Education . . . cannot forgo either authority or tradition

From Hannah Arendt in, I think, her essay Crisis in Education.

The problem of education in the modern world lies in the fact that by its very nature it cannot forgo either authority or tradition, and yet must proceed in a world that is neither structured by authority nor held together by tradition.

I think Arendt was speaking of the contrast of an adult's world of authority and tradition with that of the world of children where authority and tradition are still being created. That was of course an unavoidable logical reality in 1961 just as it would be today.

What has made the matter worse in the intervening years is that under the pressue of change (social, technological, economic, governmental, etc.) the adult world of authority and tradition has iteself eroded. Teachers and schools cannot necessarily look to receive children that come from family units that are either well versed in the concept of authority nor necessarily respectful of traditions. So whatever the logical reality was that Arendt was pointing out in 1961, it is now magnified many times over.