Abstract

This study offers philosophical reflection on persisting public education issues including the role of studies in philosophy of education, authority and freedom in school, punishment and power, meaning and absurdity, democracy, and moral education. The essays provide a springboard to further thought on education, an invitation to reflect on and ponder the difficulties and dilemmas attendant upon our education of the young. Contents: Philosophy a Frill?; Summerhill Revisited; The Absurd Teacher; A Critique of Moral Education in Schools; Education for Democracy; Students' Rights and Student Power; Moral Education and Mystery; Punishment, Education and Nihilism; Tension in the Classroom; and Deceiving Children.