Running Header: SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE

Seeking Wisdom Above All Else Andrew K Leaming Patrick Henry College

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Abstract

In compiling a philosophy of education there are 5 key pieces that must be considered: axiology, epistemology, role of the teacher, role of the curriculum, and role of the student. This paper addresses each of the 5 key pieces in the above order. Axiology is the study of that which is of greatest worth, as presented here that is wisdom. Epistemology is the study of how one comes to know, as presented here there are 5 means of coming to know: revelation, intuition, discovery, experience, and education. The roles of the teacher as instructor, guide, encourager, evaluator, etc. are explored in great depth. The role of the curriculum as the source of learning material and the importance it bears is explored. Finally, the role of the student as the subject and telos of education are explored. In speaking of education Dewey gave an apt yet brief summary of these 3 roles by saying, Books, especially textbooks, are the chief representatives of the lore and wisdom of the past, while teachers are the organs through which the pupils are brought into effective connection with the material (Dewey, 1997, 18).

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Axiology What is of greatest worth and value? Knowing God in a personal way (aka salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus) is the most basic answer. However, this is not a very satisfying answer when considered in the context of philosophy of education. Instead one might look at wisdom as an alternative. This is actually a very good alternative because as the Bible says if you search for wisdom to obtain it, Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and

find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:5). By seeking and obtaining wisdom one will also find God. When seeking to find wisdom one must not forget that there are two types of wisdom to be had and Aristotle was one of the first to make this distinction in types of wisdom. First there is sophia wisdom, which Aristotle describes thus, scientific knowledge, combined with intuitive reason, of the things that are highest by nature (Aristotle and McKeon, 1941, VI, 1141b). This is wisdom of the first principles, which are the basic understanding of the nature of reality and life such as that God exists and the universe was created by Him and the rule of noncontradiction to list a few examples. The second type is the practical, phronsis, wisdom, which Aristotle describes thus, Now it is thought to be the mark of a man of practical wisdom to be able to deliberate well about what is good and expedient for himself, not in some particular respect, e.g. about what sorts of thing conduce to health or to strength, but about what sorts of thing conduce to the good life in general (Aristotle and McKeon, 1941, VI, 1140a1140b). This is essentially common sense wisdom. Our idea of prudence comes from this: to exercise good judgment in practical affairs.

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Both of these types of wisdom are vital to man. However, there is another component to wisdom that must be considered: is it the wisdom of man or the wisdom of God that one seeks. Mans wisdom will always fail as the Bible says:

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God . . . but we preach Christ crucified . . . to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those whose are called . . . Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men . . . . (1 Corinthians 1:20-21, 23-25) If one seeks after the wisdom of man one will always be disappointed in the end, but If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 2:3). The wisdom of God is of much greater value than the wisdom of man, and the wisdom of God is not some esoteric thing that has no practical value. On the contrary, not only is the wisdom of God of greater value in regards to eternal matters (where the wisdom of man is completely without value), but it is also of great value in gaining a true understanding of the first principlessophia wisdomand of how to make good judgments in everyday lifephronsis wisdom. Epistemology Now that what is of greatest worth has been established, the question of how one comes to know arises. This question applies not only to that which is of greatest worth, but also to pretty much everything else. As is stated above, asking God for wisdom is the first step in obtaining it. However, just because the Bible promises that whoever asks for wisdom will receive it, does not mean that it will come in an instant download to ones mind (though that is a possibility). Gaining wisdom and even knowledge by divine revelation is certainly one way to learn; however, it is not the most common way, at least not for most people.

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Apart from revelation, there are four other means of coming to know. First, and this is in

no particular order, is knowing by intuition. This is perhaps most similar to revelation in that the one who gains the knowledge didnt do anything to receive it (other than perhaps asking in the case of revelation). Confusing revelation and intuition is also something that happens because of their similarities. Intuition is one of those things that remain a mystery to science, so the exact nature of it is unknown, it may be that ones brain makes subconscious connections between consciously or even subconsciously observed things and comes to a conclusion that just pops into ones head (Myers, 2002). However, it could also be something entirely different. Second, is knowing by discovery. This type of apprehension is where you make conscious connections about something based on observed and previously learned information. An example of this is discovering the answer to a puzzle. One is given all of the necessary information to solve the puzzle, but all of the information is out of order, so one must use either intuitive or learned (or both) critical thinking skills to discover the answer. Scientific discoveries would also often fall under this category, though they could also fall under the next one. John Stuart Mill spoke of learning this when he said, Anything which could be found out by thinking I never was told . . . (Mill, 1908, p. 18). Mill goes on to say how did not learn very much this way, so it is likely that new knowledge such as a scientific discovery is rare, whereas more basic levels of this such as puzzle solving are fairly common. Third, is knowing by experience. This is one of the simplest, most common, and most basic ways of learning. To use an example, you learn not to touch a hot stove by touching a hot stove and getting burned. Unfortunately, learning by experience is often painful and a very unpleasant experience. However, it is also one of the most powerful ways to learn, as one will be extra careful to avoid getting burned by hot stoves after having been burned once (Walters,

