what is an educated man essay

• Entertainment
• Environment
• Information Science and Technology
• Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Philosophy Philosophy of Education

What It Means to Be an Educated Person

Table of contents, intellectual growth: the foundation of education, critical thinking: a pillar of education, nurturing empathy and cultural understanding, a lifelong pursuit of wisdom.

• Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. The Macmillan Company.
• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder.
• Gardner, H. (2006). Five Minds for the Future. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Nussbaum, M. C. (1997). Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education. Harvard University Press.
• Socrates. Plato's "Apology". Available online: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html

*minimum deadline

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below

• Michel Foucault
• Concept of Change
• Plato Republic
• Functionalism

Related Essays

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Man — Personal Reflection on Butler’s Description of an Educated Man

Personal Reflection on Butler's Description of an Educated Man

• Categories: Literature Review Man

About this sample

Words: 496 |

Published: Apr 5, 2023

Words: 496 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature Sociology

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

3 pages / 1517 words

1 pages / 593 words

3 pages / 1537 words

2 pages / 1029 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Man

Men have played a crucial role in shaping society and driving progress in various fields. Despite the growing emphasis on gender equality and the recognition of the importance of women, it is essential to acknowledge the unique [...]

The concept of man vs self conflict has been a recurring theme in literature, psychology, and philosophy. It is the internal struggle that individuals face when making decisions, dealing with emotions, or confronting personal [...]

The Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is one of the most iconic landmarks of ancient Rome and a symbol of the architectural ingenuity and cultural grandeur of the Roman Empire. Constructed between AD 70 [...]

The Law of Demand is a cornerstone principle in the field of economics, describing a fundamental relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded by consumers. This principle posits that, ceteris paribus, when [...]

World Health Organization. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Retrieved from [...]

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale presents a disturbing future dystopia in which all power is stripped from women and left in a male-dominated power structure. Throughout the novel, betrayal remains the over-arching theme, [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications

How to Be an Educated Person

Last Updated: May 24, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Seth Hall . Seth T. Hall (ICF ACC, CLC, and MNLP) is a Certified Life Coach and Founder of Transformational Solutions, a Los Angeles-based life-coaching company that helps people achieve their toughest goals, find their own voice, and think outside the box. He has been a life coach for over 10 years, specializing in personal development, relationships, career and finance, and wellness. He has helped his clients break the negative cycles in their lives and replace them with a positive, proactive mindset. Seth believes that everyone has the potential to live a fulfilling and rewarding life, and works passionately to help them reach their full potential. With a deep understanding of how our minds work and the power of positive thinking, he encourages his clients to find their unique paths in life and find success on their own terms. He is a certified master practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a featured co-author for WikiHow, and co-author of "The Mountain Method”, “The Happy Tiger”, and “The V.I.S.I.O.N.S. Program”. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 156,339 times.

An educated person is someone who comprehends that education is a lifelong process. Therefore, to become one, you need to work consistently at broadening your mind. Educated people are literate, cultured, and aware. They know what is happening in the world, appreciate the arts and comport themselves in a calm and comfortable manner.

Staying Informed

• The India Times (India)
• Le Monde (France)
• The Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
• The New York Times (USA)
• The Guardian (UK)
• Washington Post (USA)

• Stay critical. Do not necessarily take everything you read at face value. Notice the biases and omissions of different newspapers instead of simply taking in talking points.

• These magazines have online versions as well. Peruse their archives and don’t simply focus on current news. A piece on classical music from the 1930s might lead you to a composer you’ve never heard of. The more of these articles you read, the more you will broaden your general knowledge.
• Writers in these magazines often write books as well. These books supply even more information about the topics that you have read about.
• Reader Poll: We asked 532 wikiHow readers and 54% of them said that their preferred way to expand their knowledge is by reading books and magazine articles on new subjects . [Take Poll]

Appreciating Culture

• Engage with each art object using a different lens. A painting is different from a photograph. Don't look at a contemporary work in the same way that you would look at a classical one. A newer oil painting deserves a different consideration than one from three hundred years ago. Remember that periods matter, as do movements.
• Take a tour. The guide will pass along important details about significant pieces of artwork. Listen carefully, even if you have seen the piece before. You might learn something new about the artwork or the artist.
• See if they have informative print-outs. These can give you vital information about the museum’s collection.

• Start with classic literature. For example, Plutarch’s Lives is a compendium of stories about Greek and Roman men who lived interesting lives. Each story examines both the positive and negative qualities of these men . [5] X Trustworthy Source Edutopia Educational nonprofit organization focused on encouraging and celebrating classroom innovation Go to source Observe the characters in these stories, and absorb the lessons contained within these tales.

• Read foundational works of philosophy. Start with Plato’s Republic . This fundamental work consists of dialogues between Socrates and his students as they attempt to figure out what the perfect society would consist of. As they design their hypothetical city, they discourse on free will, morality, and belief.

• Read criticism. You might enjoy magazines like Sight and Sound and Cahiers du Cinema (in French). Both have contemporary art-house film reviews and essays. They also publish articles by film scholars about older, classic films. The AV Club (online) is also a great resource on films both old and new. Individual critics’ websites can be helpful as well.

Having Conversations

• Talk to people from a variety of professions. Education develops in various ways. An educated person realizes this. Your mechanic can be as knowledgeable as your professor.

• Take accurate notes during the lecture. This will make it easier for you to come up with good, stimulating questions that will allow for an invigorating discussion. Don’t tire yourself writing down every word. Mark down just the key concepts and ideas.

• If you disagree with a perspective, you could say something like "I see why you would think this. However, I have a different take on the matter."

Behaving Well

• If you find yourself becoming angry, try to center yourself. Meditation is a good way to do this.

• An inquisitive mind is an intelligent one. If you did not understand a point, say: "Would you mind explaining your last point again?"

Community Q&A

• If you have free time, read a book or magazine. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Write down interesting factoids. You can bring these up in conversation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Don't stick to one news source. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Keep a list of famous quotes from poetry, books, and inspiring people that resonate with you. Knowing where these quotes come from and being able to recite them in the appropriate setting will make you seem very educated.
• When you're first trying to become educated, limit your exposure to the news. It's more important to gain a foundation of knowledge through books, courses etc, than to constantly keep up with current affairs and opinions.
• Always have variety and challenge yourself. Try new things and learn new skills as much as possible. Even if they don't stick, you'll have learned something new and gotten more life experience.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/developing-love-reading-students/
• ↑ https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/media-advocacy/news-stories-media-wants/main
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-tomorrow/202210/psychology-the-art-museum
• ↑ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/reading-wars-choice-vs-canon/
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/compassion-matters/202011/7-practices-keep-calm-in-the-face-uncertainty

About This Article

To become an educated man, you’ll want to keep yourself up to date on current events by reading newspapers or listening to news radio. Once you’re informed about what’s going on in the world, find opportunities to talk to people who are educated and have different interests. Going to talks and lectures is an opportunity to both learn new things and meet intelligent people. A truly educated man stays composed, so speak carefully and avoid bragging about yourself. For ways to incorporate more culture into your life, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Jul 4, 2017

Did this article help you?

Gatluak Dang

Sep 20, 2020

Joshua Shaw

Nov 14, 2016

Dec 19, 2018

Buhle Rejoice

Jun 10, 2018

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

The best free cultural &

educational media on the web

• Online Courses
• Certificates
• Degrees & Mini-Degrees
• Audio Books

Noam Chomsky Defines What It Means to Be a Truly Educated Person

in Education , Philosophy , Politics | April 28th, 2016 23 Comments

There may be no more con­tentious an issue at the lev­el of local U.S. gov­ern­ment than edu­ca­tion. All of the socioe­co­nom­ic and cul­tur­al fault lines com­mu­ni­ties would rather paper over become ful­ly exposed in debates over fund­ing, cur­ricu­lum, dis­trict­ing, etc. But we rarely hear dis­cus­sions about edu­ca­tion­al pol­i­cy at the nation­al lev­el these days.

You’ll hear no major polit­i­cal can­di­date deliv­er a speech sole­ly focused on edu­ca­tion. Debate mod­er­a­tors don’t much ask about it. The Unit­ed States’ founder’s own thoughts on the sub­ject are occa­sion­al­ly cited—but only in pass­ing, on the way to the lat­est round of talks on war and wealth. Aside from pro­pos­als dis­missed as too rad­i­cal, edu­ca­tion is most­ly con­sid­ered a low­er pri­or­i­ty for the nation’s lead­ers, or it’s roped into high­ly charged debates about polit­i­cal and social unrest on uni­ver­si­ty cam­pus­es.

This sit­u­a­tion can seem odd to the stu­dent of polit­i­cal phi­los­o­phy. Every major polit­i­cal thinker—from Pla­to to John Locke to John Stu­art Mill —has writ­ten let­ters, trea­tis­es, even major works on the cen­tral role of edu­ca­tion. One con­tem­po­rary polit­i­cal thinker—linguist, anar­chist, and retired MIT pro­fes­sor Noam Chom­sky —has also devot­ed quite a lot of thought to edu­ca­tion, and has force­ful­ly cri­tiqued what he sees as a cor­po­rate attack on its insti­tu­tions .

Chom­sky, how­ev­er, has no inter­est in har­ness­ing edu­ca­tion to prop up gov­ern­ments or mar­ket economies. Nor does he see edu­ca­tion as a tool for right­ing his­tor­i­cal wrongs, secur­ing mid­dle class jobs, or meet­ing any oth­er  agen­da.

