Kelly Hilbert

Educational Technology Seminar

Postman Paper

What is the overall thesis of Postman’s book, ​The End of Education​? Do you agree or
disagree with his arguments? Explain and justify your response using evidence from the
book and from outside sources.

In ​The End of Education​, Neil Postman explores and analyzes the purpose of our current

public-school system, or lack thereof, and also proposes future narratives to revitalize education.

As educators, we can all agree that education should be goal oriented, motivational, and inspiring

for our students. That is a truth that has become more evident now than ever before, and it is

something that we aim to instill in our classrooms each day. These goals and motivators that our

schools should serve are vastly diverse, and often debated, and this is the main argument that

Postman works to hone in on.

The most apparent point that Postman makes in this book is that there is need for

profound change in our public school systems. Currently our public school system is so

fundamentally engrossed in the idea that it needs to keep up with current trends and changes in

our society. However, this is ultimately hurting our school system because it takes away from the

value of education and diminishes all and any real profound purpose that schooling once had.

Postman states in his Preface that, “most of the conversation [about schooling] is about means,

rarely about ends.” Our society is always looking at the how, and not the why, but it is the why

that is most important for the foundation of a good educational system. Postman also quotes

Nietzsche’s famous aphorism that states, “he who has a ​why ​to live can bear with any ​how.”​ ​The
reasons behind why we have education is the driving force Postman uses to show what changes

the education system needs.

For Postman, schools have become all about consumership, economic utility,

multiculturalism, and technological growth. We have become a world that wants to create

citizens that are ready to perform as useful working adults. Rather than allowing learning to be a

wonderful process of growth and discovery, we are changing it into a system that works only to

make sure we get a productive job and become a part of the economic world. Postman wishes to

redefine the ends of education, and to move us away from the commercial ends we currently are

following. People are too focused on how we will provide education, rather than why. Our

education system has become too obsessed with the wrong things. We should want to help our

youth develop global acceptance, intellectual curiosity, and an appreciation of the diversity that

exists all around us. We should want to show our youth how to become advocates for our world,

and take responsibility for improving it, as well as seeking life-long learning experiences that

will help them to continue to grow. Postman states, ​“at its best, schooling can be about how to

make a life, which is quite different from how to make a living.” Postman is afraid that without

redefining the purpose and narrative which drives education, then a uniform public will be lost.

I agree with most of what Postman writes in his book, and his book really helps you to

take a hard look at the educational system we currently live with. It is true that are society has

become obsessed with getting a job that makes the most money. We have become obsessed with

purchasing the next great technology that has been introduced, even if we already have a similar

item in perfect condition. Technology has begun to take the driver seat in so many aspects of our
lives, but the technology is not going to be the thing that helps keep our world peaceful and

resourceful. Our schools should be focused on helping our students transform themselves into

people who have a burning desire to make changes and differences in this world, who want to

better themselves and use their mistakes to their benefit. We should be helping our students look

at the world, and question what they see in order to make sense of things. Our students should be

intellectually curious, globally conscious, and confident decision makers. But in reality, are our

schools doing this? James Balwin would not agree in his piece called ​A Talk to ​Teachers when

he writes, “what societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of

society.” He explains that citizens should be able to think for themselves, create their own beliefs

and values, and to fight for what they are passionate about. But what society seems to want is

very different, and this is what Postman points out in his book.

In conclusion, Postman is saying that our schools need reform, and they need redefined

purpose. It should be less about the mechanics of schooling, and more about the metaphysical

concepts and reasonings of why we are there. Knowledge can never truly be fully possessed by

any individual, and once we realize this, we can see our education as a life-long process. We can

instill in our students a deeper appreciation for knowledge and find meaningful justification in

our educational system.

Postman identifies 5 possible gods that we could serve. Which of these do you think would
be the most ideal? Why do you think that? How can you support and encourage service to
this god in your classroom, school, and/or district? Explain and justify your response using
evidence from the book and from outside sources.

