Sophie Bowie

What does it mean to be well educated?

EDEC 260 001

November 17th, 2013

To be well educated means to have a good understanding of the knowledge and

skills necessary to maintain ones way of life in a humane manner. There are a plethora of
different lifestyles some of them more common during certain times or in certain
places. Each of these lifestyles place more value on certain things than on others; for
example, Western societies place a much higher value on the knowledge of academics as
opposed to that of spiritual ceremonies. In our society, the amount and quality of formal
education that one has had in other words, a persons certifiable qualifications bears a
large amount of significance. For instance, if someone were to renounce school and be a
garbage man, our society would automatically place much less value on them even if
they had an abundance of knowledge that helped them to be exceptionally good at their
trade. On the other hand, the Mohawk clans in the 1500s would not place any value
whatsoever on what we consider to be formal education. To them, being able to cultivate
was one of the most important assets a person could have. To put this in perspective, a
present day businessman in Montreal would not be too impressed if someone came into a
job interview saying that they were an expert at picking berries. This is my philosophy of
education: gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in your environment and
society; hence, each society even each individual person has a different definition of
what it means to be smart, and what it means to be well educated.
In Alfie Kohns article What does it mean to be well educated? he states that
there is a paradox concerning what we define as smart or well educated. He gives the
example of his wife her mind is extremely agile, yet she does not know certain facts,
such as the multiplication table or rules of grammar. It is therefore important to realize
that there are multiple ways for someone to be well educated: they can be professional

and credentialed, knowledgeable and skilled, or both. Whether or not someone is

considered to be well educated depends on who is doing the judging. Kohn poses an
interesting thought when examining the success of todays schools; he states that the
question How do we know if education has been successful? shouldnt be posed until
we have asked what its supposed to be successful at (Kohn, 2004, 2). In other words, is
the goal of formal education in our society to provide knowledge or credentials? (Kohn,
2004).
There are a number of problems with todays schools; some people go to school
but do not pay attention, and different people within society have different ideas about
what is considered to be essential knowledge hence, they do not agree about what
should be taught in school. Furthermore, the amount of seat time within the classroom,
the emphasis on memorization, the lack of job skills being taught, and the ways that
students are evaluated do not make any sense. Kohn believes that these things are what
schools use to give students qualifications and credentials, and that they should instead be
focusing on teaching students how to think. In addition, Kohn states that these
standardized measures used in schools can actually lower the academic achievement of
students, and make them think that learning can only occur inside of the classroom
when really, in harmony with my philosophy, it can happen anywhere, anytime (Kohn,
2004).
David Orrs philosophy of education as expressed in his article What is
education for? is synonymous with the philosophies of both Kohn and myself. Orr
points out that the Nazis were considered to be some of the best educated people in the
world, yet they still did incredibly unintelligent things. He also states that learning, in its

formal sense, does not create ethical people. Whether or not a student is able to memorize
dates does not make them any wiser; as a result of incomplete education, weve fooled
ourselves into thinking that we are much richer than we are (Orr, 1991, 4), and therefore
many people think that they are much smarter than they are this creates cultural
arrogance (Orr, 1991). For example, most educated people form the Western World
consider people who live in nomadic tribes in the more remote parts of the world to be
uneducated. This could not be farther from the truth, seeing as they are extremely
knowledgeable about what they need to do in order to thrive in their society. So, people
who come from different places, speak different languages, or have different values all
have different ideas about what they consider to be essential knowledge.
Essentialists believe that certain basic ideas, skills, and bodies of knowledge are
essential to human culture and civilization (Gutek, 2004, 263), and that these basics are
what should be taught in school. In the end, they want schools to create good, wellrounded citizens. They believe that education has to be relatively strict, and that
classroom instruction should be planned, deliberate, and efficient (Gutek, 2004, 264).
This classroom instruction should include the subjects of language, reading, writing,
history, science, and math. When American students were tested on these subjects, it was
found that they failed to achieve certain standards and had weak academic achievement
compared to that of students in other countries, even though there was an increased
amount of money being spent on education. There was also an increase in crime rates.
The Essentialists believe that all of this is due to the fact that Progressivism is much less
strict and has lower academic standards. The Essentialists believe that school should be
strictly academic, and therefore wish to fix this in order to achieve their goal of passing

on societys culture through the education of young people by teaching intellectual

