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During an interview with public university faculty, I was asked, “What is your philosophy of education?” I smiled and said, “My philosophy of education is based on one word: Ownership. I have always wanted my students to own their beliefs for themselves.” My colleagues had not heard that response before. For my part, I have taught junior high through PhD courses. I have taught in Christian and public institutions. My answer to “Why I teach” is always the same: own your beliefs.
So it was with sadness that I read Zach Gottlieb’s article in the LA Times titled, “The Teenage Mind is Almost Closed.” Gottlieb calls out “cancel culture” and the lack of free speech in public education. Here is his conclusion.
I see teenagers unintentionally becoming more unforgiving and judgmental rather than open-minded and compassionate. When we can’t or don’t talk freely, we lose the chance to find real common ground, acknowledge complexity or grasp that even our own opinions can be malleable. If we listen only to those who already agree with us, we won’t make wider connections. We won’t grow.
It seems that instead of students getting to own their beliefs, teens are getting owned by someone else’s beliefs. You can read the essay for yourself with a link at the end of this Truth in Two. From the inception of my teaching, I have abided by the example set by the Bereans in Acts 17.11. There it says, “The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians because they went back to Scripture to see if what Paul said was so.” One of my many mantras has always been, “Don’t believe anything I tell you. Go search it out for yourself.” When students own their beliefs, they will be more responsible for their beliefs and practice their beliefs better. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found. [First published at MarkEckel.com]
Listen up. The closing of the teenage mind is almost complete - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Discussion (17)
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I find odd the use of "unintentionally becoming more unforgiving and judgmental" in the part quoted from Mr. Gottlieb. It has appeared to me that over the last couple of decades that, far from being unintentional, for many who have social power, and many who have gone into the "education" field, the objective has been to foster unforgiveness and judgmentalism. To enforce on students and younger people before their minds are fully formed the concept that for any issue there is always one right view and only one right view. To insist it is their duty to be unforgiving and judgmental toward anyone with a different view.
Today's culture of unforgiveness and judgmentalism makes any of the caricatures of an "intolerant" Church of the Middle Ages look mild in comparison.
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Isn't that 'unintentionally' part and parcel of what we mean when we say that education today is actually 'indoctrination'?
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@BobThompson your comment hits the mark. And here is where I would lay the responsibility for that word choice at the feet of the school (to your point about "indoctrination"). Students are producing the end result of top-down direction from educational institutions. Thanks for your good word here.
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Think how bad the education was for the vast majority of people teaching K-12 nowadays. They can’t pass on what they don’t know.
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I also can guarantee that the people passing on this sort of unyielding dogma preach about teaching “critical thinking”.
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