The Hunt for Humanism and Education

Is the education system that we know today broken?

                         What makes a good education? 

What makes a bad education?

My oldest sister is a big proponent of home school. In High School I spent a lot of time with her and we listened to a lot of recorded lectures, including one entitled "The 4 lost American Ideals" by Oliver DeMille who is a big proponent of a Thomas Jefferson Education. Although I can't find it online, here is a video with a brief overview of their thoughts:

This basically says that you shouldn't worry about the institution of education, but instead focus on learning. This involves delving into topics that inspire you and students will direct their own learning while teachers become only mentors who provide some direction, but mostly encouragement and support.

While it is an ideal that a lot of us can probably agree on, I have seen how home schooling has worked out for my sister. Instead of providing more knowledge, the time that they spend at home is mostly spent on games online and avoiding books and are at times socially awkward. So although the ideal sounds great, how does one actually put this into practice?

Another discussion topic is from a Ted talk video as seen in Tech-Tock. It makes the argument that education as we know it today produces lots of pre-packaged robots, full of information and that in order to actually learn we have to break out of the box, utilize the power of groups, etc.

While pondering this conundrum, I read about the idea of Humanism. Humanism is a method of learning that involves mastering classics to make its students better socially and to provide practical skills in government. Humanists of the Renaissance, like Erasmus, felt that through mastery of the Greek texts one could not only expand their intelligence, but their economic return.

However, even Humanism had it's problems. Guarino Guarini, a famous humanist who started his own school, is quoted in his speeches to incoming students and their parents that through their education they can have hope for their future and become better students. In reality, much of this education was strict and required rote memorization and recitation which led to more obedient, docile, and passive students. In addition, women's right to education was diminished as they were expected to stay at home and be content with matters of the house.

The challenge then, is not necessarily thinking of the best way to teach, but in the practical application of the said education. That's what I'm hoping to gain from this class, a chance to not just memorize, but to delve into topics that will cultivate, entertain, and challenge me.

So here's to APPLICATION.