Title: Rousseau Revisited: Compassion as an Essential Element in Democratic Education
Abstract: A cursory examination of news media reports most certainly leads one general national perception that America's schools are in trouble. Among myriad of specific concerns is that school has become more violent, drug-ridden, lonely place where teachers and students are adversaries. Many reformers call for schools regain sense of in which citizenship, student government, and democracy are emphasized more so than competition among individuals for superiority. Set in diverse society, schools have tended ignore character education and value auditing. Distillation of all ideas and programs reformers suggest produces proverbial drop of human kindness. Basically, it seems that primary missing element in school is compassion. Fox (1979) defines compassion as interdependence founded on caring and nurturing focused on elimination of pain. David Purpel (1989) applies this definition role of schools helping define personal responsibility to my brothers' and sisters' keeper (p. 45). In fact, Purpel declares that schooling should celebrate democracy by helping students cultivate outrage and responsibility in face of injustice and oppression (p. 118). Noddings (1994) argues, Our main educational aim should encourage growth of competent, caring, loving and lovable people (p. 366). She calls for children be prepared do work of attentive (p. 366) in part via curriculum concentrating on caring, friendship, love, and respect for honest and cooperative work. Meier (1994) echoes theme that schools should model which in part involves openness other viewpoints and the inclination step into shoes of as elements of the possibilities of democratic life (pp. 371-373). Postmodern educational philosophy appreciates variety and envisions schools as agencies where self and social empowerment can enhanced (Ozmon & Craver, 1995, p. 375). According postmoderism, students are engage in social discourse and develop social sense of responsibility for others - The aim of education is emancipation from oppression (p. 376) and promotion of a pluralistic democratic community (p. 384). Purple (1989) elaborates on democratic communities: Much of our culture teaches us not skills of building but rather of individual competition. We know that democratic communities do not simply happen and that their growth is certainly not inevitable. Democratic communities need constant nurturance and attention remain dynamic and responsive. This means more than learning about; it also means learning do; it involves understanding one's social self in addition one's personal self: of learning how work with others and how increase probability that political and bureaucratic process and machinery responsive our highest aspirations. - The development of critical and imaginative capacities is absolutely critical an educational program of liberation, justice, and love (pp. 127-128). But these foci are not new. A primary voice calling for compassion as an essential element in democratic education was Rousseau. In his philosophy, school stakeholders interested in restructuring schools might revisit call for compassionate, democratic citizens. Rousseau's Emile is written in defense of man against great threat which bids fear cause permanent debasement of species. That threat is universal dominance of low human type which Rousseau is first is isolate and name bourgeois. Rousseau's enemy is not current regime, its throne, its altar, or its nobility. He is certain that all that is finished. The struggle would concern kind of man who was going inhabit world. The bourgeois is incarnation of political science of Hobbes and Locke, first principles of which Rousseau accepted. In Leviathan Hobbes proposes that there is war of every man against every man. …
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-06-22
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 6
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