Toward an Ethics for Being Educated
ABSTRACT: The regulative ideal of being educated is construed through features associated with the conduct and aspirations of faculty in higher education. These features include autonomy of mind and its presuppositions in self-knowledge and ability to inquire. These features as well cover having the identity of an educated person, implying evaluation of the products of the mind in logic and language, motivation to maintain an education, and the deep convictions and attitudes characteristic of the academic, humanist, and scientist. Finally, these features encompass knowing how to apply professional methods in reading and evaluating professional literature, identifying what is potentially educative,
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As there are differing school programs and educational doctrines there would be differing accounts of being educated. Diversity of educational institutions indicates that being educated could involve possessing one of a number of differing collections of knowledges, beliefs, personality attributes, and skills.
In light of this reality, the question, "What are the common attributes which all educated persons share?" is hardly answerable in an interesting and detailed way. Few characteristics seem to be common to all educated persons that make them such. Even general attributes like being literate and knowledgeable appear to be contradicted by the sort of educational program that is task oriented and devoid of book learning. The second sense is, then, beholden to whatever the writers of educational programs make of it.
The third sense is the regulative ideal of being an educated person. The ideal is unclear, in that, its understanding is shaped by differing doctrinal commitments, orientations in educational theory, and traditions. A version of the ideal specifies perfections which perhaps no one could fulfill. Each version, however, presents criteria which can be used to regulate conduct directed toward its realization. In this respect, it is much like the ideal of honesty. Opinions vary about what counts as honesty. Divergence of opinion is founded in differing ethical systems or moral philosophies. On any of its conceptions perhaps no
In “The Poet of Our Dreams: The Real Meaning of Education,” David James discusses defining an educated person. He strongly believes that no one has the same definition due to individual differences in religion, ethnicity, gender, nationality, geography, culture, and many more factors. James identified many issues that often surface in education today including: should sex education be infused into the curriculum, are values appropriate in an academic environment, and if technology should take precedence over books. These problems he believes are due to lack of consensus and preference will always win out. No matter what the case is, we as individuals are given the responsibility to define our own lives and have different strengths and weaknesses,
Education should not only be looked at as attending college and passing exams to succeed in school. Nevertheless, it should be seen as the complete development of one's personality, intellectual development, and moral evolution. The system tells everyone to learn the same material, even if the students are bored and even if they’re sleeping during class. In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto states, “teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subject and clearly weren’t interested in learning” (Gatto). This shows the teachers and the students disconnect from the context because either it’s irrelevant or not being taught in inspiring ways. I believe an educated person should at least have some background knowledge for a job
Choices can make or break us depending on what we do. That is what Jon Spayde attempts to convey to his audience in his 1998 Unte Reader article, “What Does it Mean to Be Educated?” He goes through many examples and arguments that could possible answer this “surprisingly tricky and two-sided question” (Spayde paragraph 1). Although the actual arguments he poses throughout his article, he uses the rhetorical devices – ethos, pathos and logos, to get his readers to accept his purpose.
What does it mean to be well educated? To be well educated it is a balance between academics and practical knowledge. Throughout this paper I will show that one does not necessarily need a college degree to be deemed as well educated. I will explore both aspects of academics and practical knowledge and how it affects individuals.
Education is the most vital part of man’s existence. The concept of education started in the ancient days and continues to the modern age. Education has existed before this current age, but modern education has been labeled as the most significant part of any possible profession. This assumption is not making waves in the United States of America only, but in the whole world wide. Despite the unique and distinct languages that exist throughout the world, young and developing minds still seek education and new knowledge as technology keeps changing. Education is the backbone and the platform in which we build and develop our own unique ideas that has become
To determine if a person is considered to be an educated person, we must first know the definition of an educated person. The definition of an educated person is someone who can, “Listen, hear, read, understand, talk with anyone, write clearly, persuasively, and movingly, can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems, they respect rigor not so much for its own sake but as a way of seeking truth, they practice humility, tolerance and self-criticism, they understand how to get things done in the world, they nurture and lastly, they empower the people around them. Education is an endless growth through trials and experiences as stated by Eleanore Hanrahan, from “Seeking My Education,” out of the novel, “Criteria.” In order to claim a proper education I believe one must make independent decisions, balance life well, take opportunities, push through failure, and step beyond the normal measures of life by experience. Going to college is a significant change for many.