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2003). Of course in regards to emotional issues this can lead to a fear of getting close to someone because one was burned in a previous relationship. It should also be noted that there is a subcategory of experiential learning and that is vicarious experiential learning. This vicarious learning is where one learns from the experiences of others, either by witnessing the experience or being told about it, though the actual witnessing of it usually carries more weight. This is similar to the idea of how first hand witnessing of an event is acceptable testimony in a court of law, but second knowledge of the event (a.k.a. hearsay) is not admissible as evidence in a court of law because with the firsthand account there is assurance of accuracy, but with the second hand account there is more likely to be missing or incorrect details (Hatch and Hatch, 2006, p. 113). To use the previous example, vicarious learning occurs when one sees their older brother burn their hand on the hot stove. When it comes to the painful experiences learning them vicariously is much preferable. It allows one to witness or hear about the harmful and/or painful consequences of the experience without having to suffer them personally. Fourth, is knowing by means of education. This type of knowing comes about through the impartation of knowledge to one by a third party. To some extent vicarious learning falls under this if one was told about the experience of someone else, but did not witness it themselves, so one has an abstract connection to the experience rather than a direct or indirect connection to the experience. Being instructed in previously discovered or reveled knowledge also falls under this category. For example, the writers of the Bible came to know what they wrote by divine revelation (putting aside the parts of the Bible that are just recounts of historical events); however, readers of the Bible now do not participate in that revelation, but learn the knowledge by education. This does not preclude God giving one additional factual revelation or a revelation of understanding. This coming to know by education is the one that is of most

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE relevance and importance in this paper as it deals specifically with teachers, students, and the curriculum. Role of the Teacher The teacher is an important part of the education process. In some sense there must always be a teacher; however, that teacher does not always have to be a person. In the case of some homeschooling the role of the teacher is replaced or taken up by either a parent or the curriculum itself. Often times the student will have reached a point where they no longer need the assistance of their parent(s) (aka teacher(s)) to do their studies, so they will work on their

given subject independently and learn straight from the texts of their curriculum, thus making the curriculum their teacher or perhaps the authors of the curriculum, depending on how one looks at it. There are some possible dangers to having the curriculum be the teacher such as a strong bias that distorts or revises the facts. This can be especially true of history texts. A human teacher, while also susceptible to this abuse, could present alternative views to those in the text. In theory, a text could also present such alternative views; however, such balanced text are exceptionally rare (Spinney & Leaming, 2007). Putting that aside and returning to the discussion of the common understanding of the teacher, there are numerous responsibilities and duties for the teacher to perform. The first and foremost responsibility of the teacher is that of being the instructor. As the instructor, the teacher has the responsibility of conveying the material within the curriculum to the students. Dewey excellently described this idea of transmission when he said, Teachers are the agents through which knowledge and skills are communicated and the rules of conduct enforced (Dewey, 1997, p.18). Typically when teachers work in high school and higher education they specialize in one specific subject area. This is the distinct benefit of allowing them to become masters of their

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE subject, which is very important in higher education especially in graduate and post-graduate school. If one was studying medicine one would want to be taught by someone who had studied their specific subject for years and really knew the nitty-gritty details of what they were talking

about rather than someone who had studied many subjects, but had not mastered the subject they were teaching. This is especially important in the medical field where doctors often hold the lives of their patients in their hands. However, in elementary school, teachers are typically in charge of a group of students and teach them every subjectwith occasional exceptions like the students going to science lab or PE. This is a different dynamic, but it works because the teacher does not need to be a master of every subjectwhich would be rather impossibleto teach it on such a foundational overview level; thus, being a connoisseur of many subjects works very well in this environment. While mastery of every subject is not needed, the teacher does need to be a master or, at least, an apprentice level teachermeaning he should have a basic understanding of the theory of education and educational methods. If the curriculum exhibits a mastery in its texts this should help make up for any lack of mastery in any one subject by the teacher. Additionally, there is the benefit of the added stability, regularity, and certainty for the students of just having the one teacher and having one classroom where they do their schooling rather than having multiple teachers that they dont have a close connection with and have to be rushing around the school complex all the time. This opportunity to develop a close relationship with the teacher is exceptionally beneficial to the learning environment of younger children for whom a secure and emotionally healthy is vital, and which can only be developed as a result of a close relationship (Gutek, 2001, 52).

