‘Is indoctrination justifiable if it impedes the development of freethinking? Or is inculcating faith to be welcomed as a way of countering the disintegrative tendencies of the age?’ (White. The Child’s Mind, chapter entitled, ‘Beliefs: maps by which we steer’). How would you respond to this dilemma? Give reasons for your answer.
Indoctrination is essentially the act of teaching or inculcating a set of beliefs without questioning those beliefs. At the outset, indoctrination is a questionable practice if it prevents critical inquiry and reflection and it can be argued that it is morally wrong if it obstructs rational and independent thinking. Inculcating faith or beliefs can be seen as a worthwhile goal if learners are equipped with the necessary
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A learner who conforms and believes that whatever a person in authority tells them is true becomes passive and obedient. These learners lack the skills to distinguish between true and false beliefs.
This cycle of obedience and passive acceptance can spill over into other aspects of life where learners conform to beliefs and values without critically evaluating them. Brian Crittenden (1972: 146) speaks about “mis-education” which occurs when the content the teacher presents is a “violation of a ‘critical inquiry”. In other words the teacher presents information is such a way as to exclude any opportunity for enquiry. Another example discussed by Crittenden is the use of a pedagogical method that is “inconsistent with general nature of enquiry and moral principles”. The teacher is in control of the learners’ information and if presented in a particular way can lead to a change in their beliefs. Manipulation of beliefs is a dangerous tool if the intention of the teacher is to convince learners to believe that certain things are true thereby controlling the freedom of expression. Therefore this is an unsound pedagogical method, which relies on irrational persuasion by using coercion and withholding certain evidence. The learner becomes complacent and is unable to think for
It is crucial that every belief must be thoroughly explored and justified to avoid any future repercussions. Clifford provides two examples in which, regardless of the outcome, the party that creates a belief without comprehensive justification ends up at fault. It is possible to apply the situations in The Ethics of Belief to any cases of belief and end up with the conclusion that justification is of utmost importance. Justifying beliefs is so important because even the smallest beliefs affect others in the community, add to the global belief system, and alter the believer moral compass in future decisions.
Patel introduces the concept of a “faith line” and its importance by describing two cases of young people’s education relating to religion. In the first, a young man was taught religious totalitarianism, a destructive and hateful
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
Robinson, Ken. “Education System Fosters a Culture of Conformity, Compliance. Chron.com. Hearst Newspapers, 16 March 2012. 3 April 2014.
...role that integration take in faith and learning will be the ideal but not the real, in contrast interaction will be the reality, and the author is clear when he states that “faith affects learning far more deeply than learning affects faith” (Holmes, pg.46).
...edience by authority, duty, even by the culture sometimes. People are fear to contradict the orders from leaders, because they fear to take responsibility for the result, like paying compensation, or being fired. As my friend’s example, she was limited by culture and the society in my country. In addition, I consider about the education system in my country. Most Chinese students are required to learning the knowledge by teachers and parents. It is right. However, the point is it is hard for students to doubt the things they are learning. For instance, after I study in America, I realized that there are lots of mistakes about English I learned in middle school. This mistake still exists in the middle school formal textbook, which my brother is learning. He told me that he has to learn by this way, because he won’t get grades if he answers question in the right way.
“Propaganda means any attempt to persuade anyone to a belief or to form an action. We live our lives surrounded by propaganda; we create enormous amounts of it ourselves; and we f...
