Thanks Graham,
I totally agree that education should be values driven. The question of
the worthwhileness of some of the 'learning' which goes on in schools may
be a bit more difficult to address.
Many educational philosophers have attempted to argue the value and merits
of some forms of curricular content, or learning, over others (most
notably R. S. Peters). I am no philosopher, although I have to say that
they often seem to miss the reality of the situation of schools (but I
suppose that is your point about the difference between schooling and
education). I would prefer to recognise that it is impossible to separate
schooling and education and that educational philosophers have done the
education process a great disservice by considering the two to be discrete
for the purposes of uncluttered argument.
For myself, I believe we should be guided by that knowledge which is
important to pass on our existing culture (cultural transference); that
knowledge (knowing that and knowing how) which enables people to
contribute to society; that knowledge which allows children an opportunity
to develop as individuals with a sense of self-worth and a compassion,
empathy and respect for their fellow human beings, living things and their
environment; and finally, the knowledge that we are all part of a changing
world and change is something which should be enjoyed and that we each
have it within ourselves to innovate and make a difference to the world
the inhabit. Even if that difference is only recognised by those in their
direct contact. I think the notion of systems thinking helps here to
recognise that these aspects, I won't call them forms, of knowledge are
inextricably related.
I suppose my main point is that we have to recognise the complexity of the
educational process. To recognise the fact that we cannot control
everything which happens in a school, whether we are talking about the
classroom or the playground. What we can do is share our purpose with as
many people as we can. By engaging in that sharing process in a conscious
and deliberate manner I have experienced the pleasure to be gained by
seeing things change for the better
Schooling can be education, just as education can be schooling. The
problem has been that schooling has for too long been seen to be
synonymous with a bureaucratic, mechanistic organization (the antithesis
of a 'learning' organization) , where the organization (a monolithic
structure) takes precendence over the people who inhabit it. What I
would like to see, and I don't know if we can achieve it, is to create a
'school' where learning, which is values (oops! I almost said value)
driven, is the predominant feature. The key elements in such a school
would be in collaboratively identifying the values which would drive the
school and the subsequent behaviour which would address these needs.
I have two questions.
If schools have to reflect society's values in order to become learning
organizations, is it possible for a profitable business to be a learning
organization yet not adhere to a moral code of conduct? (I am not
referring to criminal activity here)
Do businesses have anything to learn from schools, or is it all a one way
process?
All the best
Don Ledingham
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>