We can also say with equal force that the practice of education
leads to a refinement of philosophical ideas.
From this point of view, educational philosophy is not only a
way of looking at ideas but also of learning how to use them in the
best way.
When educators do things simply because they were done in the
past, there is no intelligent philosophy of education involved.
A philosophy of education becomes significant at a point where
educators recognise the need to think clearly about what they are
doing in the larger context of individual and social
development.
It is interesting to note that many major philosophers have
written about education.
This is probably because education is such an integral part of
life that it is difficult not to think about it.
Humans are not only tool-making beings but also 'educating
beings', since education has been closely connected with the
development of civilised beings in human history.
Thinking about life in general has often been viewed as a way of
bringing a better life into existence.
The study of philosophy does not guarantee that individuals will
be better thinkers or educators, but it does provide a valuable
base to help us think more clearly.
Traditionally, the word philosophy has meant the pursuit of
wisdom.
This does not imply that philosophy is the provider of answers
in the world; rather, it offers an avenue for serious enquiry into
ideas and traditions.
Philosophers have been acute observers of the human condition
and have articulated their observations in ways that are
instructive.
Educators are not only aided by a careful and systematic
approach to ideas that philosophers have fostered, but they can
also gain inspiration from philosophy and develop insights into
educational problems.
While educators may choose to disregard the philosophical
approach to problems - in doing so, they ignore a vital and
important body of knowledge or thought.
One of the roles of philosophy has been to examine critically
the intellectual tools of any given era.
Another role has been to suggest alternative methods of
thinking.
Still another has been to develop sensitivity to the logic and
language we use in constructing solutions to problems in education
and society.
It is possible to trace the history of ideas by tracing the
development of philosophical thought, and the history of philosophy
reflects some of humanity's best thinking, our collective wisdom,
so to speak.
It could be said that to think philosophically is to reflect
upon who we are, what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we
justify all these things.
Education is involved with both the world of ideas and the world
of practical activity - good ideas can lead to good practices, and
good practices can lead to good ideas.
In order to behave intelligently in the educational process, the
educator needs the things philosophy can provide - that is, an
understanding of thinking processes and the nature of ideas, the
language we use to describe education and how these may interact
with practical affairs.
For the educator, philosophy is not simply a professional tool
but a way of improving the quality of life because it helps us gain
a wider and deeper perspective on human existence and the world
around us.
In spite of the depth of thought it provides, philosophy does
not appeal to many people because philosophers disagree and there
are no clear-cut answers to philosophical problems.
However, too often than not, it is from such disagreement that
the search for new social, political, economic, religious, and
educational systems have developed.
One can find philosophical disagreements on practically every
issue.
It may be that those who look upon disagreement as a negative
factor and prefer clear-cut answers overlook important concerns
about the development of civilisation - that is, if there had been
no disagreement about ideas, purposes, and methods, we would
probably still be in the Stone Age.
Disagreement has often brought about change and it still
continues to do so.
Many differences in educational viewpoints have arisen because
of the changes that have occurred in society.
We know that social development often necessitates changes of
both viewpoint and behaviour.
Of course, this will probably always go on.
It would be gratifying if all educational changes we have today
resulted from people reflectively examining issues and clarifying
directions.
But we know that this is usually not the case.
Many past events that affected social and cultural developments
were largely out of human control, and although people often tried
to study the changes, they had little control over
developments.
Even more to the point, many social and cultural changes that
could have been controlled have wrecked havoc in history.
Consequently, much philosophising in the historical context was
done after the fact - and events ran their own capricious
course.
However, as people sought to develop more control over social
forces through education, they were faced with the problem of
dealing with control in some direction.
This has led to questions of whether or not the controls do more
harm than good.
For example, today we can systematically control individuals and
groups to some extent through psychological conditioning in the
educational process, but whether such control is good or bad is
debatable.
Thus the need arises for philosophers to examine the value of
controls to uncover the basic assumptions behind those controls and
to study the values involved in human life.
One concern when dealing with philosophy is that people come to
it looking for the answers to debatable issues, and when they fail
to find them, they reject philosophy in the same way a spoiled
child might reject a parent who does not have all the answers to
its problems.
A tragic error is made in rejecting philosophies because they
are old or because they are difficult to understand.
Practically everything we do in education reflects some point of
view.
That view may not be readily apparent to the learner, parent or
teacher.
It may be that the point of view is unclear, or a loose
collection of ideas, all lumped together without much logic and
coherence.
What is needed in such cases, is clarification and sorting
out.
But because many teachers lack skill with the tools that promote
clarification, they continue to drift aimlessly in a sea of
rhetoric and patchwork panaceas.
Indeed, there does seem to be a deep-seated feeling of drift
today and much of the drift of modern education attests to this
aimlessness.
Attempts to solve this problem often result in a chaotic jumble
of programs and superficial bickering among ideological camps.
"Practical" educators assume we should throw out philosophy and
get on with the task at hand.
The problem with a "practical" outlook is that its advocates
approach educational problems with the same old attitudes and
remedies.
That outlook itself is a "theory", a set of assumptions for
which the last word is yet to be spoken.
I come to the conclusion, derived from my arguments in this
text, that educators - like everyone else - are caught up in their
own humanity.
There is no certainty with regard to all facets of life in any
known approach to education, for the perfect approach is yet to be
invented.
We are therefore left with the necessity to think about what we
do, to attempt to reason out and justify our actions so that they
are coherent, meaningful, and directed toward desirable educational
ends.
This is the challenge for the educational sector!