disciplines in schools. They believe that these intellectual disciplines should be
introduced in elementary school to prepare students for the more detailed view of the
disciplines that they will eventually learn in high school. Furthermore, the Essentialists
support the No Child Left Behind Act, in which specific students or schools that are not
preforming as well as the others are given extra help (Gutek, 2004). I both agree and
disagree with the Essentialists philosophy of education. I agree that school should focus
on the academics that it is supposed to be teaching, and that students or schools that need
extra help should be given that support. However, the fact that the Essentialists are so
strict about upholding high academic achievement when compared to other countries
around the world goes to show that they have just as much fear about doing better than
others as students do which I shall discuss further in my critique of the Quebec
Education Program. Furthermore, seeing as my philosophy of education is, essentially,
about being a well-rounded individual who can thrive in society, the fact that Essentialists
believe that school should be strictly academic goes against my view of education.
Although schools should focus on academics, I believe that in order to be well educated
students must learn non-academic skills as well. These non-academic skills are typically
learned through various other outlets in life, however if a student is lacking one or more
of those outlets then they will automatically be left behind. Schools should therefore offer
non-academic assistance if, for example, a child lacks a stable home environment.
In Guteks article on Dewey and Pragmatism, he states, Deweys primary
concern is the relationship between society and education (Gutek, 1997, 93), and that
this relationship is further strengthened by people maturing within all aspects of their

culture. He believed that being able to successfully participate and interact with other
member of society is the key to being well educated. Additionally, the link that Dewey
draws between culture and education can be explained by his belief that education
conserves culture, yet the tools gained from education can also be used to change and
create culture; in other words, there is a reciprocal relationship between the two. In order
to be well educated, different groups within society must interact with each other and
share ideas to promote growth. This growth depends on societal change, nonconformity,
and human cooperation, seeing as a community is formed when people come together
because of things that they have in common. The link between society/culture and
education is so strong that Dewey had found that the quality of education varied as did
the quality of life experienced by the group that established and supported the school
(Gutek, 1997, 95). (Gutek, 1997).
Dewey not only stood for Pragmatism, but also for Experimentalism. He believed
that freedom, rather, required an open classroom environment and instructional attitude
that facilitated using experimental inquiry to examine and test beliefs and values (Gutek,
1997, 97). Consequently, if students are allowed to fail and experience consequences,
they become much better at teaching themselves seeing as education is a process of
continuously piecing together experiences. Dewey also thought that teachers should
guide their students as opposed to controlling them, and that learning cannot be
hypothetical; in order for true learning to occur, students must be genuinely interested in
what they are learning about the material being learned must somehow relate to their
interests and experiences (Gutek, 1997). In my experience, the material that was being
taught to me was always the most interesting if it related to the here and now. Seeing as I

have been within the confines of the QEP for the entirety of my education, I have noticed
that the material being taught to me was often to prepare for an unknown future date. I
remember inquiring about why I needed to learn about vectors in math class if all I
wanted to do was be an elementary school teacher, and my teacher did not have an
answer for me. I therefore wholeheartedly believe in Deweys view that instead of
waiting for some remote future date, students were to act on their interests and needs to
resolve present problems (Gutek, 1997, 99). Deweys philosophy of education is
synonymous with mine in that he does not focus on only one aspect of education, but
education as a whole in both its formal and informal sense. However, the QEPs
philosophy of education is not as interchangeable with mine as Deweys is.
The Quebec Education Program for preschool and elementary education has a
philosophy that emphasizes the importance of basic learning through the teaching of
specific subjects that are needed in order to succeed in later schooling. The QEP wants
elementary schools to be a place in which children can learn about their society and
culture, as well as learn about the world in which we live. The QEP asks teachers to
instruct their students in such a way that they can not only be socialized, but qualified as
well. This qualification can then aid them in their future contributions to society, in the
hopes that these contributions will improve and maintain that society (Quebec Education
Program, 2001).
The QEP for preschool and elementary education relates to my philosophy in such
a way that elementary students are being educated in order to thrive in our society.
However, the philosophy of the program only focuses on one aspect of our society:
school. Students have to be prepared for what lies ahead, but they also need to be

