American culture and our schools.

By: STEVE ALOIA - Commentary: | Tuesday, November 14, 2006 10:01 PM PST ∞

America has a great culture; unfortunately, not many people know what it is. Also unfortunately, those people include teachers ---- those on whom we most rely to perpetuate the ideals of our democratic society.

Educators Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jane McCormack expressed concern that so many teachers were ignorant of their American culture and, thus, unable to perpetuate our basic democratic ideals. They warned that "if one generation of young people were to grow up rejecting the language of their parents, the values of their community, or the political commitments of their elders, the nation to which they belong would be changed in irreversibly ways."

Walter Lippmann, educator and newspaper columnist in the early part of the 20th century, likewise declared that the purpose of education is contextualized by its culture. Namely, unless you understand the culture of a country, you cannot understand the purpose of education.

For example, would our system of education and its purported ideals work in a communist form of government? The answer is categorically no. Hence, in order to truly know the purpose of education, we need to know the American culture.

The word "culture" comes from the Latin word "cultus" (cult), which originally meant a set of religious beliefs. As the cult of the people grew along with the country itself, the cult became the culture. Hence, in American history, the original religion of its founding families being Christian, the tenets of Christianity became the founding basis of its culture.

America has a very strong Christian culture. Even if she is "multicultural," in the politically correct lexicon of the day, her heritage is founded upon the Judeo-Christian culture of its people.

The five basic standards that define our American culture are extensions of our heritage.

First, America is a culture of freedom and liberty, which implies that its people must be responsible or they will lose their freedoms. Hence, the need for a self-disciplined constituency.

Second, American culture is defined by the principles of universal suffrage ---- everyone is a fully franchised citizen with the rights and obligations to vote.

Third, we are a participatory democracy ---- the only form of government that needs its citizens to participate in order for the government to function.

Fourth, we are a culture defined by rights. We have a written Declaration, a Constitution and a Bill of Rights all asserting our rights to freedoms.

And, finally, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." By definition, these are rights that cannot be taken away, denied, nor surrendered.

Knowing these parameters of our culture provides the philosophical framework in which our system of education has evolved, and to which it is forever tethered. In addition, it is incumbent on the schools to perpetuate our culture since its very survival is the key to a productive society. Our schools have their meaning in our culture.

-- Stephen D. Aloia of Temecula is a professor of education at Cal State Fullerton.