Running head: EDUCATION 1
Why Education Should Foster Intellectual Freedom and All-round Societies
Liberty University
EDUC 604
Abstract
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The paper argues that people should have a stimulating educational environment that encourages
the growth and development of individuals and societies. The article analyzed professional
practice in education and proposed pragmatism teaching methods as the best teaching practice.
That is because the pragmatism teaching method encourages students to use the scientific
method to eliminate probability and achieve certainty of perspectives. It also equips students
with valuable life skills such as creative, critical, and clear thinking that help students solve
personal, intellectual, and social problems. Ultimately, the paper identified different diversity
factors, such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, ability, age, economic status, political
convictions, and religious beliefs, that an educator should take account in a classroom. That is
primarily because diversity fosters tolerance and prevents conflicts, such as racism, that arise
from diversity.
Education is a vital tool for the acquisition of knowledge. Quality education is necessary
for both females and males because they all comprise society and together contribute to nation-
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building. Education is meant to equip the entire society with fundamental knowledge such as
information on human rights as a way of improving society and eliminating vices such as
violence against the vulnerable people, such as poor people, children, and women. Besides,
education is also designed to offer skills to individuals that help them compete in the global
market as well as promote economic growth. Therefore, by people knowing their human and
civil rights, upholding democracy, and positively contributing to society through learned skills,
education should foster the growth of all-round communities. This paper presents my philosophy
of education intending to identify the impacts education should have on an individual and
society. The argument made is that education should be able to liberate people so that it can
create opportunities for growth and development in individuals and societies.
Philosophy of Education: Education Should Foster Intellectual Freedom and All-round
Societies
Education is a fundamental human right. As a result, most countries around the globe
have invested a lot in education at different tires, primary, secondary, and higher education.
Education affects individuals and society in many significant ways, and if effectively acquired,
education would foster all-rounded communities. Education should be the first tool provided for
women and other minority groups because education should provide knowledge to people about
their human and civil rights. Some cultures propagate harmful cultural practices such as early
marriages, female genital mutilations, and domestic violence, among others. Most of the
violators of human rights who go scot-free do so because they violate people who are not well
informed of their human rights (Riddell, 2006). To members of these communities, these
practices are no violation of law but common and compulsory traditions. The best way to prevent
and curb breaches of human rights is through education because when people know their rights,
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they will be able to demand them as well as fight for their rights through the right processes.
Therefore, this would foster societies that uphold human and civil rights, which would benefit
individuals and the community.
To benefit individuals and society, education ought to enable people to elect responsible
and progressive leaders as well as uphold democracy. Governmental leaders play a very
significant role in any given society; they are the creators and enforcers of laws and policies that
govern a country. In democratic nations, citizens have the power to elect leaders, and education
should give them knowledge on how to exercise democracy and elect responsible leaders.
Former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt advised Americans that “Democracy cannot succeed
unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of
democracy, therefore, is education” (Smith, 2017, para.1). Leaders also control other essential
aspects such as the military and the economy; therefore, while citizens are exercising their right
to democracy, they need to be wise. They need to be informed that not everyone who can gather
votes can be able to lead. Education ought to help citizens to see beyond manipulations used by
dubious politicians for the growth of society.
Education should create room for better change within the community. Great icons such
as Nelson Mandela emphasized that education is a powerful tool that can be used to change
societies. Education should equip individuals with the necessary skills that will enable them to
compete in the global market. Through these different skills that are individually learned, the
society is out to benefit because of increased professionals that will serve the community needs
as well as the economic prosperity that will be achieved (Riddell, 2006). Education should also
provide opportunities where people learn from their previous mistakes so that they can learn to
avoid them in the future, creating an all-round society.
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Professional Practice
This paper proposes the pragmatism learning method because it fosters the growth and
development of students and society. Pragmatism is a method where students are equipped with
critical thinking so that they can inquire about reality while testing the workability and validity
of perspectives by acting on them. In this mode of learning, students are encouraged to use the
scientific method so that they eliminate probability and achieve certainty. Students are also not
limited to information based on the subject they are learning, Ornstein et al. (2016), explain this
ideology by saying, “Pragmatists favor interdisciplinary education rather than a departmentalized
subject-matter curriculum. When you face a problem, pragmatists say, you find the information
needed to solve it from many sources, not from a single academic subject” (chapter6-4).
Pragmatism emphasizes more on the interaction humans have with the environment constructing
flexible and tentative ideologies about changing reality. These tentative assumptions may require
further testing for validation, which may lead to reconstruction and revision of an existing
premise, leading to the creation of new ideas.
