Essay on What Is the Purpose of Education?

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 vocational purpose of education refers to the information and abilities students master through their learning experience in schools. In other words, the main goal of this purpose is to prepare literate and economically aware adults. In reference to early elementary school years, skills that students must master are basic addition/subtraction, memorization, learning to read, and basic sentence writing. Mastering these skills are an important piece of the economic educational purpose because in adulthood it often leads to the pursuit of a career and financial independence. Those adults that struggle with basic arithmetic and reading often settle for jobs that simply pay the bills, rarely do they have an opportunity to pursue a career that they love. Without fully grasping these skills, it makes it impossible to understand higher order thinking skills, like analysis and dialectic reasoning. For example, the majority of adults will have to analyze a legal document, apply their knowledge of arithmetic to determine a budget for their family, and be placed in everyday situations where they must think critically. Without the skills, it would be impossible for someone to perform these actions. The vocational purpose of education is to prepare students with the skills that they will need to be successful in life once they reach adulthood.

Malcolm X once said “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. From adolescence to adulthood almost every person is put through schooling. As one gets older in age, the education they obtain becomes more rigorous in order to stretch their minds far beyond two plus two or what color the sky is. The strategies of critically thinking and being able to analyze/decipher information in front is them is reinforced routinely in the educational system. With this being said, the purpose of education is to aid in enhancing one’s qualification, socialisation, and subjectification skills within the society regardless of how or where one’s education was obtained.

In this paper I shall argue for Socrates’ notion in the Allegory of the Cave, saying that the purpose of education is not to place knowledge to the mind where there was none, but instead to recognise the already underlying existence of such insight inside the mind, and to help divert the ones in need of teaching onto the correct path to find and retrieve such knowledge.

The common good refers to the advantage of all people in society. The purpose of education is to prepare students with the life skills they need to be better citizens when they become adults. Most schools promote the idea of the common good in their mission statements. My school mission statement is, “The mission of the Wadsworth City Schools, in cooperation with families, school personnel, and community, is to provide an education in a safe environment that will enable all students to reach their highest potential” (Wadsworth City Schools). This mission promotes the common good by wanting students to reach their highest potential. However, some students do not reach their highest potential because many public schools are failing their

Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” is a story about prisoners who exist in the darkness of a cave with only shadow statues as forms for discussion. Plato leads us on this extraordinary journey as the prisoners move from the darkness into the light. Each step of the way he guides us through the levels of their perceptual reality. Dialogue and questions are discussed throughout the journey so that all possible perspectives are considered. Plato insists that the physical world is a false world and the world of knowledge is the true path to light. Plato believes that when the highest pursuit of knowledge is reached, these men should be the teachers and rulers of the society, and thus, return their knowledge to benefit society. While I agree that education and learning are the greatest instruments to establishing and maintaining a “progressive and just” society, I also believe that “Absolute Altruism” exists only in the

If asked, many may describe education as the imparting of knowledge onto the less knowledgeable. However, in his “Allegory of the Cave”, Greek philosopher Plato proposes that rather than education being “putting knowledge into souls that lack it”(5), it is the beginning of a journey in which the newly educated begin to break free of their ignorance and turn towards the discovery of new knowledge; Plato believed education was the beginning of the quest for new ideas, rather than the end of a process in which we learn the bare minimum.

We can only emphasis so much about the importance of education in our lives and the lives of others. It is education that has made some of us board our first planes. It is education that has made some of sit on the same table with dignitaries from all over the world. It is still education that has made us build homes and own big cars. Hence education is essentially important. I use two words with the same meaning as it is the only way I can get to clearly stress on the importance of education in our lives. Being literate is not a gift that one is born with thus everyone must work hard enough to ensure that they acquire a decent education to keep their literacy levels up. With this in mind, it is the purpose

According to College Atlas Statistics, seventy percent of Americans will go study at a four-year college, but less than two-thirds will graduate with a degree. There are also 44.2 million people in America with student loan debt. The traditional idea of going to college has been defined by many as the key to getting a job and becoming successful. While that may be true for some, that cliche idea has put many Americans in an unwanted financial situation and working a job they aren’t content with. I believe it’s important for students to know why they are spending the time, effort, and money in getting a degree. I define Education as a way to help change the world, expand intellectuality and learn more about what I’m passionate about.

Another purpose of education that I am going to mention is the learning of basic skills. When I was younger, I was in a class where they taught you how to write a check, sew, and cook. It was a tedious class at the time, but it taught me valuable skills that I now use. Another class that is similar is Health; what you learn in that class is almost a necessity. They teach you about how to take care of your body, what foods you should eat to stay healthy, and why you should exercise. There is a book by Robert Fulghum called All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. In this book, Fulghum talks about how everything that you need to know in life you learn as a child, such as: play fair, don’t take things that aren’t yours, say you’re sorry, and the list goes on. What you learn in school is a valuable asset to life “and it is still true no matter how old you are” (Fulghum).

The philosophical perspective possessed by a teacher has on affects the ability and effectiveness of their teaching methods. Therefore a teacher must be one who appreciates and respects education and formalized schooling. In the following paragraphs I will give a general description of my views on education. I will describe how I view the acquisition of knowledge, common student nature, what I believe the purpose of education is and my desired method and curriculum. Future teachers should carefully consider each of these aspects.

The purpose of education is to help students master basic subjects and explore areas of interest. By educating students, we provide them useful information that helps them make future career choices. A child who enjoys science projects may decide to be a laboratory researcher, a student interested in the drama club may choose the theater or acting as their career. A comprehensive approach to education can provide windows of opportunities for young people who are willing to open them.

The purpose of education in any society is to pass down the skills and knowledge required to live within society. Depending on the amount and quality of the education you receive, you can build any life for yourself. Although this can be very positive and uplifting, it can also be negative and detrimental, depending on the society that you live in. Education can help people living in oppressive situations with no hope to realize their potential and change their life. However, it can also keep people complacent, blind to their potential, and hopeless.

With education providing an avenue for social change and/or mobility the objective of education should be fixated on incrementing equality and character of an individual. Education has a two-fold function in life, and thus many people have a misunderstanding in light of educational procurement. The purpose of obtaining an education is to consolidate an upsurge of equality and character towards others, to help develop the ability to think critically without an exorbitant amount of emotions, and the maintainability of integrity and normal humankind.

According to Fullan (2001), there are at least two major purposes to education; to prepare students in various academic or cognitive skills and knowledge, and to prepare students in the development of individual and social skills and knowledge necessary to the function occupationally and socio-politically in the society.