Ignition for Education

The previous chapter laid out a context—a scheme of morality; a basis for evaluating any action or set of actions. In the context of the Creation Paradigm, then, what set of actions constitutes ideal teaching? It is actions that make the student and help her to become a maker, including a maker of herself. It is not those that merely equip the student with skills.

In fact, beyond basic literacy, numeracy, and etiquette, it is very hard to pin down which skills students will need in adult life. The pace of technological development makes it even harder than it perhaps used to be. A student might reasonably argue that she doesn’t need math beyond some basics. She will always have a computer. She might also argue that she needs only limited understanding of grammar, or of punctuation of other aspects of writing mechanics, as computers are increasingly capable of editing her writing. And if we conclude that technology, rather than numeracy or literacy, is the new basic skill, we are likely to find that everything we teach about technology becomes obsolete very shortly after we’ve taught it. And as for knowledge of science, history, or anything else, isn’t that available at the click of a mouse? So why should students store it in their brains?

The answer is that we, as teachers, are charged with guiding the creation of our students’ brains. Well, “minds” rather than “brains,” not because I want to open up the debate about body-mind dualism but because brains are clumps of neurons, and teachers can’t create those. We can only teach our students to use them. We can think of this as creating the mind.

A well-made mind can handle a complex body of information. It can know it, organize it, and apply it, whether to making cabinets or to arguing a case at law. Or to less remunerative pursuits like enjoying a piece of literature in the light of knowledge about other literature of its time and place, or maybe enjoying a glass of wine in the light of knowledge of its variety, vintage, and terroir. A well-made mind can also learn and use systems, such as geometry, grammar, or a non-native language.

Far more importantly, a well-made mind is accustomed to learning and knows how to learn. Our students should be so used to acquiring new knowledge and new skills that they can spend whole days swimming in the doing of these things. They should be so adept at it that, in the course of a day, they can analyze a poem by an author they’ve never encountered before, learn a mathematical function that is equally new to them, learn how to use a verb tense in an unfamiliar language, and what’s inside a cell, and what happened immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg. And also figure out how to shape a pot and how to pass a ball.

When they want to learn something for themselves, after they no longer have us to guide them, obtaining a book and reading it cover to cover should feel natural to them. And they should know how to choose a good book, too. And how to choose a good website or podcast or documentary. They should know to expect differences of opinion in some of the things they learn about. They should be accustomed to listening to opposing points of view with an eye to evidence, to asking questions of both the opinions and the evidence, and to thinking about what additional evidence might be helpful.

Of course, these habits aren’t just the making of an intellectual. They’re the making of a skilled employee and, even more importantly, of a discursive citizen and a thinking voter.

But a well-made mind can do more than learn, practice, and discuss. It can make. It may make artistic products or other tangible things. It certainly will make ideas, arguments, and narratives, about anything from marketing to medicine to morality. Furthermore, it will strive to do all of these things—to learn, to master, to intelligently discuss, and to generate new notions. And it will plot a course to this state, through formal education and private enrichment. In other words, as I began this chapter by saying, a student we have taught successfully will become the creator of her own mind—a self-maker.

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How, in practice, do teachers (and schools) accomplish all this? Well, it’s down to the students as well. We cannot force them to learn. And a part of it is down to their families and others who care for them. But here, in my opinion, is what we can do.

