Theseus in Education

{In which no questions are settled and obvious points are made.}

My podcast diet has recently reminded me about the paradox referred to as “The Ship of Theseus”:

“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places, in so much that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.” — Plutarch

In other words, is a compound object the same object as its components are replaced?

My point here is not to come down on one side of this argument or the other, but only to consider how this notion works in a school system.

We have a tendency in education to view a school system as a fixed thing, but it’s not. At whatever level we want to consider it, it’s never the same thing twice. This is evident the moment that it’s pointed out, but if you are like me as soon as you move on to thinking about something else, you shift back to a static model of school.

Is that a problem? I’ll suggest that just like Plutarch’s initial example, it only matters as much as the context in which it occurs. Depending on the room full of students, treating each lesson as if the learners are the same from day-to-day may or may not be a problem. Depending on the leadership, the same thing applies to the stewardship of the district more broadly.

So the “Theseus” nature of education is or is not a problem depending on the context in which its effects are felt. Nothing all that earth-shatteringly profound here. But as obvious as it is, I think it’s worth explicitly pointing it out, if only to help keep it firmly in mind, particularly for those of us who are in positions where we can effect how the boards are changed, and where the ship is going.

It’s the last day of the year for teachers around here. Congratulations to all on another successful year of teaching children!