Linguistic Approach To Problem Of Education Essay

With increasing costs, rising student debt, and employers questioning the workplace readiness of students, American colleges and universities face a crisis of public confidence (Stiglitz). This doubt exacerbates concerns that the academy is a relic of modernity, out of touch with contemporary social and economic needs (Robinson). As universities face these concerns, exacerbated by budget crises, creators of massive open online courses (MOOCs) have position their innovations as the panacea for higher education. While some hail MOOCs as the future of higher education (Friedman), others raise a litany of objections. The most prominent concerns include the fear MOOCs threaten to undermine the quality of instruction, distance teachers from their students, and the apprehension that they focus on information retention at the cost of the development of conceptual …show more content…
Similar concerns were the topic of the 1955 yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (Smudde, 94). Kenneth Burke used his invitation to the volume to develop his own theory of education through his essay, “Linguistic Approach to Problems of Education” (Cahill). Based on this work, scholars have developed varied visions of Burkean pedagogy as well as methods for achieving educational goals. While Burke’s focus on admonition and textual criticism may not appeal all pedagogical models, the methodical reflexivity demanded by Burkes termentisticly focused pedagogy creates students well suited promote informed democracy in an era defined by propaganda and the authoritarian pressures of terror and war (Enoch 190-191). Because of this potential, this essay draws on Burkean pedagogy to unpack the motives behind the current expansion of MOOCs, explore the ramifications of this expansion on higher education in the United States, and construct the possibility of a more Burkean deployment of