Posted: January 10, 2024
Martin Luther King Jr. — whom the University of Florida pauses to honor with the rest of the United States this Monday, January 15, 2024 — is well-known as an American champion of human dignity, civil rights, peace, and nonviolence.
But he had some keenly sage insights on education too. In his astute essay The Purpose of Education — written when he was but 18 years old! — he remarked:
“To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”
“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.”
But intensive, critical thinking is not enough, he persuasively argued. If education isn’t to be misdirected toward nefarious or destructive ends — as it sometimes has been and still may be — it must shape not only minds, but character and values as well:
“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”
For King, education was not merely a tool for professional prowess, economic prosperity, or social advancement (individual or corporate), desirable as those might be.
Rather, he understood education’s potential to shape civilization — an advanced state of human existence, social interaction, and cultural aspiration in which humanity’s “better angels” (to borrow American president Abraham Lincoln’s turn of phrase) prevail over inner demons bent on less than healthy, harmonious, or honorable ends.
To read all of King’s The Purpose of Education, click here: The Purpose of Education. His words can serve as a reminder and inspiration to all in academia — faculty member or student, mentor or protégé.
2024 MLK Celebration Events at UF
For a calendar of UF events honoring Martin Luther King Jr. from Thursday, January 11 through Tuesday, January 16, click here: UF 2024 MLK Celebration.
UF offices are closed and no classes will meet on Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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