I'm studying to become a teacher, so I tend to think a lot about teaching. Lately I've been pondering on the purpose of public education in a democracy, and the purpose of teaching in general. I want to discuss the latter.
Knowledge is power, right? But why? Because knowledge increases one's ability to make choices (hence defined as agency--one's personal ability to choose for oneself). I see this illustrated in my own life all the time. For example, finding out that there is a concert on Wednesday gives me the ability to then choose if I will go to it or not; but first I need the knowledge of it. The more knowledge you have, the more choices you can make, the more full your life is--for you are actively creating it.
So if the function of teaching is to impart knowledge (or "construct" it, depending on the behavioral theory you subscribe to), then the purpose of teaching is to increase your students' ability to choose. That is the "why" of education. We teach so that students can have the necessary skills and knowledge to actively create their own lives. Hopefully we do so in a way that also imparts values of responsibility, accountability, and character. Hopefully our students use their agency for good. But our purpose is to give them the tools.
I came up with this little theory a few weeks ago, and recently found support for it from the apostles and general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a Power of Teaching lecture at the BYU school of education, President Russell G. Osguthorpe of the General Sunday School Presidency stated the purposes of teaching to be "(1) To increase one’s power to exercise personal agency, and (2) To increase one’s capacity to love." Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles expounded upon the role of agency in teaching and learning in a recent address. The whole talk is wonderful, and has interesting implications for teaching.
For myself, the implications of what I have discovered are simple: I am teaching students, not lessons. The material is important only insomuch as it expands the world of the students. Teaching them how to learn and to take responsibility for their own learning will be one of my primary focuses. I want to inspire and enable my students to be active in deciding their own lives, rather than being acted upon.
Knowledge is power, right? But why? Because knowledge increases one's ability to make choices (hence defined as agency--one's personal ability to choose for oneself). I see this illustrated in my own life all the time. For example, finding out that there is a concert on Wednesday gives me the ability to then choose if I will go to it or not; but first I need the knowledge of it. The more knowledge you have, the more choices you can make, the more full your life is--for you are actively creating it.
So if the function of teaching is to impart knowledge (or "construct" it, depending on the behavioral theory you subscribe to), then the purpose of teaching is to increase your students' ability to choose. That is the "why" of education. We teach so that students can have the necessary skills and knowledge to actively create their own lives. Hopefully we do so in a way that also imparts values of responsibility, accountability, and character. Hopefully our students use their agency for good. But our purpose is to give them the tools.
I came up with this little theory a few weeks ago, and recently found support for it from the apostles and general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a Power of Teaching lecture at the BYU school of education, President Russell G. Osguthorpe of the General Sunday School Presidency stated the purposes of teaching to be "(1) To increase one’s power to exercise personal agency, and (2) To increase one’s capacity to love." Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles expounded upon the role of agency in teaching and learning in a recent address. The whole talk is wonderful, and has interesting implications for teaching.
For myself, the implications of what I have discovered are simple: I am teaching students, not lessons. The material is important only insomuch as it expands the world of the students. Teaching them how to learn and to take responsibility for their own learning will be one of my primary focuses. I want to inspire and enable my students to be active in deciding their own lives, rather than being acted upon.
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