You are at: What do we mean by the liberation of learning? Page 2
The aims of libertarian education can be usefully looked at from two points of view: that of the individual and that of society.
From the point of view of the individual, the aims of libertarian education have much in common with other approaches to education in the liberal humanist tradition; to enable people to realise their innate potential to the full and to foster people's self development across the full range of cultural intellectual, artistic, physical and emotional activities. This is probably sufficiently familiar to require no further elaboration; it is not exclusively or distinctively libertarian. More distinctively libertarian are aims relating to the concept of freedom, in particular the aim of enabling people to make choices, and to make their choices in as free a way as possible.
There are two components to this. Firstly it is necessary to present people with as wide a range of different alternatives as possible, with each being presented both in its own terms and, where appropriate, in comparison with others. Secondly, it is necessary to create a situation in which people can then make informed, unprejudiced choices between the various alternatives.
Take religion as an example. Within a libertarian education, people would, in principle, have the opportunity to become familiar with Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, or animalism, as well as anti-religious philosophies like humanism and Marxism, and to make an unconstrained choice as to which suits them best. There are practical limits to what is possible in this area as in any other; there just isn't enough time within the space of one lifetime to experience all religions in depth. But since no choice can ever be a fully informed one in the sense of taking into account absolutely all relevant factors, this limitation is not of any practical significance for the principles being outlined. An important factor is the environment in which people make their choices. If choices are to be truly free and unconstrained, society must be open-minded and tolerant. For example, Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs must be able to live side by side in mutual respect and toleration.