Chom­sky, whose thoughts on edu­ca­tion we’ve fea­tured before , tells us in the short video inter­view at the top of the post how he defines what it means to be tru­ly edu­cat­ed. And to do so, he reach­es back to a philoso­pher whose views you won’t hear ref­er­enced often, Wil­helm von Hum­boldt , Ger­man human­ist, friend of Goethe and Schiller , and “founder of the mod­ern high­er edu­ca­tion sys­tem.” Hum­boldt, Chom­sky says, “argued, I think, very plau­si­bly, that the core prin­ci­ple and require­ment of a ful­filled human being is the abil­i­ty to inquire and cre­ate con­struc­tive­ly, inde­pen­dent­ly, with­out exter­nal con­trols.” A true edu­ca­tion, Chom­sky sug­gests, opens a door to human intel­lec­tu­al free­dom and cre­ative auton­o­my.

To clar­i­fy, Chom­sky para­phras­es a “lead­ing physi­cist” and for­mer MIT col­league, who would tell his stu­dents, “it’s not impor­tant what we cov­er in the class; it’s impor­tant what you dis cov­er.” On this point of view, to be tru­ly edu­cat­ed means to be resource­ful, to be able to “for­mu­late seri­ous ques­tions” and “ques­tion stan­dard doc­trine, if that’s appro­pri­ate”…. It means to “find your own way.” This def­i­n­i­tion sounds sim­i­lar to Nietzsche’s views on the sub­ject , though Niet­zsche had lit­tle hope in very many peo­ple attain­ing a true edu­ca­tion. Chom­sky, as you might expect, pro­ceeds in a much more demo­c­ra­t­ic spir­it.

In the inter­view above from 2013 (see the sec­ond video), you can hear him dis­cuss why he has devot­ed his life to edu­cat­ing not only his pay­ing stu­dents, but also near­ly any­one who asks him a ques­tion. He also talks about his own edu­ca­tion and fur­ther elu­ci­dates his views on the rela­tion­ship between edu­ca­tion, cre­ativ­i­ty, and crit­i­cal inquiry. And, in the very first few min­utes, you’ll find out whether Chom­sky prefers George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World . (Hint: it’s nei­ther.)

Relat­ed Con­tent:

1,700 Free Online Cours­es from Top Uni­ver­si­ties

Noam Chom­sky Spells Out the Pur­pose of Edu­ca­tion

Niet­zsche Lays Out His Phi­los­o­phy of Edu­ca­tion and a Still-Time­ly Cri­tique of the Mod­ern Uni­ver­si­ty (1872)

Hen­ry Rollins: Edu­ca­tion is the Cure to “Dis­as­ter Cap­i­tal­ism”

Josh Jones  is a writer and musi­cian based in Durham, NC. Fol­low him at  @jdmagness

by Josh Jones | Permalink | Comments (23) |

Related posts:

Comments (23), 23 comments so far.

Who’s more edu­cat­ed, the book-smart, knowl­edge­able guy with Alpha­bet-soup after his name, or an expe­ri­enced wise man with com­mon-sense, and no col­lege??? ‘Edu­ca­tion’ is in the eye-of-the-behold­er!

Please add a “press this” but­ton in your shar­ing menu. I am a reg­u­lar vis­i­tor to open cul­ture and would like to be able to share your arti­cles.

@Bill I agree with your concept..layman or scholar-man…the prin­ci­ples are the same. Incen­tiv’ize the indi­vid­ual to look at chal­lenges and prob­lems as oppor­tu­ni­ties to learn, to expand one’s per­son­al capa­bil­i­ty, how­ev­er — and this is the issue at hand today — most impor­tant­ly let no one oth­er than your­self define how you learn, what you learn and to what end the learn­ing is applied.

I very much enjoyed this arti­cle. I only wished that the two videos had sub­ti­tles or that the writer would pro­vide a tran­script of them. I’m hear­ing impaired and real­ly want­ed to know what Chom­sky was say­ing in these videos. Please take in con­sid­er­a­tion that it would be so help­ful to pro­vide tran­scripts for the deaf and the hard of hear­ing com­mu­ni­ties.

Very inter­est­ing top­ic …

Does Noam Sup­port my per­ef­fered vision;

” Per­fect edu­ca­tion will pro­duce per­fect soci­ety or heav­en on the earth” ?!

The most dan­grous ene­my against us Is Igno­rance

Edu­ca­tion Is the way to cut the chain of mis­er­able

This man is tru­ly an inspi­ra­tion. I have enjoyed the inter­views he has giv­en on most­ly polit­i­cal and social themes at the radio show, Alter­na­tive Radio, offered by KGNU in Boul­der, Col­orado. Last week he spoke on “Toward a Bet­ter Soci­ety” as part of an inter­view. Many pub­lic radio sta­tions car­ry this show, but WREK offers it on demand about 1 week lat­er (so begin­ning Sun­day, 1 May 2016). Since WREK holds a pro­gram in its online archive for around 2 weeks, you can lis­ten to it at WREK this week and next week (next week you need to click on “last week”) at http://www.wrek.org/schedule/ . It is list­ed as play­ing on Sat­ur­day at 11 am, but you can lis­ten to it at any time.

I remem­ber his speech­es, espe­cial­ly dur­ing Rea­gan’s admin­is­tra­tion. He was the Rea­gan Nicaragua pol­i­cy’s most for­mi­da­ble oppo­nent at the time, but you would nev­er know it from the medi­a’s lack of cov­er­age.

Most notable in his style is his ask­ing very per­ti­nent ques­tions that take you down a log­i­cal path toward very dif­fer­ent con­clu­sions than the politi­cians make. His log­ic is impec­ca­ble, mak­ing it very dif­fi­cult to refute his argu­ments.

Edu­cat­ing means to help or make one to learn how and what to under­stand from from ones own expe­ri­ences. Under­stand from oth­ers expe­ri­ence, prepar­ing one­self to face , solve and over­come a prob­lem. Edu­ca­tion is a con­tin­u­ous process-every new per­son we meter, new sit­u­a­tion we come across, new sur­round­ings we pass through offers much an edu­ca­tion to a per­son. Nei­ther it’s restrict­ed to books, per­son, soci­ety, coun­try nor to cul­ture.

Obvi­ous­ly an expe­ri­enced wise per­son is more ‘edu­cat­ed’ than the one with only book­ish knowl­edge and with many degrees behind his name. Wis­dom and expe­ri­ence are close­ly relat­ed.

Warn­ing: Edu­ca­tion serves a vari­ety of com­pet­i­tive pur­pos­es.

Chom­sky is no bet­ter than CNN or NPR or Fox News when it comes to speak­ing truth to pow­er. https://digwithin.net/2013/11/29/chomsky/

Chom­sky has tremen­dous respect in the pro­gres­sive world. With that comes tremen­dous respon­si­bil­i­ty to be hon­est and truth­ful. Chom­sky has made up his mind to play dumb when it comes to sci­ence and to play dumb when it comes to the pol­i­tics with­in insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion. I believe he cares more about sell­ing books and get­ting speak­ing fees than he does about being a force for pos­i­tive change in an ever increas­ing­ly dan­ger­ous pow­er struc­ture over tak­ing the USA. https://digwithin.net/2013/11/29/chomsky/

No, it isn’t.

First of all, com­mon sense isn’t com­mon, and it isn’t sense. It’s easy to defend, and hard to define.

Edu­ca­tion means, at a bare min­i­mum, that you know to use math­e­mat­ics, lan­guage, and an under­stand­ing of his­to­ry and cul­ture to and apply these things when think­ing crit­i­cal­ly about any giv­en sub­ject or sit­u­a­tion.

The more ‘book smart’ stuff you know, the bet­ter able you are to rea­son.

Stop it. You sound stu­pid. Stop extolling not know­ing any­thing as a virtue. It isn’t.

There’s noth­ing wrong with being an enlight­ened per­son with no degrees to your name. But try­ing to belit­tle the opin­ions of peo­ple who read entire libraries and have titles to their name is usu­al­ly a sign that you’re not an enlight­ened per­son at all; instead, you’re either going to be a dime-store cyn­ic, a cretin, a wool­ly-mind­ed spir­i­tu­al­ist, or an awful com­pla­cent bore who great­ly over­es­ti­mates the valid­i­ty of your own ‘com­mon sense’ (that is to say, your var­i­ous self­ish whims and prej­u­dices), and who’s quite con­tent to let those who cause con­tin­u­al harm to screw us and the plan­et over, shrug­ging their crimes off with a “Well, that’s the way things are. Noth­ing to be done.” Being ‘enlight­ened’, ‘spir­i­tu­al’, or ‘wise’ usu­al­ly means you’ve just gulped down the bull­shit that we don’t have the pow­er to change things, that the world will just be what it may, and that the best thing a per­son can do is to remain aloof from evil and suf­fer­ing.

The world would be much, much bet­ter off with­out your type. Long live book­ish­ness! Long live edu­ca­tion!

I had the plea­sure of tak­ing a course that Chomskey and Marv Water­stone put on last year here at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ari­zona in Tuc­son. What IS POLITICS was a 6 week study of pol­i­tics and eco­nom­ics. Prob­a­bly the best course I have ever tak­en. Lis­ten­ing to rea­soned dis­course is so refresh­ing and enlight­en­ing. WE ARE SO grate­ful to have Noam live and teach here now.

To para­phrase Pro­fes­sor Chom­sky. Pow­er is well aware of the truth.

watch the videos on the youtube web­site — there you will see, below the bot­tom right-hand cor­ner of the video, three hor­i­zon­tal dots, sig­ni­fy­ing a menu

click on that menu, and it will often (tho not always) give the oppor­tu­ni­ty to ‘open tran­script’ — you will see that the qual­i­ty of tran­scrip­tion varies wild­ly — and you can copy and paste the text into your own word-proces­sor, if you choose, in order to improve it

this applies to many youtube videos — hope that helps

I am an Eng­lish teacher.

This is a man­i­festo for edu­ca­tion reform world­wide, from K12 to doc­tor­al degrees. Hope to learn more from his wis­dom.