The world is not static, for it is continually changing, creating new problems that require
solving. Therefore students need a model of learning that enables them to address the issues, and
pragmatism is often considered as a problem-solving method. Ornstein et al., (2016) advocate
that pragmatism fosters problem-solving by indicating that “For pragmatists, education is an
experimental process—a method of solving problems that challenges people as they interact with
their world. For them, the most intelligent and reflective way of solving problems is to use the
scientific method” (chapter 6-4c). Students can use the scientific method to solve personal and
social problems as well as it can be applied to a wide range of problematic situations. The
problem-solving approach of education also fosters the growth of an all-round society because
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students learn essential skills such as critical, creative, and clear thinking, which are vital in the
growth of a community.
Educator - Learner Relationships
The pragmatism teaching method fosters inquiry of other possible truths, active
discussions, clear thinking, and excellent writing, which are vital for intellectual freedom. The
role of the pragmatist teacher is to teach students how to solve problems by applying the
scientific method. The teachers should also help facilitate students’ research and activities, and
they also have a role in suggesting useful resources in the library and on online platforms
(Ornstein et al., 2016). The students should then research on the topic, find out what different
perspectives and ideologies exists, have discussions with fellow students on their findings, and
write down an academic paper regarding their subject using their opinion. Therefore, students are
required to observe, analyze, understand, interpret, find solutions, and perform application that
shows an understanding of the concept.
The relationship between the teacher and student should be professional, collaborative,
and one of mutual respect. Students should learn to respect teachers because they represent
authority, and the Bible instructs people to have respect for authority (Romans 13:1-7). When
students learn to have respect for teachers, it also enables them to have respect for leaders in
society. A collaborative and professional relationship between students and teachers fosters
intellectual freedom, which also helps students acquire attributes such as self-confidence.
Intellectual freedom is also vital in the growth of societies because people learn to respect
individual perspectives as well as be able to accommodate and discuss different ideas that lead to
the development of society.
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Diversity
An educator needs to account for diversity factors in a classroom for a better
understanding of her/ his students. These diversity factors include gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, race, ability, age, economic status, political convictions, and religious beliefs (Lin &
Bates, 2014). The accounting of diversity factors is also vital because some subjects contain
disturbing contents that may invoke adverse reactions such as post-traumatic stress, hence
requiring trigger warnings. After identifying the diversity factors in a class, it is the responsibility
of the educator to ensure equal access to opportunities and identify different teaching methods
that capture all the needs of students. Various studies have indicated that diversity in classrooms
helps develop tolerance among students and promotes better learning outcomes, mainly due to
different perspectives among students (Lin & Bates, 2014). Ornstein et al. (2016) are of a similar
idea when they posit, “ Recognizing that every culture has something of value to share with other
cultures, teachers should stress multicultural communication between students of different
cultures so that together they can create more inclusive democratic communities” (chapter 6-4d).
Diversity in classrooms also prepares students for the real world, for it discourages conflicts that
result from diversity such as gender insensitivity and racism. That leads to the development of an
all-round society where individual ideologies are respected despite age, gender, race, ethnicity,
economic status, political convictions, and religious beliefs.
Conclusion
This article investigated my philosophy of education, which states that education should
positively impact on individuals and society for the formulation of an all-rounded community. It
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should inform citizens on how to uphold democracy and how to elect responsible leaders because
society depends on them for progress. Some politicians are manipulative, and through education,
people should be able to discern leaders who will have progressive leadership outcomes from
those who are there to serve their interests. The paper proposed the pragmatism method of
teaching, where students are allowed to research so that they can learn truths about subjects
instead of entirely relying on information given by teachers. This helps students to break away
from the oppressive mentality, and they can question the abuse of human and civil rights
fostering the growth of society. The paper also discussed the role of a student, the role of a
teacher, and the relationship they should have. The paper found that teachers and students should
maintain a professional, collaborative, and a mutual respect kind of relationship for the
development of intellectual freedom among students. This equips students with the necessary
skills and virtues for individual and society growth.
References
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Lin, M., & Bates, A. (2014). Who Is in My Classroom? Teachers Preparing to Work with
Culturally Diverse Students. International Research in Early Childhood
Education, 5(1), 27-42.
Micheletti, G. (2010). Re-Envisioning Paulo Freire’s” Banking Concept of Education.” Inquiries
Journal, 2(02).
Maheshwari, M.A. (2017). The Problem-Solving Method in Education. Retrieved on April 11,
2020. From http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=2375
Ornstein, A. Levine, D. Gutek, G. Vocke, D. (2016). Foundations of Education 13th Edition.
Cengage Learning. ISBN 130500989.
Riddell, W. C. (2006). The impact of education on economic and social outcomes: An overview
of recent advances in economics. Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Smith, Peterson. (2017) Quality Public Education plus Dialogue equals democracy. Retrieved on
April 11, 2020. From https://www.huffpost.com/entry/quality-public-education-
_b_5527806
