Work in Education: A Peculiar History
Presenting at the Discovering the Child Global Conference in June 2021, Dr. Matt Bateman surveys how work—vocational, practical, productive work—has been thought ot fit into education. For most of history, it's either been deliberately excluded, as from the classical liberal arts, or that it's been focused on separately and specifically, as in vocational training.
Among Maria Montessori's most powerful contributions to educational theory was to recognize the role of a general education in creating a character disposed to having an authentic, loving, non-alienated relationship to work.
Dr. Matt Bateman
Dr. Matt Bateman earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2012 from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught and continued his research at Franklin and Marshall College in the Department of Psychology, on topics ranging from neuroscience to evolutionary theory to philosophy, before joining the LePort Schools as Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy in 2014.
In 2016, Dr. Matt Bateman became a founding member of Higher Ground Education. He is now Vice President of Pedagogy for Higher Ground and the Executive Director of Montessorium.
Related Reads
- History
The History of American Education from 1820-1920: Part I
Educating the Citizens of the World’s Only Democratic Republic: An examination of a number of overlapping currents in the evolution of education in 19th century America: Emerson, Jacksonian Democracy, the emergence of secondary education, progressive education, and more.
- Core Philosophy
Culture of Work, Culture of Knowledge
Knowledge and work—thought and action—are the two fundamental manifestations of human agency. An education that supports agency does so by embodying a culture of knowledge and a culture of work.
- Core Philosophy
Preserving the Quest for the Right Answer
“There’s no right answer.”
This is a common refrain in many educational contexts, most commonly in the humanities, such as history and literature, and most commonly during discussions. Ironically, the result of the “no right answer” mantra is actually to destroy motivation.