We talk with Sarah Stitzlein, author of "Teaching honesty in a populist era: Emphasizing truth in the education of citizens." Dr. Stitzlein, a professor of education and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati, is concerned with how to teach in a political context where truth and honesty seem increasingly at risk. She contrasts the philosophical approaches of populism and the pragmatism of educational philosophers such as John Dewey. 

Overview

00:00-00:41 Intros

00:41-02:10 Why the book and the title

02:10-03:15 Defining populism

03:15-04:24 Differences between left and right populism—book is mostly about right populism

O4:24-08:00 Contrasting populist and pragmatic notions of truth and honesty

08:00-09:55 Defining honesty, and what it looks like in a classroom context

09:55-11:59 Honesty as a habit, not just a virtue

11:59-13:13 Is there a difference between truth and reality?

13:13-15:36 A truth claim in an educational context

15:36-16:49 Doing honesty as a verb

16:49-21:15 Seeking truth versus seeking solutions

21:15-23:20 “Alternative facts”

23:20-24:22 Philosophy, ethics, and education

24:22-25:58 From honesty in the classroom to honesty in the wider world

25:58-27:41 Scalability

27:41-29:30 Ethical outlook on civics

29:3o-31:40 Connections between democracy and education

31:40-35:56 Impact of AI

35:56- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

References

Book "Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era: Emphasizing Truth in the Education of Citizens" By Sarah Stitzlein 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear