Beginning the End to the Beginning

Having spent some time trying to discuss Hick's chapter by chapter - and I don't the think conversation should ever end - I would suggest that a great way to further our discussion would be to attempt to summarize some the things we have gleaned. Without infringing on Andrew Kern's copyrights, I know that Hicks was key to his meditations on "Foundational Principles" and would suggest that page on his website as one way to jump start some new thoughts.

By all means, keep adding comments to each of the chapters we have dealt with, but consider adding some here that are more "wholistic" given to the big picture of Hick's entire work, not just a specific chapter.

Keep the conversation going...it is worthy of your effort!

Another Blog on Hicks

Folks:

Thought you all might like to read a small section of another blog that is given to discussion of Norms & Nobility.

http://thearc.wordpress.com/tag/news-reviews/hicks-norms-nobility/

Ontologically Axiomatic Aesthetics

Our newest member (Mike Bosse) has sent us a recent email that is very helpful in our discussions of Hicks. Without his permission, so be ready for the lawsuits, gang, I quote it below:

Educational philosophy is traditionally divided into five distinct yet interacting domains. Each of the five areas asks and answers one or more specific questions: Ontology asks “What is True?”; Metaphysics asks “What is Real?”; Epistemology asks “What is Knowledge?” and “How Do People Learn?”; Axiology asks “What is Good and Best?”; and Pedagogy asks “How Do We Teach?” (These fields of inquiry provide a minimalist educational philosophy. Often added to these discussions are the fields of Ethics, asking “What is Right?”, and Aesthetics, asking “What is Beauty and/or Pleasurable?”). Answers to each of these questions are necessary for a complete educational philosophy. The interconnectedness of these questions and answers are paramount to developing the internal consistency required within a cohesive educational philosophy. Figure 1 provides a graphic representation of the components of educational philosophy. (Sorry, the figure won’t go to blog)

Axiology, more specifically, is a field of philosophical investigation which considers the question: What is good or best for a person or a culture? Within the realm of educational philosophy, this question takes on a more specific form: What should be learned, by whom, and for what end? Axiological inquiry has foundational implications for curricula, educational goals, and objectives. Axiological concerns are usually predetermined by a theorist’s metaphysical, ontological, and epistemological positions. Any scholarly decisions concerning curricular content and educational goals must be supported by ontological and metaphysical definitions of “truth” and “reality” and an epistemological understanding of how people “learn.”

Now, my monkey in the wrench works here would be, “What is the basis for making Aesthetics and Ontology ‘optional’ to one’s Philosophy of Education?” I have been a champion of the notion that Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are central to education, does this argue against the notion that two of these three are optional in our PoE? Just trying to get folks stirred up…

Welcome to the Conversation

This blog is a group blog on the book Norms & Nobility by David Hicks, which is a treatise on education. You are welcome to read along, and if you would like to join the group, you can request membership by emailing the group at u2rules83@yahoo.com. For the group, here are some basic posting rules:

A. Keep our threads clean: if you are commenting on some pertinent aspect of the book that already has a thread, use the "comments" section.

B. If you have a new aspect, start a new post, but be careful to clearly state your thread's idea.

C. The book can spark us down paths concerning our own school, but let's always keep in mind the line between public and private debate, and know that this is a public venue.

Let the conversations begin.