Abstract

The lofty ideals of the classical notion of paideia, and the restatement of those principles in 1982 by Mortimer Adler and the 'paideia group' remain an unfulfilled promise in terms of the actualities of public education in the United States. The notion of an educational system for all students built upon a rigorous curriculum manifesting a framework of values to be acted out in the public and democratic forum continues to have great attraction for educators. Indeed, the notion of paideia continues to carry a sense of urgency as it should. However, the actual task of creating systems devoted to these ideals has run headlong into a political labyrinth generated by the conflict between conservative political thought and liberal application. The political seductiveness of the trend towards 'standardization' currently in vogue throughout the United States works counter to the classroomcentered/teacher-student encounter needed to educate students capable of interacting meaningfully in their social and political world. The use of the 'standard' to teach and to measure students carries the authority of the technical and reinforces the stereotype of intellectual elitism. To bring balance to this conflict and create an apolitical design requires attention to the meditative role of the teacher and the nature of learning.