Aristotle opened the last chapter of his Politics as follows 'No one should doubt that the legislature should direct his attention to above all the education of youth. The citizen should be moulded to suit the form of government under which he lives', (Leirman, pp. 9,1999). The great philosophers all paid strong attention to education. Thus, Plato's Republic, often held to be a political treatise, is in the first place a profound essay on education. Aristotle was a pupil of Plato's and they very often agreed to disagree on the role of family and community in education. "It should not take wonder, therefore, that education in Ancient Greece was conceived of as "the preparation and training of good citizens", (Leirman, pp. 8,1999). "Plato favored a communal system of education, with elimination of the family and parental control, whereas Aristotle was skeptical of this kind of commonwealth and saw the family as the nucleus of personal development and well-being.
Detail of The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio...
English: Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
English: Ortodox Cathedral in Sao PauloHe pleaded for an education towards "social individuality", (Lierman, pp.9, 1999).
"Yet both authors strongly agreed about the ethical basis of education", (Leirman, pp.10, 1999). We are made up of many groups with many different values, beliefs and norms. If we are going to live in peace with one another and enjoy the fruits of democratic political system and a prosperous capitalistic economic system we are going to have to create and perpetuate inter-group respect and harmony.
Fortunately, there are a lot of laws on the books and a very stern judiciary branch of government to compel particularity organizations and institutions to not discriminate in areas like housing, employment and residence on the basis of group characteristics but nothing that specifically addresses the discriminatory practices in educational politics. Adoption of a Multicultural Curriculum is the first step. Although a multicultural curriculum is...