It is also extreme­ly impor­tant to be able to dis­tin­guish between opin­ion and fact, AND to actu­al­ly DO IT in prac­tice. This is lack­ing in most seri­ous dis­cus­sions, espe­cial­ly most of the polit­i­cal dis­cus­sions going on today.

I recent­ly (i.e., approx­i­mate­ly ear­ly Feb­ru­ary 2023) watched a YouTube inter­view in which Chom­sky said near­ly all of the the quot­ed mate­r­i­al in this arti­cle. I don’t know if this inter­view cov­ers pre­cise­ly what you wish to know, but Chom­sky men­tioned that he did anoth­er two inter­views, I think, that same day. Per­haps a good search of YouTube videos will allow you to find that mate­r­i­al. Good luck!

Add a comment

Leave a reply.

Name (required)

Email (required)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Click here to cancel reply.

• 1,700 Free Online Courses
• 200 Online Certificate Programs
• 100+ Online Degree & Mini-Degree Programs
• 1,150 Free Movies
• 1,000 Free Audio Books
• 150+ Best Podcasts
• 800 Free eBooks
• 200 Free Textbooks
• 300 Free Language Lessons
• 150 Free Business Courses
• Free K-12 Education
• Get Our Daily Email

Free Courses

• Art & Art History
• Classics/Ancient World
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Engineering
• Environment
• Political Science
• Writing & Journalism
• All 1700 Free Courses

Receive our Daily Email

Free updates, get our daily email.

Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. We never spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Free Movies

• 1150 Free Movies Online
• Free Film Noir
• Silent Films
• Documentaries
• Martial Arts/Kung Fu
• Free Hitchcock Films
• Free Charlie Chaplin
• Free John Wayne Movies
• Free Tarkovsky Films
• Free Dziga Vertov
• Free Oscar Winners
• Free Language Lessons
• All Languages

Free eBooks

• 700 Free eBooks
• Free Philosophy eBooks
• The Harvard Classics
• Philip K. Dick Stories
• Neil Gaiman Stories
• David Foster Wallace Stories & Essays
• Hemingway Stories
• Great Gatsby & Other Fitzgerald Novels
• HP Lovecraft
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Free Alice Munro Stories
• Jennifer Egan Stories
• George Saunders Stories
• Hunter S. Thompson Essays
• Joan Didion Essays
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez Stories
• David Sedaris Stories
• Stephen King
• Golden Age Comics
• Free Books by UC Press
• Life Changing Books

Free Audio Books

• 700 Free Audio Books
• Free Audio Books: Fiction
• Free Audio Books: Poetry
• Free Audio Books: Non-Fiction

Free Textbooks

• Free Physics Textbooks
• Free Computer Science Textbooks
• Free Math Textbooks

K-12 Resources

• Free Video Lessons
• Web Resources by Subject
• Quality YouTube Channels
• Teacher Resources
• All Free Kids Resources

Free Art & Images

• All Art Images & Books
• The Rijksmuseum
• Smithsonian
• The Guggenheim
• The National Gallery
• The Whitney
• LA County Museum
• Stanford University
• British Library
• Google Art Project
• French Revolution
• Getty Images
• Guggenheim Art Books
• Met Art Books
• Getty Art Books
• New York Public Library Maps
• Museum of New Zealand
• Smarthistory
• Coloring Books
• All Bach Organ Works
• All of Bach
• 80,000 Classical Music Scores
• Free Classical Music
• Live Classical Music
• 9,000 Grateful Dead Concerts
• Alan Lomax Blues & Folk Archive

Writing Tips

• William Zinsser
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Toni Morrison
• Margaret Atwood
• David Ogilvy
• Billy Wilder
• All posts by date

Personal Finance

• Open Personal Finance
• Amazon Kindle
• Architecture
• Artificial Intelligence
• Comics/Cartoons
• Current Affairs
• English Language
• Entrepreneurship
• Food & Drink
• Graduation Speech
• How to Learn for Free
• Internet Archive
• Language Lessons
• Most Popular
• Neuroscience
• Photography
• Pretty Much Pop
• Productivity
• UC Berkeley
• Uncategorized
• Video - Arts & Culture
• Video - Politics/Society
• Video - Science
• Video Games

Great Lectures

• Michel Foucault
• Sun Ra at UC Berkeley
• Richard Feynman
• Joseph Campbell
• Jorge Luis Borges
• Leonard Bernstein
• Richard Dawkins
• Buckminster Fuller
• Walter Kaufmann on Existentialism
• Jacques Lacan
• Roland Barthes
• Nobel Lectures by Writers
• Bertrand Russell
• Oxford Philosophy Lectures

Sign up for Newsletter

Open Culture scours the web for the best educational media. We find the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.

Great Recordings

• T.S. Eliot Reads Waste Land
• Sylvia Plath - Ariel
• Joyce Reads Ulysses
• Joyce - Finnegans Wake
• Patti Smith Reads Virginia Woolf
• Albert Einstein
• Charles Bukowski
• Bill Murray
• Fitzgerald Reads Shakespeare
• William Faulkner
• Flannery O'Connor
• Tolkien - The Hobbit
• Allen Ginsberg - Howl
• Dylan Thomas
• Anne Sexton
• John Cheever
• David Foster Wallace

Book Lists By

• Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Ernest Hemingway
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Allen Ginsberg
• Patti Smith
• Henry Miller
• Christopher Hitchens
• Joseph Brodsky
• Donald Barthelme
• David Bowie
• Samuel Beckett
• Art Garfunkel
• Marilyn Monroe
• Picks by Female Creatives
• Zadie Smith & Gary Shteyngart
• Lynda Barry

Favorite Movies

• Kurosawa's 100
• David Lynch
• Werner Herzog
• Woody Allen
• Wes Anderson
• Luis Buñuel
• Roger Ebert
• Susan Sontag
• Scorsese Foreign Films
• Philosophy Films
• September 2024
• August 2024
• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• August 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• December 2014
• November 2014
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006

©2006-2024 Open Culture, LLC. All rights reserved.

• Advertise with Us
• Copyright Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

Educated Man by Henry Norman

John Henry Newman, the author of the essay entitled The Educated Man begins his essay in a way that was very contradictory to his times. He opens his essay boldly declaring that A University is not a birthplace to poets or immortal authors, of founders of schools, leaders of colonies, or conquerors of nations. In essence, what he is saying is that the university is not the birthplace of an educated man. This thought helps highlight his purpose for the remainder of the essay, to provide a pure definition, untainted by society, of hat a true educated man is, as opposed to what he was considered in the Victorian Period.

I strongly agree with his essay, and its function of requiring the paper-machier-and-chicken-wire educated man of the Victorian Age to become molded of real substance. The essay continues to say [A university] does not promote a generation of Aristotles or Newtons, of Raphaels or Shakespeares Nor is it content on the other hand with forming the critic or experimentalist, the economist or engineer. This statement helps defend Newmans case. The ames mentioned were all men who in some way changed the world.

Those of them who did receive a University diploma do not owe their success or education to the University they received it from. The task of the university was minimal, the true thing that made them become pinnacles of education was their own love for knowledge, and the traits they possessed as described throughout the rest of the essay. Today, men such as Martin Luther, Albert Einstein, and Charlie Chaplin can be added to the list. Albert Einstein, although considered on of the ost educated men ever, never even finished middle school.

These accounts all make a case for Newman in arguing that the general definition of and educated man- a man who has received diploma and graduation from a college, as incorrect. One trait of Newmans educated man is that he is at home with any society and has common ground with every class. This idea is also contradictory to the thought of the time- that an educated man relates only to other educated men. I side with Newman on this issue also. A true educated man nows he may learn more about the anatomy of a fish from a poor fisherman than a Harvard grad.

He knows he may gain knowledge from all walks of life, and does not limit his knowledge imput to the ideas of just one class. Newman concludes his essay by saying, He has a gift which without which good fortune is but vulgar, and with which failure and disappointment have a charm. The fictional character Jay Gatsby, of Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby was proof of this. He was a man who had acquired good fortune without education, and it was indeed ulgar, as opposed to the charming life of Van Gough, whose artwork, although not rewarded with money during his lifetime, will forever be appreciated.

This view of Newmans was also contradictory of a time whos men would acquire go to a university simply because they have wealth, and who would never see a day of lack because the good fortune of inheritance. The good fortune then becomes unappreciated and vulgar. In dispelling Societys definition, Newman took it upon himself to create a substitute; an unaffected spiritual definition pulled rom the same well that the definition of man in the constitution was pulled.

This essay is still valuable because the idea of an educated man is still a social title rather than a task to complete. He is still stereotyped by what theyve done, rather than what he is. Perhaps the beginning of educated men will remain where it has always begun, in the small cleft of a rock- such as Stratford-upon-Avon or Urbino, Italy, where one learns to ask questions, in pursuit of their answers stumble upon new worlds and ideas alike.

More Essays

• What is an Education
• Henry VIII Character Analysis Essay
• Catherine Barkley and Frederic Henry
• Essay On Henry Berry Lowrie
• Henry the VIII of England
• Henry Rankin Case Study Essay
• An Analysis Of Shakespeare’s Reputation In King Henry IV Essay
• Stereotypes In David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly Essay
• A Star Called Henry Character Analysis Essay

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Agri-Commodities
• Asean Economic Community
• Banking & Finance
• Business Sense
• Entrepreneur
• Executive Views
• Export Unlimited
• Harvard Management Update
• Monday Morning
• Mutual Funds
• Stock Market Outlook
• The Integrity Initiative
• Editorial cartoon
• Design&Space
• Digital Life
• 360° Review
• Biodiversity
• Climate Change
• Environment
• Envoys & Expats
• Health & Fitness
• Mission: PHL
• Perspective
• Today in History
• Tony&Nick
• When I Was 25
• Wine & Dine
• Live & In Quarantine
• Bulletin Board
• Public Service
• The Broader Look

Today’s front page, Saturday, September 14, 2024

• Covid-19 Updates
• Photo Gallery

The qualities of a truly educated man

Razzel ann vergara.