prepared for the non-academic aspects of their lives. In my experience, elementary was
similar to high school in the fact that it was about passing a test or doing well on an
assignment; however elementary school was a lot more fun. My teachers made an effort
to have positive relationships with my peers and I, and they were always trying to find
ways to make school not seem dull; they did this by doing crafts or playing games with
the class. Seeing as my philosophy of being well educated focuses on maintaining ones
way of life, I believe that my teachers could have taken a different approach. Students are
a lot more attentive if they are learning material that they are interested in, and interest
often comes from being able to relate to something. Therefore, in accordance with my
philosophy, I believe that students in elementary school should not only learn academic
skills, but life skills as well. In the 14 years that I have been in school, I have never
learned any life skills, such as: knowing how to cook a chicken as opposed to a turkey in
a convection oven, how to clean wood floors, how to change the oil in a car, etc. Learning
how to sustain myself and live a comfortable life was taught to me by my parents. I
consider myself to be relatively well educated, seeing as I know how to sustain my way
of life in my current society. However, I do not believe that elementary schools
exclusively create people who are well educated. I therefore need to expand my
philosophy of education; education cannot occur entirely in one place. Being well
educated must be learned through various outlets in life whether it is different people,
difference experiences, or different environments.
The philosophy of the Quebec Education Program for secondary cycle one
focuses on providing students with knowledge, empowerment, social skills, and
qualifications in an ever-changing knowledgeable world. The QEP also talks about

constructing identity and a world-view by focusing on essential knowledge and skills,

seeing as thoroughly learning material can be time-consuming (Quebec Education
Program, 2004). However, the QEP does not take into account that non-academic
material is also essential. As previously stated in my philosophy, in order for someone to
be well educated they must be able to thrive in their society and in order to thrive, one
must also survive. I therefore believe that in addition to academic knowledge, schools
should teach their students life skills to help them survive in their society.
As for the philosophy of the Quebec Education Program for secondary cycle two,
it is extremely similar to that of secondary cycle one they wish for their students to be
able to adapt in a changing world by providing them with instruction, socialization, and
qualifications (Quebec Education Program, 2007). Again, the QEP fails to recognize that
students must be provided with knowledge and skills related to things outside of the
workplace. Thus, school cannot be the sole provider of a well-rounded education. In
order to be well educated, one must learn from every life experience that occurs no
matter the learning environment.
There are two major handicaps that are present in all levels of the QEP:
homework and student evaluation. The QEP does not have any homework policies
whatsoever; they therefore leave it up to individual school boards, schools, and even
teachers to come up with their own policies. This can be problematic, because students
from different schools or different classrooms could be getting drastically different
amounts of homework. Furthermore, the type of homework that could be given out can
differ greatly due to the lack of homework policies and regulations in the QEP. As for
student evaluation, the QEP emphasizes the importance of evaluation preceding

qualification. Students are well aware that everything that they hand in to the teacher and
everything that they do in class is likely to be evaluated. They know that they are going to
receive a grade for whatever it is that they did, and that that grade will be compared to
that of their peers; and whether or not they did well depends on whether or not their grade
is higher or lower than that of their peers. If my philosophy of education is that students
must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary from various outlets in life in order to
maintain their lifestyle in a humane manner, then they must actually be learning
something. When students have a constant fear of failure, they are not focusing on
learning anything they are simply focused on getting a good grade; to them, the only
thing that seems to matter is the evaluation not the content (Holt, 1995). Therefore, not
only does school provide only one aspect of education (academic), but they do not even
teach it successfully due to their focus on evaluation.
Students must therefore be made aware of the different interpretations of what it
means to be well educated through the teaching of the philosophy of education. In order
for students to form their own opinions about education and essential knowledge they
must think about the purpose of education and ask themselves what their school is trying
to accomplish. They must also be encouraged to reflect upon themselves as a person, and
raise ethical and exploratory questions that examine teaching and learning in all of their
many forms. In addition, they must look at specific issues and have group discussions or
debates, and raise epistemological questions discussing them with peers and sharing
their thoughts. By communicating with others about things other than pure academics,
students will begin to learn how to be a good human and question the things that they
believe should be changed in this world (Morris, 2013). Through the teaching of the

philosophy of education, students will learn how to be well-rounded individuals who can
thrive in their society in a humane way. In high school, I had a number of teachers who
would encourage class discussion about topics outside of the curriculum, such as racism,
sexism, poverty, and the like. As opposed to regular lectures, my peers and I were always
rapt with attention, and were eager to share our opinions on the subject. The discussions
and debated were often intense, and it was not rare for us to continue the debate even
when the class was over. This goes to show that students learn much better when they are
interested in the subject being taught or discussed.
To be well educated means to have a good understanding of the knowledge and
skills necessary to maintain ones way of life in a humane manner. The tools that are
gained from both formal and informal education all help create a well-rounded individual
who is able to thrive. All in all, each individual must develop their own definition of what
it means to be well educated, and take the necessary steps to continue learning throughout
their life.

Appendix

Judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree and it will believe it is stupid Einstein Quote. (n.d.). BradNash. Retrieved November 17,
2013, from http://www.bradnash.com/blog/judge-a-fish-on-its-ability-to-climb-a-tree-and-it-will-believe-it-is-stupid-einstein-quote/

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