PLSO The Oregon Surveyor November December 2020

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon |  www.plso.org 3 From the PLSO Chair community toward a vision of excellence in the practice of surveying. Education means “to lead” or “to think.” The question is, toward what? Toward what a human ought to be and our con- cept of human nature. In other words, the purpose of education is human flour - ishing. Like Raphael’s “School of Athens” fresco, with Plato’s finger pointing up and Socrates pointing forward, there is dis- agreement on how to educate toward human flourishing. Mainstream educa - tion maintains that the basis for human flourishing is that everything arises from nature and that there is nothing more than the material world. This view limits the learner’s full potential as a human because it never goes beyond the tempo- ral and is adverse to unchanging eternal ideas and principles. It is from this point of view that the purpose of education is learning how to respond appropriately to truth in search for what is good. Like my daughter’s Hebrew school, the purpose is to discover her Jewishness by responding appropriately to G-d’s com- mandments. Similarly, the purpose of an education within PLSO is to respond appropriately to a vision that elevates its members toward being a good surveyor. If the purpose of education is to make us more human by learning how to re- spond appropriately to truth, then the goal is to think truly and act rightly. Two general arguments prevail on accomplish- ing this goal: a top-down approach that teaches what to think, and a bottom-up approach that teaches how to think. We need both: individualism, so that the new generation can think for themselves and express those ideas to make the world a better place, and conformity, so that peo- ple can work toward an agreed-upon and unifying goal. In practice, though, educa- tion is often just what the people at the top want us to know. Like my daughter’s Jewish education, the goal is to cultivate and give her voice to meet the challenges of “repairing the world.” Similarly, bringing up ourmembers is responding to the goal by cultivating a higher understanding of excellence in the practice of surveying. Accomplishing this requires the partic- ipation of everyone, from parents to teachers to the students themselves. For instance, parents and mentors cultivate virtue, morality, and good character, while teachers and instructors arouse the mind toward understanding. My daughter’s Hebrew school included an integrated approach between teaching, instruct- ing, and tutoring. Bringing up our rising generation, emerging leaders, and oth- ers takes an integrated approach toward education. The rite of passage into a profession be- gins with education. Without action, our vision of the future of our organization is a Princess Party. Many in the rising gen- eration view the surveying profession as no more than another technical job, a view which is reinforced by some social and political ideas. The choice of edu- cation need not be between conformity or consuming the hyssop from Socra- tes’ cup. On the contrary, our response should be one that promotes vision with action, to send the message to our rising generation that surveying is more than a technical job; it is the pursuit of what a surveyor is and ought to be. I miss those princess parties, but today my daughter is flourishing through her love for learn - ing into a true princess.  x This is Jeremy’s last column this year as chair. Next year he will be on the Practices Committee, which will focus on education, enforcement, and leadership by overseeing educational programs that meet PLSO’s vision and direction. For the full, unedited version of this column, please go to ‘The Education of a Princess (Unedited)’ https://www. plso.org/sys/website/system-pages/?pageId= 1863392