Freedom in Education: A Philosophical Critique of Current Educational Policies

Video, 1 hr & 6 mins

This video is a recording of the presentation I gave in Middle Tennessee State University’s Applied Philosophy Lyceum speakers series on November 17, 2023, in Murfreesboro, TN.

The talk is titled, “Freedom in Education: A Philosophical Critique of Current Educational Policies,” and the abstract for the presentation reads as follows:

Parents and guardians are naturally concerned about what their children are taught in schools. Some lament what they feel is a lack of control over curricula and what are thought to be forces or agendas that they believe are not in kids’ best interests. The arguments advanced in recent conflicts take two main forms. The first, advanced in similar fashion on opposing sides of issues concerning gender and early education, takes the form of arguments to “protect” children. The second, typically arising in discourse about desire for exclusion or selection of curricular messages or content, typically focuses on parents’ rights, in particular, to freedom of choice, whether regarding selection of schools, book banning, or inclusion or exclusion of desired or undesirable subject matters from curricula. In this talk, Dr. Weber will defend the importance of students’ and teachers’ freedom and challenge the overreach of dominant parental views that seek to silence the lived experiences and concerns of marginalized groups.

NOTE: At one point, I accidentally said “Transylvania State University,” which was intended to refer to Transylvania University, which is a private institution. This was an accidental case of misspeaking. The point was to contrast with state institutions, which was on my mind, and probably led me to use that word, “state,” resulting in the opposite of my intended meaning… My mistake!

Philosophical Research Methods: This talk was delivered in fall 2023, when I was teaching a course on Philosophical Research Methods in the University of Kentucky’s College of Education. I mention this because in this talk, I describe my methodology explicitly for the project beginning at minute 14 until minute 19. For those interested in that portion of the talk, you can jump to those minutes.

Dr. Phil Oliver

Thanks again! I am most grateful to Dr. Phil Oliver for organizing a wonderfully welcoming event, which featured a great turn out on a rainy Friday evening. I’m also grateful to the members of the MTSU department of Philosophy and Religion, as well as to Heather Gibbs, who kindly coordinated the details of my visit.

Starting on Monday, January 9th, I will join a friend and co-host Dr. Anthony Cashio of the University of Virginia at Wise to broadcast the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast, a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) airing every Monday at 2 on WRFL Lexington, 88.1 FM.

Philosophy Bakes Bread first aired as a pilot podcast, for which I put together 4 episodes here. The new show will be weekly, featuring a co-host, interviews, special segments, and more. Plus, it will be broadcast for the Lexington, Kentucky area, before it is then made into a downloadable, subscribable podcast (for me, so I don’t have to do it!). So, the initial audience is here in Kentucky, but soon becomes anyone with an internet connection or a smartphone. I hope you enjoy!

If you’re not in Lexington, you can stream the show live at http://wrfl.fm/stream, or you can wait until it comes out as a podcast episode. More info on that coming soon!

Date:	January 9, 2017
Time:	02:00-04:00 p.m.
Event:	Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast
Topic:	Philosophy Bakes Bread
Sponsor:	The Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) 859.257.1849
Venue:	WRFL Lexington, 88.1 Radio 859.257.9735
Location:	Lexington, KY
Public:	Public

If you haven't checked out SOPHIA, you should, at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

“Now Online, 2015 Interview with NPR Affiliate, Clinton School Presents”
by Nikolai Dipippa, with Dr. Eric Thomas Weber

Sorry, listening to the audio on this website requires Flash support in your browser. You can try playing the MP3 file directly by clicking here.

