Is "Education" a Subject?

[DGS49]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

 

[rightwinger]

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught.

It is a major in teaching information to others.
Very important field

I found that Teachers in High School were better than Professors at a University.

While the Professor may be an expert in his field, he doesn’t necessarily have the skills to teach it to others

I have found that PhDs in Education are generally Administrators and not Teachers

 

[Crepitus]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

I think it depends on whether you are using it as a verb or a noun.

Could be a predicate.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

The only comment I will offer is "Oh, my God!"

 

[ScorpioRising007]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

I know getting a PhD in anything you generally need to be pretty smart to do that and it is very hard. You got be an expert in a particular subject area of Education you are focusing you PHD in. I have a relative who has a PhD in Education. He focused on technology in the classroom to teach science. It took years of study and he had to become an expert on what he taught.

My relative who has his PhD in Education was always labeled a very gifted kid. Scored in the gifted range on intelligence tests and very well on his SAT and GRE. His parents wanted him to be an engineer because he scored the highest on a math aptitude test in his entire school out of all his peers, but nope he hated math and wanted to major in Education instead. He said he found math boring and dull even though he was a brain at it. He also has a pretty close to photographic memory. He only needs to hear something once and he remembers it for life. He never studied at all in high school or bothered with homework, he would remember everything and always get A's on his tests. He took his SAT cold without bothering to study for it at all and still got a very high score.

 

[SweetSue92]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

Go into any first grade classroom. Let's be nice and say you have 21 students.

You can read, right?

Okay, great.

You have three students reading at a third grade level, one at fourth grade. Make sure you find literature that both challenges them and is appropriate for their age.

You have seven low-readers, two who are still learning their letters. So while you're searching books for the fourth grade reader, get letter materials for these.

And you have ten readers at target. You still have to teach them all the standards: phonics, fluency, prosody, comprehension, decoding. Don't know what that is? Huh.

Great, got that? Got all the tools you need? Gonna keep all these 6 year olds busy?

Oh good for you. That was one subject. You also teach writing, math, science, social studies. How to behave, which is huge right now.

Buddy, if you think anyone off the street can do this easily, with no training or experience, do it for one week. Five days put together. Good luck.

 

[DGS49]

I'm quite certain that a lot of intelligent people have pursued a PhD in Education. That is not relevant to my point.

Perhaps one of our correspondents here could suggest a legitimate topic for a PhD thesis in Education. I'm drawing a blank...because Education is not a subject.

 

[rightwinger]

I'm quite certain that a lot of intelligent people have pursued a PhD in Education. That is not relevant to my point.

Perhaps one of our correspondents here could suggest a legitimate topic for a PhD thesis in Education. I'm drawing a blank...because Education is not a subject.

Teaching children with Special Needs

 

[X.Onasis]

I'm quite certain that a lot of intelligent people have pursued a PhD in Education. That is not relevant to my point.

Perhaps one of our correspondents here could suggest a legitimate topic for a PhD thesis in Education. I'm drawing a blank...because Education is not a subject.

Teaching teachers to teach is a very important educational pursuit.
Just having knowledge isn't the most important criterion and students' needs are constantly changing. Not knowing a legitimate topic for a thesis is a self-own. Aside from the most painful lessons, people only learn when they want to.

 

[Unkotare]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

You know nothing about education, yet you can't stop talking about it.

 

[Zincwarrior]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

You must be a joy of a Father in Law.

 

[SweetSue92]

I'm quite certain that a lot of intelligent people have pursued a PhD in Education. That is not relevant to my point.

Perhaps one of our correspondents here could suggest a legitimate topic for a PhD thesis in Education. I'm drawing a blank...because Education is not a subject.

How is information processed in the brain?
How is it retained?
How is it comprehended and applied?
What methods/practices lead to best comprehension in various age groups?

....just a start.

In short, are you kidding me

 

[SweetSue92]

I'm quite certain that a lot of intelligent people have pursued a PhD in Education. That is not relevant to my point.