• February 19, 2017
• 4 minute read

When you hear the word “educated”, you can surely give your own different definition, like academic, intellectual, literate or knowledgeable. But being educated does not necessarily mean having abundant general or specialized knowledge. It does not only mean having an undergraduate or advanced degree. As Ramsay MacDonald said:

“The educated man is a man with certain subtle spiritual qualities, which make him calm in adversity, happy when alone, just in his dealings, rational and sane in the fullest meaning of that word in all the affairs of his life.”

If we ponder on with this definition, we can see that education is not only about the accumulation of knowledge, whether professional or vocational, but matters of behavior or values. The acquisition of knowledge is valuable for it makes us virtuous and happy. But we should not use our knowledge merely for material success in life.

Then what are the qualities needed to be remarked as a truly educated man? Let us elaborate on MacDonald’s definition.

An educated person remains calm in adversity. He is self-aware. He knows how to perceive and manage his own internal states of emotions. He has the ability to face and control unpleasant situations instead of being controlled by them. He remains calm even when mistreated by other people who dislike him. He has the ability to conceptualize and solve problems from multiple perspectives. He knows how to resolve conflicts with other persons. He has the flexibility to admit when he is wrong. He has the capacity to endure and persevere. He is not easily defeated by misfortune or failure.

He knows how to withstand discomfort in the short term in order to achieve his goals.

An educated person stays happy even if alone. He is happy and joyful. He has a cheerful disposition most of the time and is willing to share his joy with others. He considers open-mindedness to be a virtue. He values being open to new ideas and opinions and entertain them. He can control his pleasures.

An educated person has ethical values and integrity. He is just in all his dealings. He has the ability and the discipline to do what is right. He is committed to the systematic pursuit of truth. He has the ability to discern truth from error. He does not become arrogant and corrupt by his success and glory.

An educated person is rational and reasonable. He has the ability to reason analytically and critically. He has the ability to think clearly and independently and has good judgment.

He knows how to acquire knowledge and skills and make productive use of it. He is innovative and adaptable to changes. He is devoted to a set of principles. He defends his beliefs and if proved to be inconvenient, he is able to ,debate confidently and calmly. He does not blindly accept what he is being told and knows how to make his own decisions. He is not self-centered. He has equal esteem for everyone, without regard to gender, race, religion, country of origin and so on. He has the ability to see connections among disciplines, ideas and cultures.

He understands human nature and able to maintain and improve relationships. He knows how to cooperate and collaborate effectively with others to get their trust and respect.

An educated person is also a persuasive leader. He has developed a personal philosophy that will allow him to be happy. He has the discipline to constantly improve and the ability to pursue lifelong learning. Summing up, an educated person is someone who has been educated in a holistic manner: spiritually, morally, physically and intellectually.

A person possessing these qualities is admirable, but I was wondering if this can be adopted by the present world. Unfortunately, many of us would abandon this rational argument. But if we were better educated, we would know that an educated person has a commitment to the rational process of finding truth, and a commitment to self-examination and articulation of truth. Last, we would understand our responsibility in helping to remedy the shortcomings of this society.

We have an obligation to make this world a better place than when we found it.

Razzel Ann Vergara is involved in accounting for construction projects and taxation of Vinhar Construction and Marketing. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general.  These can be e-mailed to [email protected]

Razzel Ann Vergara is a graduate of BSA at Polytechnic University of the Philippines Lopez, Quezon Batch 2014. She passed the CPA Licensure Examination on October 2014 and is currently connected with Vinhar Construction and Marketing, ac company specializing in accounting for construction projects and taxation.

• Razzel Ann Vergara https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/razzelann/ Insights of a young accountant
• Razzel Ann Vergara https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/razzelann/ Tax payment through credit/debit/prepaid cards
• Razzel Ann Vergara https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/razzelann/ The anti-age discrimination in employment law
• Razzel Ann Vergara https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/razzelann/ Moving toward improved financials

Related Topics

• educated man
• spiritual qualities

Prenuptial agreements

• Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

1Bataan. Go PPPs

• Alberto Agra

Editorial Cartoon September 16, 2024

• BusinessMirror Editorial
• September 16, 2024

Urgent action needed to address hazardous waste crisis in PHL 

Forthcoming evolution of the cpa licensure examination.

• Joel L. Tan-Torres

Selfie mentality: Alice’s return in not-so-wonderland

• Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

Megawide’s innovative solar farm model

• Lito U. Gagni

When compassion falls short 

• Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

Sofia Andres wears her heart on her sleeve

• Dinna Chan Vasquez

Clarins: Fighting epi-aging

• Miss Charlize

Finding your ‘why’

• Abigail L. Ho-Torres

To adjust or not to adjust

• Rick Olivares
• September 15, 2024

Germany sails warship in Taiwan Strait, first in 22 years

• Yian Lee & Arne Delfs

Editorial Cartoon September 13, 2024

• September 13, 2024

Enhancing PHL’s innovation future through strategic R&D investment

• BusinessMirror

The Peñafrancia devotion: From the peripheries to the center

• Tito Genova Valiente

Our trajectory towards a stabilized Earth or a hothouse Earth 

• Irish Joy A. Yparraguirre

New Coolray here; Toyota to slash EVs

• Al S. Mendoza

Why is Ramon Ang praying a lot these days?

• Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

Ordering of Gods in ‘Kaos’

Unlocking devt potential: the significance of south-south cooperation in asia-pacific for sustainable progress.

• Jong-Jin Kim
• September 12, 2024

New Thai PM’s reform agenda lacks specifics, economists say

• Suttinee Yuvejwattana / Bloomberg

Can I simply say what a relief to discover somebody who truly knows what they’re talking about over the internet. You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people have to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised you are not more popular given that you certainly possess the gift.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

What is an Educated Filipino? by Francisco Benitez (An Excerpt

Related Papers

The Miseducation of the Filipino

Micabalo, Sheila Marie G.

Education is a vital weapon of a people striving for economic emancipation, political independence, and cultural renaissance. We are such people. Philippine education, therefore, must produce Filipinos who are aware of their country's problems, who understand the basic solution to these problems, and who care enough to have the courage to work and sacrifice for their country's salvation. (Constantino, 1966).

Renz Mattchew M . Carlos

is a Filipino scholar, educator, and believer in the critical nature of comprehensively researching Filipino/National history. He wrote around thirty novels and a large number of short notes. According to Renato Constantino, "Education is a critical tool in people's struggle for economic liberty, political independence, and cultural renaissance. We are precisely that type of person. As a result, Filipino Education must produce individuals who are aware of their country's problems, comprehend the fundamental answers to these problems, and care about their country enough to work and sacrifice for its recovery". Renato Constantino believes that Education is a potent weapon for creating a powerful and independent nation. The Education of Filipinos has resulted in indifferent and ignorant citizens who lack a sense of direction and objectives for the country's welfare. Reading the book is not a waste of time; you will not only pick

Trisha Bernadette Ecleo

Shanelle Althea Rodriguez

Ezekiel Succor

Justine-joy Mamaradlo

Diane Joy Libay

Christine Anne Mendoza

Guenne Mari Abregar

Readings in the Philippine History

Bhill Mark Bombase

Nationalism is still alive. However, the Philippines is yet to see another revolution—not against a militarized or political force—but against colonial hegemonies and oppressive self-perpetuated ideologies. With rectifications on economic and educational standards in the country, Filipinos can start to find their genuine identity. A colonial mind can cease to work in politics, culture, and society as well. Ultimately, the Philippine government and citizenry should only know how to function in collective mobility—to provide concrete and tangible meaning to independence and truly emancipate Filipinos from the pervasive American influence.

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Rhea Mae Calasara

Mary Andres

Jane Sombrito

Marc Junnie Bernales

Aliyah Mikaela Tan

Jan Nowel Pena

Miseducation of Filipino

John Victor H . Dajac

Mark Simon B . Buensalido

Lorena Club

Richella San Antonio

Aliyah Faith Malinay

MaryNathanael Flores OSB

Angelika G. Paris

A Reflection Paper on Renato Constantino's "The Mis-Education of the Filipinos" by Guillienne Perez

Guillienne Myckhaylla Perez

Gerald Palileo

Shane Venette B. Alcampado

Shane Venette Alcampado

Noelle Escultero

Sara Villorente

A Reflection Paper on Renato Constantino`s " The Miseducation of the Filipinos" by Aira R. Dela Peña

Aira R. Dela Peña

Jaime Alfredo Cabrera

Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan

GENEVIE-ABI CALIMBAHIN

Abegail Reyes

Jeremy Knake

boscovolunteeraction.co.uk

James Trewby

Alyanna Lalongisip

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

the encyclopaedia of pedagogy and informal education

What is education? A definition and discussion

Education is the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning and change undertaken in the belief that we all should have the chance to share in life., mark k smith explores the meaning of education and suggests it is a process of being with others and inviting truth and possibility., contents : introduction • education – cultivating hopeful environments and relationships for learning • education, respect and wisdom • education – acting so all may share in life • conclusion – what is education • further reading and references • acknowledgements • how to cite this piece.

picture: Education by Claude Gillot (1673–1722). creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Introduction

When talking about education people often confuse it with schooling. Many think of places like schools or colleges when seeing or hearing the word. They might also look to particular jobs like teacher or tutor. The problem with this is that while looking to help people learn, the way a lot of schools and teachers operate is not necessarily something we can properly call education. They have chosen or fallen or been pushed into ‘schooling’ – trying to drill learning into people according to some plan often drawn up by others. Paulo Freire (1973) famously called this banking – making deposits of knowledge. Such ‘schooling’ too easily descends into treating learners like objects, things to be acted upon rather than people to be related to.

