The Pursuit Of Wisdom And Happiness In Education

Modern scholarship has struggled to come to terms with the meaning of wisdom and its significance in the field of education. This book examines the importance of pursuing wisdom in schools by turning to ancient and medieval sources for clarification concerning the nature of wisdom. Sean Steel argues that our current emphasis on the development of rigorous critical-analytic thinking skills, on assessment, and on accountability in education has negatively impacted the ability of schools to foster an environment in which both students and teachers might pursue wisdom. Although in recent times efforts have been made to incorporate the pursuit of wisdom into schools through Philosophy for Children (P4C) and contemplative education programming, such initiatives have missed their mark. Steel therefore recommends not more accountability in education for the purpose of ensuring global competitiveness, but rather the institutional promotion of periods of leisure or schole in the school day. Drawing upon his own experiences as a teacher who has tried to encourage students to search for wisdom, the author discusses some of the challenges and pitfalls of wisdom seeking. He also offers examples of various wisdom-seeking activities that might bear fruit in the classroom.

Teacher Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom takes its readers into the deep waters of investigating teaching not simply as a profession but as a precious "way of life." The author begins by investigating the nature of teaching as both an "active" and a "contemplative" endeavor and inquires into the resonance between the nature of teaching on the one hand and what has been said classically about genuine philosophizing on the other hand. Having laid the groundwork for students to be able to recognize this intimate connection, readers are next challenged to take up the notion of teaching as a "way of life" in the pursuit of wisdom experimentally and to record their observations in a personalized journal format. Thorough explanations are provided concerning the value of journaling for self-knowledge, and exemplar texts by master journal writers are discussed. This book is designed for use as a primary textbook in philosophy of education courses. Instructors will find it helpful as a means to organize engaging classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for genuine philosophic practices and inquiry. It contains a well-defined program of work that is modelled upon the latest research concerning "authentic task design." Its rich experimental approach is replete with a broad array of learning tasks, assessment tools, and practices that are aligned with the competencies-based approach taken in most professional certification and BEd Programs.

Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom examines the ways in which the timeless human search for wisdom relates to current educational practices. This book challenges the current approach of an economically-driven system preparing students solely for the workplace, and instead discusses the importance of teaching wisdom in order to enrich all aspects of the lives of students. Ozoliņš discusses how teaching young people how to make decisions will not only benefit them in everyday life, but will benefit society as a whole. Drawing on religious and classical texts such as Benedictine and Confucian works, Ozoliņš’ book assesses and re-evaluates the central aim of education, and moves toward developing a robust understanding of the value of wisdom and its implications. Alternative approaches to education and the ways in which educators can establish agency in this process are also carefully considered. Detailed, well-researched, and with an international scope, Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom is an ideal reference work for researchers, lecturers and postgraduate students of education, and in particular the philosophy of education and the concept of wisdom.

Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom examines the ways in which the timeless human search for wisdom relates to current educational practices. This book challenges the current approach of an economically-driven system preparing students solely for the workplace, and instead discusses the importance of teaching wisdom in order to enrich all aspects of the lives of students. Ozoliņs discusses how teaching young people how to make decisions will not only benefit them in everyday life, but will benefit society as a whole. Drawing on religious and classical texts such as Benedictine and Confucian works, Ozoliņs' book assesses and re-evaluates the central aim of education, and moves toward developing a robust understanding of the value of wisdom and its implications. Alternative approaches to education and the ways in which educators can establish agency in this process are also carefully considered. Detailed, well-researched, and with an international scope, Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom is an ideal reference work for researchers, lecturers and postgraduate students of education, and in particular the philosophy of education and the concept of wisdom.

This book explores what we might teach if we take happiness seriously as an aim of education.

The Pursuit of Liberal Education is a scholarly but accessible book on philosophy of education. It also involves a look at a philosophy of man, mind, conduct, government and progress. There is a discussion of the humanities and sciences, along with some social criticism, too. It calls for a revival of liberal education. It redefines liberal education as both a preservation of the best of the cultural heritage, and as a helpful guide for social reform. Thinking and learning about ideas and values across the spectrum of knowledge are considered. This is an indispensable book that puts everything in perspective.

This book shares insights drawn from the diverse voices of public school teachers, community outreach education workers, professors, writers, poets, artists, and musicians on suffering in school and the classroom. Teachers speak about their own encounters with and perceptions from suffering using critical-analytic textual works, as well as first-hand personally reflective accounts. By sharing their stories and reflections, the editors and contributors shed light upon the dark areas that often are not addressed in Teacher Training Programs, and that generally remain unaddressed and unacknowledged even as teachers become well-established as professionals in the field of education.