MY FVCC TRUSTEE CAMPAIGN: WHY I AM RUNNING
By Timothy N. Baldwin, JD.
April 23, 2011
NewsWithViews.com
Thomas Jefferson said, “education is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power” (see, Jeffersonian Cyclopedia, 2). Given my involvement in the study and practice of law and politics, I find this quote to be fascinating and profound. At first glance, the statement may appear overstated or too generalized, but when one understands what education truly is, Jefferson’s statement should ring true as applied not only to constitutional power, but to all areas of life.
To me, education is one of the most crucial elements of a successful life. Upon this basis, I have placed my name as a candidate for the Flathead Valley Community College trustee position, the election for which is May 3, 2011 in Flathead County, Montana.
So, what is education?
Before stating what it is, it is important to observe what it is not. Education is not mere dogma or recital. A student being told by his political science teacher that positive law is the only binding law on societies is not education. That is dogma. A child having to regurgitate his professor’s lectures is not education. That is recital.
Education is a process through which the student is instructed on how to use his or her faculties to obtain the truth of a general and particular matter. It is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life” (See, dictionary.com).
What is distinctive quality between dogma/recital and education?
In short, education is learning how to learn—denoting a cycle or process, a never-ending phenomenon. It is learning how to become intellectually creative, independent and self-reliant.
The process of education never stops, and the more mature one becomes, the more important it is that the process becomes more intricate, elaborate and accurate.
When Jefferson said “education is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power”, did he mean that knowing how to derive complicated algebraic formulas will equip a citizen with knowledge of how to correctly judge government actions relative to constitutional limitations?.....................................
