Make A Difference Essay

There seems to be no perfect answer to the question, “What is the purpose of education?” Every expert and activist probably has a different answer. Martin Luther King said the purpose of education is to, “…enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life (King, 1947).” Eleanor Roosevelt argued that the purpose of education is good citizenship (Roosevelt, 1930). Others, like Newman (2006), posit that education is a much broader idea. It is the “entire process by which a culture transmits itself across a generation” (Newman, 2006). In trying to form my own idea of the purpose of education, I tried to look at all of these ideas

The purpose of education in the United States is to prepare young people for their future by giving them the knowledge and skills so they can be successful. The purpose of education is to create emotionally healthy young adults that will make good choices and are responsible.

Education can be considered the process of discovering something new that a person did not previously know. It is an essential part of life because it empowers people with knowledge, enables them to contribute to society, earn money, and become independent. Education is a process that starts when you are born.

Who loves school? What makes school enjoyable? Is it the lectures, worksheets, and tests, or the group projects, in-class discussions and high-tech games? When thinking over the answers to these questions, many people unknowingly state a preference for a more progressive teaching style. A progressive teaching style includes student participation and a large variety of modern inventions which allow more students to enjoy learning. Students receive a more complete education through enjoyment in the learning when they have the ability to set a custom pace and are able to learn according to their preferred learning style. It has become increasingly apparent to many educators how disconnected students have become from the learning environment when lectures are the sole teaching method. This discovery has led several instructors to develop new methods to educate the next generation of students for their benefit, not just for the ease and convenience of the teacher. To figure out the best balance for the future of education, like anything else, one must first understand the history of education and where schooling originated. Schooling began with a traditional style of lectures and progressed to more modern teaching methods, which have proven to be more beneficial to a learner’s future, than the traditional practices in a teacher-centered classroom.

I feel that the goal of education is to open up a world of possibilities for learners. The purpose of education is to show someone that they have the ability to do and be whomever they want to. Education is simply there for bettering oneself and one’s world.

Progressive educators view existing schools as being formal, not focusing on real life situations, and strict. They prefer variety in classroom preparations and informal interaction between the teacher and their student. Progressives prefer schools teach useful subjects (including occupations) and emphasize “learning by doing” rather than instruction purely from textbooks. This brought about schools such as trade and vocational schools. The student was placed at the center of thinking, “teach the child not the subject.”

Historical foundations of curriculum are important as we often learn from where we have been and focus on where we are growing by analyzing past journeys. We must be cautious to study the history so that we do not make the same mistakes as in the past. Furthermore, curriculum history allows us to address what society has valued as important enough to address in schools. For example, essentialism has called for reading, writing, math, foreign language, and history to be the focus of the curriculum. However, progressivism encourages curriculum to be focused on students’ needs and interests along with human affairs. Progressivism calls for subjects to be integrated and interactive. Curriculum history shows what has caused the transition and shift from common

While completing this project I have grown tremendously through not only the support and guidance from my Professor, Dr. Bush, but also my peers. It was so empowering to gain that awareness and understanding of the theories and practices that underlie our pedagogy. It is through that understanding do we gain a sense of what is most important for our students and for our own professional growth. Furthermore, my thinking was pushed when I was asked to participate and join other school colleagues at two conferences that complimented my learning in this project—that is Understand by Design with Jay McTighe and a WestEd, Quality Teaching for English Learners summer institute.

The purpose of education is to liberate and empower students and to move individuals emotionally and intellectually. It is teaching beyond academics. Education is a lifelong process. “It encompasses all things that teach including unstructured, informal experiences that are not specifically designed and have no intentions whatsoever.” Education is also internal and is developed within, by, and for experience.

Evidence: The Learning to Teach Edition Nine textbook defines that the Classicist teaching philosophy has the goals of developing well-rounded citizens through an intense liberal arts curriculum (Enz, Bergeron, and Wolfe, 115). Future English teachers would likely align with this philosophy due to their appreciation of western culture and involvement in literary arts.

Getting educated is very important for every person. It goes without saying that each of us has to have a proper education. We learn how to read, count and write. These are the basic abilities we acquire and use during our life. Is there any other purpose of education or it is aimed only at giving us a possibility to communicate our ideas and satisfy basic needs? During centuries, there were different interpretations of the purpose of education. Many scientists, pedagogues and philosophers tried to answer the question: what is the purpose of education? Taking into consideration the needs and tendencies of a modern society, we can assume that the purpose of education is to prepare students to be self-sufficient citizens capable of solving

If being taught in a progressive education classroom each student can be expected to be the main focus of the room. Progressivism is a child-centered curriculum, which is peer-centered and growth-centered. The students were thought to have learned best by engaging in the discussion instead of just sitting and listening. Dewey believed that education should be, “based on what

A progressive classroom looks different, and a progressive teacher inspires unique thinking in individual students differently, as well. Instead of being strict with a set curriculum and specific subject to cover, teachers find their students’ present interests, abilities, and needs. Developing individualized education plans based on student interests and

Work is the greatest means of education. To train children to work, to work systematically, to love work, and to put their brains into work, may be called the end and aim of schools.  In education, no work should be done for the sake of the thing done, but for the sake of the growing mind (Parker, 1884, p. 1). Francis W. Parker, who was also referred to as “the father of progressive education” according to John Dewey, has captured the essence of progressivism and education in his words. To have the philosophical mindset of a progressivist, one must believe in the individual and that ongoing progress and change is fundamental to one’s education. On top of that, as a teacher that believes in the progressivist philosophy, they must center their curriculum on the needs, experiences, interests, and abilities of students in order to provoke their curiosity (Dewey, p. 7). This means that students will actively learn by experimenting via hands-on activities and communicating with others in a social environment. In order for this to happen, in-depth planning will need to be initiated in order to create these lessons that will provoke the students’ curiosity as well as help them to want to think critically and problem solve on their own (Fishman & McCarthy, p. 38). This

The purpose of education is to teach students about their past, inform them about their present and prepare them for their future. Education should enlist the talents of great thinkers and great authors in order to help create the foundation on which the students will begin their educational journey. After those lessons are learned, the students should be able to build on those findings and further their own educational journey. I always found learning to be more exciting whenever I was learning something that pertained to my interests.