A Purpose for Public Education

When I was first starting out as a new educator, I labored over my "Philosophy of Education" statement. It was first assigned to me as coursework, I'm sure. Later, I massaged it into my professional portfolio. Ultimately, I worried over it in the (many) applications I would submit before landing my first teaching job. Despite all of the energy and time I spent with that statement of teaching philosophy, I don't remember much of what it said – no doubt because it was too long and replete with the platitudes of a new teacher fresh out of college, and the buzz words of the day.

Now, after ten years of teaching immersion, I have less to say about my philosophy of education, or at least I can summarize it in fewer words – one, actually. I've rebranded my philosophy of education as my purpose, my 'why' in Simon Sinek's model of organizational leadership. The purpose at the center of the work I do as an educator and leader is to cultivate dignity in my students – in the present moment with every interaction and lesson, and in the future through the development of skills, habits, knowledge and values to which I contribute.

I believe the cultivation, pursuit, and spread of dignity to be the central purpose of public education. Dignity is the why of society. Dignity is at the heart of citizenship, social justice, environmental stewardship, curiosity and discovery, creativity and expression.

It turns out that dignity is at the core of Humanism – which is the ism I have reluctantly come to identify with most closely. As a child of the 80's, I am steeped in the Ferris Bueller doctrine, "Isims in my opinion are not good," but it snuck up on me. I believe I can trace my Humanist roots to my great appreciation for Kurt Vonnegut, whose prose I consumed voraciously in my early adulthood. So it goes.

Innovation for Dignity

If dignity is to be the purpose of education, then there is urgency for relentless innovation in pursuit of it. So much of the culture, systems, and practices that are deeply embedded in public education are at odds with dignity. We must innovate to move towards systems, practices, and culture that cultivate dignity in all participants – students, yes, but parents, teachers and administrators also. Innovation in support of dignity will recognize and value the complex and multidimensional human condition.

*steps off soapbox