NPR affiliate KUAR on Clinton School Presents
December 13, 2015

Eric Thomas Weber, author of "Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South" speaks at Sturgis Hall October 19, 2015. Photo Credit: Jacob Slaton

Weber speaking in Sturgis Hall on October 19, 2015. Photo Credit: Jacob Slaton

From the “Clinton School Presents” Web site:

Interview with Eric Thomas Weber for NPR affiliate KUAR on Clinton School Presents, a weekly dialogue of distinguished guests that visit the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nikolai DiPippa, Clinton School Director of Public Programs, sat down with Eric Thomas Weber, associate professor of public policy leadership at the University of Mississippi and executive director of the Society of Philosophers in America. His book, Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South, applies a new, philosophically informed theory of democratic leadership to Mississippi’s challenges.

If the audio player above does not work on your platform or device, click here to hear the interview on the Clinton School’s site.

The recording runs 23 minutes long.

If you are interested in a speaker on the subjects of leadership, ethics, or democracy, visit my “Speaking” and “Contact” pages and be in touch.

“‘Uniting Mississippi,’ Ep4 of Philosophy Bakes Bread”
by Eric Thomas Weber

Sorry, listening to the audio on this website requires Flash support in your browser. You can try playing the MP3 file directly by clicking here.

Philosophy Bakes Bread
February 6, 2016

Here’s episode 4 of Philosophy Bakes Bread, titled “Uniting Mississippi.” You can listen to it here above or you can visit the podcast’s page for this episode here. You can subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed here. If you prefer, you can download the MP3 file here and listen to it later.

iTunes has it too.

“Uniting Mississippi”

This episode considers what philosophy has to say about leadership. It features a recorded presentation I gave at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture on my September 2015 book, ‘Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South.’ Though Mississippi is the focus of my application, the principles and challenges apply through the South and beyond.

The transcript for the intro to this episode is available here. The bulk of the episode is a recording of a live talk I gave, for which I do not yet have a proper transcript. For those interested in the project, for now I can direct you to the interview about the book that I gave The Clarion Ledger on the book, as well as to the actual book, available here.

Check out the other episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread here.

Finally, if you’d prefer to “watch” the podcast on YouTube, here it is:

“‘Cultivating a Culture of Encouragement’ Interview, Stollman and Weber (12m in)”
by Christopher Long & Mark Fisher, hosts

Sorry, listening to the audio on this website requires Flash support in your browser. You can try playing the MP3 file directly by clicking here.

Digital Dialogue, Episode 73
June 12, 2015

Before my Web site redesign in the summer of 2015, I attended a great workshop for the Public Philosophy Journal, a Mellon Foundation funded project. Jennifer Stollman of the Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation coauthored a proposal with me to write a paper at the workshop titled “Cultivating a Culture of Encouragement” — the link takes you to an abstract for our paper.

The recording here features five groups, each talking about their projects. Jennifer and I are in the second spot, 12 minutes in. Learn more about each group on Dean Chris Long’s Web site here. Each group has their title listed, with a link to their abstract.

The whole audio recording of the 5 interviews comes in at around an hour long, but you can skip ahead. If you have any trouble with that, you can download the MP3 file here and use whatever player you prefer. Again, Jennifer and I are the second group of writers of five groups, a little more than 1/10th of the way in from the start.

Thanks to Chris and his co-host Mark Fisher. Chris and Mark were both at Penn State University. Chris has since moved to East Lansing, Michigan, where he is now Dean of the College of Liberal Arts there. He and Mark are continuing work on the journal with a special digital humanities team there called Matrix.

Check out the full info about the episode and all of the guests featured in it and learn more about the Public Philosophy Journal.

Posted on Thursday, January 7, 2016

Interview on BAM South’s Midlife Criss podcast

January 6, 2016, With host Jack Criss, and guests Kinsella, Weber, and Rings

I had a great time talking with Jack Criss on BAM South’s Midlife Criss podcast. The interview will soon be up on BAM South’s site, but for now Jack’s posted the interview on Sound Cloud. The player is here below. Jack is a great M.C. and he had questions for me about Uniting Mississippi. My interview is about 16 minutes in from the start of this audio recording. I’m the second of three guests: Stephan Kinsella, me, and John L. Rings.