Starting and stating what education is? It is the process of effective learning with developing new skills, values and many natural habits. These methods of effective learning include discussion training and research. It further leads to a process of step by step learning and particularly about higher education which is one of the most important learning block in education. This critique would be comprising of a study on some factors like economic modelling. And whether education claims can really be reliable, and are these transparent. How investing in higher education pays back. With the use of different modes of persuading models significantly ethos, pathos and logos. Majorly discussing Logos as a tool to simulate the logical facts and argument. However,
Academic ethics are the moral codes or the shared standards of an academic enterprise and the core of its success (Occidental College, 2016). Basically, academic ethics require each student, to be honest, responsible, fair, respectful, give credit where it is due, turn in their original work, and etc. (Michigan State University, n.d.). Academic integrity requires students to do their own work without unauthorized help from others, cheating, lying, plagiarizing, and stealing (Valdosta State University, 2016). Academic integrity is important because it shows that the student is trustworthy and honest enough to do his or her own work, whether someone is looking or not. “Learning how to express original ideas, cite sources, work independently, and report results accurately and honestly are skills that carry students beyond their academic careers” (Michigan State University, n.d., para. 2).
Save the world on your own by Stanley Fish provides some valuable arguments about methods of education. Fish interprets some of the best universities techniques of education and provide a new concept or idealist way in his own point of view. Most of the universities’ mission statement has nothing to do with the universities’ role towards society. The interference of political, moral, and ethical views during the course of education affects a student’s beliefs and ideologies. Fish believes that the techniques of evaluating ideologies is what a student should be learning, rather than building a belief on a teacher’s point of view for example. Fish’s solution was not abandoning political issues in class, but adapting to the issues on an academic hand rather than always evaluating opinions overheard everywhere. The technique or way he is trying to approach is called “academicizing” the course of education. The analyzing of Fish’s argument follows the Toulmin argument technique, which contains of claim, reason, qualifier, warrant, backing and rebuttal.
When education is replaced with credentialing, Jane Jacobs is correct in believing that something is lost. To understand what is lost, philosophers should examine the relationship, especially the differences, between credentialing and education and the role authenticity, as defined by Charles Taylor, plays in both. While the focus on credentialing remains, education and authenticity will be incompatible with each other. The act of going to post-secondary educational institutions can be seen as an act of conformation because that is what most people do to get a job, which goes against the moral ideal of self-fulfillment. Furthermore, a loss of personal relationships in an attempt to further one's career does not allow an individual to discover
Education is an activity we all feel that we know something about, having had personal and direct experience of it. Education has become a large industry employing many hundreds of thousands of people in Britain alone. It is supposedly an important part of ensuring future economic development yet it also imposes a major financial cost. Education plays a central role in society and also in all of our lives. So education is a very complex set of
Technically education consists of well-defined segments preliminary starting from formal/ professional education and in an ideal world it never ends. As Sydney J. Harris American journalist Quotes “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows”. Education brings about the change in physical, mental and social development of an individual develops insight and beliefs about the purpose of education, conveys strength to one's sentiments, and widens the perceptions and leading to a healthier attitude of viewing at realism. In the words of Bill Beattie, one of the famous authors and writers “The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.” Education is answerable for the enhancement of a cultured civilization and makes individuals of society self-sufficient. One of the views about education is that education supports at creating good teachers. Today is the world where we are passing through a great changeover. The old ways of teaching learning process is found to be obsolete. A superior prospect of psychological belief is being truly required. In the above statement prospective it is important to have ethical standards setup for education in order to channelize the best possible knowledge to the students,
Education can be defined as a learning process in which a student and a teacher are involved. The work of the teacher is to pass on the message to the student while the student understands and applies what has been taught. It is also considered as a process of developing skills, knowledge and character of an individual. Education, whether formal or informal, has a function both to the individual and the society, these functions are either manifest or latent. There is a distinction between the manifest and latent functions in that the manifest functions are those that are intended whereas the latter are the unintended functions (Douglas, 2003).
On that account, in the last analysis, it must be decided only with reference to those tasks which the individual, according to his own set of values, assigns to the universities. Those who on the basis of their qualifications as university teachers assign to the universities, and thereby to themselves, the universal role of forming character, of inculcating political, ethical, aesthetic, cultural or other beliefs, will take a different position from those who believe it necessary to affirm the proposition and its implications – that university teaching achieves really valuable effects only through specialised training by specially qualified persons. Hence, “intellectual integrity” is the only specific virtue which universities should seek to inculcate.
Since the beginning of education there have been many forms, which have been passed on from one generation to the next. Over the years education has evolved and is now seen as the education system all over the world. Today the education system is seen to be much more complex, but it still involves notions that have been around since the beginning of success, achievement and participation. Not only do these three aspects continue to contribute to the success of