Educators love Abraham Maslow for his hierarchy of needs. Maslow wrote a book, Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, that has this line in it:
"Education must be seen as at least partially an effort to produce the good human being, to foster the good life and the good society."
I've said earlier that morality is the root of education, according to Chu Hsi. Maslow in the 20th century echoed what Chu said in the 12th century.
We can learn much about education from the ancient Chinese.
Robert
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Education and the Arts
Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, delivered this commencement speech at Stanford on June 17, 2007: "Trade easy pleasures for more complex and challenging ones."
Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:
"What is the defining difference between passive and active citizens? Curiously, it isn't income, geography, or even education. It depends on whether or not they read for pleasure and participate in the arts. These cultural activities seem to awaken a heightened sense of individual awareness and social responsibility."
"Art delights, instructs, consoles. It educates our emotions."
and
"Art awakens, enlarges, refines, and restores our humanity."
I highly recommend you read his entire speech. It is relatively short and and very thoughtful. You cannot be interested in education without being interested in culture: both nurture our humanity.
Robert
Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:
"What is the defining difference between passive and active citizens? Curiously, it isn't income, geography, or even education. It depends on whether or not they read for pleasure and participate in the arts. These cultural activities seem to awaken a heightened sense of individual awareness and social responsibility."
"Art delights, instructs, consoles. It educates our emotions."
and
"Art awakens, enlarges, refines, and restores our humanity."
I highly recommend you read his entire speech. It is relatively short and and very thoughtful. You cannot be interested in education without being interested in culture: both nurture our humanity.
Robert
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Educational Philosophy
At a political meeting when I ran for school board last year I was asked to describe my educational philosophy in 2 minutes or less. I have a very detailed description of my educational philosophy at my website dedicated to education.
Two minutes? That's just a bullet. I had not thought to boil down my educational philosophy to a bullet or two. What I said extemporaneously at the meeting was, "morality is the root of education." That is a quote from Chu Hsi.
Lately I've thought of elaborating the plant analogy. Confucius said we should study for our own sake, which means to fulfill our potential. I've also thought about the qualities in society that are valued by Confucianism. Here is a fuller bulletized version of my educational philosophy:
Morality is the root of education.
Developing citizens to their full potential is the body of education.
And the fruits of education are culture, justice, peace, and prosperity.
Education is less about skills and knowledge than about people and society. Skills and knowledge are indispensible. They might be milestones on the journey of life, but a milestone is not a destination.
With this as an educational philosophy we can see our education is never finished.
Robert
Two minutes? That's just a bullet. I had not thought to boil down my educational philosophy to a bullet or two. What I said extemporaneously at the meeting was, "morality is the root of education." That is a quote from Chu Hsi.
Lately I've thought of elaborating the plant analogy. Confucius said we should study for our own sake, which means to fulfill our potential. I've also thought about the qualities in society that are valued by Confucianism. Here is a fuller bulletized version of my educational philosophy:
Morality is the root of education.
Developing citizens to their full potential is the body of education.
And the fruits of education are culture, justice, peace, and prosperity.
Education is less about skills and knowledge than about people and society. Skills and knowledge are indispensible. They might be milestones on the journey of life, but a milestone is not a destination.
With this as an educational philosophy we can see our education is never finished.
Robert
Friday, November 23, 2007
When Will the Experts Learn?
The New York Times Magazine ran an article by Ann Hulbert, "What Every Child Needs." The article presents another way to spend money on education: universal pre-kindergarten education.
The idea is not new. Rob Reiner has pushed it for years. Here's a link to an article about how he was in Pennsylvania back in 2001 promoting it.
I keep hoping that the so-called experts will one day stumble across the solution to the education problem. Here is the solution, in a simple 3 point plan: family, family, and family.
1. The family needs to make it clear to the children that their education is important.
2. The family needs to actively help the children with school work and scholastic activities: helping them learn math facts and reading, for example.
3. The family needs to work with the teachers in a team effort to help their children succeed in school. Parents must be supportive of the teachers.
You could spend a million dollars in one year to educate a child, but if that child knows the parents do not believe in education, that money will accomplish nothing.
I keep hoping that some day the experts will wise up.
Robert
the article was in the Oct. 28, 2007 issue, page 11
The idea is not new. Rob Reiner has pushed it for years. Here's a link to an article about how he was in Pennsylvania back in 2001 promoting it.
