Rethinking Educational Philosophy with Margarita Mooney Suarez: Why Teachers Don't Have to be Bureaucratic Therapeutic Reformers

Nov 10, 2022

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About Our Guest

Margarita Mooney Suarez (Clayton)* is an Associate Professor in the Department of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. She founded The Scala Foundation in 2016 and continues to serve as Scala’s Executive Director. Scala Foundation’s vision is to restore meaning and purpose to American culture by focusing on the intersection of artists (culture creators), liberal arts education, and religion (liturgy, personal prayer, theology).

Notes

In this episode, Trae and Margarita Mooney Suarez (Clayton) take a closer look at the philosophical underpinning of modern education.

The late American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey maintains a massive influence on how contemporary schools and families think about learning and the role of the school and its teachers. Dewey’s philosophy of education, while seemingly positive on some points, is ultimately grounded in the denial of the spiritual needs of students and a rejection of tradition. As a result, Dewey's views have contributed to the rise of beliefs and practices that effectively turn teachers into little more than bureaucratic therapeutic reformers, cut off from tradition with little to no approaches to teaching outside the scientific method applied across subjects.

Today, most schools strip students of traditional beliefs and practices and expect them to build a future on no sure foundation. If we want to undo the influence of Dewey and restore a common unity between the church, the household, and the school, we will need some help. Enter Jacques Maritain and Luigi Giussani.

* Margarita married David Clayton after this recording and now shares his last name.

Some topics and ideas in this episode include:

Deep Rot in Our Education System
The Influence of Philosophy on Education
Jacques Maritain and Luigi Giussani's Concerns with John Dewey
Teachers as Beuarocratic Therapeutic Reformers
Truth and The Scientific Method
All Education as Moral Education
The Freedom to Choose What’s Right
Teaching as an Art
Common Unity Between Household, Church, and School
Tradition and Authority
Deconstruction, Questioning, and Scepticism

Resources and Books & Mentioned In This Episode

Margarita’s Foundation and Books

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Credits:

Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel

Logo Art: Anastasiya CF

Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

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