ERIC Number: EJ1287841
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0160-7561
EISSN: N/A
Missional Muddles: Why Private School Students Have a Positive Right to Learn Dissent
Sellers, Kathleen
Philosophical Studies in Education, v51 p139-149 2020
Democracy needs dissent. More specifically, democracy needs citizens with "knowledge" of how to practice political dissent, a willingness to "think" about why and when such dissent is necessary, and "habituation" to the practice of good dissent. Where, then, are citizens to develop such habits? In Sarah Stitzlein's "Teaching for Dissent: Citizenship Education and Political Activism," she suggests that public schools are the place best-suited to train American citizens in habits of good dissent. And more, she argues not only are public schools best-suited to this task, but American citizens have a positive right to learn dissent from them. In this article, Kathleen Sellers seeks to expand Stitzlein's argument to include private schools, using the insights of Catholic political philosopher John Courtney Murray, SJ to help construct a framework for thinking about institutional autonomy as a privileged positionality, which enhances private schools' ability to practice (and therefore instruct students in) dissent. First Sellers explains Stitzlein's thesis regarding dissent as a positive right, locating it within the broader context of civics education in American democracy. She then explains the context of a private, mission-driven school, with particular emphasis on features that differentiate such institutions from public schools. Sellers then introduces Murray's insights to explain how mission-driven contexts possess distinct positionality for practicing dissent, a positionality which inheres responsibility for the practice of this positive right. This is followed by concluding remarks.
Descriptors: Democracy, Private Schools, Political Attitudes, Citizenship Education, Activism, Catholics, Institutional Autonomy, Student Attitudes, Advantaged, Teaching Methods, Institutional Mission, Institutional Characteristics, Student Rights, Catholic Schools, Church Role, Educational Philosophy
Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society. Web site: http://ovpes.org/?page_id=51
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A