Education and Relevance: A Philosophical Analysis of William Glaser

Abstract

In the most recent wave of disenchantment with the American School, it has been charged that the "education" has not been relevant, though to what has not always been clear. The criticism has varied from concern with issues such as motivation, interest, failure, to orther matters relating to the value of what is or ought to be taught. Whatever falls under the heading of being "relevant," often is presented as a panacea for an undefined range of ills. In educational argument, the introduction of relevance has a curious impact: to assert that an educational practice is 'relevant' is almost to perform the act of justification itself. Such is the persuasive power of the notion in much discussion.