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The Responsibility of Education

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This page provides links to everything contained in the course:

Course Material: a few documents that introduce its goals and basic principles.
Assignments: tools and practices to help you learn and teach better.
Essays: my thoughts on certain educational topics.
Discussion Material: curated quotations centered around fundamental educational questions.

To begin, I invite you to read through the Course Material pages (in the order in which they appear). I hope they inspire you to explore the rest of the site, and invite others to do the same.

Course Material:

Syllabus
Choosing the Course
(pt. 1)
Choosing the Course
(pt. 2)
Some Notes

Assignments:

Introductory Notes on Assignments
Initial Questions for Students and Parents
Creating a Knowledge Management System
Defining Education for Yourself
Keeping Track of Important Ideas
Exploring Topics for Self-Directed Study
Strategies for Cultivating Vocation
Tools to Improve Learning
Tools to Create Effective Habits
Developing a Growth Mindset
Guidelines for General Health
Practicing Mindfulness
Optimizing Your Free Time

Essays:

What is the responsibility of education?
Education Without Romance
Results vs. Systems

Discussion Material:

Introductory Notes
Why should we take more responsibility for our education?
Why do the questions of education, and a purposeful life, demand individual attention?
What is education for? What should the goals of education be?
Why is lifelong learning important?
Why might it be difficult to assume the responsibility of education?
How capable are young people of directing their education? Who should decide what they learn?
What is motivation? How can we cultivate it in ourselves and others?
How should we think about and spend our leisure?
What constitutes mental health? How should we be educated to this end?
What constitutes a successful adolescence?
Why is it important for young people to take on responsibility? What opportunities do they have for substantive responsibility?
How can young people be exposed to challenge in ways that foster growth?
What is a “gap year”? How can we incorporate maturing activities into education?
How can parents improve their influence on their children?
How can we foster self-directed learning in others?
Do we really value education? Why do we value it?
What do we teach via our character and the environments we create?
Why might young people dislike school?
Why might teachers dislike school?
What are the effects of coercion in education?
What is the nature of authority? How is it gained or lost?
Why is cultivating gratitude in education important?
How or why should we incorporate the spiritual, sacred, or transcendent in education?
Why is cultivating individuality in education important?
What is “reality of encounter” and why is it important in education?
How do adult expectations influence young people?
Why is trust and faith in young people important in education?
What is the power of words? Why should we learn to write, speak, and read well?
How does our experience of school resources differ from those outside of school?
How does “global competition” effect education?
Why is there an imbalance between material progress and psychological progress?
What is “signaling” and why is it an important concept in education?
How does our culture view college and vocational choices? How does this effect our systems of education?
What is the proper function of the university?
What is the reality of the university?
How are young people prepared for the world of work?
How can praise for being smart affect students?