Educational philosophies of Kant, Wollstonecraft and Mill

1. K A N T , W O L L S T O N E C R A F T , & M I L L
The Practical, The Moral, & The
Physical

2. Agenda
 Issue papers returned
 Immanuel Kant – How should we teach?
 Mary Wollstonecraft – Educating boys & girls
 John Stuart Mills – A liberal education
 Cultural Potluck

3. Immanuel Kant
Idealist
Morality forms character.
We are weak and dominated by
sin.
Children need obedience, above
all things.
Everything should be scheduled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=Ck05CNjFKIU

4. Questions for Discussion
Kant raises these questions:
 Is education the most difficult problem for us to
solve? p. 154
 Should children be trained or taught to think? P.157
 Is experimentation in education a good thing?
 Is public education best for all children? p.158
 Should the primary aim of education be the
formation of character. Do you agree with Kant on
how this should be done? p. 164

5. Mary Wollstonecraft
 English writer &
philosopher 1759 -1797
 Early women’s rights
advocate
 Considered founder of
modern feminist
thinking
 Her daughter was Mary
Shelly, author of
Frankenstein

6. Mary Wollstonecraft
 A perfect education exercises the body and mind to
form the heart.
Believed children should be taught at a public day
school. They could be taught during the day and go
home.
 She believed in co-education because at the time
boys and girls were educated separately.
 She believed in the Socratic method of learning.
 She believed in children being taught humanity
towards animals.
 She was a pioneer for equality and feminism.

7. Questions for Discussion
 Should men and women be educated in different
ways?
 Should education be in the home or in public
institutions?
 Should schools be co-educational?

8. John Stuart Mill
 English philosopher and
political economist 1806-
1873
 Considered most
influential English-
speaking philosopher
 Believed that only
through personal
betterment and self-
improvement can one
become truly free.

9. John Stewart Mill
 Believed universities were not meant to teach
occupations
 Students should come to college with a basic
knowledge.
 He was an advocate for liberal arts- Languages
(especially Greek and Latin), Science, Mathmatics,
Logic, Psychology, Philosophy, Political, Economic,
International Law, Arts, Literature, disscuss

10. Questions for Discussion
 What is a college liberal education? p. 186+
 What do you believe all students should learn?
p.187+
 What is the danger of concentrating on a single
subject? P. 188
 Why is liberal arts as a major losing ground in
colleges today? What causes students to opt for
“training” over education?

11. Cultural Potluck
 People tend to taste food from various parts of
continents and truly relish the diversity. There is a
natural curiosity of their culture as well and slowly
that diminishes any boundary between two different
cultures. People are brought together and this
encourages tolerance and respect for tradition.
 Discuss how you went about choosing the dish that
you chose. Tell us what it is, what it is called and
what ingredients you used.

12. Next Week
 Read Alfred Lord Whitehead The Aims of
Education
 Be working on your teacher/principal
interviews due 3/17
 Don’t forget to attend a school board
meeting. They usually meet only 2 times a
month and that’s due 4/21