William.  "Education: A Consideration." The Spartan  10 October 	1977: 2.

EDUCATION: A CONSIDERATION

	In my copy of Murier Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I have underscored [underlined] the following quotation: "I have no doubt Miss Mackay wishes to question my methods of instruction.  It has happened before.  It will happen again.  Meanwhile, I follow my principles of education and give my best in my prime.  The word education comes from the root e, from ex, out and duco, I lead.  It means a leading out.... To Miss Mackay it is a putting in of something that is not there, and that is not what I call education.  I call it intrusion from the Latin root prefix in meaning in and the stern trudo.  I trust Miss Mackay's method is to thrust a lot of information into a pupil's head; mine is a leading out of knowledge, and that is what true education is, as proved by the root meaning."
	The quotation leads to some interesting considerations about the techniques of learning and the purposes of education.
	We engage all too often in intrusion.  It is the technique most commonly used at SSS [Smithfield-Selma Senior High School].  The teacher lectures on some subject or explains the text material, thus "the putting in of something that is not there."
	What, then, is education, the "leading out of knowledge?"  How does one "lead out" knowledge that cannot be there to begin with? I feel that the word education refers to a teacher's questioning students carefully, building on what they know from experience and leading them to further insights or skills.  It s a more noble process than intrusion because it emphasizes the student's experiences and concerns.  It is, however, more difficult for the teacher, less comfortable for the student, and more time-consuming for both.  It is a technique thus not often used.
	As a life activity in which we as students and teachers are engaged, education refers to the "leading out" of the human spirit.  Through their class experiences, students should expand their intellectual, their emotional, and their imaginative horizons.   By understanding subject matter, they should become more sympathetic toward the concerns of their fellow beings, more liberal or expansive in their view of life.  In short, education is the process by which persons become more aware of who they are, what they are to do, and how they are to do it.  If through their educational experiences, they are not thus better persons because of the insights they have received, then they are not educated, regardless of what they know or what grades they receive.

William Oliver
English Department
Smithfield-Selma Senior High School
1977