Education For Human Flourishing

Far from offering a thin patina of "niceness" spread over standard educational philosophy, Steven Loomis and Paul Spears set forth a vigorous Christian philosophy of education that seeks to transform the practice of education. Beginning with a robust view of human nature, they build a case for a decidedly Christian view of education that still rightfully takes its place within the marketplace of public education.

The premƯise that underlies this volume is that there are strong interconnections between wonder, education and human flourishing. And more specifically, that wonƯder can make a significant difference to how well one?s education progresses and how well one?s life goes. The contributors to this volume ? both senior, well-known and beginning researchers and students of wonder ? variously explore aspects of these connections from philosophical, empirical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The three chapters that comprise Part I of the book are devoted to the importance of wonder for education and for human flourishing. Part II contains four chapters offering conceptual analyses of wonder and perspectives from developmental psychology and philosophy (Spinoza, Wittgenstein, philosophy of religion). The seven chapters that form Part III contain a wealth of ideas and educational strategies to promote wonder in education and teacher education. This volume not only underlines and articulates the importance of wonder in education and in life but also offers fresh perspectives, allowing us to look with renewed wonder at wonder itself.

This book discusses the concept of desire as a positive factor in human growth and flourishing. All human decision-making is preceded by some kind of desire, and we act upon desires by either rejecting or following them. It argues that our views on and expressions of desire in various facets of life and through time have differed according to how human beings are taught to desire. Therefore, the concept has tremendous potential to affect human beings positively and to enable personal growth. Though excellent research has been done on the concepts of flourishing, character education and positive psychology, no other work has linked the concept of desire to all of these topics. Featuring key references, explanations of central concepts, and significant practical applications of desire to various fields of human thought and action, the book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of positive psychology, positive education, moral philosophy, and virtue ethics.

"The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.

'A careful and thoughtful provocation' (Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury) Ambitiously placed at the intersection of scientific insights and spiritual wisdom, Human Flourishing prompts us to reflect on what constitutes a good life and the choices that can help achieve it. For thousands of years, humans have asked 'Why we are here?' and 'What makes for a good life?' At different times, different answers have held sway. Nowadays, there are more answers proposed than ever. Much of humanity still finds the ultimate answers to such questions in religion. But in countries across the globe, secular views are widely held. In any event, whether religious or secular, individuals, communities and governments still have to make decisions about what people get from life. This book therefore examines what is meant by human flourishing and see what it has to offer for those seeking after truth, meaning and purpose. This is a book written for anyone who wants a future for themselves, their children, and their fellow humans - a future that enables flourishing, pays due consideration to issues of truth and helps us find meaning and purpose in our lives. At a time when most of us are bombarded with messages about what we should or should not do to live healthily, attain a work-life balance and find meaning, a careful consideration of the contributions of both scientific insight and spiritual wisdom provides a new angle. This is therefore a book that not only helps readers clarify their views and see things afresh but also help them improve their own well-being in an age of AI and other new technologies.

This book provides a view of well-being in schools from a range of theoretical and practical perspectives. Contributors from academic, field-based and community roles in education offer insights from their research and practice to describe what it means for teachers, administrators and students to flourish in schools.

-A product of three decades of action research during which the author worked with teachers and school leaders in more than 30 high-poverty, low-performing NYC schools to transform them into high-performance learning organizations. -Provides conceptual explanations, instructional procedures, resources, and assessments that learners, teachers and school leaders can use to organize classrooms in ways that re-distribute responsibility from teachers to learners. -Readers are given what they need to develop and manage effective learning, teaching and assessment practices in culturally, linguistically, racially and economically diverse classrooms.

This book develops a conception of student flourishing as the overarching aim of education. Taking as its basis the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia, it provides a theoretical study of the foundations of flourishing that goes well beyond Aristotle’s approach. Flourishing as the Aim of Education argues that the ‘good life’ of the student, to which education should contribute, must involve engagement with self-transcendent ideals and ignite awe-filled enchantment. It allows for social, individual and educational variance within the concept of flourishing, and it engages with a host of socio-political as well as ‘spiritual’ issues that are often overlooked in literature discussing character education. Each chapter closes with food for thought for practitioners who can directly facilitate student flourishing. An outgrowth of the author’s previous monograph Aristotelian Character Education, this book follows new directions in questioning how to educate young people towards a life of overall flourishing. It will be of great interest to researchers, academics and post-graduate students in the fields of character education, moral education and moral philosophy, as well as to educators and policy-makers.