Newsgroups: bit.listserv.edpolyan
Date:         Sun, 22 Nov 1992 20:26:28 EST
              <EDPOLYAN@ASUACAD.BITNET>
From:         TJPUGH@SUVM.BITNET
Subject:      morals, Covaleskie, and Mitzel

  Whether this conversation should "go private" as John
Covaleskie asked, I am unsure.
  John does make a powerful point about the sociological
nature of morals.  Of course, as an admiring colleague
my opinion is suspect.  His comment about non-believers
being of good heart is one of the prime questions Roger
Williams struggled with (on his way out of Mass. Bay
Colony).  Old Mr. Williams came down on the same side of
the argument as John.  The incredibly democratic and
pluralistic (for its time) Rhode Island was the result.
  John's stress on moral education being based on the many
virtues we commonly value as members of this particular
society has been championed in one way or another by Ken
Strike and William Galston, among others.  Strike, in
particular,presents some excellent arguments in favor
of limiting the role of public schooling, so that
which is truly public can be taught with clarity,
certainty, and exuberance; and that which is denominational
can be taught in non-public settings.
   Harold Mitzel raises a tremendously important question
in teacher education:  What is the role of judgment?
   Judgment must play a role in evaluating the effectiveness
of a teacher.  No formula or checklist is sufficient.
  Judgment must play a role in the teaching of children.
Rules, procedures, laws, and generalities are, as Aristotle
might say, good enough as models, but they lack specificity
and context.  I assume we have all been awe-struck at
one time or another by the brilliance of a master at work,
someone who could almost, but not quite, explain why one
action is better than another in a given situation.  This
application of judgment is why expert modelling research
(find an expert; chronicle every move; produce a course of
instruction imparting every move to students; viola, perfect
teachers or plumbers or what have you) has failed.
   If we are to entrust our children to the guiding hands
of strangers we ought, as a society, to see to it that we
do our utmost to ensure that those strangers are masters.
Masters not only of craft, but also of ends.  Their judgment
must be technically refined and soundly directed.  I think
Mr. Doherty, et al, at least on one level, are arguing for
a shortcut approach, a rule of thumb.  Having a Christian
ethos, or at least explicit doctrine (non-denominational)
present in schools does not guarantee perfection, but it
serves as a guide.  In answer to Mr. Mitzel's concern, a
response could be framed that if teacher-to-be Q. has
technical competence re content and pedagogy and professes
Christianity then certifying Q. as a teacher is probably a
good move.
   Others might argue that the keystone is not Christianity
but a commitment to democratic principles, or to some specific
common denominator of commonly valued traits, or to
science and human progress, or to....
  The temptation, from a liberal perspective, is to balk
at making such choices. (By liberal, I refer to belief in,
among other things, autonomy of self and critical rationality
as primary goods.)  But, as John points out, moral education
occurs whether we will it or nay.  I am unsure if clarity
about our ends, beyond a certain ambiguous point, is a
good thing or not.  If it is, then avoiding such tough
choices solves nothing and perhaps contributes to social
ills and educational ineffectiveness, if not actively
fostering confusion and anomie.
   Anyway, this is overly long.  I merely want to suggest
that we consider the implications of judgment as an
aspect of teaching and education; and that we consider
education writ large as something that may happen in
many places and times.  Public education is a small part
of the whole.   Perhaps it could use some clarification
of ends.  Perhaps it could use reduction in scope.
--Tom M-P
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