Morgan Reese

5/8/14
EDUC275
Purpose of schooling
Schooling and the education system are extremely important both in the United States
and across the globe. Schooling through the years has grown and changed and will continue to
change in the future to enrich the lives of the students who pass through each and every
classroom. It is imperative that every teacher gives each student the opportunity to succeed and
prosper in their classroom and when the students enter the real world. Teachers must do their
best to break down the existing social, cultural, political and economic orders and transform the
orders to bring out the best qualities in all students. If teachers focus on the purpose of school the
current orders will be overcome and they will be transformed for the greater good of the entire
student population.
The purpose of schooling over the years has not changed a great deal. Students go to
school to become educated in certain content. However, the content focus has changed slightly
over the years. In the past students went to school to learn what they needed for a future career.
Now students education is geared towards passing the standardized tests. Students move
through school just to get to the next step. Teaching to these tests is not preparing students with
the knowledge they need to move beyond the walls of the classroom. In the future schools need
to move past teaching for the tests and help to prepare students for life after school. Students
need to receive a more focused education on the topics that interest them. Not every student
learns in the same manner. In todays system of education people are aware of the different
learning styles of students but there is no emphasis on teaching to those unique styles because the
teacher just needs the students to pass the test. In the future, schools should start moving towards
teaching students in a way that is most beneficial to their unique learning styles. Mr. Viney, from
Blevins Middle School, believes the purpose of schooling is to create productive members of
society in a social aspect along with the academic concentration side (Viney). This is true in
many aspects because schooling is one of the first large social settings for many students. We
must teach these students how to effectively communicate with one another and work together.
These skills are vital for the students both inside and outside of school. Schools provide an
excellent environment for creating social skills and it is the school systems responsibility to
produce students who are constructive members of society. The Dalai Lama believes the purpose
of education is to eliminate narrow mindedness, and extreme selfishness (Glazer 85). By
following the purpose stated by the Dalai Lama, we are helping to create positive citizens for the
future of our country. Creating valuable and well-educated members of society is an essential
role of the school system in the United States.
Educators are the people who fulfill the purpose of schooling. Students look to the
educators in schools for guidance and it is because of this that teachers are able to help guide
students into becoming productive citizens. Educators must push students beyond their comfort
zone to produce adults who can generate well thought out viewpoints and opinions. Educators
are the key players to eradicating the existing orders of the current education system. Through
their actions and presence in the classroom they can encourage students to be the best version of
themselves that they can be. Educators can keep todays youth from falling into the roles society
has predetermined for them. Educators must care about the students in their classroom, but the
student must see the effort of a teacher caring for a relationship to form (Cahn 247). It is an
educators duty to care about helping all students attain greatness in the long run of their life, not
just for the nine months that the students are in the teachers classroom. Teachers have lifelong
impacts on students and because of this they impact the future of the society in which we live
(Landsman 37).
The present-day education system is causing the existing orders in society to be
perpetuated. The way the funding is currently set up, giving more funding to schools who do
better on the standardized tests, is perpetuating economic orders. If the lower income schools
never get more funding it makes it extremely difficult for them to improve their scores. If they
cannot improve the scores, with the current system, they cannot receive more funding. This
problem causes a cycle that the low income schools cannot escape from. The standardized
testing also serves to keep the educational goals the same. Currently this goal is to do better on
the standardized tests to increase funding. If we do not change these goals the system will stay
the same and curricula will not function to teach to students individual learning styles. The goals
of education must change for the current orders to be renovated. The current level of integration
of culture into the curriculum, which is being used in most classrooms, is also helping to
perpetuate the existing orders. The level 1, contributions approach, is what many teachers are
currently using if they are trying at all to integrate cultural content into their classroom (Banks
231). This approach is not enough to help change the existing orders. Teachers need to try to get
to level 4, the social action approach. This method teaches from different angles and allows
students to view events from multiple different viewpoints and make their own decisions on the
events based off of all the facts (Banks 236). The curriculum needs to move towards the social
action approach in culturally diversity because it will illustrate the need for students to open their
mind to the idea that one race is not above any other race.
It is up to the school system to transform the orders being perpetuated into society.
Students need to be made aware of the issues being faced across the nation in all different types
of communities. Making students aware of the events taking place in the world in which they
live will help to change existing orders. It is up to the educators within the schools to show
students how to transform the orders once they leave school grounds. No matter how hard
teachers try to break down the orders within the school, if they do not give students the tools to
move this beyond campus nothing in society will change. Teachers need to support all students
and strive for equity not equality. We can create a future for our children and ourselves in which
no individual is automatically advantaged or disadvantaged because of any arbitrary standard but
this will take commitment, know-how and skill (Lantieri 110). If educators support the students
who come from lower social or economic statuses, they can rise up and realize they are not
stuck. Students need to see that just because someone comes from a more advantaged area does
not mean they are the only ones that will succeed. They need support from people who care
about them to realize all that they are capable to become. Changing the current funding system
will also help to transform the existing orders. In the book Educational Foundations: Diverse
Histories and Diverse Perspectives the author discusses the need for funding schools with equity,
not equality. Schools in lower income areas have more financial needs because more students are
on free and reduced lunches and often require special education or attention to compensate for
shortcomings at home. Because of this they need more financial help than wealthier areas, thus
need to be funded equitably (Huerta 139). Following the authors of this books advice will help to
bring all students to the same level and not leave a class stuck in a situation they cannot get out
of.
Educators are crucial in transforming the orders in society and vital in executing the
purpose of schools in the classroom. They play a fundamental role in the progression of the
education system. The school system will continue to transform to better fit the needs of more
children and may one day provide equity to a vast majority of students. Changes need to be made
in the system to transform the present orders. With a strong education system, and educators who
fulfill the purpose of school, the cultural, social, political, economic and environmental orders
can and will be transformed.
















Bibliography
Banks, James A., and Cherry A. McGee. Banks. Multicultural Education: Issues and
Perspectives. 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993.
Cahn, Steven M. Classic and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Glazer, Steven, and Huston Smith. The Heart of Learning: Spirituality in Education. New York:
J.P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1999.
Huerta, Grace. "Paying the Bills: School Funding." Educational Foundations: Diverse Histories,
Diverse Perspectives. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
Landsman, Julie, and Chance W. Lewis. White Teachers, Diverse Classrooms: A Guide to
Building Inclusive Schools, Promoting High Expectations, and Eliminating Racism.
Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub., 2006.
Lantieri, Linda. "Valuing Diversity: Creating Inclusive Schools and Communities." Waging
Peace in Our Schools: Beginning with the Children. alm chool of Education, 1995.
Viney, Mike. Teacher Interview. 10 April 2014.