Perhaps one of our correspondents here could suggest a legitimate topic for a PhD thesis in Education. I'm drawing a blank...because Education is not a subject.

How is information synthesized across subjects and over time?
What makes learning endure? What makes it fade?
What is the best learning window by age and subject, scientifically?

Are you kidding me right now?

Your poor DIL

 

[SweetSue92]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

To put a cap on this very sad thread: humans learn over a lifetime or we start dying. That's it. We are learning or we are dying.

And this guy says, hey, here's one thing we don't have to study: learning

 

[MisterBeale]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

Most of what Sue wrote, I agree with.

But that is not what they are actually teaching Phd.'s on.

They are more concerned with how they can instill conformity.

John Taylor Gatto’s Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher Manifesto: Read it!

The 7-lesson schoolteacher. “I teach school — and I win awards doing it. These are the things I teach, these are the things you pay me to teach. Make of them what you will:” So be…

archive.blogs.harvard.edu

The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher by John Taylor Gatto​

by John Taylor Gatto
New Society Publishers, 1992

http://www.newciv.org/whole/schoolteacher.txt

". . . . Meaning, not disconnected facts, is what sane human beings seek,
and education is a set of codes for processing raw facts into meaning.
Behind the patchwork quilt of school sequences, and the school obsession
with facts and theories the age-old human search lies well concealed.
This is harder to see in elementary school where the hierarchy of school
experience seems to make better sense because the good-natured simple
relationship of "let's do this" and "let's do that now" is just assumed
to mean something and the clientele has not yet consciously discerned
how little substance is behind the play and pretense.

Think of all the great natural sequences like learning to walk and
learning to talk, following the progression of light from sunrise to
sunset, witnessing the ancient procedures of a farm, a smithy, or a
shoemaker, watching your mother prepare a Thanksgiving feast -- all of
the parts are in perfect harmony with each other, each action justifies
itself and illuminates the past and future. School sequences aren't
like that, not inside a single class and not among the total menu of
daily classes. School sequences are crazy. There is no particular
reason for any of them, nothing that bears close scrutiny. Few teachers
would dare to teach the tools whereby dogmas of a school or a teacher
could be criticized since everything must be accepted. School subjects
are learned, if they can be learned, like children learn the catechism
or memorize the 39 articles of Anglicanism. I teach the un-relating of
everything, an infinite fragmentation the opposite of cohesion; what I
do is more related to television programming than to making a scheme of
order. In a world where home is only a ghost because both parents work
or because too many moves or too many job changes or too much ambition
or something else has left everybody too confused to stay in a family
relation I teach you how to accept confusion as your destiny. That's
the first lesson I teach.

The second lesson I teach is your class position. I teach that
you must stay in class where you belong. I don't know who decides that
my kids belong there but that's not my business. The children are
numbered so that if any get away they can be returned to the right
class. Over the years the variety of ways children are numbered has
increased dramatically, until it is hard to see the human being plainly
under the burden of numbers he carries. Numbering children is a big and
very profitable business, though what the strategy is designed to
accomplish is elusive. I don't even know why parents would allow it to
be done to their kid without a fight. . . . "

 

[DStar777]

Most of what Sue wrote, I agree with.

But that is not what they are actually teaching Phd.'s on.

They are more concerned with how they can instill conformity.

I don't know how familiar you are with Ayn Rand or her philosophy but this speech in 1984 by her best student, Leonard Peikoff may interest you:

 

[DStar777]

The late George H Smith (libertarian) on the "success" of America's public schools (hint: it's not about knowledge, it's about socialization .. or turning little skulls of mush into .. socialists of sorts?)

 

[SweetSue92]

Most of what Sue wrote, I agree with.

But that is not what they are actually teaching Phd.'s on.

They are more concerned with how they can instill conformity.

John Taylor Gatto’s Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher Manifesto: Read it!