One teacher may adopt the banking concept while the other may utilize the problem-posing concept. However, while problem-posing education generates creativity by giving students the ability to communicate, banking education does not. Freire asserts that in the “banking” concept of education, “the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it” (217). Freire indicates that students, who are victims of banking education, have no control over how an instructor chooses to teach. Therefore, creativity is destroyed by the fact that it was not even permitted in the first place. Students are not able to express their opinions or solve problems using their own methods because in order to pass the class, students not only need to adapt to the teaching style of their professors but think like them too. Freire’s quote relates to experiences I have had with “banking” teachers throughout my twelve years of formal education. Those teachers only taught using textbooks, therefore, they insisted that the textbook was always right. If I were to solve a math problem using a technique different from the book, then I would not get points for the problem even though my answer was right. And if I were to interpret an open-ended essay different from how my teacher would then my interpretations would be wrong. By doing this, my teachers destroyed my creativity. I was prohibited from my own thoughts and penalized if I expressed them. The only alternative for me was to become a “robot” that followed the orders of authorities, but being a “robot” was not something I was ashamed of. In fact, my role as a “robot” led me to better understand the “drama of Education” in which teachers attempt to “regulate the way the world ‘enters into’ the students”. I was able to figure out that my own teachers had tried to handle the way the world “entered into me” by
McCarthy’s claim is that educators are responsible for ensuring that religious indoctrination sponsored by public servants such as teachers and schools does not occur but at the same time that no teacher or school unduly interferes with student’s rights to practice their fai...
Beliefs are imprinted in our consciousness that alters our perceptions, attitudes and how we react towards situations and moments of decisions, they perceive our realities. Everyone has a different imprints and perceive their beliefs from their personal experiences. Beliefs dictate how we react to life. Our beliefs can be altered and changed throughout the course of our lifetime
In John Gatto’s essay “Against Schools” he states from experience as a school teacher that are current educational system is at fault (148). He claims that classrooms are often filled with boredom manufactured by repetitive class work and unenthusiastic teachings. Students are not actively engaged and challenged by their work and more often than not they have either already covered the concepts taught in class or they just do not understand what is being taught to them. The children contained in classrooms have come to believe that their teachers are not all that knowledgeable about the subjects that they are teaching and this advances their apathy towards education. The teachers also feel disadvantaged while fulfilling their roles as teachers because the students often bring rude and careless attitudes to class. Teachers often wish to change the curriculums that are set for students in order to create a more effective lesson plan, but they are restricted by strict regulations and consequences that bind them to their compulsory teachings (148-149). An active illustration of John Gatto’s perspective on our educational system can be found in Mike Rose’s essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” (157). Throughout this piece of literature the author Mike Rose describes the kind of education he received while undergoing teachings in the vocational track. During Mike’s vocational experiences he was taught by teachers that were inexperienced and poorly trained in the subjects they taught. As a result, their lesson plan and the assignments they prepared for class were not designed to proficiently teach students anything practical. For example, the curriculum of Mike Rose’s English class for the entire semester consisted of the repeated reading of ...
While the constitutional issue is a powerful motivator, there are other reasons that educators must inform themselves about religious practice and belief. One of these...
...ferences and similarities as its predecessor atheism. Individuals and groups continue to assert their ideologies through their writings and critics continue to rebut these claims. As discussed, new atheism has shown evident different approaches in showing how religion has detrimental effects on society using events such as the many previous wars that have been initiated due to issues concerning religion. New atheism also addresses how these views and conceptions are forced upon children which highlight the significant developments of the ideas that have emerged since traditional atheistic times. By understanding how atheism and new atheism has developed and evolved, it can also be understood that there will be an endless and continuous arrivals of more diverse interpretations, approaches and goals of new atheism and issues revolving around religion in the future.
Goodlad, J. I., Sirotnik, K. A., & Soder, R. (1990). The moral dimensions of teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Gushee, M. (1984). The Species of the World Student discipline policies, p. 12. 5.
They are then accused of mistaking these assumptions for laws of logic or nature. Numerous such biases exist, concerning cultural norms for color, location of body parts, mate selection, concepts of justice, linguistic and logical validity, acceptability of evidence, and taboos. Ninety percent of America 's youngsters attend public schools. These students come from homes that espouse a variety of religious and philosophical beliefs. Given the incredible diversity of American society, it 's important that our public schools respect the beliefs of everyone and protect parental rights. The schools can best do this by not sponsoring religious