Educating for love of wisdom : John Dewey and Simone Weil

The writings of John Dewey (1859-1952) and Simone Weil (1909-1943) were analyzed with a view to answering 3 main questions: What is wisdom? How is wisdom connected to experience? How does one educate for a love of wisdom? Using a dialectical method whereby Dewey (a pragmatist) was critiqued by Weil (a Christian Platonist) and vice versa, commonalities and differences were identified and clarified. For both, wisdom involved the application of thought to specific, concrete problems in order to secure a better way of life. For Weil, wisdom was centered on a love of truth that involved a certain way of applying one's attention to a concrete or theoretical problem. Weil believed that nature was subject to a divine wisdom and that a truly democratic society had supernatural roots. Dewey believed that any attempt to move beyond nature would stunt the growth of wisdom. For him, wisdom could be nourished only by natural streams-even if some ofthem were given a divine designation. For both, wisdom emerged through the discipline of work understood as intelligent activity, a coherent relationship between thinking and acting. Although Weil and Dewey differed on how they distinguished these 2 activities, they both advocated a type of education which involved practical experience and confronted concrete problems. Whereas Dewey viewed each problem optimistically with the hope of solving it, Weil saw wisdom in, contemplating insoluble contradictions. For both, educating for a love of wisdom meant cultivating a student's desire to keep thinking in line with acting-wanting to test ideas in action and striving to make sense of actions observed.

Metaphilosophy and educating: Stephen C. Pepper's selectivism as a basis for educational excellence

Atheory of educating is always derived from philosophical tenets. In Western society these tenets are concerned primarily with the provision, maintenance and evolution of knowledge for use by future generations. The provision of knowledge for future generations is for the purpose of ensuring cultural and biological survival. Essentially this provision involves two major criteria: first, that only that knowledge which has been judged to be exce11 ent shou1d be passed on and, second, in add it ion to providing knowledge claims, the evidence for knowledge claims must also be extended in order to fully enrich meaning for an individual involved in a learning experience. Embedded in such a theory of educating are a concept of educational excellence and a concept of the provision of evidence for knowledge claims. This thesis applied the contributions of metaphilosophy to the concepts of educational excellence and the provision of evidence. The metaphilosophy of Stephen C. Pepper was examined for its contributions to a theory of educating and a concept of educational excellence. Metaphilosophy is concerned with making knowledge meaningful. It is a subject matter which may be studied in and of itself and it is a method for acquiring meaning by interpreting knowledge. Historically people have interpreted the knowledge of the world from basically four adequate world views which Pepper termed formism, mechanism, contextual ism and organicism. He later proposed a fifth world view which he termed selectivism. In this thesis these world views were shown to contribute in a variety of ways to educational excellence, most particularly as they allow for interpretations and analysis of evidence about knowledge claims. Selecti vismwas examined in depth and was shown to contribute to educational excellence in two major ways; first, as a world hypothesis which offers an interpretation of the evidence for knowledge claims and, second, as a metahypothesis which provides knowledge about the nature of knowledge. Finally the importance of metaphilosophy in contributing to cultural survival was demonstrated in a discussion of the potential impact of selectivism on a theory of educating and educational excellence.

A tour from the City of New-York, to Detroit, in the Michigan Territory, made between the 2d of May and the 22d of September, 1818 : the tour extends from New-York, by Albany, Schenectady, and Utica to Sacket's Harbor, and thence throught Lake Ontario, to St. Lawrence river, and down that stream to Hamilton village. Thence along both banks of the St. Lawrence, from Hamilton to the Thousand Islands; thence to Sacket's Harbor by water; from that place by the route of great Sodus, Geneva, Cananaigua and Batavia, to Buffalo; and from thence to Black Rock, Fort Erie, the Falls of Niagara, Queenston, Lewiston, and the memorable fields of Bridgewater and Chippewa after viewing the interesting place of Niagara, the author traversed the south shore of Lake Erie to the City of Detroit, and visited in the latter range, Dunkirk, Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, and other places of less note. The tour is accompanied with a map upon which the route will be designated; a particular map of the Falls andRiver of Niagara, and the environs of the City of Detroit /

Errata slip inserted.

Letter from George W. Campbell, esq., late Secretary of the Treasury, to the Chairman of the Committee appointed to inquire into the causes and particulars of the invasion of the City of Washington, and the neighboring town of Alexandria, in the month of August last. --

Laid before the House by the Chairman of the said Committee, and ordered to be printed January 2, 1815.

