The Idea of a Social Studies Education

The Role of Philosophical Counseling

James A. Duplass

• Verlag: Routledge
• Jahr: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781315448428
• Auflage: 1
• Thema: Education
• Thema: Education General

Offering a fresh take on the purpose of social studies today, James A.Duplass positions philosophical counseling as a way for teachers to engage students in thinking deeply about what it means to be a citizen in a democratic society. The Idea of a Social Studies Education takes a uniquely humanistic approach to the idea of a social studies education to show how teachers can act asphilosophical counselors in preparing students for active civic engagement. Duplass reminds the reader of the needs of students in modern society who seek to develop an identity worth living and the role social studies can play in students achieving that process. By focusing on the cultivation of students' autonomy, authenticity, efficacy, and agency, Duplass' approach avoids political biases and instead encourages critical thinking to decipher what a democratic ideology truly is.

1

THE “IDEA” OF A SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

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What Kind of Person and Citizen am I?

I was in my car that sunny afternoon on a four-lane divided thoroughfare in Tampa when I noticed the small, gray KIA in front of me in the left lane swerving slightly over the center line into the right lane and then back onto the edge of the road, kicking up bits of dirt with each swerve. As this continued for five blocks with cars gingerly veering off to the right to avoid possible contact, I became more concerned and considered calling 911. Perhaps this was a DUI situation or the person was having a seizure? Rather than overreact, I pulled into the right lane and drew beside the car to better assess the situation. It was a 20-something-year-old with an infant in the back seat and a cell phone in his left hand, texting as he inched closer to me and I sped up to avoid a collision. I considered calling 911 to report child endangerment or reckless driving, but instead I went on my merry way, deciding not to get further involved.

For a couple of days, I thought about that experience as I concentrated on writing this book. What lesson was I to take from it? What did it say about the erratic driver putting his child at risk? What did it say about me, what kind of person and citizen was he, was I?

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Goodness without knowledge is blind: Knowledge without goodness is dangerous.Inscription above the entry to Phillips Academy

Introduction

In the late 1800s and early 1900s two books shaped the future of education in Western Civilization. John Henry Newman’s (1852/1902) The Idea of a University defined the British model as an institution of scholarship whose purpose was to shape men of character through an exposure to a liberal education by focusing on the classics in the humanities. Karl Jaspers (1923/1959) in his The Idea of a University described the burgeoning scientific and technical revolution of the German state that would position its universities to transform not only the sciences, but the social sciences, into a research revolution. The modern universities in the United States adopted both models, combining the humanistic ethos of Newman and scientific/technical approach of Jaspers as their centerpiece. The accommodation of the tension of these two different ways of advancing knowledge and the unique vision of an egalitarian, multicultural society with free public schools and open higher education propelled America’s aspirations in the pursuit of a liberal democracy—it led to the creation of social studies education.

The analysis and positions taken by Newman and Jaspers defined within their “Ideas” the importance of a university to the individual and society and the unique attributes of a university. These books are considered classics in Western Civilization since their explication stands true today because they dealt with the essential qualities of a universal higher education for a democratic society. Their use of the term “Idea” creates a conceptual hierarchy where the idea of something is placed above aims, goals, objectives, and strategies. Thornton (2002) speaks of the “expansive aims” of social studies education such as social justice; the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has goal statements: there are numerous objectives as part of the “standards movement” that define what students should learn; and there are countless strategies that appear in the social studies education literature. The title of this book, The Idea of a Social Studies Education, is employed with this hierarchy in mind, although it would be presumptuous to think that this little book would ever rise to the level of a classic. It does however, represent a different approach to social studies education and why it matters. The idea of a social studies education is to foster a citizenry with an ideology and identity that can live the Good Life and foster a democratic ethos for future generations.

Like a liberal education at the university level, a social studies education in the K-12 setting should be a force that “empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change” (Association of American Colleges and Universities [AAC&U], 2016, n. p.). The idea of social studies education at the K-12 level is to liberate or at least provide the opportunity for students to liberate themselves by considering “things that matter” (Taylor, 1992, p. 15). By doing so, individuals can enjoy what philosophers have long called the Good Life—a life well lived. It is what philosophers in antiquity called eudemonia—human flourishing, the sense of well-being that comes from knowing that you have done the right thing for the right reasons; that you are a decent person (Guignon, 1999).

