I am currently pursing my M.Ed. in Philosophy of Education at OISE/UT. I don’t exactly know why…I have a love/hate relationship with OISE – or any institution of “higher” learning. On the one hand, there are some great people, courses, and research…and dare I say, even an opportunity to learn, at these places. On the other hand, they are the purveyors of the State Religion and the manufacturers of the priesthood. They exist to keep themselves and the current institutional system of education (for the most part) in tact – the only minor modifications are according to the newest politically-correct and popular trends of “educational theory” and eduspeak.
 
When I was applying for my M.Ed. someone called me to make sure I had picked the correct discipline. I responded with, “No, I haven’t. But you don’t have a Democracy in Education discipline at your institution. The only thing you have are a couple of courses so by default Philosophy of Education will have to do.” I think that says it all about OISE: the concept of democratic education is worthy of a couple of courses but not much else. I can’t imagine going full-time for fear of becoming a pedant, or as I say, “joining the dark side of the force.” Working with teenagers every day gives me the grounding I need to pursue my formal studies on a part-time basis.