Pages: 143 Price: £50.00 or $80.00(hardcover) £9.99 or $15.95(paperback) ISBN: 0-415-32789-X(hardcover) 0-415-32790-3(paperback)
A philosophy book as a brief review for practitioners! Preposterous! Indeed, the idea of a philosophy book for busy school practitioners dealing with day to day pressures from the trenches seems silly until one engages a very readable, clear text from Harry Brighouse. Brighouse envisions that teachers will read his book, hoping that he causes no offense and encouraging them to take his arguments seriously and critique them in light of their own experiences (p. 135). With the increasing pressures on schools and teachers, a book that helps teachers focus on important principles and values is needed.
Part One consists of four chapters that argue for four principles for child focused schooling. Chapter One concerns the provision of schooling that has children learn about a wide range of ways to live and the education that allows them to reflect and possibly reject the ways of their parents. Chapter Two states that children should have an education that allows them to be self-sufficient in the economy. The focus should be on the child and not on whether the economy needs more of a specific job filled. Chapter Three argues that children should be educated to have rich and flourishing lives separate from the economy. Chapter Four proposes schooling that allows children to be effective participants in public decision-making.
Part Two deals with three specific policy issues: state funding for religious schools, inculcation of patriotism, and citizenship education. Brighouse, a citizen of both the U.S. and the U.K., draws interesting distinctions between religious matters in the U.S and the United Kingdom. This contrast allows the reader to focus on the important values of educating autonomous children who are good citizens and illustrates the down-sides of a strict wall in the U.S. The chapter on patriotism comes at a key time in our nation’s history. This book allows one to see the various forms of patriotism and the dangers inherent in some forms. Brighouse warns of misleading myths in citizenship education that appeal more to emotion but do little to develop the habit of skeptical inquiry. By teaching students the skills of bias detection and indoctrination recognition, we can create good citizens and prevent politically biased schooling. Importantly, Brighouse discusses reasons for the perceived decline in civic participation that have nothing to do with the nature of the citizens. He mentions structural barriers and changing circumstances that have little to do with schooling. This is always an important point as schools are asked to solve all social problems.
Readers will appreciate the easy straightforward style and the 5 x 8 inch compact size. Brighouse displays some narrow historical understandings. He blames sixties students for the demand for relevant education and the narrowness of today’s schooling while he ignores the demands for relevance long before the 1960’s by many progressive educators including those from Professor Brighouse’s current employer. Brighouse is a leading philosopher on education and his ideas should be considered by all, especially practitioners. Self-reflection is essential and framing important values, which often compete with one another, aids that reflection.
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