Educating for Authenticity

Education that has value should aim toward integrating thinking, feeling, and acting. Educators can empower students by helping them learn how to learn about values. D.B. Gowin's (1981) theory of educating shows how this can be done. In this article his theory is used to provide a model for linking literature and philosophy to educate in such a way as to teach about values. In this way, literature is given a philosophical context, philosophical ideas are given an experiential basis, and discussions of values are given the foundation of a theory of educating. An end of education should be self-educating, in which students learn how to learn, moving them toward autonomy and authenticity.