The Purposes of Education: Democracy and the Good Life…

1. The Purposes of Education: Democracy and the Good Life… Dr. Jason Price Candidate for School Trustee District 63 Saanich

2. Why Invest in Education? Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” - Aristotle “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”- Derek Bok "

3. Meaning of Education? • The etymological Latin roots of “education” is E + ducere: “To lead or draw out.” • “Education is the process by which one mind forms another mind, and one heart, another heart." - Jules Simon

4. Competing Understandings of Education? “It would not be a sign of health if such an important social interest as education were not also an arena of struggles, practical and theoretical. . .” Dewey 1938

5. Education: The Multiversity • Education does not have a single purpose; it serves multiple objectives, and the relative importance of each of these objectives can be very personal.  The varied emphasis is a result of the diverse economic, social, spiritual, cultural, and political realities of our individual/collective lives. 

6. The Purpose of Education: The Price Position • This presentation takes the position that the purpose of education is to enable individuals to reach their full potential as human beings and as active and participating members of sustainable communities/societies

7. Education, Democracy and Happiness “Education is about the production of more democracy, production of peace, production of happiness…” Dr. Jason Price, Globe and Mail, Sept.10, 2010

9. Learning to Love and Live Wisdom? To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854), p. 12

10. Education and the Changing World, and Changing the World? • enable learner to become aware of, conscious of, conditions in life, in society, and to skills, knowledge and resources that empower them to plan and create change. • it reveals possibilities, the learner is able to discover the possibilities and then act on them

11. Education to Change the World “No matter what global problem you are dreading, whether it’s the elimination of poverty, whether it’s the creation of peace, whether its solving environmental energy problems, the solution- whatever it is- multiple solutions, the solutions always include education, never is it without an education component and sometimes cannot be done without education.” Nicholas Negroponte

12. Transcendent Education? "It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our own time — for we are bound by that — but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time.“ - T. S. Eliot

13. Critical Education for Rich and Thick Democracy? Fair minded Open minded Generous Flexible Concerned about evidence, and example Respects inherent curiosity

14. Education for Interconnection? “Education is the preparation of the individual for reciprocal union with society; the preparation of the individual so that he can help his fellow-men and in return receive and appreciate their help." - W. T. Harris

15. Education, the Good Life and Moral Life “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” M.L. King

16. Education is… Worth every cent invested! Full funding of schools in BC is long overdue. It is time that all BC citizens match the selfless investment of our teachers in restoring class size limits and support services to our schools.