How Do We Have Conversations About Improving Education?
Truth, Context, and the Politics of Education
Today, I am thinking about truth and context. When I think about the first item, it is a new experience for me. What is the truth? Do I know any truths? Is it possible to teach any truths, or is it all simply propaganda? It is interesting to ask this question as I have not considered it before today. You see, I recently discovered that 1) there is a Philosophy of Education journal, and 2) it is free to read! I believe reading this new Journal would be good for me to explore new ideas. However, this first article I selected to read got me thinking about the profound difficulties this discussion on truth and context presents for the goals of curricular policy. How do we decide what to teach or what policy to implement if we can’t settle on truth?
I guess all we have at the end of the day is consensus. Even as we struggle against authoritarianism, consensus matters. This is where - and it feels strange to say this after so many years of learning and teaching - truth is ironed out. Perhaps, though, this is how I have always felt. Currently, I am pursuing studies in education policy as it is discussed through the lens of a school of public affairs, which is notably different from the frame of a school of education. While schools of education teach students to be comfortable with dissonance and gray areas, schools of public affairs seem not to consider grey areas a possibility. It bothers me that in my current studies and conversations, we try to pin ourselves down when the world is too complex for such black-and-white thinking. There is too much gray in the world to make a final determination. Now, to argue with myself, can we actually learn anything close to the truth without making a claim and then opening that claim up to scrutiny and debate? Can we make a claim without believing it simply to test it, or must we accept it as truth first? Something interesting to consider.
Now, to the second point that I began this article with: context. Any discussion on truth relies on the context. While I have always considered context in my reflections on policy, it was while reading McLaughlin & Ruby’s 2021 chapter on education reform that I noted how complex context is and how little it is regarded in critical discussions of reform. When considering critical discussions, especially related to reforms, we must consider the history, risks, resources, political views, economic aspirations, beliefs, values, and social opinions of the community a reform will affect. This got me thinking: If change and reform and their success rely on context, then is it possible to change the context? Is it moral or ethical to even consider this question? This feels like the conversation on framing issues I recently read about. If the success or failure of a reform effort depends on context, then how do we shift the context, or should we even consider a shift in context? Maybe context provides the necessary platform for the back-and-forth that is necessary to develop clarity, even if that pursuit of clarity slows the process down.
I also think of the capitalist context in which our education system sits, which dictates that everything is a good to be bought and sold. Is there a way to liberate the education system from the limiting bounds of the “free” market? Is the free market the only frame through which we are now allowed to view education? This question is fair, as profit does not determine happiness or fulfillment. In fact, profit may not accomplish anything without the accompanying support of the capitalist system provided by governments and communities.
Ultimately, my thoughts lead to my core belief that the purpose of education is to develop individual humans. This leads to this question: How do we educate in any way that focuses on liberal arts, humanities, and social capital in our current context and framing? Maybe it is not possible to do so. Somehow, then, we must find a way to change the context of the country - our societal underpinnings - to recognize the values beyond those the market applies to education. Is this possible with so many having bought into a strict mindset of authority and free markets? There must be a way.
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