I keep hoping that the so-called experts will one day stumble across the solution to the education problem. Here is the solution, in a simple 3 point plan: family, family, and family.
1. The family needs to make it clear to the children that their education is important.
2. The family needs to actively help the children with school work and scholastic activities: helping them learn math facts and reading, for example.
3. The family needs to work with the teachers in a team effort to help their children succeed in school. Parents must be supportive of the teachers.
You could spend a million dollars in one year to educate a child, but if that child knows the parents do not believe in education, that money will accomplish nothing.
I keep hoping that some day the experts will wise up.
Robert
the article was in the Oct. 28, 2007 issue, page 11
Saturday, November 10, 2007
How Do We Measure Progress in Education?
The Wall Street Journal, 11/7/07, ran an Op-Ed piece entitled, "Educational Rewards." I was surprised and disturbed. The authors were declaring a for-profit school superior to non-profit schools by saying the students were 6 months ahead of the public schools in Math and 2 months ahead in Reading. Interpreting these numbers as a success is over reaching.
What if the public schools are 2 years behind of where they ought to be? Then the for-profit schools are 18 months behind. And how do you measure exactly where students should be on a month by month basis? Do they all work from the exact same curriculum? And who says the curriculum is any good anyway? The conclusions endorsed by these alleged experts are highly suspect.
The attitude of the authors makes them appear to have started with a conclusion, for-profit schools produce the best results, and then to have sifted data until they found some data, any data, to support their opinion.
The authors wrote, "...for-profit management will work anytime, and anywhere." The authors are biased. Who are they? Paul E. Peterson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, and Matthew M. Chingos, a research fellow at the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance. They sound like paid spokesmen for big business. I would say we cannot trust people from the Hoover Institute and from Harvard.
When I ran for school board I was disappointed that the people most interested in the election were people who hoped to get money from the school district (jobs or higher pay). American business is staggering from unbridled corruption that is costing the country untold billions in bankruptcies and losses from swindles. The last thing we all need is for crooks to get their hooks into the money intended for education.
We must be careful on how alleged experts measure progress in education. We must have the right goals for education. Making great progress in something meaningless is not real progress.
Robert
What if the public schools are 2 years behind of where they ought to be? Then the for-profit schools are 18 months behind. And how do you measure exactly where students should be on a month by month basis? Do they all work from the exact same curriculum? And who says the curriculum is any good anyway? The conclusions endorsed by these alleged experts are highly suspect.
The attitude of the authors makes them appear to have started with a conclusion, for-profit schools produce the best results, and then to have sifted data until they found some data, any data, to support their opinion.
The authors wrote, "...for-profit management will work anytime, and anywhere." The authors are biased. Who are they? Paul E. Peterson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, and Matthew M. Chingos, a research fellow at the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance. They sound like paid spokesmen for big business. I would say we cannot trust people from the Hoover Institute and from Harvard.
When I ran for school board I was disappointed that the people most interested in the election were people who hoped to get money from the school district (jobs or higher pay). American business is staggering from unbridled corruption that is costing the country untold billions in bankruptcies and losses from swindles. The last thing we all need is for crooks to get their hooks into the money intended for education.
We must be careful on how alleged experts measure progress in education. We must have the right goals for education. Making great progress in something meaningless is not real progress.
Robert
Monday, October 22, 2007
Bill Cosby's Book
Here's an article by Nancy Kruh in the Dallas Morning News: Kudos for Cosby. Cosby has a book out, "Come on People, on the Path from Victims to Victors". Ms. Kruh describes the book in her article.
There is a strong link between education and community support. I haven't read the book yet, but I have ordered it.
If you wonder why I have not posted in a while, that is because I've been going to a lot of base ball games and practices during my son's Fall base ball.
Robert
There is a strong link between education and community support. I haven't read the book yet, but I have ordered it.
If you wonder why I have not posted in a while, that is because I've been going to a lot of base ball games and practices during my son's Fall base ball.
Robert
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Educating our Children to be Better Leaders
Better leadership will be a by-product of the Winding Spring Process of Education. We have so many bad leaders now that America is in a Leadership Crisis. We do have some examples of good leaders: Army Lt. Col. Paul Yingling and Lynn Turner, and they exhibit Confucian leadership principles. Read more in this blog posting: "Paul Yingling, Lynn Turner, and Confucian Leadership"
Robert
Robert
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