This post will look at the concept of elitism and how that functions in our society. I will also discuss how this plays out in an early childhood setting. This post is for Christian educators.
What is Elitism?
Elitism is the belief or attitude that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people with an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructive to society as a whole, and therefore deserve influence or authority greater than that of others. In our modern society, our elitist class would be the academics and the wealthy. However, elitism can rear its ugly head even among middle and lower class people to some degree. I will define elitism as thinking more highly of yourself and your circle of influence than you do of others. How many times do you catch yourself looking down on someone else because of their station in life or their lack of ability? Maybe you tell yourself that you feel sorry for that person, but realistically you are snobbing them. How many times have you been snobbed by someone else? We all do this to some degree. We cast an aversive glance toward someone that is not in OUR group. However, I will tell you that the level of elitism increases with the amount of education that you have. It seems that the more "intelligent" you believe yourself to be, the more likely you are to look down on other people that you consider to not be as "intelligent." The Bible says that "knowledge puffs up." This statement lives out in the real world on a daily basis. Elitists puff out their chests and strut around like peacocks. However, the Bible tells us "do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind let each of you consider others to be more important than himself." We should not be snobbing anyone. It is a sin.
How does modern Elitism compare to the Pharisees and Sadducees of the Bible?
The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' time very much mirror our elites today. They considered themselves to be the highest educated individuals of the time. They also considered themselves morally superior to everyone else. Today's elites consider themselves to be more highly educated than the rest of us. They also consider themselves to be morally superior to those that do not agree with them. How did Jesus view the Pharisees and Sadducees? He hardly ever had nice words for them. His descriptions included hypocrites, white-washed tombs, and the blind leading the blind. Jesus did not at all have a high opinion of them. Why is that? Jesus despises pride, selfishness, and empty conceit. The only way to earn Jesus' respect involves humility. That was a hard pill for the Pharisees and Sadducees to swallow. It is also a hard pill for our elites of today to swallow as well.
Elitism vs. Wisdom
Do the elites of today have a point that they have more right to rule because of their high education? NO NO and double NO!! Education can only be as valuable as the underlying information that supports it. If you have been highly educated with information that is false and/or misleading, then the quality of your education is false and/or misleading. I believe it to be worse than worthless because of the intrinsic value placed on it by our present society. How can you tell if you have a worthless education and may be falling into the trap of elitism? Here is the key. Are you puffed up? Wisdom brings about humility because we know that there remains so much out in the world that we do not know. Knowledge puffs up and thinks it has attained the highest form of being to date. Do you think you know better than someone else just because you studied a bunch of theorists and philosophers? Knowing what these people say is not what I am against. Thinking you know more than others because you know what these people say remains the problem. These theorists and philosophers were men. How do their words and ideas compare with the Word of God which is eternal. If you ever find yourself siding with the theorists and philosophers over the Word of God which came to us from our Creator, you might just have a worthless education and have fallen prey to the sin of elitism. We are all fallen creatures in need of help and assistance from our Creator. Unless that is your foundation, you might have a problem.
Elitism in the Early Childhood World
Elitism in the early childhood world runs rampant. We as early childhood educators are trained whether we realize it or not to think that our training trumps all. Anyone or any other philosophy that disagrees with the training we have, makes us balk and cringe. We have studied these things and we know that the best way to do something is (fill in the blank). This, people, displays the very heart of elitism. Even the words "best practice" reveal the elitism of professional people. How do they know that their remedy is "best practice" in every situation? They do not. They just think that they do, and that, my friends, is the problem.
Conclusion
My fellow Christian early childhood educators, how do you treat people that do not have the training that you have received? Do you treat them as ignorant? Have you placed your training beside the Word of God to make sure that you have not fallen for lies and deception? How do you treat parents that do not agree with your training? Do you snob people? These questions lie at the heart of the issue. When we add correct knowledge to our repertoire, we learn that there remains so much that we do not know. It makes us feel more inadequate not less. This leads to humility. False knowledge puffs up and makes people think they know it all. I urge you to apply this test and reexamine how you relate to the people around you. I way say it again. Snobbery is a sin.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
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