Jack has kindly invited me to join him again for a more extended discussion when I’m next in Jackson, MS. I’ve got plans in the works for a trip to Jackson at some point in the spring of 2016, so I think that it would be great to join Jack again.

The name BAM South is short for Business Always Matters. Check out the online publication, which features a nice podcast series. Jack has a great voice, I should add. Fun host too. I hope you enjoy.

Here’s the interview (again, my interview is around 16 minutes in):

More information about Uniting Mississippi. Info on Speaking.

I had fun talking with Jack Criss on the Midlife Criss podcast series, put out by BAM South. That stands for Business Always Matters.

Jack is a great M.C. He interviewed me about Uniting Mississippi, and later invited when I’m next in Jackson to come in for a longer conversation. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Date:	January 4, 2016
Time:	11:30-11:55 a.m.
Appearance:	Interview about ‘Uniting Mississippi’ on “Midlife Criss Podcast”
Outlet:	BAM South
Location:	Jackson, MS
Format:	Podcast

Looking for a presenter? Check out my Speaking page.

Looking forward to an interview with Andrea Price on The Giving Net podcast, based out of Little Rock Arkansas. The Giving Net focuses on civic engagement, philanthropy, and public service. I’ll be talking about my book, Uniting Mississippi.

Date:	October 19, 2015
Time:	TBD
Appearance:	Interview on The Giving Net podcast
Outlet:	The Giving Net: Civic Engagement, Philanthropy, Public Service
Location:	Little Rock, AR
Format:	Podcast

If you'd like me to speak with your group, visit my Speaking page.

Looking forward to interviewing on “The Clinton School Presents” radio show on Little Rock’s NPR affiliate, KUAR, 89.1 radio.

Date:	October 19, 2015
Time:	1:30-2:00 p.m.
Appearance:	Interview on The Clinton School Presents
Outlet:	NPR Affiliate in Little Rock, AR
Location:	Little Rock, Arkansas
Format:	Radio

If you're in town, come to the book signing earlier that day at the Clinton School for Public Service, from 12-1. If you're interested in having me speak with your group, visit my Speaking page.

Posted on Thursday, September 10, 2015

Thank you, Steve Earle! “Mississippi: It’s time”

Steve Earle & the Dukes, in collaboration with the Southern Poverty Law Center, have written & released a beautiful and moving song telling Mississippi “It’s Time.” Beyond writing a great tune, Earle has also done something he’d probably be too humble to admit. Through a work of art, he has contributed to moral leadership. He has creatively called Mississippi officials to change a policy. He leans heavily and justifiably on a number of Southern and Mississippi values. He’s right. Mr. Earle & the Dukes, thank you.

I’m working on a book called A Culture of Justice. It’s about the cultural conditions necessary for justice. It’s also about the cultural forces that can lead to oppression and its maintenance or to justice and its preservation. When journalists started reporting to the world with photos of the injustices in the American South, southerners were shamed. The rest of the world was also appalled and demanded change and the observance of the law.

When it comes to Mississippi, some folks are right when they say that just changing a flag alone won’t change much. However, the things that need to change are impeded by attitudes and moral injuries that prevent progress. I wrote elsewhere about “What a Flag Has to Do with Justice.” In short, it can do harm, even if indirectly or in a roundabout way, in its contribution to the maintenance of an unjust culture.

The wonderful thing about culture and its artifacts, however, is that they also include solutions. Earle’s song is a great example of a way to show pride in one’s family and home, while recognizing the mistakes from society’s past. The song is complex. It weaves in norms and sounds that many Mississippians love, even if they were painful in their own ways too. To understand Earle, you have to recognize that he’s trying to reach people in Mississippi and wants reasonably to be proud of what we should be and not of what he shouldn’t be.

I find the video moving and brilliant. I hope you’ll share it widely and tell our public officials: “it’s time.”