No, I'm not being facetious or a pain-in-the-a**. I would really like to know what you believe is the purpose of an education. I believe there are three main theories and several variations. The three are (1) classical education (greek, latin, Shakespeare) - just to make the individual a "better" person; (2) to get a better job - again making a "better" person; (3) to make the whole country better - a "social" goal. I'm thinking of becoming a teacher and I'd like to know your opinion of why we make our kids go to school (home, public, or private).

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), August 03, 2000

Answers

There's an excellent essay called 'the purpose of education' that I must dig up for you - hopefully I'll write back with a citation...

-- Nancy Dwyer (dwyern@fwc.state.fl.us), August 03, 2000.

In the process of investigating homeschooling several years ago, I discovered several great authors. I would recommend their books strongly for anyone interested in homeschooling or just the subject of education. The first is John Holt (1927-1985), and the books which got him on the map (so to speak) are "How Children Fail", and also "How Children Learn". Both are fascinating and NOT what you might assume from the titles. There are many more titles by Mr. Holt, who was also the catalyst (sp?) for the magazine and group "Growing Without Schooling", based in Massachusetts.

The other author/speaker is John Taylor Gatto, truly an inspiring and very powerful man. I have read several of his books and articles, as well as having had the delight to attend a conference where he was a keynote speaker. Truly an inspiration. The man pulls no punches, but is very factual and brilliant. He was Teacher of the year in New York State, but has no compunctions about how he feels about the same system that honors him. His speeches and books are "no holds barred" when it comes to telling it like it is with the problems in the public school systems.

Hope these help you in your search for your future. If you decide to advance your schooling to become a teacher, all I ask is make DARN SURE you love kids - 'cause, they'll know...and it'll show in the kids who'll leave your classroom. Good Luck

Judi in CT

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), August 03, 2000.

haven't you ever read something or learned about something that really left it's mark on you? something that inspired you? that spurned your desire to know more, more, more? i find great value in learning something new, be it in a book or learning that i could accomplish something i didn't know.

-- Amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), August 04, 2000.

It's a good question. One I think our whole society should take a look at. Just why do we educate kids? What is the goal?

I went to a small milltown school. It didn't offer any math past algebra II. When one of my cousins wanted them to add at least a pre-calculus class the counselor replied "You don't need calculus to work in the steelmill." I transferred to county vo-tech school for my junior and senior years, in part because they offered better academic classes.

What's this have to do with your question? Even in 10th grade I knew why I was in school: I'd have more options than if I wasn't. Up through highschool, education should be aimed at opening up as many options as possible. College and beyond is where you start exercising your options.

Alas for most people and most school systems I know it's little more than a tax-funded babysitting service, with a bit of indoctrination tossed in.

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), August 04, 2000.

With a LOT of indoctrination tossed in -- evolution, environmentalism, socialism, humanism, etc., etc. Amber hit on part of the reason -- a desire to know more about the world around us, a craving to learn. Paul hit on part of the reason, to give the students more options for their lives. A lack of education can be very limiting. But what motivated me to teach my children, and try to do a good job of it, was a desire to have them fitted to serve the Lord. To have them reading fluently so they could read the Bible and get to know the God who created us and has a claim on our lives. The more you know about God's creation (science, math, geography and geology) the more you stand in awe of God, of what He's done. The intricacy of it all, the minute details that all work together -- the *millions* of minute details that all work together! (Can't figure out how anyone could believe in evolution!) To give them an understanding of history so they would see what happens to individuals and to nations who obey God, and what happens to those that don't. And so they could see how God's plans have been and are being worked out from the first day of creation right down to today. So they could understand why poor little Israel is still the center of a hotbed of unrest, and why this insignificant little nation is still so important. I wanted to teach them how to be healthy and take care of the body God gave them. And to love other people as God loves us. I could go on, but God is the center of my life, and my desire was and is that He would be the center of my children's lives, too, so they would have the wonderful blessings that only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can give. I was a teacher's aide at our church school for several years, and I suppose if I tried I might find a job in a public school -- but I COULD NOT work with children, precious, innocent little children, in an environment where it is forbidden to so much as mention God's name of the Bible. I could not stand before God and answer Him when He asked, "You had all these litle children under your care for hours every day, why didn't you tell them about Me?"

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 04, 2000.

I think the purpose of education is simply to teach children how to learn. If you teach children to read and instill in them a love for reading, they'll learn everything they need.

We had our first two in the public school system but the last two were homeschooled. (the last graduated home school high school in May 1999)

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), August 05, 2000.

My wife and I homeschool our 3 kids and we incorporate the Bible in our education program(we're followers of the Lord Jesus Christ) our goals in education: -to equip our kids to be better citizens of this planet. -to help them discover that unique gift that God placed in them and how to best use that gift to help others -to provide our kids with all the tools to excel in this present society, i.e. reading, math, gardening and computer skills -to teach them how to live on and respect God's earth; so they may learn to be good stewards -to give them an appreciation of history...so that in their life's journey, they may benefit from the successes and failures of those who have lived before us -and finally (and most importantly to us) to introduce them to the one who changed our lives and holds all things in His hands, Jesus Christ

-- Eric Davis (errikd@hotmail.com), August 06, 2000.

An engineer who had a great influence on my career development shared with me his insights which I still hold in high esteem. Education that really achieves its goal contains the 3 "Rs" of course, then "the basics " of the field you are pursuing. The real learning of your education will be learned "hands on" in your chosen field. Doctors, lawyers, technicians , carpenters or farmers all continue learning. Established education cirriculum serve the purpose of teaching us the disipline of educating ourselves during our lives.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 08, 2000.

Thank you all for your answers - especially your personal opinions. I can always read what the "experts" think. I want to know what "We the People" think.

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), August 09, 2000.

Ostensibly the purpose is to teach the children the basic three R's, but I think it has turned into indoctrination and preparing the children to be good sheeple- whoops , I mean good citizens who can't really think for themselves. This is eviddenced by the fact that any independent thinking or originality is usually punished, by ridicule in front of the other students, or by giving an F to a paper simply because it isn't the answer the teacher wanted. The goal of the school system seems to be conformity. John Taylor Gatto's book 'Dumbing Us Down' is very good and worthwhile reading.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), August 11, 2000.