Education, as we understand it here, is a process of inviting truth and possibility, of encouraging and giving time to discovery. It is, as John Dewey (1916) put it, a social process – ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future living’. In this view educators look to learning and being with others rather than acting upon them. Their task is to educe (related to the Greek notion of educere ), to bring out or develop potential both in themselves and others. Such education is:

• Deliberate and hopeful. It is learning we set out to make happen in the belief that we all can ‘be more’;
• Informed, respectful and wise. A process of inviting truth and possibility.
• Grounded in a desire that at all may flourish and share in life . It is a cooperative and inclusive activity that looks to help us to live our lives as well as we can.

In what follows we will try to answer the question ‘what is education?’ by exploring these dimensions and the processes involved.

Education – cultivating hopeful environments and relationships for learning

It is often said that we are learning all the time and that we may not be conscious of it happening. Learning is both a process and an outcome. As a process, it is part of being and living in the world, part of the way our bodies work. As an outcome, it is a new understanding or appreciation of something.

In recent years, developments in neuroscience have shown us how learning takes place both in the body and as a social activity. We are social animals. As a result, educators need to focus on creating environments and relationships for learning rather than trying to drill knowledge into themselves and others.

Teachers are losing the education war because our adolescents are distracted by the social world. Naturally, the students don’t see it that way. It wasn’t their choice to get endless instruction on topics that don’t seem relevant to them. They desperately want to learn, but what they want to learn about is their social world—how it works and how they can secure a place in it that will maximize their social rewards and minimize the social pain they feel. Their brains are built to feel these strong social motivations and to use the mentalizing system to help them along. Evolutionarily, the social interest of adolescents is no distraction. Rather, it is the most important thing they can learn well. (Lieberman 2013: 282)

The cultivation of learning is a cognitive and emotional and social activity (Illeris 2002)

Alison Gopnik (2016) has provided a helpful way of understanding this orientation. It is that educators, pedagogues and practitioners need to be gardeners rather than carpenters. A key theme emerging from her research over the last 30 years or so that runs in parallel with Lieberman, is that children learn by actively engaging their social and physical environments – not by passively absorbing information. They learn from other people, not because they are being taught – but because people are doing and talking about interesting things. The emphasis in a lot of the literature about parenting (and teaching) presents the roles much like that of a carpenter.

You should pay some attention to the kind of material you are working with, and it may have some influence on what you try to do. But essentially your job is to shape that material into a final product that will fit the scheme you had in mind to begin with.

Instead, Gopnik argues, the evidence points to being a gardener.

When we garden, on the other hand, we create a protected and nurturing space for plants to flourish. It takes hard labor and the sweat of our brows, with a lot of exhausted digging and wallowing in manure. And as any gardener knows, our specific plans are always thwarted. The poppy comes up neon orange instead of pale pink, the rose that was supposed to climb the fence stubbornly remains a foot from the ground, black spot and rust and aphids can never be defeated.

Education is deliberate. We act with a purpose – to build understanding and judgement and enable action. We may do this for ourselves, for example, learning what different road signs mean so that we can get a license to drive; or watching wildlife programmes on television because we are interested in animal behaviour. This process is sometimes called self-education or teaching yourself. We join with the journey that the writer, presenter or expert is making, think about it and develop our understanding. Hopefully, we bring that process and understanding into play when we need to act. We also seek to encourage learning in others (while being open to learning ourselves). Examples here include parents and carers showing their children how to use a knife and fork or ride a bike; schoolteachers introducing students to a foreign language; and animators and pedagogues helping a group to work together.

Sometimes as educators, we have a clear idea of what we’d like to see achieved; at others, we do not and should not. In the case of the former, we might be working to a curriculum, have a session or lesson plan with clear objectives, and have a high degree of control over the learning environment. This is what we often mean by ‘formal education’. In the latter, for example, when working with a community group, the setting is theirs and, as educators, we are present as guests. This is an example of informal education and here two things are happening.

First, the group may well be clear on what it wants to achieve e.g. putting on an event, but unclear about what they need to learn to do it. They know learning is involved – it is something necessary to achieve what they want – but it is not the main focus. Such ‘incidental learning’ is not accidental. People know they need to learn something but cannot necessarily specify it in advance (Brookfield 1984).

Second, this learning activity works largely through conversation – and conversation takes unpredictable turns. It is a dialogical rather than curricula form of education.

In both forms, educators set out to create environments and relationships where people can explore their, and other’s, experiences of situations, ideas and feelings. This exploration lies, as John Dewey argued, at the heart of the ‘business of education’. Educators set out to emancipate and enlarge experience (1933: 340). How closely the subject matter is defined in advance, and by whom, differs from situation to situation. John Ellis (1990) has developed a useful continuum – arguing that most education involves a mix of the informal and formal, of conversation and curriculum (i.e. between points X and Y).

Those that describe themselves as informal educators, social pedagogues or as animators of community learning and development tend to work towards the X; those working as subject teachers or lecturers tend to the Y. Educators when facilitating tutor groups might, overall, work somewhere in the middle.

Acting in hope

Underpinning intention is an attitude or virtue – hopefulness. As educators ‘we believe that learning is possible, that nothing can keep an open mind from seeking after knowledge and finding a way to know’ (hooks 2003: xiv) . In other words, we invite people to learn and act in the belief that change for the good is possible. This openness to possibility isn’t blind or over-optimistic. It looks to evidence and experience, and is born of an appreciation of the world’s limitations (Halpin 2003: 19-20).

We can quickly see how such hope is both a part of the fabric of education – and, for many, an aim of education. Mary Warnock (1986:182) puts it this way:

I think that of all the attributes that I would like to see in my children or in my pupils, the attribute of hope would come high, even top, of the list. To lose hope is to lose the capacity to want or desire anything; to lose, in fact, the wish to live. Hope is akin to energy, to curi­osity, to the belief that things are worth doing. An education which leaves a child without hope is an education that has failed.

But hope is not easy to define or describe. It is:

An emotion . Hope, John Macquarrie (1978 11) suggests, ‘consists in an outgoing and trusting mood toward the environment’. We do not know what will happen but take a gamble. ‘It’s to bet on the future, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty is better than gloom and safety. To hope is dangerous, and yet it is the opposite of fear, for to live is to risk’ (Solnit 2016: 21).

A choice or intention to act . Hope ‘promotes affirmative courses of action’ (Macquarrie 1978: 11). Hope alone will not transform the world. Action ‘undertaken in that kind of naïveté’, wrote Paulo Freire (1994: 8), ‘is an excellent route to hopelessness, pessimism, and fatalism’. Hope and action are linked. Rebecca Solnit (2016: 22) put it this way, ‘Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope… To hope is to give yourself to the future, and that commitment to the future makes the present inhabitable’.

An intellectual activity . Hope is not just feeling or striving, according to McQuarrie it has a cognitive or intellectual aspect. ‘[I]t carries in itself a definite way of understanding both ourselves – and the environing processes within which human life has its setting’ ( op. cit. ).

This provides us with a language to help make sense of things and to imagine change for the better – a ‘vocabulary of hope’. It helps us to critique the world as it is and our part in it, and not to just imagine change but also to plan it (Moltman 1967, 1971). It also allows us, and others, to ask questions of our hopes, to request evidence for our claims. (See, what is hope? ).

Education – being respectful, informed and wise

Education is wrapped up with who we are as learners and facilitators of learning – and how we are experienced by learners. In order to think about this, it is helpful to look back at a basic distinction made by Erich Fromm (1979), amongst others, between having and being. Fromm approaches these as fundamental modes of existence. He saw them as two different ways of understanding ourselves and the world in which we live.

Having is concerned with owning, possessing and controlling. In it we want to ‘make everybody and everything’, including ourselves, our property (Fromm 1979: 33). It looks to objects and material possessions.

Being is rooted in love according to Fromm. It is concerned with shared experience and productive activity. Rather than seeking to possess and control, in this mode, we engage with the world. We do not impose ourselves on others nor ‘interfere’ in their lives (see Smith and Smith 2008: 16-17).

These different orientations involve contrasting approaches to learning.

Students in the having mode must have but one aim; to hold onto what they have ‘learned’, either by entrusting it firmly to their memories or by carefully guarding their notes. They do not have to produce or create something new…. The process of learning has an entirely different quality for students in the being mode… Instead of being passive receptacles of words and ideas, they listen, they hear , and most important, they receive and they respond in an active, productive way. (Fromm 1979: 37-38)

In many ways, this difference mirrors that between education and schooling. Schooling entails transmitting knowledge in manageable lumps so it can be stored and then used so that students can pass tests and have qualifications. Education involves engaging with others and the world. It entails being with   others in a particular way. Here I want to explore three aspects – being respectful, informed and wise.

Being respectful

The process of education flows from a basic orientation of respect – respect for truth, others and themselves, and the world. It is an attitude or feeling which is carried through into concrete action, into the way we treat people, for example. Respect, as R. S. Dillon (2014) has reminded us, is derived from the Latin respicere , meaning ‘to look back at’ or ‘to look again’ at something. In other words, when we respect something we value it enough to make it our focus and to try to see it for what it is, rather than what we might want it to be. It is so important that it calls for our recognition and our regard – and we choose to respond.

We can see this at work in our everyday relationships. When we think highly of someone we may well talk about respecting them – and listen carefully to what they say or value the example they give. Here, though, we are also concerned with a more abstract idea – that of moral worth or value. Rather than looking at why we respect this person or that, the interest is in why we should respect people in general (or truth, or creation, or ourselves).