Austin, M. Samupwa
P O Box 1706, SWAKOPMUND
Job: Education Inspector based in Swakopmund
In such an age, it is easy for people to embrace more and more
change with little thought to eventual consequences or to resisting
change and keeping old values no matter what.Educational
philosophers, regardless of the particular theory they embrace,
suggest that the solution to our problems can best be achieved
through critical and reflective thinking.In one basic sense, we can
say that the philosophy of education is the application of
philosophical ideas to educational problems.We can also say with
equal force that the practice of education leads to a refinement of
philosophical ideas.From this point of view, educational philosophy
is not only a way of looking at ideas but also of learning how to
use them in the best way.When educators do things simply because
they were done in the past, there is no intelligent philosophy of
education involved.A philosophy of education becomes significant at
a point where educators recognise the need to think clearly about
what they are doing in the larger context of individual and social
development.It is interesting to note that many major philosophers
have written about education.This is probably because education is
such an integral part of life that it is difficult not to think
about it.Humans are not only tool-making beings but also 'educating
beings', since education has been closely connected with the
development of civilised beings in human history.Thinking about
life in general has often been viewed as a way of bringing a better
life into existence.The study of philosophy does not guarantee that
individuals will be better thinkers or educators, but it does
provide a valuable base to help us think more
clearly.Traditionally, the word philosophy has meant the pursuit of
wisdom.This does not imply that philosophy is the provider of
answers in the world; rather, it offers an avenue for serious
enquiry into ideas and traditions.Philosophers have been acute
observers of the human condition and have articulated their
observations in ways that are instructive.Educators are not only
aided by a careful and systematic approach to ideas that
philosophers have fostered, but they can also gain inspiration from
philosophy and develop insights into educational problems.While
educators may choose to disregard the philosophical approach to
problems - in doing so, they ignore a vital and important body of
knowledge or thought.One of the roles of philosophy has been to
examine critically the intellectual tools of any given era.Another
role has been to suggest alternative methods of thinking.Still
another has been to develop sensitivity to the logic and language
we use in constructing solutions to problems in education and
society.It is possible to trace the history of ideas by tracing the
development of philosophical thought, and the history of philosophy
reflects some of humanity's best thinking, our collective wisdom,
so to speak.It could be said that to think philosophically is to
reflect upon who we are, what we are doing, why we are doing it,
and how we justify all these things.Education is involved with both
the world of ideas and the world of practical activity - good ideas
can lead to good practices, and good practices can lead to good
ideas.In order to behave intelligently in the educational process,
the educator needs the things philosophy can provide - that is, an
understanding of thinking processes and the nature of ideas, the
language we use to describe education and how these may interact
with practical affairs.For the educator, philosophy is not simply a
professional tool but a way of improving the quality of life
because it helps us gain a wider and deeper perspective on human
existence and the world around us.In spite of the depth of thought
it provides, philosophy does not appeal to many people because
philosophers disagree and there are no clear-cut answers to
philosophical problems.However, too often than not, it is from such
disagreement that the search for new social, political, economic,
religious, and educational systems have developed.One can find
philosophical disagreements on practically every issue.It may be
that those who look upon disagreement as a negative factor and
prefer clear-cut answers overlook important concerns about the
development of civilisation - that is, if there had been no
disagreement about ideas, purposes, and methods, we would probably
still be in the Stone Age.Disagreement has often brought about
change and it still continues to do so.Many differences in
educational viewpoints have arisen because of the changes that have
occurred in society.We know that social development often
necessitates changes of both viewpoint and behaviour.Of course,
this will probably always go on.It would be gratifying if all
educational changes we have today resulted from people reflectively
examining issues and clarifying directions.But we know that this is
usually not the case.Many past events that affected social and
cultural developments were largely out of human control, and
although people often tried to study the changes, they had little
control over developments.Even more to the point, many social and
cultural changes that could have been controlled have wrecked havoc
in history.Consequently, much philosophising in the historical
context was done after the fact - and events ran their own
capricious course.However, as people sought to develop more control
over social forces through education, they were faced with the
problem of dealing with control in some direction.This has led to
questions of whether or not the controls do more harm than good.For
example, today we can systematically control individuals and groups
to some extent through psychological conditioning in the
educational process, but whether such control is good or bad is
debatable.Thus the need arises for philosophers to examine the
value of controls to uncover the basic assumptions behind those
controls and to study the values involved in human life.One concern
when dealing with philosophy is that people come to it looking for
the answers to debatable issues, and when they fail to find them,
they reject philosophy in the same way a spoiled child might reject
a parent who does not have all the answers to its problems.A tragic
error is made in rejecting philosophies because they are old or
because they are difficult to understand.Practically everything we
do in education reflects some point of view.That view may not be
readily apparent to the learner, parent or teacher.It may be that
the point of view is unclear, or a loose collection of ideas, all
lumped together without much logic and coherence.What is needed in
such cases, is clarification and sorting out.But because many
teachers lack skill with the tools that promote clarification, they
continue to drift aimlessly in a sea of rhetoric and patchwork
panaceas.Indeed, there does seem to be a deep-seated feeling of
drift today and much of the drift of modern education attests to
this aimlessness.Attempts to solve this problem often result in a
chaotic jumble of programs and superficial bickering among
ideological camps."Practical" educators assume we should throw out
philosophy and get on with the task at hand.The problem with a
"practical" outlook is that its advocates approach educational
problems with the same old attitudes and remedies.That outlook
itself is a "theory", a set of assumptions for which the last word
is yet to be spoken.I come to the conclusion, derived from my
arguments in this text, that educators - like everyone else - are
caught up in their own humanity.There is no certainty with regard
to all facets of life in any known approach to education, for the
perfect approach is yet to be invented.We are therefore left with
the necessity to think about what we do, to attempt to reason out
and justify our actions so that they are coherent, meaningful, and
directed toward desirable educational ends.This is the challenge
for the educational sector!Austin, M. Samupwa
P O Box 1706, SWAKOPMUND
Job: Education Inspector based in Swakopmund