Throughout the material in the American Education: Past and Present, the themes of morality and socialization have been commonplace. Whether it was the ancient Roman civilization or John Amos Comenius’ works, there has constantly been a push for the finer art of education where one not only learns the material academically but becomes a good citizen as well. The relentless desire has been to improve the individual and society by raising the standards, morally and academically. This means that the school system is indeed a vehicle of socialization and change for society. The school years are generally viewed as the most formative period in a young person’s life due to where they are at developmentally along with increased exposure to peer socialization, academics and issues in today’s society. With this knowledge, the expectations come with great responsibility for the teacher and other educators to tend not only to academics but to the moral and social fabric of their students. These ambitious goals can be sought after by providing thorough multicultural education and holistic teaching that is modeled throughout society and not just in the school system.
As the United States of America was formed by a mixture of cultures and ideas from around the world, it is only natural that providing multicultural education would be a critical piece to the mission of improving the moral and social fabric of students. In Arthur Ellis’ article, Multicultural Education, he states, “The goals of multicultural education is to understand peoples and eliminate social problems. To achieve these goals, it is important to be aware of cultural factors: gender, religious affiliation, geographic location, economics, race, and ethnicity. Each of these factors affects people’s habits, their personal aims, their speech, and their attitudes toward schooling” (Ellis, p.9). The global understanding that can be achieved by addressing these factors and teaching to them opens doors for students to become more aware of the world around them. Teaching students to be aware and accepting of other cultures and backgrounds helps them to become global citizens with stronger moral and social fabric. “Ethnicity and culture affect the ways people interact socially, as well as their personal ideas and goals. To be aware of some of the ways culture affects different beliefs is to broaden your view of the needs of students” (Ellis, Multicultural Education). In addition to the social and moral advancements that would be made, academic achievement would be increased as well. If a student is worried about being made fun of for missing a day of school for a religious reason or they can’t afford a calculator, their motivation and habits for learning will be negatively affected. By addressing these issues that can consume a student’s mind and energy, they would have the opportunity to fully engage in the academic side of school without these worries. When the basic needs of a student are met, he or she can truly explore their full potential in other areas.
In my future role as a school counselor, multicultural education must be an on-going pursuit for myself as well so that I may guide students towards this understanding. As the number of languages within a school continue to increase and the American culture continues to diversify, educators must be sensitive to differences in affecting factors. By being receptive and intentional about working with students from various backgrounds, it will help to set precedence for peer-to-peer interaction. The multicultural assemblies that are often held once a year in schools are a great way to introduce the rich traditions of each culture but it is essential to incorporate that inclusion and reverence throughout the rest of the year as well. In a counseling role, this could look like forming discussion groups or going into a classroom to educate students and facilitate fruitful conversations. For students to be aware of unique aspects of their friends and classmates’ cultures that differ from their own is a way to empower these relationships through knowledge and understanding. As the factors addressed in multicultural education can be sensitive, it will be critical to empower students rather than make them feel like they are behind or disadvantaged due to the situations they are in or their backgrounds.
The goal of improving social, moral and academic standards is not new to today’s society. As much of the American education system can find its roots in the Roman systems, this plight does as well. Romans greatly valued a well-rounded citizen and strived to achieve that. The central focus was directed outwardly, away from the individual. This meant “obligation to others, virtue in service to others, loyalty to family, city and Rome” (Scheuerman). In addition to fostering these beliefs morally and socially, the Romans believed that pupils should be taught a broad range of topics in order to create knowledgeable and aware citizens. This holistic approach resonates with me and my experience with the schooling system as well as my expectations of participating in it from an educator standpoint. Due to the unique position of educators, society now expects students to learn math and other topics while picking up important lifelong lessons. The cardinal values of the Roman society exemplified their moral and social goals along with their desire to broaden and strengthen their knowledge base. The values are pietas, gravitas, virtus and loyalty. Pietas, meaning obligations to gods, parents, and benefactors, showcases the outward approach to life that the Romans emphasized in their teachings. Gravitas means dignity and virtus was defined by manliness and bravery” (Scheuerman). These values accompanied the Twelve Tables that were taught to young children as part of the Roman education. The formalities and goals of the Roman society sought to educate children both academically and personally.
One aspect of the school counseling program that attracted me to Seattle Pacific University was the emphasis on the student as a whole. There is a sense of urgency in counseling students holistically rather than compartmentalizing what occurs during the school day. What goes on at home and elsewhere outside of school truly affects the student’s ability to learn and focus academically. Furthermore, students are at an age where they are developing tools such as coping mechanisms and communication strategies to help them navigate their lives. As the Romans taught respectable and desirable traits to be a good citizen in addition to mastering various school subjects, I, as a school counselor, must address the student’s whole life. This expands beyond the class they are worried about failing or the argument they got into with a friend but to their emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The moral and social aspects of holistic teaching and counseling are intertwined with raised standards for a student’s academic life as well.
