Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 1 Supplemental Materials/Chapter 1 Wildcard 1

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

The Purpose of Education : By Melissa Cervi

Education’s Importance

Education is a necessary tool that provides one of the foundational stones in the make-up of a society. The influence it has on the functioning capability of that society is tremendous and should never be underestimated. The meaning it holds for the child cannot be overvalued and must never be forgotten. Due to its overwhelming effects, the purpose of education must be clearly defined and implemented as closely as possible. The purpose of education is to:

A.Provide a secure environment for the growing student to develop

B.Widen the student’s horizon of knowledge

C.Teach the student skills that will benefit him or her throughout life

D.Mold the individual into a responsible member of society

E.Guide the individual to the path of achievement and ensure his or her enjoyment of life

Student Development in a Secure Environment

In order for development to take place properly, the environment that the individual is placed in must be healthy and give the child a sense of safety. There should be safety from teachers, who they might be scared of; peers, whose opinions they may fear; and themselves, who often do the most damage. The child must receive reassurance that the teacher is not a critic, but rather a guide, who has their best interests in mind. This guide sets the stage for peer interaction and must ensure that it is positive rather than negative. No two children are exactly alike, and each will have different strengths and weaknesses. In order to take attention off their own weaknesses, they will seek to note others' inabilities. The teacher must remember that they are not just guiding mental development, but that they are also working with, “the spirit of the child" (Cagley). In order to protect that spirit, they must direct student interaction towards a positive light. Poor interaction leads to poor self-evaluation, which in turn leads to little progress. As Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal wrote in their book Motivated Minds, “Children’s beliefs about their academic competance and whether they expect their efforts to lead to success are at least as important as their actual competence. Whether people think they can succeed influences their effort more than whether they actually can" (61-62). The student will be his/her harshest critic, but if the educational system fulfills its purpose in providing a safe environment, limitations will be placed on the child’s need to evaluate himself/herself so severely. Thus proper development will occur.

Student Expansion of Knowledge

One of the more obvious reasons for education is the concept that the child’s horizon of knowledge needs to be expanded. As Socials Studies Professor Susan Cagley stated, “We are all tunnel visioned. We don’t know anything by ourselves. We learn to read and we can go any place, and be anything”. Education exposes the individual to other’s ideas, and though they may not agree with them, there is always something that can be learned by them. By encouraging this evaluation of material being covered, the student begins to own the knowledge being handed to him/her and must decide what to do with it (Sharon R. Berry, Ph.D, 39). The understanding gained by this experience and the handling of it, causes the individual’s perception of the world around them to grow and equips them to continue their expansion of knowledge. With the expansion of knowledge, possibilities are unlimited and the student can go anywhere and be anything.

Student Refinement of Skills

A child may have a secure environment and their knowledge may grow in leaps and bounds, but if education does not reach deeper, it has failed that individual. Education must teach skills that will benefit the individual throughout life. The Virginia State Board of Education states in their 2006 Standards of Quality they believe that, “the fundamental goal of the public schools of this Commonwealth must be to enable each student to develop the skills that are necessary for success in school, preparation for life, and reaching their full potential" (22.1-253.13:1 Standard 1). The school system and the teachers help equip the students by requiring them to demonstrate self-discipline, the ability to think logically, how to work with other students and other notable skills that will benefit them in the work place, in common relationships, and in their home life. The importance of these skills should never be minimized, as their effect on the individual’s accumulation of them or lack thereof will lead them to success or failure.

Student Responsibility to Society

Societies are made up of groups of individuals. The difference between a good society and a bad society comes down to the responsibility its members practice within it. By allowing an individual to properly develop and increase their knowledge and by teaching them skills that will help them throughout life, the education system will equip the individual to be a responsible member of society. The Virginia State Board of Education stated they wanted to provide “quality instruction that enables each student to become a productive and educated citizen of Virginia and the United States of America (22.1-253.13:1 Standard 1:iii).” The education system’s failure would result in the death of the society. Without skills, knowledge and proper development, an individual has no means or desire to succeed. A society full of incapable people will not be able to function properly as its citizens do not know how to function. H. G. Wells said, “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe" (Wlodkowski, Jaynes, 12). The success of education wards off the catastrophe of its society.

Student Path to Achievement and Enjoyment of Life

Wealth and prestige may be some individual’s goals, but achievement comes in many different packages. To create a president or CEO is not the educators responsibility. Rather, the education system is to allow the possibility for every individual, whether intelligent or handicapped, the chance to achieve something, and most importantly, the chance to enjoy life. Einstein said, “The most important motive for work in the school and in life is the pleasure of work, pleasure in its result and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community" (Wlodkowski, Jaynes, 3). Some may graduate from Harvard, and some may graduate from a community college, while others may just make it out of high school. The point is they made it, they did something; something to be proud of. The genius may contribute greatly to society as a whole, while a handicapped individual may simply influence the lives of the few people surrounding him. Neither one is more important than the other. “Each individual is valuable just because they are. The handicapped may not produce for society, but they still deserve to be taught" (Cagley). Every individual should be allowed to succeed, but without an education, the possibilities would be tremendously limited.

