Mental Naggings...

One of my favorite sentences in Noddings' book thus far is: "Thinking begins with a nagging sense that something is problematic; something is unsettled" (pg. 30). With this sentence in mind, I thought I would share a few of the ideas that are nagging me at the moment - maybe someone can provide some insight that will relieve me of this nagging sensation. Or on the other hand, maybe I can take a cue from Palmer by continuing to live with the tension and not only live, but thrive in it...

One of the critiques of Socrates and Plato is that during their time war and warriors were glorified and that this glorification greatly influenced the lens through which they viewed education. I wonder would a similar critique be given today - or in any time in history, for that matter. Are traces of things our society glorifies evident in our education system (e.g. sports, fame, sensuality)? Or better yet, is it even possible to create an educational system that prepares people to "meet the needs of the state" without incorporating the things that the members of that state "glorify"?

Aristotle was concerned with educating "citizens", but I wondering how this classification would play out in the USA, a place that is oftentimes referred to as a melting pot. People (citizens and non-citizens) of various descents have made the USA their home and have contributed to "meeting the needs of the state". I guess am not sure of Aristotle's definition of a citizen (e.g. if it was limited to those born in a particular place, like Athens, Sparta, etc.) Of course, it's easier now to determine citizenship in the USA (as opposed to two hundred years ago) but, I wonder how Aristotle and his buddies would have determined citizenship during the more formative years of the USA - a land this is mainly made up of immigrants?

Lastly, I would hate to be a teacher at a school where the Rousseau philosophy was king. Could you imagine trying to write a week's worth of lesson plans that has enough structure to get something done but still leaves enough ambiguity for 20+ students to guide their own learning - at any given time? Or better yet, what if there were no lesson plans!?!? The engineer in me would go bananas in such a world of (what sounds like) chaos! :)

I suppose I'll end here for now. Stay tuned for the next edition of Jeremi's mental "nagging."