Essentialism

According to dictionary.com, essentialism is a noun for "a doctrine that certain traditional concepts, ideals, and skills are essential to society and should be taught methodically to all students, regardless of individual ability." Essentialism is a main topic covered in Bell Hook's writing. Hooks talks about how experience is important to teaching, but knowledge is also essential. One of my favorite quotations from this piece is, "I might ask students to ponder what we want to make happen in the class, to name what we hope to know, what might be most useful. I ask them what standpoint might, just for today, be a mountaintop, such that if we climb it, we will be able to see farther. Sometimes that standpoint is a personal experience. Then there are times when personal experience keeps us from reaching the mountaintop and so we let it go because the weight is too heavy." This quotation is special because it summarizes Hook's main point that knowledge should be gained through education and personal experience, in a metaphorical way.