First, we expect educators to hold truth dearly . We expect that they will look beneath the surface, try to challenge misrepresentation and lies, and be open to alternatives. They should display the ‘two basic virtues of truth’: sincerity and accuracy (Williams 2002: 11). There are strong religious reasons for this. Bearing false witness, within Christian traditions, can be seen as challenging the foundations of God’s covenant. There are also strongly practical reasons for truthfulness. Without it, the development of knowledge would not be possible – we could not evaluate one claim against another. Nor could we conduct much of life. For example, as Paul Seabright (2010) has argued, truthfulness allows us to trust strangers. In the process, we can build complex societies, trade and cooperate.

Educators, as with other respecters of truth, should do their best to acquire ‘true beliefs’ and to ensure what they say actually reveals what they believe (Williams 2002: 11). Their authority, ‘must be rooted in their truthfulness in both these respects: they take care, and they do not lie’ op. cit.).

Second, educators should display fundamental respect for others (and themselves) . There is a straightforward theological argument for this. There is also a fundamental philosophical argument for ‘respect for persons’. Irrespective of what they have done, the people they are or their social position, it is argued, people are deserving of some essential level of regard. The philosopher most closely associated with this idea is Immanuel Kant – and his thinking has become a central pillar of humanism. Kant’s position was that people were deserving of respect because they are people – free, rational beings. They are ends in themselves with an absolute dignity

Alongside respect for others comes respect for self. Without it, it is difficult to see how we can flourish – and whether we can be educators. Self-respect is not to be confused with qualities like self-esteem or self-confidence; rather it is to do with our intrinsic worth as a person and a sense of ourselves as mattering. It involves a ‘secure conviction that [our] conception of the good, [our] plan of life, is worth carrying out’ (Rawls 1972: 440). For some, respect for ourselves is simply the other side of the coin from respect for others. It flows from respect for persons. For others, like John Rawls, it is vital for happiness and must be supported as a matter of justice.

Third, educators should respect the Earth . This is sometimes talked about as respect for nature, or respect for all things or care for creation. Again there is a strong theological argument here – in much religious thinking humans are understood as stewards of the earth. Our task is to cultivate and care for it (see, for example, Genesis 2:15). However, there is also a strong case grounded in human experience. For example, Miller (2000) argues that ‘each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace’. Respect for the world is central to the thinking of those arguing for a more holistic vision of education and to the thinking of educationalists such as Montessori . Her vision of ‘cosmic education’ puts appreciating the wholeness of life at the core.

Since it has been seen to be necessary to give so much to the child, let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions. We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. This idea helps the mind of the child to become fixed, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied, having found the universal centre of himself with all things’. (Montessori 2000)

Last, and certainly not least, there is a basic practical concern. We face an environmental crisis of catastrophic proportions. As Emmett (among many others) has pointed out, it is likely that we are looking at a global average rise of over four degrees Centigrade. This ‘will lead to runaway climate change, capable of tipping the planet into an entirely different state, rapidly. Earth would become a hell hole’ (2013: 143).

Being informed

To facilitate learning we must have some understanding of the subject matter being explored, and the impact study could have on those involved. In other words, facilitation is intelligent.

We expect, quite reasonably, that when people describe themselves as teachers or educators, they know something about the subjects they are talking about. In this respect, our ‘subject area’ as educators is wide. It can involve particular aspects of knowledge and activity such as those associated with maths or history. However, it is also concerned with happiness and relationships, the issues and problems of everyday life in communities, and questions around how people are best to live their lives. In some respects, it is wisdom that is required – not so much in the sense that we know a lot or are learned – but rather we are able to help people make good judgements about problems and situations.

We also assume that teachers and educators know how to help people learn. The forms of education we are exploring here are sophisticated. They can embrace the techniques of classroom management and of teaching to a curriculum that has been the mainstay of schooling. However, they move well beyond this into experiential learning, working with groups, and forms of working with individuals that draw upon insights from counselling and therapy.

In short, we look to teachers and educators as experts, We expect them to apply their expertise to help people learn. However, things don’t stop there. Many look for something more – wisdom.

Wisdom is not something that we can generally claim for ourselves – but a quality recognized by others. Sometimes when people are described as wise what is meant is that they are scholarly or learned. More often, I suspect, when others are described as ‘being wise’ it that people have experienced their questions or judgement helpful and sound when exploring a problem or difficult situation (see Smith and Smith 2008: 57-69). This entails:

• appreciating what can make people flourish
• being open to truth in its various guises and allowing subjects to speak to us
• developing the capacity to reflect
• 
  being knowledgeable, especially about ourselves, around ‘what makes people tick’ and the systems of which we are a part
• being discerning – able to evaluate and judge situations. ( op. cit. : 68)

This combination of qualities, when put alongside being respectful and informed, comes close to what Martin Buber talked about as the ‘real teacher’. The real teacher, he believed:

… teaches most successfully when he is not consciously trying to teach at all, but when he acts spontaneously out of his own life. Then he can gain the pupil’s confidence; he can convince the adolescent that there is human truth, that existence has a meaning. And when the pupil’s confidence has been won, ‘his resistance against being educated gives way to a singular happening: he accepts the educator as a person. He feels he may trust this man, that this man is taking part in his life, accepting him before desiring to influence him. And so he learns to ask…. (Hodes 1972: 136)

Education – acting so that all may share in life

Thus far in answering the question ‘what is education?’ we have seen how it can be thought of as the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning. Here we will explore the claim that education should be undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life. This commitment to the good of all and of each individual is central to the vision of education explored here, but it could be argued that it is possible to be involved in education without this. We could take out concern for others. We could just focus on process – the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning – and not state to whom this applies and the direction it takes.

Looking beyond process

First, we need to answer the question ‘if we act wisely, hopefully, and respectfully as educators do we need to have a further purpose?’ Our guide here will again be John Dewey. He approached the question a century ago by arguing that ‘the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for growth’ (Dewey 1916: 100). Education, for him, entailed the continuous ‘reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience. (Dewey 1916: 76). His next step was to consider the social relationships in which this can take place and the degree of control that learners and educators have over the process. Just as Freire (1972) argued later, relationships for learning need to be mutual, and individual and social change possible.

In our search for aims in education, we are not concerned… with finding an end outside of the educative process to which education is subordinate. Our whole conception forbids. We are rather concerned with the contrast which exists when aims belong within the process in which they operate and when they are set up from without. And the latter state of affairs must obtain when social relationships are not equitably balanced. For in that case, some portions of the whole social group will find their aims determined by an external dictation; their aims will not arise from the free growth of their own experience, and their nominal aims will be means to more ulterior ends of others rather than truly their own. (Dewey 1916: 100-101)

In other words, where there are equitable relationships, control over the learning process, and the possibilities of fundamental change we needn’t look beyond the process. However, we have to work for much of the time in situations and societies where this level of democracy and social justice does not exist. Hence the need to make clear a wider purpose. Dewey (1916: 7) argued, thus, that our ‘chief business’ as educators is to enable people ‘to share in a common life’. I want to widen this and to argue that all should have a chance to share in life.

Having the chance to share in life

We will explore, briefly, three overlapping approaches to making the case – via religious belief, human rights and scientific exploration.

Religious belief. Historically it has been a religious rationale that has underpinned much thinking about this question. If we were to look at Catholic social teaching, for example, we find that at its heart lays a concern for human dignity . This starts from the position that, ‘human beings, created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), have by their very existence an inherent value, worth, and distinction’ (Groody 2007). Each life is considered sacred and cannot be ignored or excluded. As we saw earlier, Kant argued something similar with regard to ‘respect for persons’. All are worthy of respect and the chance to flourish.

To human dignity a concern for solidarity is often added (especially within contemporary Catholic social teaching). Solidarity:

… is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. On Social Concern ( Sollicitudo rei Socialis . . . ), #38

Another element, fundamental to the formation of the groups, networks and associations necessary for the ‘common life’ that Dewey describes, is subsidiarity . This principle, which first found its institutional voice in a papal encyclical in 1881, holds that human affairs are best handled at the ‘lowest’ possible level, closest to those affected (Kaylor 2015). It is a principle that can both strengthen civil society and the possibility of more mutual relationships for learning.

Together, these can provide a powerful and inclusive rationale for looking beyond particular individuals or groups when thinking about educational activity.

Human rights. Beside religious arguments lie others that are born of agreed principle or norm rather than faith. Perhaps the best known of these relate to what have become known as human rights. The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it this way:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 26 further states:

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms….

These fundamental and inalienable rights are the entitlement of all human beings regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status (Article 2).

Scientific exploration. Lastly, I want to look at the results of scientific investigation into our nature as humans. More specifically we need to reflect on what it means when humans are described as social animals.