1. Plan a challenging curriculum: We must set goals that are tough but achievable. If we ask students to achieve what they are not yet ready to achieve, we will harm their self-image and their openness to future learning. If we don’t ask them to achieve things they have to work to achieve, they won’t be learning. They’ll just be going through the motions of assignments and tests and projects. And, of course, the goals must include mastery of a wealth of information and a complex of skills, including the higher-level skills of analysis, synthesis, argumentation, presentation of conclusions, and creation of end products ranging from a resolved equation to a musical performance.
2. Differentiate the curriculum: The goldilocks spot, between damagingly hard and too easy to count as a learning experience, is hard to hit when teaching students of mixed abilities, as almost all teachers do. That’s why abilities tracking, advanced classes, and pull-out experiences for both gifted and struggling students can all be helpful. But they don’t entirely solve the problem. What is even more helpful is learning experiences that automatically work on different levels for different students. The kind of literature that we teach in English does this quite naturally, but so can research, writing, and oral presentation activities. For example, one student who is asked to research and engage in a debate about some topic in bioethics might turn in some background information and a short statement of her own opinion with some justification. A more capable student might turn in an analysis of multiple opinions and, interacting with these, her own reasoned conclusion. Each has achieved something meaningful relative to her ability.
3. Patiently explore and discuss how to teach the curriculum: No pedagogical approach, whether Harkness or other Socratic methods, or project-based learning, or constructivism, is the answer. What works depends on the material to be taught, student demographics, what the students are accustomed to and what they are capable of, classroom dynamics, and the particular skills of the teacher. Of course, there are teaching methods that don’t work, like long lectures (except perhaps for older and more advanced students). But, beyond that, teachers in each school should experiment and share their successes and failures with each other. This way, they can gain a shared understanding of how to teach their students.
4. Offer as much enrichment as possible: Whether in the arts, sports, of any other field of achievement, enrichment classes and activities help students to find their talents and their passions. No student should think of herself as an athlete, end of story, or an academic kid, end of story. All students should find a number of things that they enjoy and, with effort, can do well. This is one of the most important means by which teachers and schools can create the individual and help the individual to create herself.
5. Have high expectations, and don’t compromise them without very good reasons: Students should be aware that they can approach their teachers for help if they are struggling with their work, and the school day should be arranged to give them opportunities to do so. They should also be aware that they can ask for extensions on deadlines if they have a good reason, like serious illness or a family crisis, and that they can receive accommodations if they have dyslexia or other learning differences. But they should also know that “I forgot” or “I didn’t get it and I didn’t see fit to ask for help” are not excuses and will not be treated as such. They are responsible for their own learning. This is critical if they are to learn to create themselves.
6. Focus on behavior: Students can’t learn if they’re playing with their cell phones or goofing around with their friends. Yes, teachers should aim to engage their students so that these things are less likely to happen, but it isn’t realistic to expect teachers to become entertainers who can compete with TikTok, YouTube, the latest video game, or the latest gossip. And it doesn’t do any good to lament, with or without actual evidence degradation of the human attention span. This is merely an excuse for the students to misbehave and for teachers to give up on addressing the misbehavior. The students should also know that, no matter how engaging they do or don’t find their lessons, distracting themselves and others will have consequences. Phones will be confiscated. Detentions will be issued. Parents and guardians will be informed. And the consequences will escalate if the misbehavior continues.
7. Focus on the students as people: Yes, we must be demanding, of students’ diligence and their behavior. But they must know that we do what we do for their sake, because we care. We have to take time to greet students, to ask how they’re doing, and to converse with them if they’re willing to converse with us. We must be open to talking with them about personal issues, when that’s what they want from us. And we must take an interest in the things they do outside of the classroom. Go to the concert, the art show, the game, and thank the students the next day, even if the event was a total embarrassment and all you’re thanking them for is taking part.
8. Leave our political and religious agendas at home, but don’t exchange them for false neutrality: We should not try to turn out students into liberals, socialists, conservatives, Christians, Muslims, atheists, or anything else. When controversial issues arise, we must teach them to examine a variety of perspectives in the light of evidence. But that does not mean that all “opinions” are equal. Creationism is not the equal of evolution. Bigotry is not the equal of respect. Selfishness is not the equal of altruism. And internet rumors are not the equal of serious journalism or of scientific or scholarly studies. Teachers should not present these things as equals.
9. Cultivate our sense of mission: I feel truly sorry for teachers who are burned out, who have been driven to despair by students, their students’ families, or by their school’s leadership. I get giving up, going through the motions and collecting a paycheck, longing for the summer break, longing for retirement. But this mindset will take away a teacher’s ability to serve their students. That doesn’t mean a despondent teacher can just “snap out of it,” and become mission-focused. They may need help—medical help, perhaps, and certainly the help of their colleagues. So, it’s important that schools have a culture that allows teachers to admit to what’s going on inside, without judgement of any kind and certainly without threat to their employment. But it’s equally important that a faculty eschew what I call a “culture of complaining.” I don’t mean we can’t talk about our frustrations. Doing that is healthy. But complaining about students, their families, or the school’s leadership as a matter of habit is hugely damaging, especially when newer teachers are exposed to the habitual griping of disillusioned veteran teachers.
10. Cultivate ourselves: Teachers get burned out, a lot. And, as I just discussed, they get disillusioned. So, it’s important that we look after ourselves. Sometimes, we have to put in more than forty hours a week, but, if we are to be in a fit state to help our students, we also need to relax, sleep, and pay attention to our health and out relationships. And to our hobbies, too. So, leave the grading at school, at least sometimes. Have fun with your family. Practice your hobbies. Sleep. Your students will benefit as much as you do. And make sure you read. You’re a guide to the life of the mind, so you need to have an active mind yourself. Read widely and deeply, and not just about the subject you teach. In short, create yourself. It will help you to create your students and to help them become self-creators.

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So far, this essay has covered a theory of moral goodness and of the good for both individuals and communities—the Creation Paradigm. It has discussed the application of this to teaching, on a theoretical and a practical level. The remaining chapters will look at the broader ethical, social, and political issues that the conclusions of the first two chapters raise. Chapter Three will justify the Creation Paradigm’s focus on the individual, rather than the family, kinship group, or country—a focus that some would consider a mandate for selfishness and a prescription for anatomization. Chapter Four will address political systems and theories. It will argue that only liberal democracy can satisfy the Creation Paradigm, and that only liberal democracy can provide a societal context in which education and the individual can flourish. All other systems of government and society are inimical to education, to the creation of the individual, and, therefore, to justice as viewed through the Creation Paradigm. Finally, Chapter Five will address issues of education policy, principally school governance and the appropriate roles of the public and private sectors. It will not provide answers but will argue for a laying down of dogmas. And it will briefly address other issues of government policy that are relevant to the flourishing of education.