City of Niagara Falls Plans, 1846, 1877, 1884, 1886, 1889-1890, 1892-1894, 1903-1905, 1910, 1914, 1919, 1925, 1927-1928, n.d.

The collection consists of 37 plans, surveys or maps of the City of Niagara Falls beginning in 1846 until 1928. Some of the plans were created for the Falls Company, a group of land speculators that included Buchanan, Murray, Street, Allen, Robinson and others. Other plans relate to the building of the suspension bridge and the railway. Some plans and drawing may refer to estate documents in RG 167 Niagara South estate and legal documents collection. Item 22 has been scanned for preservation purposes.

City of the Falls clippings, 1833, n.d.

The clippings describe the City of the Falls and its attempts by its shareholders to sell lots to this newly developing city. The venture by shareholders W. Allan, James Buchanan, Thomas Clark, J.H. Dunn, Thomas Dixon, General Murray, James Robinson, Samuel Street and William Witla intended to favourably position their city as a destination for “affording an easy approach for the annual assemblage of the Fashionable, the Learned and the Great”. The venture failed due to the building of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls railway.

Collective Labour Agreement between the Public Utilities Commission of the City of St. Catharines and Local 556, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 1952

In 1952, Local 556 of The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers negotiated a contract with The Public Utilities Commission of the City of St. Catharines. The contract was to be in effect from July 1952 to September 1953. The document is unsigned.

City of St. Catharines fonds, 1951-1964, 1970-1973, 1978-1982, n.d.

The fonds contains materials relating to the City of St. Catharines from the 1950s to 1980s. The materials included are correspondence, clippings, media releases, and some photographs. Folders are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each series. The series are arranged alphabetically.

Office of the City Clerk, St. Catharines Records, 1928-1974, n.d.

The site of present-day St. Catharines was settled by 3000 United Empire Loyalists at the end of the 18th century. From 1790, the settlement (then known as "The Twelve") grew as an agricultural community. St. Catharines was once referred to Shipman's Corners after Paul Shipman, owner of a tavern that was an important stagecoach transfer point. In 1815, leading businessman William Hamilton Merritt abandoned his wharf at Queenston and set up another at Shipman's Corners. He became involved in the construction and operation of several lumber and gristmills along Twelve Mile Creek. Shipman's Corners soon became the principal milling site of the eastern Niagara Peninsula. At about the same time, Merritt began to develop the salt springs that were discovered along the river which subsequently gave the village a reputation as a health resort. By this time St. Catharines was the official name of the village; the origin of the name remains obscure, but is thought to be named after Catharine Askin Robertson Hamilton, wife of the Hon. Robert Hamilton, a prominent businessman. Merritt devised a canal scheme from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario that would provide a more reliable water supply for the mills while at the same time function as a canal. He formed the Welland Canal Company, and construction took place from 1824 to 1829. The canal and the mills made St. Catharines the most important industrial centre in Niagara. By 1845, St. Catharines was incorporated as a town, with the town limits extending in 1854. Administrative and political functions were added to St. Catharines in 1862 when it became the county seat of Lincoln. In 1871, construction began on the third Welland Canal, which attracted additional population to the town. As a consequence of continual growth, the town limits were again extended. St. Catharines attained city status in 1876 with its larger population and area. Manufacturing became increasingly important in St. Catharines in the early 1900s with the abundance of hydro-electric power, and its location on important land and water routes. The large increase in population after the 1900s was mainly due to the continued industrialization and urbanization of the northern part of the city and the related expansion of business activity. The fourth Welland Canal was opened in 1932 as the third canal could no longer accommodate the larger ships. The post war years and the automobile brought great change to the urban form of St. Catharines. St. Catharines began to spread its boundaries in all directions with land being added five times during the 1950s. The Town of Merritton, Village of Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township were all incorporated as part of St. Catharines in 1961. In 1970 the Province of Ontario implemented a regional approach to deal with such issues as planning, pollution, transportation and services. As a result, Louth Township on the west side of the city was amalgamated, extending the city's boundary to Fifteen Mile Creek. With its current population of 131,989, St. Catharines has become the dominant centre of the Niagara region. Source: City of St. Catharines website http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/HistoryOfTheCity.asp (January 27, 2011)