As we have already seen there is a significant amount of research showing just how dependent we are in everyday life on having trusting relationships in a society. Without them even the most basic exchanges cannot take place. We also know that in those societies where there is stronger concern for others and relatively narrow gaps between rich and poor people are generally happier (see, for example, Halpern 2010). On the basis of this material we could make a case for educators to look to the needs and experiences of all. Political, social and economic institutions depend on mass participation or at least benign consent – and the detail of this has to be learnt. However, with our growing appreciation of how our brains work and with the development of, for example, social cognitive neuroscience, we have a different avenue for exploration. We look to the needs and experience of others because we are hard-wired to do so. As Matthew D. Lieberman (2013) has put it:

Our basic urges include the need to belong, right along with the need for food and water. Our pain and pleasure systems do not merely respond to sensory inputs that can produce physical harm and reward. They are also exquisitely tuned to the sweet and bitter tastes delivered from the social world—a world of connection and threat to connection. (Lieberman 2013: 299)

Our survival as a species is dependent upon on looking to the needs and experiences of others. We dependent upon:

  Connecting: We have ‘evolved the capacity to feel social pains and pleasures, forever linking our well-being to our social connectedness. Infants embody this deep need to stay connected, but it is present through our entire lives’ ( op. cit. : 10) Mindreading: Primates have developed an unparalleled ability to understand the actions and thoughts of those around them, enhancing their ability to stay connected and interact strategically… This capacity allows humans to create groups that can implement nearly any idea and to anticipate the needs and wants of those around us, keeping our groups moving smoothly ( op. cit. : 10) Harmonizing: Although the self may appear to be a mechanism for distinguishing us from others and perhaps accentuating our selfishness, the self actually operates as a powerful force for social cohesiveness. Whereas   connection   is about our desire to be social, harmonizing   refers to the neural adaptations that allow group beliefs and values to influence our own. ( op. cit. : 11)

One of the key issues around these processes is the extent to which they can act to become exclusionary i.e. people can become closely attached to one particular group, community or nation and begin to treat others as somehow lesser or alien. In so doing relationships that are necessary to our survival – and that of the planet – become compromised. We need to develop relationships that are both bonding and bridging (see social capital ) – and this involves being and interacting with others who may not share our interests and concerns.

Education is more than fostering understanding and an appreciation of emotions and feelings. It is also concerned with change – ‘with how people can act with understanding and sensitivity to improve their lives and those of others’ (Smith and Smith 2008: 104). As Karl Marx (1977: 157-8) famously put it ‘all social life is practical…. philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; ‘the point is to change it’. Developing an understanding of an experience or a situation is one thing, working out what is good and wanting to do something about it is quite another. ‘For appropriate action to occur there needs to be commitment’ (Smith and Smith 2008: 105).

This combination of reflection; looking to what might be good and making it our own; and seeking to change ourselves and the world we live in is what Freire (1973) talked about as  praxis. It involves us, as educators, working with people to create and sustain environments and relationships where it is possible to:

• Go back to experiences . Learning doesn’t take place in a vacuum. We have to look to the past as well as the present and the future. It is necessary to put things in their place by returning to, or recalling, events and happenings that seem relevant.
• Attend and connect to feelings . Our ability to think and act is wrapped up with our feelings. Appreciating what might be going on for us (and for others) at a particular moment; thinking about the ways our emotions may be affecting things; and being open to what our instincts or intuitions are telling us are important elements of such reflection. (See Boud et. al. 1985).
• Develop understandings . Alongside attending to feelings and experiences, we need to examine the theories and understandings we are using. We also need to build new interpretations where needed. We should be looking to integrating new knowledge into our conceptual framework.
• Commit . Education is something ‘higher’ according to John Henry Newman. It is concerned not just with what we know and can do, but also with who we are, what we value, and our capacity to live life as well as we can . We need space to engage with these questions and help to appreciate the things we value. As we learn to frame our beliefs we can better appreciate how they breathe life into our relationships and encounters, become our own, and move us to act.
• Act . Education is forward-looking and hopeful. It looks to change for the better. In the end our efforts at facilitating learning have to be judged by the extent to which they further the capacity to flourish and to share in life. For this reason we need also to attend to the concrete, the actual steps that can be taken to improve things.

As such education is a deeply practical activity – something that we can do for ourselves (what we could call self-education), and with others.

Conclusion – so what is education?

It is in this way that we end up with a definition of education as ‘the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life’. What does education involve?

We can begin with what Aristotle discusses as hexis – a readiness to sense and know. This is a state – or what Joe Sachs (2001) talks about as an ‘active condition’. It allows us to take a step forward – both in terms of the processes discussed above, and in what we might seek to do when working with learners and participants. Such qualities can be seen as being at the core of the haltung and processes of pedagogues and educators (see below). There is a strong emphasis upon being in touch with feelings, attending to intuitions and seeking evidence to confirm or question what we might be sensing. A further element is also present – a concern not to take things for granted or at their face value (See, also, Pierre Bourdieu on education , Bourdieu 1972|1977: 214 n1).

Beyond that, we can see a guiding eidos or leading idea. This is the belief that all share in life and a picture of what might allow people to be happy and flourish. Alongside is a disposition or haltung   (a concern to act respectfully, knowledgeably and wisely) and interaction (joining with others to build relationships and environments for learning). Finally, there is praxis – informed, committed action (Carr and Kemmis 1986; Grundy 1987).

The process of education

At first glance, this way of answering the question ‘what is education?’ – with its roots in the thinking of  Aristotle , Rousseau , Pestalozzi and Dewey (to name a few) – is part of the progressive tradition of educational practice. It seems very different from ‘formal tradition’ or ‘traditional education’.

If there is a core theme to the formal position it is that education is about passing on information; for formalists, culture and civilization represent a store of ideas and wisdom which have to be handed on to new generations. Teaching is at the heart of this transmission; and the process of transmission is education…

While progressive educators stress the child’s development from within, formalists put the emphasis, by contrast, on formation from without— formation that comes from immersion in the knowledge, ideas, beliefs, concepts, and visions of society, culture, civilization. There are, one might say, conservative and liberal interpretations of this world view— the conservative putting the emphasis on transmission itself, on telling, and the liberal putting the emphasis more on induction, on initiation by involvement with culture’s established ideas.(Thomas 2013: 25-26).

As both Thomas and Dewey (1938: 17-23) have argued, these distinctions are problematic. A lot of the debate is either really about education being turned, or slipping, into something else, or reflecting a lack of balance between the informal and formal.

In the ‘formal tradition’ problems often occur where people are treated as objects to be worked on or ‘moulded’ rather than as participants and creators i.e. where education slips into ‘schooling’.

In the ‘progressive tradition’ issues frequently arise where the nature of experience is neglected or handled incompetently. Some experiences are damaging and ‘mis-educative’. They can arrest or distort ‘the growth of further experience’ (Dewey 1938: 25). The problem often comes when education drifts or moves into entertainment or containment. Involvement in the immediate activity is the central concern and little attention is given to expanding horizons, nor to reflection, commitment and creating change.

The answer to the question ‘what is education?’ given here can apply to both those ‘informal’ forms that are driven and rooted in conversation – and to more formal approaches involving a curriculum. The choice is not between what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ – but rather what is appropriate for people in this situation or that. There are times to use transmission and direct teaching as methods, and moments for exploration, experience and action. It is all about getting the mix right and framing it within the guiding eidos and disposition of education.

Further reading and references

Recommended introductions.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books. (Collier edition first published 1963). In this book, Dewey seeks to move beyond dualities such as progressive/traditional – and to outline a philosophy of experience and its relation to education.

Thomas, G. (2013). Education: A very short introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Simply the best contemporary introduction to thinking about schooling and education.

Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, D. (eds.) (1985). Reflection. Turning experience into learning . London: Kogan Page.

Bourdieu, Pierre. (1972|1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. First published in French as Esquisse d’une théorie de la pratique, précédé de trois études d’ethnologie kabyle, (1972).

Brookfield, S. (1984). Adult learners, adult education and the community . Milton Keynes, PA: Open University Press.

Buber, Martin (1947). Between Man and Man. Transl. R. G. Smith. London: Kegan Paul .

Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research. Lewes: Falmer.

Dewey, J. (1916), Democracy and Education. An introduction to the philosophy of education (1966 edn.). New York: Free Press.

Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. (Revised edn.), Boston: D. C. Heath.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books. (Collier edition first published 1963).

Dillon, R. S. (2014). Respect. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). [ http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/respect/ . Retrieved: February 10, 2015].

Ellis, J. W. (1990). Informal education – a Christian perspective.   Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds.)   Using Informal Education. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Emmott, S. (2013). 10 Billion . London: Penguin. [Kindle edition].

Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Freire, P. (1994) Pedagogy of Hope. Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed . With notes by Ana Maria Araujo Freire. Translated by Robert R. Barr. New York: Continuum.

Fromm, E. (1979). To Have or To Be . London: Abacus. (First published 1976).

Fromm, E. (1995). The Art of Loving . London: Thorsons. (First published 1957).

Gallagher, M. W. and Lopez, S. J. (eds.) (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Hope . New York: Oxford University Press.

Gopnik, A. (2016). The Gardener and the Carpenter. What the new science of child development tells us about the relationship between parents and children . London: Random House.

Groody, D. (2007). Globalization, Spirituality and Justice . New York: Orbis Books.

Grundy, S. (1987). Curriculum. Product or praxis . Lewes: Falmer.

Halpern, D. (2010). The hidden wealth of nations . Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Halpin, D. (2003). Hope and Education. The role of the utopian imagination . London: RoutledgeFalmer.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress. Education as the practice of freedom , London: Routledge.

hooks, b. (2003). Teaching Community. A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.

Hodes, A. (1972). Encounter with Martin Buber. London:   Allen Lane/Penguin.

Illeris, K. (2002). The Three Dimensions of Learning. Contemporary learning theory in the tension field between the cognitive, the emotional and the social. Frederiksberg: Roskilde University Press.

Kant, I. (1949). Fundamental principles of the metaphysic of morals (trans.  T. K. Abbott). New York: Liberal Arts Press.

Kaylor, C. (2015). Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. CatholicCulture.org. [ http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7538#PartV . Retrieved March 21, 2015].

Klein, N. (2014). This Changes Everything. Capitalism vs. the climate . London: Penguin. [Kindle edition].

Liston, D. P. (1980). Love and despair in teaching. Educational Theory . 50(1): 81-102.

MacQuarrie, J. (1978). Christian Hope . Oxford: Mowbray.

Marx, K. (1977). ‘These on Feurrbach’ in D. McLellan (ed.) Karl Marx. Selected writings . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moltmann, J. (1967). Theology of hope: On the ground and the implications of a Christian eschatology . New York: Harper & Row. Available on-line: http://www.pubtheo.com/page.asp?PID=1036

Moltmann, J. (1971). Hope and planning . New York: Harper & Row.