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Having mentioned different levels of schooling, it is important for teachers to properly

understand at what level they are teaching so they know what information is appropriate. Having a set curriculum can help with this; however, it also means there is less room for flexibility based on the needs of the students. This leads to another responsibility of the teacher and that is evaluating the prior knowledge and needs of students. The current education system places children in grades primarily based on age. However, this ignores the vital aspect of stage. Two children of the same age are not necessarily on the same stage in their development. Sometimes they are, and other times there can be a huge gap. This becomes a huge weakness in the massive public school system that exists today because there is not sufficient time or resources to tailor instruction to every child at their specific stage of development, so the students are typically grouped together based on age rather than stage with few exceptions. Herein lies perhaps the greatest advantage of homeschooling and some private schooling: a childs schooling is based on his stage of development, which can differ depending on the subject, rather than his age. If a child is excellent at math, he may end up doing Algebra 2 in 7th grade, but he may be weak in English so his parent, as teacher, would know to spend extra time working on that weak subject with him. Unfortunately, homeschooling or even private schooling is not an option for most people so their children go to the public schools, where teachers are overworked and strictly confined by predetermined curriculum and often have dozens or hundreds of students (Toplikar, 2007). Actively engaging and involving the students in what the learning process is extremely important in actually teaching them. Guket says this about Erasmus, Most important, he believed, was learning by sharing ideas through lively intellectual dialogues in which the teacher and the students, through conversation, explored an authors ideas, style, and meaning (Gutek,

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE 2001, 37). Erasmus believed it was this dialogue that engaged the students and allowed the teachers to best instruct their students. At the very least students must be allowed to ask

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questions, otherwise they have no means to convey if they are not understanding something or if they would like further information about something. Something else for the teacher to consider is that there are three primary types of learning physiologically: visual, aural, and kinesthetic (T. W. Leaming, personal communication, 1997). Visual learners learn best through seeing visual representations of things, whether that be a graph or painting (Fleming, 2010). It can be an actual visual object or a mental picture. To use spelling as an example this can manifest in their best learning how to spell by seeing the word properly spelled and written on the whiteboard. Aural learners learn best through hearing things spoken (Fleming, 2010). This means they may have a harder time grasping something from the readings or from a drawing. To use spelling as an example this can manifest in their best learning how to spell by hearing the word spelled out to them. Finally, kinesthetic learners learn best by doing (Fleming, 2010). So they may have a hard time learning from the readings or from seeing a picture or from hearing the explanation, if they are given the chance to work with their hands and do a project like mold a triangle with clay, they will better understand it. To use spelling as an example again this can manifest in their best learning how to spell by actually writing the spelling word out. These are not distinct categories, and there is often overlap, but knowing about the different learning styles can be exceptionally helpful as a student who appears to be failing could just be doing poorly because their learning style makes it difficult for them to grasp the presentation of the material in the way it is being presented, and making an accommodation for that could radically change their performance.

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE Role of the Curriculum The content of the curriculum can have a rather significant impact on the quality of the education provided. The best curriculum will cover a broad array of subjects for students in lower grades, and become more specialized as the student starts to pursue a specific course of study for a career.

