Related to our series on Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian Perspective (Paul D. Spears and Steven R. Loomis, InterVarsity Press, 2009),* below is an email I received regarding the purpose of education. Agree/disagree? Thoughts/reactions? The purpose of education is to learn how to learn, some say. ... I'd say, to learn how to teach yourself. ... The teacher is a coach to assist in the process. ..."Dead Poets Society" and other movies picture the teacher as this mother bird throwing out worms to hungry … [Read more...] about The Purpose of Education
Education for Human Flourishing
Lost in a Blizzard of Hidden Persuaders?
Find yourself in blizzard conditions as you reflect upon the larger structure of education, but can't quite figure out why or the proper direction for next steps? In Chapter 4: The Information Economy of Education, Paul D. Spears and Steven R. Loomis move from tracing several important knowledge traditions vital to Christian thought and indispensable to a complete education ... [to] an exercise in the ontology of education as a social institution. -- Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian Perspective.* … [Read more...] about Lost in a Blizzard of Hidden Persuaders?
Justified True Belief
After rattling the reader's cage by exploring Have you been properly educated?, Paul D. Spears and Steven R. Loomis argue: Most of the abilities that we associate with knowledge in the educational field turn out to be mostly a capacity to recite. ... As humans we are constantly engaged in mental activities. We constantly access and categorize everything around us. We experience the world around us and we have beliefs about the world, some of which are true and some of which are false. We justify our ideas … [Read more...] about Justified True Belief
Have you been properly educated?
Educational standards are the foundation of the modern educational endeavor. Statements about educational success imply standards. Measuring whether or not students are being properly educated involves testing them in particular subjects with its prescribed set of grade-appropriate standards that they must meet or exceed (Paul D. Spears and Steven R. Loomis. Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian Perspective.* InterVarsity Press, 2009. p.100). The battery of standardized tests which Spears and Loomis go onto … [Read more...] about Have you been properly educated?
Philosophical influence upon educational theory
In Chapter 2 of Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian Perspective* (InterVarsity Press, 2009), Paul D. Spears and Steven R. Loomis draw attention to the importance of foundational categories and philosophical thinkers for the development of educational theory. Furthermore, they argue modern educational theory, influenced by modern philosophy, has led to some of the pitfalls of our prestigious institutions of higher education (p.71). Spears and Loomis begin Chapter 2 with these comments: Educators are … [Read more...] about Philosophical influence upon educational theory