Barney, Jason. Rethinking the Purpose of Education: A Critique of Bloom’s Taxonomy from a Classical Christian Perspective. Independent, 2023.
As an educator who first received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in education, my interest was piqued by Jason Barney’s initial articles in Educational Renaissance juxtaposing Bloom’s Taxonomy with Aristotle’s types of knowledge. Early in my career as a teacher, I took pride in crafting lessons informed by Bloom’s Taxonomy. However, as my knowledge and skill grew in the paradigm of classical Christian education, Bloom became a faded memory. Jason Barney’s Rethinking the Purpose of Education: A Critique of Bloom’s Taxonomy from a Classical Christian Perspective has reintroduced this model to me and helped me synthesize and evaluate (to use some of Bloom’s terms) these ideas in relation to classical Christian education.
Barney first reminds his audience about the purpose of education in the introduction. He says, “It is not mere job training or college preparation, but the formation of flourishing human beings. The cultivation of wisdom and virtue is the purpose of education. There is joy in seeking knowledge for its own sake and as an end in itself” (1). Most classical educators will whole-heartedly agree with this. He cites Josef Pieper who reminds us that education should be in the posture of “leisure, “or “schole,” or from a place of rest. Learning from a place of rest allows students to contemplate transcendent things like virtue—things that truly matter for the soul and that fulfill our purpose in life. Education for the sake of mere utility “castrates the gelding, while bidding him fruitful,” as C.S. Lewis says in The Abolition of Man, another voice that shapes the heart of this book.
In The Abolition of Man, Lewis reminds readers that humans are whole people—mind, body, and soul—and they need to be educated as such. This contrasts with Bloom’s Taxonomy which primarily focuses on the mind. Barney notes that not long after Lewis wrote The Abolition of Man in the 1940’s, the next decade, Benjamin Bloom led a committee of American college and university examiners who classified the educational objectives of teachers. Bloom’s “scientific” taxonomy won everyone’s interest and still leads as a foundation for writing educational objectives today. His taxonomy is as follows:
I remember memorizing these six categories in educational psychology classes with the understanding that Knowledge was the “lowest” form of learning and Evaluation was the most integrated and in-depth. The aim of Barney’s book is to discern what Bloom’s objectives have to offer classical Christian educators and what the model might be missing.
Chapter One discusses how objectives (Bloom’s or otherwise) are important for teachers to consider when they teach a lesson. Objectives give educators a road map for a lesson and a theme by which to remember: “begin with the end” (19). Objectives also help teachers discern growth. With an objective, teachers, as well as students, can work towards a learning goal and see the progress. He reminds us of the SMART anacronym (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) that many businesses use when setting objectives. This method of setting goals helps both a teacher and student communicate throughout the journey of learning a skill. Finally, Barney points out that humans like to have objectives “for the joy of the game” (28). Humans naturally like competition and having a goal set before them provides clarity and motivation for development. Further, objectives encourage “flow”—a “timeless experience of getting lost in a challenging and meaningful activity” (28).
However, this is where the blessings of Bloom’s Taxonomy end according to Barney. In Chapters Two and Three, Barney asserts that whereas Bloom’s Taxonomy boasts of scientific objectivity and an organizational structure related to biology (i.e., a taxonomy), education deals with humans who do not always “organize themselves neatly into the manageable orders and species” (36). In essence, humans and their sometimes-messy learning do not always fit into the neat little boxes Bloom’s Taxonomy provides. A second critique regards the nature of the taxonomy’s roots in social sciences. Social science reduces the importance of moral philosophy and seeks to be value-neutral. This reality reveals the main problem of Bloom for classical educators, which is an impoverished view of human virtue and wisdom. Bloom only focuses on those parts of education that are more easily measured—observable behaviors and quantifiable results. The heart of Barney’s argument is that Bloom’s Taxonomy ignores the hearts and souls of students.
In Chapter Four, Barney recalls the intellectual virtues of Aristotle introduced in the prologue:
Techne—Artistry or Craftmanship
Episteme --Scientific Knowledge
Phronesis—Prudential or Practical Wisdom
Nous—Intuition or Perception
Sophia—Philosophic Wisdom
Barney innovatively redeems Bloom’s Taxonomy by integrating Aristotelian virtue ethics and the seven liberal arts within its structure. He draws out aspects of the trivium and quadrivium and virtues found within Bloom. For example, Bloom’s first level, “knowledge,” might correspond with the Aristotelian intellectual virtue of nous, or intuitive knowledge by experience. Experience is important to the classical education model because it affords students opportunities to perceive and to know. By knowing the specifics via experience, students can come to know universal truths about humans and their Creator. He also integrates “analysis” as a part of the art of dialectic, which helps students understand relationships. What Bloom calls “evaluation” is truly using both virtues of wisdom and knowledge to make prudent decisions. By integrating the classic paradigms of education into the taxonomy, Barney pumps blood into the heart of Bloom. In Chapter Five, Barney marries both Bloom’s Taxonomy and Aristotle’s Intellectual Virtues together with the Christian purpose of education.
I found the Interlude most practically helpful for teachers. Barney gives ten principles for integrating Aristotle’s Virtues into identifying educational objectives (my CiRCE Institute training has taught me to name this the logos, or the truth, of a lesson). Barney’s list of stated objectives paired with Aristotelian virtues would be of particular use to classical classroom teachers. I hope in a further edition of this book that there might be more detailed sample lesson plans at varying age levels for teachers to compare.
Rethinking the Purpose of Education: A Critique of Bloom’s Taxonomy from a Classical Christian Perspective addresses the “elephant in the room” of modern education, so to speak. For those of us in classical education who endured modern teacher education at university, this book brings together divergent trains of thought that might not otherwise be connected. It evaluates the necessity of goals in education, but also identifies what is missing in one of the pillars of educational theory. For those who have never heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy, this book is a helpful tool to understand the background of modern education philosophy and the battle to educate the whole person in classical education. I hope that this slim volume with big ideas can help educators, especially those from modern education environments, understand the philosophical transition to the classical education model. Jason Barney reminds all educators, no matter their philosophy, that human students are whole people mind, body, and soul.
Carrie Eben has championed classical education for over twenty-three years in both the private school classroom and homeschool arenas. She currently serves as founding board member at Sager Classical Academy in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Carrie passionately leads teachers and parents in the classical model of education. She develops and delivers customized workshops for administrators, teachers, and parents in both classical school and homeschool settings via Classical Eben Education Consulting (www.classicaleben.com). Carrie holds a BSE in Intermediate Education from John Brown University and an MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University. She is currently a PhD student in the Humanities program at Faulkner University, a CiRCE Institute Master Teacher, and Society for Women of Letters resident.