William Heard Kilpatrick 1871 1965 by Dr. Rauno Huttunen

1. William Heard Kilpatrick(1871 – 1965)by Dr. Rauno Huttunen William Heard Kilpatrick was a US American pedagogue and a pupil, a colleague and a successor of John Dewey. Kilpatrick was born in White Plains, Georgiawith and orthodox upbringing and was educated at Mercer University and Johns Hopkins University where he later became a mathematics teacher at High School and at Mercer University. He first met John Dewey in 1898 and again met him in 1907. Kilpatrick decided to make philosophy of education his specialty and occupied all courses by Dewey. From this developed a cooperation, which persisted up to Dewey's death in 1952. Like Dewey Kilpatrick believe in democracy and democratic education. Kilpatrick created the concept of indoctrination in its pejorative meaning. In Middle Ages verb indoctrinare meant effective education that is effective way to teach doctrines of Catholic Christianity. Kilpatrick defined indoctrination as inducing uncritical belief and prejudice building.

2. ”The term indoctrination just used demands a word of explanation. The word means, literally, implanting doctrines. When such implanting on an uncritical basis was the common practice of the school, and indeed one of its principal aims, to indoctrinate and to teach came to be diverse ways of describing the same process… But with development of democracy… it was increasingly felt that education could no longer be content with inducing uncritical belief, but must instead develop responsible thinking on the part of all as a necessary preparation for democratic living and citizenship and an unpredictable future.” Kilpatrick: Indoctrination and respect for persons

3. ”The education thus far discussed is an designed to free the whole personality of the learner for the fullest living, for the best and mostr independent exercise of all his powers, for the control of his own destiny. This alone we have counted true respect for the personality… it might be said that a condition of inner slavery is the worst kind of slavery; such an individual has no wish to change his status, he even fights against his true freedom. To aid the individual, then, to the fullest use of his powers, to fullest intelligent and responsible self-direction and effectiveness, is to give the greatest possible respect to his personality.” Kilpatrick: Indoctrination and respect for persons

4. ”That democarcy must refuse and reject indoctrination in this prejudice-building sense would seem beyond question. Where competent opinion differs as to what to believe, for parents and teachers to take advantage if the child’s ignorance and docility to fasten in him beyond recall their own chosen views IS TO ENSLAVE THIS CHILD to those who thus teach him. Democarcy and a proper respect for the child’s personality must reject such enslavement as partisan exploitation of the individual’s right to be educated to do his own thinking and make his own decisions.” Kilpatrick: Indoctrination and respect for persons

5. ”The child’s education cannot not wait until he is mature enough to think for himself. We have to begin from first. Does this not force indoctrination upon us? Possible some indoctrination is thus inevitable with younger children, but even in the case the ultimate intent should be to the contrary. For example, we will wokr as best we can rto build tha habit of truhtfulness in young child, adn we must begin this before he can understand why lying is a bad social habit. But as soon as we can and as fast as we can, we lead him to see the social reasons for truhtfulness.”

6. ”It does, however, seem a specific duty of school to recognize that the existing social order demands a certain amount of continual remaking, adn the school accordingly has correlative duty to have the young study, suitable for their age, the strengths and weaknesses of our civilations. And no custom or institution, however cherished, can claim exemption from such study and criticism. This means th free and untrammeled study of all pertinent controversial issues.”

7. ”While agreeing that indoctrination in other matters is wrong, some still feel that the case for democracy is different; for it we should indoctrinate… To indoctrinate a belief in democracy without including the reasons for democarcy, and without building ability to think critically about it, is to make blindfolded adherents of democracy… such indoctrination would make blind dogmatists of democracy, quite unfit to carry on the democratic process in a changing civilation. That way lies fanatism.”

8. ”Under the influence of the Enlightenment and democracy, we began to see that to fix beliefs indelibly in the child is to enslave him to his teachers. In the degree that the child cannot, or will not, later re-examine such early implanted beliefs is he unable to think and decide for himself… And any teaching which does not expect to upbuild in him, as fast as he can manage it, the tendency and capacity to think for himself, is to that extent failing to respect his personality and specifically, to help him build the character needed for democracy.”