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The curriculum should be as unbiased as possible in providing interpretation so as not to stray into the realm of revisionist history. Indeed it would be best to actually leave out most interpretation and let the teacher provide that or the students to come to their own interpretation based on their critical thinking and the wisdom they have. Unfortunately, it is impossible for a text to be truly objective, and as such it should never present itself as being objective, but make it clear to students what the influencing bias is so the students can better understand the material. If the text is not clear about reveling its bias, then the teacher should make the students aware of the influencing biasas few text do this, the responsibility of this will most like fall on the teacher. In regards to philosophy, the texts of major philosophers should be read, but students should be encouraged to come up with their own philosophy based on what they have read and studied. They should seek to filter the good out from the bad that exists in pretty much all philosophies. Of course this undertaking is of a much higher level and should not be done by less educated students. The curriculum should present material appropriate for the different stages of development based on the material presented in previous stages, but it should not make the mistake that a student will be at the same stage for every subject or that there will be a specific age that they reach a stage, though there may be a common age. Unfortunately, this is a topic of

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the curriculum that has very little commonality among educational philosophers (Gutek, 2001). The idea situation would be where the curriculum was molded to the particularities of every child, such that they were pushed to maximize their potential, but not overwhelmed. However, this is a rather time consuming process, and is practically viable in most forms of schooling with the main exception of homeschooling, though some private schools may succeed to a degree. Ultimately the purpose of the curriculum is to help inculcateinto the studentwisdom and a love of wisdom, so that the student will pursue it independently in all of his life, as that is what is of greatest worth. Role of the Student The student is the most vital component of the educational system because without the student there is no purpose for the educational system. Thus, quite simply, the purpose of education is to educate the student. There is, of course, debate on what is most important kind of education to provide and what to include in it. Based on the above provided axiology the inculcating of wisdom is the specific educational goal that should be sought after. Wisdom is the key cornerstone to build ones life upon (do not forget that wisdom leads to God and Christ is called the wisdom of God, so this is not saying wisdom is higher than Jesus). It provides the necessary foundation to have a blessed life. Wisdom, if it is Gods wisdom, will lead to riches, or at least sound finances, respect from others, though some may become jealous, and a good name, not to mention a better relationship with God. The student is not a passive object for education to act upon. Rather the student is the active receiver of education and as such has his own responsibilities. First of all, it is the students responsibility to actually learn what is taught. A curriculum can be complied and a teacher can teach perfectly, but if the student does not want to learn or at least be willing to

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE suffer through the instruction, nothing will be accomplished. As the old English proverb says,

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There is none so deaf as him who will not hear (English Proverbs, n.d.). Cultivating a desire to learn is vital for every student. This is something that teachers can assist with and even make easier, but in the end it is something that only the student can actually do. Homework assignments, quizzes, exams, papers, presentations, etc. are ways for the teacher to assist the student in learning as well as measure whether or not the student is absorbing the information. Unfortunately, such methods are limited as some students just do horribly on exams or others on papers, and even for those that do well they are merely a short term measurement that cannot determine if the students will retain, in the long-term, what they have learned. Other measure exist, such as if the student studied law, one could observe to see if he becomes a successful lawyer. However, this is not a very practical means measurement, especially in the short term. In the end, then the responsibility for learning, retaining, and making something of what was learned rests upon the student. Once the student is willing to learn, he must then willingly submit himself to the instruction of the teacher. The student must recognize he is not the master and must be willing to accept another in that role. A student should not consider himself a passive receptacle to simply be pumped full of information, but should strive to actively participate in the instruction by taking notes, asking questions, commenting on ideas, and thinking critically about the issues. In the end, the student must own the responsibility of learning themselves and not try to pass it off onto someone or something else, because while outside factors play a role in the education, the student plays the primary role.

SEEKING WISDOM ABOVE ALL ELSE References Aristotle, & McKeon, R. (1941). Nichomachean ethics, in The basic works of Aristotle. New York: Random House. Dewey, J. (1997). Experience and education. New York: Simon & Schuster.

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Fleming, G. (2010). Learning styles: Know and use your personal learning style. Retrieved from http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/learningstyle.htm Gutek, G. (2001). Historical and philosophical foundations of education: Selected readings. Merrill Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Hatch, S. A., & Hatch, L. Z. (2006). Paralegal career for dummies. --For dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pub. Martin, G. ed., (n.d.). English proverbs. Retrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/ meanings/proverbs.html Mill, J. S. (1908). Autobiography. London: Longmans, Green, and Company. Myers, D. G. (2002). Intuition: Its powers and perils. New Haven: Yale University Press. Walters, J. D. (2003). God is for everyone. Nevada City, CA: Crystal Clarity Publishers. Spinney, R. G. and Leaming, A. K. (2007). History of the United States I class notes. Purcellville, VA: Patrick Henry College. Toplikar, D. (2007, March 12). Survey: Teachers overworked, lack sufficient time to plan. Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved from http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/mar/12/ survey_teachers_overworked_lack_sufficient_time_pl/