Education and Magic

Abstract

Perhaps I ought to begin with an assurance that this paper is not an attempt to establish or advocate a connection between education and the occult! By ‘magic’ I mean various attempts to short-circuit intellectual routes by giving the impression that the same achievements can be arrived at without the travail of intellectual labour. Of course, there is no difficulty in imagining such short-cuts being put into operation. They bring about changes in the very conception of education. Yet, this is precisely what advocates of the changes will not admit. On the contrary, it is an essential part of their claim that the same intellectual understanding can be attained despite the changes. One has taken a short-cut that is all. The analogy suggested seems to be a simple one. If there are two routes to Swansea, one a long one involving dangers and hardship, and a short one which avoids such dangers and hardships, then who could recommend the long route given that the point of choosing either is to arrive at Swansea as one’s destination? Why cannot the same be achieved in education? If there are two routes, one harder than the other, both leading to the same result, why choose the harder one? My contention, however, is that it is impossible to achieve the same result while ignoring the harder way.