The 7-lesson schoolteacher. “I teach school — and I win awards doing it. These are the things I teach, these are the things you pay me to teach. Make of them what you will:” So be…

archive.blogs.harvard.edu

The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher by John Taylor Gatto​

by John Taylor Gatto
New Society Publishers, 1992

http://www.newciv.org/whole/schoolteacher.txt

". . . . Meaning, not disconnected facts, is what sane human beings seek,
and education is a set of codes for processing raw facts into meaning.
Behind the patchwork quilt of school sequences, and the school obsession
with facts and theories the age-old human search lies well concealed.
This is harder to see in elementary school where the hierarchy of school
experience seems to make better sense because the good-natured simple
relationship of "let's do this" and "let's do that now" is just assumed
to mean something and the clientele has not yet consciously discerned
how little substance is behind the play and pretense.

Think of all the great natural sequences like learning to walk and
learning to talk, following the progression of light from sunrise to
sunset, witnessing the ancient procedures of a farm, a smithy, or a
shoemaker, watching your mother prepare a Thanksgiving feast -- all of
the parts are in perfect harmony with each other, each action justifies
itself and illuminates the past and future. School sequences aren't
like that, not inside a single class and not among the total menu of
daily classes. School sequences are crazy. There is no particular
reason for any of them, nothing that bears close scrutiny. Few teachers
would dare to teach the tools whereby dogmas of a school or a teacher
could be criticized since everything must be accepted. School subjects
are learned, if they can be learned, like children learn the catechism
or memorize the 39 articles of Anglicanism. I teach the un-relating of
everything, an infinite fragmentation the opposite of cohesion; what I
do is more related to television programming than to making a scheme of
order. In a world where home is only a ghost because both parents work
or because too many moves or too many job changes or too much ambition
or something else has left everybody too confused to stay in a family
relation I teach you how to accept confusion as your destiny. That's
the first lesson I teach.

The second lesson I teach is your class position. I teach that
you must stay in class where you belong. I don't know who decides that
my kids belong there but that's not my business. The children are
numbered so that if any get away they can be returned to the right
class. Over the years the variety of ways children are numbered has
increased dramatically, until it is hard to see the human being plainly
under the burden of numbers he carries. Numbering children is a big and
very profitable business, though what the strategy is designed to
accomplish is elusive. I don't even know why parents would allow it to
be done to their kid without a fight. . . . "

It's a broken system only getting worse and worse. And worse, and worse. And that is because we ALREADY get low pay, work like freaking dogs, etc. Now also we have no respect. We used to feel like we at least were somewhat respected, at least in our own communities. That's over.

So

It's a swirl the drain situation. I love teaching to my baby toenail. It's who I am. But sadly, I'm to the point I would never recommend it to anyone. It's a horrible way to spend a professional life.

If I am here, who is the B team? Well, the B team is gone. The C team is quitting. Here comes the D team. Y'all will hate the D team, trust me.

But that's where we are now. Devil take the hindmost.

 

[SweetSue92]

I recently learned that my daughter-in-law, a public school teacher in the best school district in Pennsylvania, is working on her PhD. In "Education." I have no idea what her thesis will be on, but...

Is Education even a subject? By comparison, when I was in grade school, I got a grade in Handwriting (always a 'D'), but handwriting is not a subject, and I did not even consider it when calculating my GPA.

Education is not a subject, it is a vehicle through which a subject is taught. A SUBJECT has a trove of esoteric knowledge, not known to the general public. If I pursue a PhD in, say English Literature, or Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering, I am exploring bits of reality that only a specialist would understand and appreciate. There is no such esoteric knowledge in Education. Indeed, our educators are still stumbling around trying to figure out the best way of teaching different subjects and different demographic groups. There are few right answers, and they have been known for a very long time.

In the case of a PhD in Education, the goal is clear and it is insidious. The goal is to get more money from the taxpayer for that exalted credential. No one would even suppose that a Doctor of Education would be a better teacher than s/he was when s/he merely had a Masters or - horrors! - a mere Bachelor's degree.

On the other hand, a Doctor of Education would be qualified to be the Surgeon General of the U.S., apparently.

Nothing else to say about this completely dunderheaded post?