As Postman states in his book, “we are the god-making species.” We find absolute

comfort in providing reason and value in everything we do, including education. We create these

gods, or narratives, to have profound purpose in all we’ve done, all we are doing, and all we will

do in the future. Following Postman’s discussion on which gods he believes our educational

system is currently serving, he goes on to explain five gods in which he believes we​ should​ be

serving. The gods we are currently serving are ones that are waning, and not doing any justice

for our education system. They are gods that try to generate sense, order, and control in our

world, rather than embrace our world for the beautiful enigma that it is. As human beings, we

seem to crave organization, logic, and power; but we should simply crave knowledge, an

abundance of knowledge that never has to end. Postman writes with the hope of instilling a love

of life-long learning in our youth; he writes with the sole purpose of making sure there never is

an end to education.

The first god we should serve that Postman introduces, is ​The Spaceship Earth​. The

narrative that this god represents goes deep into the idea that we as human beings have a strong

responsibility to take care of our earth, for we are its passengers. The earth is the most precious

gift of all, are we are here for a small amount of time. However, in the small time that we inhabit

this earth, it is our duty to take care of it, not deplete it of all its resources. As Postman states,

“we have here a narrative of extraordinary potential: the story of human beings as stewards of the

Earth, caretakers of a vulnerable space capsule.” Our earth inhabits us all – skin color, religious
beliefs, and gender affiliations aside. If a part of our earth suffers, then we all suffer. There is no

area on earth that should feel superior to the rest, because as Postman so wisely asks, “have you

not noticed that you are all on the same ship? That you must rely on each other to survive, and

that you have not taken sufficient care of your home?” No matter which part of the world we

reside, we all have the same and equal responsibilities to take care of our home. Our spaceship

earth cannot wait for us to show our youth the importance of this narrative. We must start now,

and we must show our youth that their decisions and power matter. We need to be globally

conscious of how our actions impact our home and realize that together we can do better for our

earth.

The second god that Postman introduces, is called ​The Fallen Angel​. The premise in this

narrative revolves around the nature of human beings, and how inevitable it is for us to make

mistakes – many of them. However, as human beings we also can take our errors, and grow from

them, correct them, and become profoundly changed by them. We should not let mistakes define

us, but rather shape us in ways that help us come out stronger. This narrative so closely aligns

with a topic that has become very prevalent in schools today, which is the topic of a growth

mindset versus a fixed mindset. Carol Dweck, author of ​Mindset: The New Psychology of

Success,​ says it best when she states, “the growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in

the short ​and​ long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to

learning.” Learning is not a straight line, and it never should be. We cannot expect to always

fully understand everything, nor can we expect perfection out of ourselves or others.
 The last three gods that Postman proposes are ​The American Experiment​, ​The Law of

Diversity,​ and ​The Word Weavers/Makers.​ ​The American Experiment​ revolves around the idea

that America thrives on argumentation and experimentation. Our decisions and changes are made

through continuous debate and criticism on our past mistakes. We look at America’s past, and

we argue which decisions were correct or incorrect. But can anyone really be sure of these

answers? Is it possible for a people to have absolute certainty on a decision for the society as a

whole? Postman believes that by showing our students how to argue these questions, and

educating them on past arguments, America can continue this cycle of making decisions through

debate. America is an ever-changing work in progress, a continuous question, and our youth can

play a role in continuing the experiment.

The Law of Diversity f​ ocuses on finding commonalities across all cultures, and having

our youth follow a narrative that, “​help[s] the young transcend individual identity by finding

inspiration in a story of humanity.” By observing other cultures and what makes us different, we

can grow as a society and as people. The language, beliefs, customs, art and artifacts of all

cultures are so vastly different, but there are commonalities too. By having students focus on

these differences and similarities, we are finding more interconnectedness with the rest of the

world around us. ​The Word Weavers/World Makers n​ arrative goes more deeply into the concept

of language, and focuses on how through language, we can both shape the world around us, and

be shaped by language itself. Words have power, and through our words, we are creating and

defining the world.

