Robin Seybold April 22, 2010

1. Robin SeyboldApril 22, 2010 Final Project, Phase 2, EDU 534.”

2. “What is the purposeof e d u c a t i o n?”

3. The purpose of education is to be a person, who through personal development and experience, offers valuable contributions to those around him and enjoys a peaceful condition within himself.

4. To understand the concerns of man are universal while acknowledging a personal connection in the world through one’s own perspective, is a man educated enough to recognize his place in the world and the connection shared by others.

5. A profoundly educated person is one who has reached an understanding and empathetic communion with those around him, evolving into a harmonic balance within himself.

6. What separates an educated person from the uneducated is the expression of concern for others; to be able to consider another’s position, to put aside one’s own goals and work towards a common goal. To create for mankind, to listen to the needs of one, and of many, to improve conditions; requires an educated person.

7. The purpose of education is to ensure the continuation of society; confirming our duty within that context through sensitivity to others. “Civilizations are judged by how they treat their most helpless citizens” The Boys Next Door

8. An educated person has the characteristics of DISCERNMENT and IMAGINATION

9. The educated view is one that is internal and objective. A view that remains impartially abstract and sensitive to context, circumstances and emotion. An educated mind is able to evaluate ideas, to discern influences and to imagine experiences.

10. To be educated is to consider the impact of a variety of factors on any given situation, drawing on a wellspring of gathered experience, and reaching a conclusion with acceptance. To employ a process through reasoning, instinct, determination, curiosity and confidence sustains a tranquilly educated mind as much as God’s mysteries allow.

11. An educated person is considered to have a curious and daring attitude - to “try it and see if it works” through trial and error comes discovery; to possess an innate persistence to seek the truth, the solution, the soundest reasoning principle.

12. No need to look far for the contributions by those with a persistence to heed the question of “why not?” God didn’t give man wings on his back, but he gave man the inquiring mind and courage to find a way to fly. Endless advancements in mechanics, engineering and technology have improved society and brought us closer to our brothers around the globe.

13. To be creative and experimental is the trait of those who actively seek knowledge. To discover through trial and error, to remain doggedly persistent are those who solve and improve. To willingly consider the impossible and to be open to suggestions is the educated leader.

14. Education should give us the ability to consider alternatives and choose from among them.It should equip us to evaluate ideas, discern influences, and imagine experiences.Education should heighten our sensitivity to others and help us situate ourselves within the larger context of our society.

15. An educated person is equipped to consider alternatives and evaluate ideas, apply imagination, discern influences and select a best possible course

16. The Life’s journey of becoming educated, not only of being born educatable

17. To become fully educated, more is needed than the attitude of open-minded willingness and more than the responsible humanitarian spirit – education moves beyond these spheres to the practical acquirement of knowledge.

18. Formal education solves problems; technical problems, social problems, finding the means to the end for comfort and leisure. Education provides us the avenues to continue searching when apparent solutions fail us. Educated, we are better equipped to interpret unfamiliar meaning.

19. For instance, to translate specific lingo into layman’s terms, to understand unfamiliar concepts through nuance and allusion, to decipher intent through gesture, tone, metaphor or synonym.

20. Development of an educated person includes a systematic learning approach delivered through exposure to structured scholarly works and the experiences of experts.

21. To be educated is to be armed with correct, accurate, irrefutable information and knowledge; to recognize the faulty and supplant it with the proper.

22. Study of the masters, past and present, is a component of education with long-established roots. Generations have taught their youth through their wiser elders. The works of experts have been safeguarded and treasured for the wisdom contributed by these masters to be shared for the enlightenment of all.

23. “Experience is the best teacher”, a wise elder has observed, has proven its place among formal learning. We need not commit mistakes to learn from the mistakes of others and the mistakes we make, and learn from, is intelligence in action: learning.

24. We need knowledge with intelligence; the sciences of agriculture, astrology, biology and physical science. We need disciplined thought and reflection through literature, and meaningful expression; we need the lessons of history to understand how all nations have arrived where we are in our global relationships.

25. We need the mathematics to compute our society and its needs, to provide a systematic cooperation, and maintain an ethic of labor; the Civics discipline to hold our leaders accountable and to revere, as well as participate, in our governance from the village to the presidency.

26. To know the foundation of what has gone before, what has been discovered by others, to learn through seeking, to recognize we lack information & knowledge that others have obtained through a lifetime of study and experience contributes to the development of an educated person.

27. Formal foundational education has brought us fine literature, science and mathematics, all leading to discovery, ideals of independence and the means of providing care with the concern that all people live as well as possible.

28. Seeking comfort and leisure we no longer live in caves, bathe in a tub once a week, eat meat hanging in the sun, or put on boots so we don’t get snake-bit on the way to the privy. Because of social improvements we work a shorter span of time, we are encouraged to participate in politics, to support public services and to update safety codes.

29. To wrap so many qualities together can all be distilled into a disciplined reason, an attitude and a spirituality - essentially –an Educational Philosophy:

30. An educated person is one with an acquired foundational knowledge, an expansive and open mind, a willingness to experiment and risk, and a humanitarian spirit.

31. My role in society and in my profession is give what is in my power to give in the advancement of those principles; and while doing so, to remain humble and thankful for all mans’ gifts of both the formally educated, the adventurously curious, and the sacrifices of the spiritually blessed.

32. An education is comforting and reflective. It open doors to situations and experiences of others that would otherwise go undiscovered without a love of reading refined by education. Education bolsters appreciation of beauty inherent in nature, art, quietness; and fosters a confidence to enrich relationships.

33. Not everyone offers the same education or contributions; Some offer their lives in contribution to improve the human condition of freedom and justice; their education may not have consisted of the formal foundational knowledge, but do offer their labor and lives, born of a humanitarian spirit and an expansive mind.

34. The educated, the wise and the generous develop those qualities through reading, listening, accepting, applied effort, association with others, through example, through service to others, and by being loved and giving love.

35. Dr. Johnson says: Robin, you’ve answered this question quite thoroughly and haven’t left me a lot to say. Your ideas seemed to spill out on the page as they came to mind, so I wasn’t able to follow your organization, but you did paint a big picture. During Phase 1, I think that’s appropriate. (continued)

36. Here’s what I heard you saying: • That education includes knowing what others have done and said (so that we can build on their wisdom and not have to start all over again in each new generation). • That education should give us the ability to consider alternatives and choose from among them. (continued)

37. That education should equip us to “evaluate ideas, discern influences, and imagine experiences.” • That it should heighten our sensitivity to others. • That it should help us situate ourselves within the larger context of our society. (continued)

38. That it should impart to us the ability to engage in trial-and-error reasoning, to discover what works and what doesn’t. • And I’ve probably missed some things because I was trying to organize your thoughts into a framework that would help me capture it all. (continued)

39. As I said, this kind of broad perspective is exactly what you need as you move on to Phase 2 and describe what it means to be well-educated. This time, try to organize your thoughts a bit more so that any gaps can be more readily identified. Also, try to get more specific in Phase 2. What kinds of knowledge from the past should a well-educated person have? "What is the purpose of education?"  Building on that, in Phase 2 you were supposed to tell me what you think an educated person looks like, and then describe the process by which a person reaches that level of attainment. (continued)