Montessori, M. (2000). To educate the human potential . Oxford: Clio Press.

Rawls, J. (1972). A Theory of Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rorty, R. (1999). Philosophy and Social Hope . London: Penguin.

Sciolli, A. and Biller, H. B. (2009). Hope in the Age of Anxiety. A guide to understanding and strengthening our most important virtue. New York: Oxford University Press.

Seabright, P. (2010). The Company of Strangers. A natural history of economic life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Smith, H. and Smith, M. K. (2008). The Art of Helping Others . Being Around, Being There, Being Wise . London: Jessica Kingsley.

Smith, M. K. (2019). Haltung, pedagogy and informal education, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/haltung-pedagogy-and-informal-education/ . Retrieved: August 28, 2019].

Smith, M. K. (2012, 2021). ‘What is pedagogy?’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-pedagogy/ . Retrieved February 16, 2021)

Thomas, G. (2013). Education: A very short introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Kindle Edition].

United Nations General Assembly (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . New York: United Nations. [ http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ . A ccessed March 14, 2015].

Warnock, M. (1986). The Education of the Emotions. In D. Cooper (ed.) Education, values and the mind. Essays for R. S. Peters . London: Routledge and Keegan Paul.

Williams, B. (2002). Truth & truthfulness: An essay in genealogy . Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Acknowledgements : Picture: Dessiner le futur adulte by Alain Bachellier. Sourced from Flickr and reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) licence. http://www.flickr.com/photos/alainbachellier/537180464/

The informal-formal education curriculum diagram is reproduced with permission from Ellis, J. W. (1990). Informal education – a Christian perspective. Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education . Buckingham: Open University Press. You can read the full chapter in the informal education archives: http://infed.org/archives/usinginformaleducation/ellis.htm

The process of education diagram was developed by Mark K Smith and was inspired by Grundy 1987. It can be reproduced without asking for specific permission but should be credited using the information in ‘how to cite this piece’ below.

This piece uses some material from Smith (2019) Haltung, pedagogy and informal education and (2021) What is pedagogy? (see the references above).

How to cite this piece : Smith, M. K. (2015, 2021). What is education? A definition and discussion. The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-education-a-definition-and-discussion/ . Retrieved: insert date ].

© Mark K Smith 2015, 2021

• Editor's Pick

‘A Big Win’: Harvard Expands Kosher Options in Undergraduate Dining Halls

Top Republicans Ask Harvard to Detail Plans for Handling Campus Protests in New Semester

Harvard’s Graduate Union Installs Third New President in Less Than 1 Year

Harvard Settles With Applied Physics Professor Who Sued Over Tenure Denial

Longtime Harvard Social Studies Director Anya Bassett Remembered As ‘Greatest Mentor’

What is An Educated Man?

The press--.

Ramsay MacDonald joined a group of "old students" of a workingmen's college at supper in London a few nights ago, and discussed with his sometime comrades the real meaning of education and the definition of the "educated man." Certainly, said this man who has sat in the seat of Gladstone, the educated man is not a "learned man." By this is meant that he is not necessarily educated because he is learned. Nor is he an educated man simply because he is a university man, added this son of a farm laborer who was thrilled last July when the University of Glasgow gave him its degree, the greatest of prizes in the eyes of a Scotchman. A man may be educated for a that and a that.

Here is the educated man, according to the former Prime Minister:

The educated man is a man with certain subtle spiritual qualities which make him calm in adversity, happy when alone, just in his dealings, rational and sane in the fullest meaning of that word in all the affairs of his life."

Such a man may be as learned as Aristotle, or he may, as Mr. MacDonald said, have difficulty in signing his own name. He may be back in the country somewhere, singing the old folksongs, or talking about his sheep and his dogs, or quoting Burns. This is defining education not in terms of "counts" and "credit" courses, of "majors" and "minors," nor in professional or other vocational achievements, but in simple spiritual and intellectual values. . . . . New York Times

Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.

• EssayBasics.com
• Pay For Essay
• Write My Essay
• Homework Writing Help
• Essay Editing Service
• Thesis Writing Help
• Write My College Essay
• Do My Essay
• Term Paper Writing Service
• Coursework Writing Service
• Write My Research Paper
• Assignment Writing Help
• Essay Writing Help
• Call Now! (USA) Login Order now
• EssayBasics.com Call Now! (USA) Order now
• Writing Guides

The Educated Man (Speech Sample)

The educated man.

Being educated is popularly associated with getting a degree from a recognized university and acquiring a white-collar job.  With many degrees, one is believed to be educated. I do believe that such notion is a narrow and wrong conception of education. I do believe that education is a process and cannot be completed at a specific stage of life.  It is not surprising that in several situations, we have witnessed people who despite being educated do not utter wise words. The question is what makes an educated man who is intelligent enough and have succeeded in the scientific field not to be wise.

This question is not new; many philosophers in the past have tried to explain such paradox. Isocrates was a great philosopher and a teacher during the 4th century responded to his critics by explaining the meaning of education. He gave an explanation that was not given appropriate attention, but his definition of education is remarkable. The panathenaicus speech by Isocrates was a response to those who criticized him because of his narrow opinions.  Isocrates speech highlights his view of a truly educated man that we cannot ignore.

In his view, Isocrates states that most men have attained a certain age of maturity having masters several skills in geometry, science and other specialized field that they can eventually teach others. However, such men seem to appear to be foolish when addressing ordinary life matters. A truly educated man has the acumen to interpret circumstances and benefit from it. An educated man is a fair, tolerant; he is meek, kind and decent with his friends. Isocrates also described an educated man as someone who can control his impulses by bravely dealing with misfortunes. When concluding his speech, Isocrates stated that a true man is not a corrupt person who can easily be swayed by happy circumstances; instead, he enjoys more from what he has earned from hard labor than what he has achieved by chance.

According to Isocrates, anyone who meets the above requirements is truly an educated man. In summary, he should be sensible, moderate and can pursue his benefit without necessarily despising people around him.  Even though Isocrates’ description of an educated man goes back during Renaissance period, the fact that his definition emphasizes not only on mental but also moral excellence for humans makes it relevant up to date. The term-educated man does not mean that an individual need to memorize all the facts to earn a string of academic degrees. What matter is how one translates his thoughts into action.

An educated man lives a distinct life because he has an open mind because he has great thoughts and noble ideas.  His intelligence does not imprison him; instead, he chooses to make rigorous analysis and evaluate everything around him. He is someone who is not interested in accumulating academic paper, but has a habit of cultivating a generous spirit. Because he expresses himself in a logical and precise manner, he is interested in interacting with people and tries to live life to the fullest by acquiring wisdom and maturity from his own experience.

Being educated means not only acquiring intellectual qualities, but also moral qualities. An educated person has pleasing manners, people around him feel at home in his company because he utters wise words that attract many people and practice the art of listening making his conversation lively. I concur with Isocrates claims that anyone who masters these talents to gain all the mentioned qualities is a truly educated man and is someone who can succeed in life more than anyone can because he has intellectual and moral qualities.

Essay on Education for School Students and Children

500+ words essay on education.

Education is an important tool which is very useful in everybody’s life. Education is what differentiates us from other living beings on earth. It makes man the smartest creature on earth. It empowers humans and gets them ready to face challenges of life efficiently. With that being said, education still remains a luxury and not a necessity in our country. Educational awareness needs to be spread through the country to make education accessible. But, this remains incomplete without first analyzing the importance of education. Only when the people realize what significance it holds, can they consider it a necessity for a good life. In this essay on Education, we will see the importance of education and how it is a doorway to success.

Importance of Education

Education is the most significant tool in eliminating poverty and unemployment . Moreover, it enhances the commercial scenario and benefits the country overall. So, the higher the level of education in a country, the better the chances of development are.

In addition, this education also benefits an individual in various ways. It helps a person take a better and informed decision with the use of their knowledge. This increases the success rate of a person in life.

Subsequently, education is also responsible for providing with an enhanced lifestyle. It gives you career opportunities that can increase your quality of life.

Similarly, education also helps in making a person independent. When one is educated enough, they won’t have to depend on anyone else for their livelihood. They will be self-sufficient to earn for themselves and lead a good life.

Above all, education also enhances the self-confidence of a person and makes them certain of things in life. When we talk from the countries viewpoint, even then education plays a significant role. Educated people vote for the better candidate of the country. This ensures the development and growth of a nation.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Doorway to Success

To say that education is your doorway to success would be an understatement. It serves as the key which will unlock numerous doors that will lead to success. This will, in turn, help you build a better life for yourself.

An educated person has a lot of job opportunities waiting for them on the other side of the door. They can choose from a variety of options and not be obligated to do something they dislike. Most importantly, education impacts our perception positively. It helps us choose the right path and look at things from various viewpoints rather than just one.

With education, you can enhance your productivity and complete a task better in comparison to an uneducated person. However, one must always ensure that education solely does not ensure success.

It is a doorway to success which requires hard work, dedication and more after which can you open it successfully. All of these things together will make you successful in life.

In conclusion, education makes you a better person and teaches you various skills. It enhances your intellect and the ability to make rational decisions. It enhances the individual growth of a person.

Education also improves the economic growth of a country . Above all, it aids in building a better society for the citizens of a country. It helps to destroy the darkness of ignorance and bring light to the world.

FAQs on Education

Q.1 Why is Education Important?

A.1 Education is important because it is responsible for the overall development of a person. It helps you acquire skills which are necessary for becoming successful in life.

Q.2 How does Education serve as a Doorway to Success?

A.2 Education is a doorway to success because it offers you job opportunities. Furthermore, it changes our perception of life and makes it better.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App