 The first of these narratives that I find to be the most ideal, is the god of ​The Spaceship

Earth. ​Everyday in our schools we discuss importance of helping our students be prepared for

the real world, to become useful citizens that can help to improve upon our world. But will the

learning experiences we are providing in our schools suffice? The fable that Postman shares is

about a town that has students save their city, which was in complete crisis. These students

directed traffic, delivered mail, cleaned up neighborhoods, published newspapers, tutored young

kids, as well as so many other jobs. They had profound learning experiences through this

journey, and the city began to flourish again. While this is just a story, there is an important

lesson to be taken, one that suggests that we need to start introducing the importance of

recognizing our own responsibilities for the planet, no matter what age. This narrative is a ​gentle

reminder that we are simply visitors on planet Earth. We are here for a time, and then we move

on. However, Earth will still be here. We as a species need to understand that fully and realize

our actions here on Earth do affect it and will affect generations to come. We should not be

looking at each other’s problems as "not our problem." We should view other countries problems

as our own as well, because we all are coexisting on the same giant vessel. The earth is one

entity, and we make up its parts. We should recognize that no one country on earth is greater or

more powerful, and we should be focusing on how to work together to keep earth strong.

Our school is currently a Green School, and we work towards a goal of helping our

community each year. Each grade level focuses on a project every year, and we also develop and

carry out a school-wide project. We also have many recycling programs at our school, and

educate our classes about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. While this is a

small step in the journey of helping our planet, it is a great start in educating our students about
the importance of helping our earth. Our curriculum is currently transferring to the International

Baccalaureate program which focuses a great deal on transdisciplinary and inquiry-based

learning. We want our students to become globally conscious, accepting, and empowered to help

change the world. I believe our school is well on its journey to serving the god of the Spaceship

Earth, and we will continue doing so. I can continue incorporating books and topics into our

daily lessons that discuss real-world issues, and spark conversations between my students about

the problems our world faces. I can inspire them to want to make a change, even if small.

The second narrative that I find inspiring for our schools, is the narrative of ​The Fallen

Angel. ​Human beings will always make mistakes and there is no denying that - we are an

imperfect species. But the beauty in mistakes is that they help you grow. The term fallen angel

works as a metaphor for making mistakes but rising above and allowing those mistakes to lift

you up again. By serving this god in our schools, we would be allowing our students to move

away from frustrations and move towards a continuance of learning and growing. ​ ​Kids must

understand that mistakes are okay, otherwise we are doing them a disservice. If students grow up

thinking that mistakes are equivalent to failure, then we have not done our job. Mistakes should

be taken as lessons, as learning experiences, and as chances to grow. If students understand that

they have the ability to change and grow, then they will be less willing to give up, thus instilling

more appreciation for the learning process for what it is, not what it could accomplish for them in

the future. It becomes less about getting a job, and more about just learning for learning.

Everyday I work to help my students understanding that learning is a process, one that

won’t go the way they want all the time. There is growth from falling, and there is success from
failing. One way to help my students understand this, is giving them positive feedback on their

efforts, rather than their abilities. Even if they are frustrated with a task, I remind them how

wonderfully they are doing, because I want them to push through their frustrations, not let them

hinder their growth. I always make a point to show them my own mistakes, because I make

plenty of them in the classroom. There is a quote by Thomas Edison I speak to my students about

frequently that says, “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Here,

Edison is discussing his invention of the light bulb. I have this quote hanging in my room so that

my students can be reminded that success is not a straight line, and even though it may seem

daunting at times, the path can lead to something great. To instill a growth mindset further in my

students, I can start incorporating more stories that show characters that overcome challenges

and start discussions about those challenges. I can start helping my young students move away

from phrases such as, “I am no good at this,” and learn phrases such as, “what other strategy can

I try?” I can put more visuals in more classroom that will inspire a growth mindset, much like the

Edison poster I have. I can even start having reflective conversations with my students on their

learning experiences and hear from them how they believe they are doing.

While the other three gods possess their own strengths and merit, I believe that ​The

Fallen Angel​ and ​The Spaceship Earth​ are the two that resonated with me the most. I believe

they instill powerful, lifelong lessons, rather than focus on consumership, economic value, or

technology. While these topics are still very prevalent in our society, I believe we as human

beings are beginning to find more profound and deeper meaning behind education.
 References

Postman, N. (1996). ​The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School​. New York: Vintage.

Baldwin, J. (1963). ​A Talk to Teachers​. New York City, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Dweck, C. (2018, September 12). Carol Dweck: A Summary of The Two Mindsets. Retrieved from:

https://fs.blog/2015/03/carol-dweck-mindset/