The thinkers and leaders of education have spanned thousands of years, ranging from the teachings of Jesus to the ideas and passions of modern day thinkers. “Quite often, the term “philosophy” conjures up images of an abstract field of study pursued by those at the highest levels of academia. In many respects, philosophy is abstract. But it is also concrete, and as such it is with each of us at all times. In this sense, philosophy is the system of beliefs about life which each of us acts out daily. It is one of the most important pieces of intellectual equipment that each of us has” (Ellis, Philosophical Perspectives). John Amos Comenius is recognized as a dynamic and impactful thinker in terms of modern education. “Comenius’ aims were to provide a classical experience in terms of imparting moral understanding with this broader conception of the knowledge base” (Scheuerman). The focus of Comenius’ work centered on the natural goodness within a child and cultivating that during the education process. He believed in promoting goodness by instruction, the well-being of the individual along with the common good. In accordance with his practice and theory, the innate goodness of a child could be cultivated and drawn out further through instruction.
Comenius thought of children “not as machines but as structures to promote goodness” (Scheuerman). The structures that he used ranged from implementing universal textbooks to using visual aids. Based on his writings and how he lived his life, Comenius seemed to genuinely care for students and to take personal interest in how they could best learn and be taught. He is known for recommending that “classrooms should be arranged to engender as much pleasure as fairs” (Scheuerman). When one stops to ponder this statement, the classic views of a fair may come to mind, including a colorful tent, artists of varying interests, music and the general whir of happiness. Over the years, the fair has been a symbol of happiness for many and Comenius wanted to apply that same feeling to learning environments. Often times in today’s society, schools are overcome with regulations and standards that must be met and followed rather than allow the teacher to express his or her creativity and thus, creating a comfortable and stimulating environment for the learners. Comenius stressed the importance of positive play and activity in an attempt to make learning environments a fun and inviting place to be, rather than an intimidating ambience with the focus on formalities and rules to follow. The importance for positivity is a change from the negativity and expectation of failure that some students may have, often originating from interactions with an educator who made them feel that way. By being positive and warm, students are invited to open up and truly explore their academic limits in a safe environment. With a constant desire for improvement and a willingness to teach students himself, he made remarkable strides in impacting the way children are taught.
My own philosophy, though very much still in its formative stage, identifies with points from Comenius’ works and contributions. Comenius’ idea of a classroom bringing about as much pleasure as a fair encourages and challenges me to take time to think of the ambience I can create in a school counselor office. As humans of all ages are highly affected by their environment, it is necessary to spend time thinking of themes and decorations that will help me achieve my goal of helping students. It is not simply a matter of throwing posters on the wall, but it is a process that should be intentional and take some time and energy. The age of the students I am working with will certainly affect the materials and goals of the office setting. Younger students could be more easily pleased with cartoon-like quotes and posters but older students may simply require something in the environment that they can relate to and that comforts them. The simple concept of positivity is another point to keep in mind. While it won’t always be easy, the energy flowing from myself and as a counselor and my office will certainly affect students and how they learn to handle and navigate their own circumstances.
The goals of education are intertwined with the works of the most popular and impactful philosophers and thinkers of humankind. To improve the moral and social fabric of students and raise the level of academic achievement, there must continue to be people like John Amos Comenius’ and many others, who deeply and genuinely desire change. John Amos Comenius’ contributions were particularly noteworthy as he participated in the groundwork of interacting with students and teaching them face to face. His focus on positivity and the natural goodness of each child surely had a lasting impact on those he worked with and learned from. Although the wave of change and improvement may seem slow and daunting, it is important to remember that it is possible and each effort made by an educator counts. When educators and philosophers are willing to invest in students, not only to meet academic requirements of a school district or state, but to mold and shape them into strong and contributing citizens, society reaps the benefits for years and generations to come.
Ellis, Arthur. Multicultural Education. In Educational Foundations. Retrieved from
http://mountainlightschool.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/session-7-ellis-multicultural education.pdf.
Ellis, Arthur. Philosophical Perspectives. In Educational Foundations. Retrieved from http://mountainlightschool.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/session-5-ellis-philosophicalperspectives.pdf.
Scheurman, Richard. John Amos Comenius and the Great Didactic. [Podcast]. Retrieved from EDU 6120 website: http://mountainlightschool.wordpress.com/.
Scheurman, Richard. The Methods of Comenius. [Podcast]. Retrieved from EDU 6120 website: http://mountainlightschool.wordpress.com/.
Scheuerman, Richard. The Roman Way and Traditional Values. [Podcast]. Retrieved from EDU 6120 website: http://mountainlightschool.wordpress.com/.
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