No one knows why society educates children
12 May 2015 – There is no clear collective idea of what education is for. Reasons for education include creating good citizens, creating a good workforce, self-actualization and because learning is good regardless of what is being studied. Unfortunately, the goals of these competing theories are often contradictory, and without a collective agreement on what education in the school system should do, schools are set adrift to satisfy lawmakers, most of whom have no educational background, and their demands as created through legislation.
One solution to the confusion is for each school to choose its focus. There are already magnate schools that focus on arts, sports, sciences and other subjects, and there are schools that have a certain philosophy on teaching like the Montessori and Sudbury models. It takes only a little imagination and some loosening of federal guidelines to create public schools that will allow parents to choose the philosophical position that works for them.
This solution obviously leaves out the will and the desires of the child, but it is one way for schools, parents and society to work toward a collective agreement that accepts all types of education as valid rather than education for one particular goal. After all, in a capitalist society there are not enough high-level jobs for everyone to choose a fulfilling career that will allow for self-actualization and self-improvement.
Parents may not choose a school whose overriding goal is to prepare children for the workplace; however, a school that educated its students in financial security might have the same goals and would be something that many parents would want for their children.
Until society has come up with what it wants from its schools, we will be left with measuring our results against those of the international students, and we will find ourselves continuously failing. Teaching children to be good at tests does nothing for them or for society.
One solution to the confusion is for each school to choose its focus. There are already magnate schools that focus on arts, sports, sciences and other subjects, and there are schools that have a certain philosophy on teaching like the Montessori and Sudbury models. It takes only a little imagination and some loosening of federal guidelines to create public schools that will allow parents to choose the philosophical position that works for them.
This solution obviously leaves out the will and the desires of the child, but it is one way for schools, parents and society to work toward a collective agreement that accepts all types of education as valid rather than education for one particular goal. After all, in a capitalist society there are not enough high-level jobs for everyone to choose a fulfilling career that will allow for self-actualization and self-improvement.
Parents may not choose a school whose overriding goal is to prepare children for the workplace; however, a school that educated its students in financial security might have the same goals and would be something that many parents would want for their children.
Until society has come up with what it wants from its schools, we will be left with measuring our results against those of the international students, and we will find ourselves continuously failing. Teaching children to be good at tests does nothing for them or for society.