Why Do We Educate?

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marie Montessori and Paulo Friere each gave a different view of how education should be achieved; however, each began with the assumption that education was a thing to be desired. The author points out that the desire for education is as integral to being a human as the desire to eat and breathe. The paper concludes that education strives to provide us with possessions that are worth having, answers to the question of what we should seek to find in life and how we should go about finding it once we know; the desire to find answers is how we achieve the full potential of the human spirit.

From the Paper:

"Upon gaining an education and putting it to use in the world around him, the final step is for the student to use his knowledge to ensure the emancipation of his soul. Three of the authors mentioned used a similar metaphor- that of slavery. After reading essays about Catholic emancipation, Frederick Douglass writes, "They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance" (270). By learning about the experiences of others, Douglass is forced to examine his own desires, most importantly, the desire to be free from slavery."

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