Educare and Educere: Is a Balance Possible in the Educational System?

Educational Forum, The, Winter 2004 by Bass, Randall V, Good, J W

Even the advent of compulsory attendance and child labor laws did not change this scenario immediately. Those students who were successful often stayed in school until economics forced them out or lured them out. Others faded from view as their interest level or academic achievement proved to be limiting factors.

EDUCERE Is IN SHORT SUPPLY

In the United States and most other western countries over the last 150 years, school has been thought of as a system to prepare well-behaved citizens and good workers (Parsons 1985). Neither of these functions requires much educere. Students who demonstrated a significant capacity for creativity were viewed with alarm, because they could not be counted on to follow orders. Those who questioned the wisdom of the ages and suggested alternatives to the tried and true were dealt with harshly, and they too eventually faded from the educational scene. History is littered with creative geniuses who were less than exemplary students but went on to make significant contributions to society. Even one of the latest transforming forces-computer technology-is not immune to this phenomenon. Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest man, is a college dropout; and he is only one of many in the field with less than stellar academic achievements.

As schooling has become more universal and longer in duration, the relative shortage of educere has become more important in our society. When students spend more of their time in institutions that don't teach in educere-friendly ways, and even condemn initiative and creativity, they have less opportunity elsewhere to learn to question and create. Correcting this problem is not a simple undertaking. A culture has been established that is remarkably resistant to change. When new teachers or administrators enter this culture, they are pressured from every side to conform to the cultural norm. If the culture cannot change them, it attempts to drive them out. Generally, it is successful in one or the other of these endeavors.

BALANCE Is ESSENTIAL

Clearly, the preceding scenario does not exist in all schools today. It does, however, accurately represent what takes place in many schools. In many others, there is constant movement along the continuum between educare and educere. It is this vacillation between the two that consumes so many resources. The result is much time, money, and effort put into education, producing little net result.

In the overall scheme of things, educare and educere are of equal importance. Education that ignores educare dooms its students to starting over each generation. Omitting educere produces citizens who are incapable of solving new problems. Thus, any system of education that supplies its students with only one of these has failed miserably.

The group had been discussing, arguing, and rehashing the issues raised at that first meeting. Little progress had been made toward reaching agreement. Several plans had been presented by one faction or another, but all had been quickly rejected by a majority of the group. Then one day, at the beginning of a meeting before the ever-Increasing acrimony had time to take over, the quiet man spoke. "We have all been making legitimate points," he said. "But we have been too narrow in our approaches. We must come up with a plan that addresses all of our needs. Before you condemn my suggestion as being a dead skunk in the middle of the road, consider this. We do not know what the future holds. We don't want to reject the lessons of the past, but we must remain flexible and able to respond to new challenges in the future. To do both of these things, we must have a balanced program that addresses all sides." Again silence reigned as the wisdom of the man's words became apparent. Finally, one of the most vocal critics of almost every idea said, "Where do we start?"