Freedom Through Education; R. K. Newell

Every generation is entrusted with the social and political hopes of future generations, just as hu man values now enjoyed w~re iden tified and p'reserved through ef forts of former generations. As responsible citizens apprehensively Mr. Newell operates a farm near Marcellus, Michigan, the "harvest" in this case being food for thought. ing about what they always thought that they believed. But it ought also to produce, or at least uncover, individuals who know what they stand for: men of in tegrity, "whole" men; and these are the building blocks of a free society. ~ ROBERT K. NEWELL ponder the wisest course for edu cation to follow, theirs is a moral obligation to avoid complacency in the popular delusion that the sole requisite for pedagogical progress is ever-increasing public expendi tures lavished on elaborate facili ties and intensified curriculum. For many years psychologists and educators have recognized the processes by which thought and behavioral patterns acquired in youth become the basis for adult motivation. In modern times aU thoughtful observers have become progressively aware that moral, social, and political concepts im planted in the· formative years of mental immaturity not only par tici pate in the conduct of later life, but, once acquired, such con12 THE FREEMAN May cepts become dominant and often unalterable in the adult. Thus, captive audiences of immature minds provide powerful and much prized forums for ideological in doctrination. Educational environ ments left unguarded can easily be captured by authoritarianism and in due course transformed into climates of unquestioning so cial and political opinion.

Individual Responsibility, or Totalitarian Control Freedom presupposes individual responsibility and, rather than de pending upon concentrations of invested political authority, de rives social continuity from the constant political evaluations of enlightened individuals. If educa tion is allowed to divert human intellect into stagnant pools of ideological conformity, and there by methodically arrest indi vid ual capacity for political contribution, the resulting social complex pro vides a fertile field in which to tali tarianists can sow and harvest propaganda at will and exercise unchallenged control over the col lectivized mind. Humanity can never socially advance where edu cation teaches mass conformity and what to think, rather than de veloping individual intellect to full potential by teaching how to think. Political freedom demands that in dividuality be sufficiently developed to successfully resist all at tempts at mass motivation.

If, rather than taking the proper educational aim of creating well springs of human thought, our generation articulately selects and presents educational data that seem to support the distortions of political dogma, the future will hold little promise. When despots enjoy unquestioning support of carefully nurtured climates of opinion, the collectivized citizen's only hope for an improved situa tion is that the current despot's successor might chance to be some what more benevolent than his predecessor. There is no possibility that mankind, under such condi tions, can ever become fully aware of true human potential while liv ing together in tolerant harmony. Until men in society regard each new individual as a personality with a vital intellectual potential to be developed, education can do little to advance civilization and social harmony. Those who place their present faith and future hope in the dead leveling mediocrity of political legalism to conduct humani ty to brighter times, ignore a funda mental psychological truth. Legal attempts to correct or alter human conduct resulting from improper education must all end in failure, even when such attempts are un relenting and are accompanied by 1966 FREEDOM THROUGH EDUCATION 13 intensive indoctrination programs.

It is impossible to superimpose an effective code of ethics on an en tire society and, through compul sion, expect social adherence to arbitrary legal standards of con duct. Political law, irrespective of ingenuity and tenacity of enforce ment, provides nothing more cor rective or permanently beneficial in the adult than temporary con trol of faulty behavior traceable to education's failure to create virtue and conceptions of individ ual responsibility in. the child. If humanity invested but a frac tionof the effort so willingly lav ished on legal, political, and mili tary antidotes, to analyze and cor rect educational faults at their source, mankind would make a firm advance toward domestic tranquillity and international peace. Proper education alone can teach men to live responsibly through reason, and to behave by choice in the orderly manner that legalists clumsily attempt ~o estab lish coercively through punitive reprisals.

A Chance to Reason The real enemy of social ad vancement and political freedom is collectivistic indoctrination that destroys mental self-sufficiency. New generations must be given mental freedom to follow reason wherever it presents itself; to build constructively upon social truths that can withstand the con stant scrutiny of progress; and, rather than constantly construct ing illusionary sanctuaries of col lective security, confidently to place trust in individual responsi bility. Education can then increase self -knowledge and cement concep tions of responsibility toward con temporary and future generations. Education being the prime source of human motivation, and faulty education the taproot of faulty human conduct and author itarhinism, it follows that educa tional environments must become the immediate concern of all re sponsiblepeople. If freedom is to displace authoritarianism and raise humanity to progressively higher spiritual and social pla teaus, the educational procedures that develop individual thought must be identified and cultivated.

Historically, education has run the gamut from private tutelage to the completely controlled curricu lar environments of government financed political indoctrination institutions. In our society, too, education has undergone continu ous change. The desirability of transferring educational authority from private to governmental jur isdiction is a matter of personal opinion in a constitutional society. But regardless of divergent opin ion on specific educational policy, 14 THE FREEMAN May proper education is still the only dependable safeguard of political freedom; and the grave dangers involved in governmental usurpa tion and centralization of educa tional authority should greatly concern all thoughtful citizens. Sound Public Policy Requires Well-Informed Citizens The basic advantage of consti tutional government is the in herent political ability of a free and informed citizenry to bring about desired changes in public policy. Such changes are constant and necessary, but the key element in purposeful social change is the well-informed citizen. Constant change without full understanding of future consequences, while al ways dangerous, is politically disastrous in the case of educational policy. Indifference in this vital area can, by default, turn human intellect and the hope of freedom over to the tyranny of collectivis tic thought control.

Rather than continually seeking financial aid for education from political sources that would gladly render such assistance in order to further control and collectivize public instruction, the informed citizen must act to arrest and re verse this relentless drive. It is the responsibility of each citizen in a constitutional society to pon der the plight of creative thought and related freedoms; and, having arrived at constructive conclu sions, do his utmost to ensure that freedom through education shall survive and flourish. ~ Extra "HUMAN NATURE," he began, "is so constructed that the vast majority of men can proceed only so far against obstacles. The limit of average endurance is a known quantity in every human activity. Success is achieved by those who beat this limit by ex tremely small margins. "What most of us cannot perceive is that an additional ounce of energy at the final breaking point will distinguish us from thousands or millions of ordinary human beings.

"This is the reason why sports are so important. In athletics young men learn that victory is usually achieved by an amazing ly slight advantage - by a yard in a mile race. We must under stand that life is competitive. Those who go in for sports become sensible of this. Those who live within the walls of study rooms are denied this knowledge." From The William Feather Magazine, February 1966 "iHE Si~iE S","ELLED RnO T~f PfOPLf S~RRnH\\ WILLIAM HENRY CHAMBERLIN THE GREAT Russian historian, V. O. Klyuchevsky, is a master of the epigram, of the telling phrase that says much in few words. The sev enteenth century in Russia was a period of consolidation of govern ment power and extension of the country's frontiers, at a cost to the people which, as Klyuchevsky says, could scarcely be counted. The chains of serfdom were riv eted more firmly on the peasants. Taxation increased to such un bearable heights that some nomi nally free Russians wanted to ac cept serfdom as a more bearable lot, where the master at least would have to settle the tax claims.