“Teaching Good: Praxis, praxis, praxis”

Today crumbling neighborhoods, budget cuts, overwhelmed teachers, and “teaching to the test,” hamper our educational system and put our nation at risk. In the 19th Century many reformers saw public education as the best way to create a just society. In founding Ethical Culture, Felix Adler put education at its heart. Embracing aspects of Rousseau, Froebel, and Dewey, Ethical Culture supported innovation and created free public kindergartens and the Workingman’s School. To help students and society flourish today, Hugh Taft-Morales suggests we emphasize some important elements of Ethical Humanism’s approach to education: faith in the natural goodness of children, and “praxis,” an educational theory emphasizing the continuous cycle of reflection and action — testing theories by applying them to the social and civic world.

Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. His presence in Ethical Culture has been termed “invigorating.” Taft-Morales lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife Maureen, a Latin American Analyst with the Congressional Research Service, with whom he has three beloved children, Sean, Maya, and Justin.

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