William Heard Kilpatrick 1871 1965 by Dr' Rauno Huttunen

1
William Heard Kilpatrick(1871 1965)by Dr.
Rauno Huttunen

• William Heard Kilpatrick was a US American
  pedagogue and a pupil, a colleague and a
  successor of John Dewey. Kilpatrick was born in
  White Plains, Georgiawith and orthodox upbringing
  and was educated at Mercer University and Johns
  Hopkins University where he later became a
  mathematics teacher at High School and at Mercer
  University. He first met John Dewey in 1898 and
  again met him in 1907. Kilpatrick decided to make
  philosophy of education his specialty and
  occupied all courses by Dewey. From this
  developed a cooperation, which persisted up to
  Dewey's death in 1952.
• Like Dewey Kilpatrick believe in democracy and
  democratic education. Kilpatrick created the
  concept of indoctrination in its pejorative
  meaning. In Middle Ages verb indoctrinare meant
  effective education that is effective way to
  teach doctrines of Catholic Christianity.
  Kilpatrick defined indoctrination as inducing
  uncritical belief and prejudice building.

2

• The term indoctrination just used demands a word
  of explanation. The word means, literally,
  implanting doctrines. When such implanting on an
  uncritical basis was the common practice of the
  school, and indeed one of its principal aims, to
  indoctrinate and to teach came to be diverse ways
  of describing the same process But with
  development of democracy it was increasingly
  felt that education could no longer be content
  with inducing uncritical belief, but must instead
  develop responsible thinking on the part of all
  as a necessary preparation for democratic living
  and citizenship and an unpredictable future.
• Kilpatrick Indoctrination and respect for persons

3

• The education thus far discussed is an designed
  to free the whole personality of the learner for
  the fullest living, for the best and mostr
  independent exercise of all his powers, for the
  control of his own destiny. This alone we have
  counted true respect for the personality it
  might be said that a condition of inner slavery
  is the worst kind of slavery such an individual
  has no wish to change his status, he even fights
  against his true freedom. To aid the individual,
  then, to the fullest use of his powers, to
  fullest intelligent and responsible
  self-direction and effectiveness, is to give the
  greatest possible respect to his personality.
• Kilpatrick Indoctrination and respect for persons

4

• That democarcy must refuse and reject
  indoctrination in this prejudice-building sense
  would seem beyond question. Where competent
  opinion differs as to what to believe, for
  parents and teachers to take advantage if the
  childs ignorance and docility to fasten in him
  beyond recall their own chosen views IS TO
  ENSLAVE THIS CHILD to those who thus teach him.
  Democarcy and a proper respect for the childs
  personality must reject such enslavement as
  partisan exploitation of the individuals right
  to be educated to do his own thinking and make
  his own decisions.
• Kilpatrick Indoctrination and respect for persons

5

• The childs education cannot not wait until he
  is mature enough to think for himself. We have to
  begin from first. Does this not force
  indoctrination upon us? Possible some
  indoctrination is thus inevitable with younger
  children, but even in the case the ultimate
  intent should be to the contrary. For example, we
  will wokr as best we can rto build tha habit of
  truhtfulness in young child, adn we must begin
  this before he can understand why lying is a bad
  social habit. But as soon as we can and as fast
  as we can, we lead him to see the social reasons
  for truhtfulness.

6

• It does, however, seem a specific duty of school
  to recognize that the existing social order
  demands a certain amount of continual remaking,
  adn the school accordingly has correlative duty
  to have the young study, suitable for their age,
  the strengths and weaknesses of our civilations.
  And no custom or institution, however cherished,
  can claim exemption from such study and
  criticism. This means th free and untrammeled
  study of all pertinent controversial issues.

7

• While agreeing that indoctrination in other
  matters is wrong, some still feel that the case
  for democracy is different for it we should
  indoctrinate To indoctrinate a belief in
  democracy without including the reasons for
  democarcy, and without building ability to think
  critically about it, is to make blindfolded
  adherents of democracy such indoctrination would
  make blind dogmatists of democracy, quite unfit
  to carry on the democratic process in a changing
  civilation. That way lies fanatism.

8

• Under the influence of the Enlightenment and
  democracy, we began to see that to fix beliefs
  indelibly in the child is to enslave him to his
  teachers. In the degree that the child cannot, or
  will not, later re-examine such early implanted
  beliefs is he unable to think and decide for
  himself And any teaching which does not expect
  to upbuild in him, as fast as he can manage it,
  the tendency and capacity to think for himself,
  is to that extent failing to respect his
  personality and specifically, to help him build
  the character needed for democracy.