Letter from George W. Campbell the Chairman of the Committee appointed to inquire into the causes and particulars of the invasion of the City of Washington

Full Title: Letter from George W. Campbell, esq., late Secretary of the Treasury, to the Chairman of the Committee appointed to inquire into the causes and particulars of the invasion of the City of Washington, and the neighboring town of Alexandria, in the month of August last Laid before the House by the Chairman of the said Committee, and ordered to be printed January 2, 1815. 13th Congress, 3rd Session. House. Doc. 38. Printed by Roger C. Weightman

Employer Perspectives on Secondary School Cooperative Education in a Southern Ontario City in Canada

Despite 2 Ontario Ministry of Education policy documents which mandate that regular program effectiveness surveys be completed in secondary school co-op programs, research was either not occurring or data were not being made available. A lack of co-op research also existed at the postsecondary level. The primary reason for this study was to determine the perspectives of current secondary school co-op employers in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and to identify any program strengths as well as any areas in which improvement can be made. A secondary aim of the study was to discover the reasons that some employers decline to participate in the co-op program, and why other employers decide to discontinue their co-op partnerships. An online survey was utilized with 2 Likert scales and open-ended questions to solicit responses from the 100 participants. The findings from this study strongly supported previous secondary and postsecondary co-op research. Overall, the HWDSB co-op program was found to be very strong, and employer satisfaction very high. There were, however, areas in which improvement could be made. Although most employers felt supported by institutions and felt that expectations were clearly communicated and were reasonable, there was evidence that many employers perceived a lack of institutional support which included factors such as communication, student placement and fit, and institutional responsiveness. In addition, some employers felt that students were underprepared for the workplace and lacked basic employability skills such as dependability and responsibility.

Educating for Community Resilience: How the Work of Thomas Homer-Dixon and JohnDewey's Pattern of Inquiry Can Help Us Prepare for the Ecological and Social Challenges of the 21st Century

Scientists have overwhelmingly concluded that global warming occurs as a consequence of human activities and that climate change, combined with the depletion of resources, could have catastrophic consequences for the human civilization later this century. However, in political circles and in the public sphere these conclusions are not taken seriously, or they are laid aside for future generations to deal with; at the same time, significant efforts are being deployed to discredit the scientific evidence. In this thesis I have studied the positions of climate scientists as well as those of climate change deniers, and I also examined how their points of view are likely to impact the interests and habits of corporations and citizens. The work of Thomas Homer-Dixon was used as an important source for analyzing the complex interaction between our natural, economic, and social systems, and John Dewey's pattern of inquiry provided the theoretical foundation for an analysis of the current crisis and its possible solutions. No concerted action to deal with climate change has yet been taken by the leaders of the Western world; I corroborated data from four reliable sources (Hansen, 2009; IPCC, 2007; Lynas, 2007; Steffen, 2011) regarding several development scenarios and their likely consequences on greenhouse gas emissions, and I concluded that a future temperature increase of more than 2°C appears now as unavoidable. In the light of this conclusion I argue that education for increasing the resilience of smaller communities is a realistic alternative that can offer some hope in dealing with the challenges ahead.

Understanding the Cultural Health Beliefs in Diabetes Education Amongst the Aboriginal Population within a City in the Southern Region of Ontario

This study examined the cultural health beliefs in diabetes education amongst the Aboriginal population within a city in Southern Ontario. The purpose was to contribute to the development of a culturally relevant diabetes handbook as well as to delivery styles within current diabetes education programs. To this end, a focus group was conducted with Aboriginal men and women between the ages of 18-70 years with type 2 diabetes. Participants were recruited from 2 Aboriginal community centres and an Aboriginal health centre in a city in Southern Ontario. Themes were drawn from the analysis of the focus group transcripts and combined with the findings from the research literature. The major themes that merged were drawn from Eurocentric and Aboriginal theories. The results were a set of recommendations on the type of format for diabetes educational programs such as traditional group activities, variety of electronic format, and culture specific educational resources. The emergent results appear to provide some important insights into program planning for diabetes education centres within Aboriginal communities.

Lovell's Business and Professional Directory of the Province of Ontario, for 1882, Alphabetically arranged as to Places, Names, Business and Professions, with a Classified Business Directory of the City of Montreal (1882)

Business directory for the Province of Ontario for the year 1882.