Social studies education is seated at the intersection of man’s intimate quests for personal humanity and decency through civil society. The Idea of a Social Studies Education takes a humanistic approach to the idea of a social studies education and starts with a twofold premise: A) that education should best be interpreted as a form of liberation and B) the idea of a liberating education at the K-12 level has become the province of social studies. Many social studies authors have focused on social studies education by thoroughly analyzing and contextualizing the goals, standards, curriculum, knowledge, and pedagogy. This book keeps this tradition in mind, but focuses on the “intimate side” of a social studies education by orienting the reader to the unique needs of the student in modern society seeking to create an identity worth living. Social studies education is not limited to the transmission of knowledge like other disciplines. Its significance stems from its capacity to empower students to shape their personal and civic identity, not just their competence in a subject matter. As a result, social studies educators need to go beyond the confines of content and more directly prepare to take on the role of philosophical counselors and help students reconcile their identity and ideology for life in a democratic society that leads to the Good Life.

Philosophical counseling is, in the classroom, the practice of teachers of social studies using the social studies to engage students at an intimate, therapeutic level about ideas that matter. It is “philosophical” because it includes both the wisdom of the philosophies developed during the last 2500 years and the art of philosophical technique. It is counseling because it uses classroom-appropriate techniques of therapy to engage students so they can become authentic, autonomous human beings. Gerd B. Achenbach (1995), Peter Koestenbaum (1978), and Marc Sautet (1995) are often cited as the originators of philosophical counseling because we too often think of Socrates only as the great philosopher. However, Socrates was the counselor to the Athenian students who were searching for the Good Life (see Plato, Crito 360 BCEa; Meno, 380 BCE; The Ring of Gyges, 360 BCEc). I argue that this role of philosophical counselor has been filled by teachers who instinctively recognized that it is the part of the job that really matters and that the social studies offers a unique opportunity for students to be liberated from their inherited predispositions and parochial surroundings (Russell, 1952).

The rise of the therapeutic culture in the late twentieth century has taken hold in the West (Ecclestone & Hayes, 2006; Furedi, 2004; Szasz, 2001) as evidenced in the emergence of the therapeutic industry with television shows like Dr. Phil and Oprah and the burgeoning “self-help” sections in bookstores. And it has made its way into schools with their emphasis on raising children’s self-esteem, implying that children are at once both vulnerable and fragile and capable and autonomous (Burman, 2008; Harwood, 2006; Ecclestone, Hayes, & Furedi, 2005). The therapeutic ethos has placed the language of dysfunction, addiction, neurosis, and character disorder into the public discourse with the traditional “medical-based” therapy model as the remedy (Burman, 2008; Furedi, 2004; Harwood, 2006). Where we once sent children off to reform or boarding schools or simply told them to “obey your teacher,” “get a backbone,” or “do your homework,” the therapeutic ethos has brought legitimate enlightenment to the unique psychological stresses of children and teenagers in modernity.

Morris Eagle (1984) argues that assigning pathologies and the traditional medical model of therapy comes from a fundamental misreading of the issues that we face in modernity. He believes students today suffer from “a lack of sustaining interests, goals, ideals and values... stable ideologies... an atmosphere of disillusionment and cynicism in the surrounding society” (p. 73). Erik Erikson (1950) makes the same argument when he says a student agonizes about “the problem of what he should believe in and who he should—or, indeed, might—be or become” (p. 279). These kinds of vulnerabilities are significant challenges but are not disorders of a medical nature (Szasz, 1960). They are, however, uniquely related to social studies because they have civic consequences: “Our very vulnerability creates the need for morality” (Hoffmaster, 2006, p. 41). Helping students seek a satisfying equilibrium by forming an elegant, holistic, self-nourishing personal and democratic civic identity has been the goal of education since Socrates, and now falls specifically to social studies.

The purpose of this book is not to suggest that social studies teachers must become licensed as counselors or therapists. The vast majority of children and teenagers will endure the inevitable highs and lows ...