Education Has Lost Its Soul, but We Can Find It in a Cup of Coffee
Education has lost its soul. This thought wormed its way into my brain after a colleague casually said it in conversation. I have thought of that single sentence every day for more than a year.
The danger resting in that single sentence frightens me more than most of our already quite scary news stories. I have always believed that education was the pillar that allowed our democracy to be conceived, and that it is the pillar that allows our democratic republic to withstand every -ism (from Fascism to Communism) that has consumed some other parts of the world. The education that allowed for the birth of American democracy was based in struggle, discussion, and debate, with no easy answers, an acceptance of certain principles based in science, and an appreciation of religion—all religions. It was an educational system that we, of course, recognize had significant problems—being exclusionary (based on gender, race, economics)—but, still, it laid the groundwork and support for a democracy that would grow and include more.
As we expanded our education opportunities our democracy grew. As we limit, it shrivels. An education that is based on the scientific method, that expects questions and knows that there are sometimes no real answers, only a hypothesis, that engages participants and expects analysis — this is an education that views the future not with fear, but as one we can shape together and improve for all citizens.
All of these ideas came from the pillar of education. Our democratic republic, our experiment that wasn't supposed to work, was birthed from and continued to be fed by education. If my colleague is right—and I think he is—if indeed education has lost its soul, if we want to preserve our experiment, create a country that grows and protects all of its citizens, that prospers for all of its citizens, that allows us to dream of futures and not drown in a whitewashed past, then we have to start by resurrecting that pillar of education. Then, we have to start having tough discussions.
More than 200 years ago, discussions began in the coffee houses. Let’s step back into those coffee houses to have our own enlightened discussions. We have a historic recipe we can use to start — but we then must make sure we expand for all. If we are to find education’s soul—and we must if we are to preserve, nourish, and expand our democracy—then we must begin again in the coffee houses. Let’s set a date, let’s begin with a cup of coffee.