Philosophy of Education Paper #2

One of the virtues of the system of education Plato develops in the Republic is that it is a strict meritocracy, i.e., the abilities and character traits of the students, as measured through a rigorous set of examinations, are all that is considered when determining which of them should advance from craftsperson to auxiliary and from auxiliary to guardian. Family connections, class background, and gender are taken out of the picture. On the other hand, this strict meritocracy comes at the price of an equally rigid educational system, including the curriculum and the process of examinations. Even those who don’t think that Plato’s educational system is the best might accept the implication that opportunities can only be fairly distributed if we have a standardized curriculum and method of testing used to rank all of the candidates. Is this true?

In the paper, explore the issue whether meritocracy requires rigid standardization in education. If so, does this system of education limit the learning of students too much to justify the benefits of meritocracy? If we reject standardization, how can we decide fairly between the candidates? Argue for your conclusion and make sure the main concepts and points are adequately explained. Include a brief introduction and conclusion.

Minimum 3 full pages, maximum 4.5 pages (number pages and staple)

12 point type

1-1.5 inch margins

Double-spaced

Separate cover page

No extra spaces, extraneous titles and headers, etc.

No citations necessary