Conclusion

Education has many purposes that all interrelate with each other. Each one is important and each must be recognized. If they are ignored, damage is done to society and more importantly in many ways to the individual. Life is what the individual makes of it, but if they are not equipped with proper tools their results will most often be second rate and vastly inferior to the better educated around them. A society filled with poorly tooled individuals creates a very weak foundation that, if continuing on that path, will collapse.

Sidebar

An example of the education systems’s failure to fulfill its purposes to the learning disabled is found in full at LD OnLine :: Preventing Antisocial Behavior in Disabled and At-Risk Children

Excerpt One

Chronic school failure demoralizes children, can cause loss of status and rejection by peers, destroys self-esteem, and undermines feelings of competence. As a result, it can undermine a child's attachment to teachers, parents, school, and the values they promote. It also generates hopelessness and helplessness. Children cease to believe that their efforts make a difference in outcomes.12,13,14 For delinquent youngsters, "school is not a place of attachment and learning, but of alienation and failure."

Excerpt Two

“Risk factors specific to ADHD and LD Children with inadequately treated ADHD and LD are especially at risk for developing antisocial behavior--oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and delinquency.3,5,6,18,19 Those with ADHD experience "high rates of suspension and expulsion from school,"20 50 to 70 percent develop oppositional defiant behavior, and 20 to 40 percent show symptoms of the more serious conduct disorder.21,22 Wexler estimates that up to 70 percent of juvenile offenders and 40 percent of adult prisoners may have ADHD7--a significant percentage, considering that only three to seven percent of the general population have ADHD.23 Likewise, from 30 to 50 percent of adjudicated juveniles and adults have been found to have LD, compared to a five to ten percent prevalence in the general population.8 Learning disabilities increase a child's risk of adjudication by 220 percent.5 Studies of children with ADHD reveal that 23 to 45 percent have juvenile convictions.24 The relationship between ADHD and antisocial behavior is so strong that some consider ADHD to be a predisposing risk factor.3,4,6,25

“ We are failing them, not training them,” Susan Cagley

Essay Question

Take out any one of the five purposes of education and throw it out. What problems would arise and how would its elimination affect the other four purposes?

Multiple Choice

1. You find a little girl in your class named Sally crying outside in the hall. When you quietly ask her whats wrong she simply cries harder. Finally you manage to get out of her that her groups project didn't do as well as they expected and Sally feels that its all her fault. As her teacher your first reaction must be to protect Sally from what would do the most damage....

a.her self.

b.stress.

c.her peers.

d.you as the teacher.

2. As a teacher you will have certain responsibilities to your students. You will be recquired to perform all of the following with one exception. Which is it?

a.Requiring them to demonstrate self- discipline,

b.Refining their ability to think logically

c.Enforcing class regulations

d.Teaching them how to work with other students

3. Your class has down a fair job so far on the average. However, as a class they do not seem to excerise a lot of self- discipline. They do not turn in their homework on time and they do not seem to study at home. You decide to test and strengthen their ability in this area by...

a.Testing their knowledge on the subject

b.Having them write an essay on a controversial topic

c.Allowing for open ended class discussion

d.None of the above

4. Joe comes into your class tired and discouraged. He lives in a split family and tends to do most of the work at home. He is eight years old and already discouraged as to what his future will be like. You, as his teacher, are concerned and seek to find ways to teach him the chief goal of education...

a.to enjoy life

b.to succeed

c.the necessity of broadening his horizen

d.how to be a better member of his society

5. A student in you class openly states that you are wrong about a certain issue. She insists that she can prove her point and does so accordingly. You as the teacher should respond to her by...

a.ignoring her attempt to disrupt the class.

b. telling her that you are the teacher. Your information is not incorrect and that she must remain quiet and not disturb the class.

c. discplining her for disrespecting you in front of the class.

d. acknowledging that you were wrong and fix your information before moving on.

''''Works Cited''''

Berry, Sherry R. Ph.D. Classroom Perspectives. Lifeway Christian School Resources.Nashville, TN. 2000.

Cagley, Susan. Interview. Assistant Professor of History at Baptist Bible College. Professor of Teaching Social Studies. September 21, 2006.

LD ONLINE. http://www.ldonline.org/article/5973

Stipek, Deborah. Ph.D, Kathy Seal. Motivated Minds. Henry Holt and Company, LLC. New York, NY. 2001.

Virginia's Board of Education Standards for 2006. http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/suptsmemos/2006/inf135b.pdf

Wlodkowski, Raymond J., Judith H. Jaynes. Eager to Learn. Jossey-Bass Inc. Sanfransico, CA. 1990.

Answers

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.A

5.D