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the purpose of education

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asianspirit

asianspirit

[head-bangs desk]

i'm currently taking a class on how to get a good score on standardized tests. (also known as SATs in the states; the test that causes fear throughout high schools nationwide XD)

anyway, in these tests, there is a section where we have to make a 25-minute essay. i was taking one of the practice tests and found this interesting essay topic:

"is the purpose of education to learn facts or to learn to have an open mind?"

now granted, i don't think we all agree that the purpose is to learn facts or learn learn to have an open mind. so.... i'm wondering... does anyone think that the purpose of education is to just learn facts? shouldn't we learn to expand our knowledge and have an intellegent view of society today?

i'm curious to know your responses to the matter. :D but now i'm staring to think that this might be one of those topics people would just neglect >_>

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unicorn2006

Retired Moderator

unicorn2006

:.ICE:.:BIN.:

i was writing in this when MT shut down on me :sweat:
i think that there is a point to education.. if you look at it cynically, you can... make future business connections, learn the handy sneaky tricks of the game, or just have something to put on your resume.. if you want to look at it positively... your brain is definitely going to get crammed with lots of 'knowledge' whatever that means, and you get to exercise your brain muscles so that you dont turn senile too early in life.

But more seriously, yes there definitely is a point to education, if you seek to make something of it.

"Faith means believing in something that will only make sense in reverse."
"When men are the most sure and arrogant they are commonly the most mistaken..."

SilentMasamune

SilentMasamune

I'm all washed up. . .

I won't neglect this topic at all. In fact, it's an interesting diversion.

This is an arbitrary question. There are many people who agree that education is about learning facts. To me, since students go to school to learn from more experienced people, otherwise known as the teachers, it wouldn't be rare for students to think that learning comes from experience. I guess I'm trying to make a point that teachers pass down whatever information they learn to the students, as if they are role models themselves. Although they are not parents of the students, but some teachers are parents of students if their students go to school with them, they can be treated as parents.

However, there are other students who think that education is about keeping an open mind. Yes, there are many twists and turns in our society today, and we need to be aware about what is going on. Education does prepare students to be more responsive at times of crisis and need, and it readys the students for the future. Keeping an open mind is important because you need to be able to think about situations beforehand. If not, then there are people who may be hurt because they are unaware of changes.

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um...the purpose of education is to get a job?XD
i dunno...to get a GOOD job? ok....yea to make a living

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Education is a broad term. In my opinion it is just to learn facts, however it is up to the teachers and student themselfs to develop ways to open their minds

Kuzain

eeto...uumo...

Quote by MouriRanum...the purpose of education is to get a job?XD
i dunno...to get a GOOD job? ok....yea to make a living

I agree with this somewhat.

There are classes I take because they are required for my degree. Those are classes I take with the purpose of learning facts.

Then there are other classes I take because I'm interested in them or they sound fun (and hopefully also help get me my degree). Those are classes I take just to learn and to get a broader sense of the world.

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Osaka-san!

"Education" is a really broad term, but I'll give it a shot.

From Preschool and Kindergarden, the point is to help kids learn social norms. And not just "how to place nice," "sharing," or what have you. For example, in the u.s., American ideals are spoon fed to the kids. The first thing in the morning (at least when I was a kid, I don't know about now) was the Pledge of Allegiance. To decide what activity to do, the teacher would give the entire class a choice and the majority ruled; this serves as an introduction to Democracy.

From 1st grade through 8th grade, kids are taught how to function properly in society. Suddenly, instead of fun activities, there are homework assignments, book, reports, and in middle school, essays. Free time is loosely supervised so kids learn how to interact and socialize with one another without interference from adults. The academic learning is of secondary importance.

In high school, there is little to no supervision outside the classrooms. The students are now in a quasi-adult society, left to fend for themselves. The education is now more job-oriented and aimed to prepare the students for college. Class elections simulate the democratic process to further ingrain it into the psyches of the students.

College, in my opinion, is when actual academic education begins. For the most part, you're able to choose what subjects to take outside of general education courses. You can learn what you want to learn. College, more than any other stages of education, is for learning how to get and keep a career.

Unfortunately, overall, the purpose of education is to learn facts. Rarely do we learn from the "other point of view." In the u.s., we're generally not taught what Russia was thinking during the Cuban missile crisis; we don't learn about the Vietnam War from the Vietamese perspective. In Japan, their textbooks omit war crimes commited by the Japanese government. China to this day has not acknowledged the incident in Tienemen Square. In my experience, schools teach with a very narrow scope. We learn the ideals and values that our schools and to an extent, our governments and cultures, want us to have. Very rarely do they teach us to have an open mind.

"It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts. "

-Boris Yeltsin

asianspirit

asianspirit

[head-bangs desk]

wow. :o

thanks unicorn, mel, mouri, gamerz, kuzain, and vic. i really do appreciate your insights and opinions of the "education" of our world today. you guys really made my day. call me strange, but i find these things interesting :D

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ever-ruler

ever-ruler

..: winter air :..

I think it's both. Education teaches you facts that are already known and for you to have an open mind to be free to explore the world and accept new facts and knowledge.

fireflywishes

Retired Moderator, Linguistics

fireflywishes

Calgon, take me away~!

Quote by viktorvonrussia
College, in my opinion, is when actual academic education begins. For
the most part, you're able to choose what subjects to take outside of
general education courses. You can learn what you want to learn.
College, more than any other stages of education, is for learning how
to get and keep a career.
Unfortunately, overall, the purpose of education is to learn facts.
Rarely do we learn from the "other point of view." In the u.s., we're
generally not taught what Russia was thinking during the Cuban missile
crisis; we don't learn about the Vietnam War from the Vietamese
perspective. In Japan, their textbooks omit war crimes commited by the
Japanese government. China to this day has not acknowledged the
incident in Tienemen Square. In my experience, schools teach with a
very narrow scope. We learn the ideals and values that our schools and
to an extent, our governments and cultures, want us to have. Very
rarely do they teach us to have an open mind.

couldn't agree more. since i've been in college i've learned many things in my asian american poli-sci course that were left out of my high school textbooks. i think the purpose of education is to provide you with facts. ideally you would be able to form your own conclusions/opinions based on those facts, but i don't really think that education teaches you to have an open mind because everything is so one-sided in schooling before college.

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Education is a bit of both. You need to learn facts to expand your knowledge. As everybody knows, knowledge = power. However, there is a lot more to education. Not only does it teaches people to have an open mind, but it also teaches people how to deal with pressure, how to juggle their schedule, how to interact with foreign environments, how to deal with people, experience living/spending less time with your parents, etc. Both of these are very important if you want to have a good job later on and succeed in life in general.

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BorisGrishenko

BorisGrishenko

send spike

The purpose of basic education is to teach the means of how to think, rather than telling people what to think. Beyond that, it is to teach practical thigns rather than to indoctrinate.

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Sepharimstone36

Sepharimstone36

Bishie Hunter

I think there is a point to education in society... Our world is getting more economically and technologically advanced and people expect you to be a contributing member to society so to do that you have to be able to know why things work the way they do and do what they do...but you also have to have an open mind to new possibilities... You could never discover anything or learn anything new if you always tell yourself that it isn't possible.. The universe is too big and mysterious to say something like that... :-)

The purpose of education is to educate and encourage. We are taught knowledge but driven to discover more knowledge, so it deems that we must have an open mind in order to fully comprehend knowledge. We are taught facts, but we are also taught to question these facts, but to question them without any doubts beforehand, one must have an open mind, no?

But does one even truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, the machinations of fate...and thus defy the tyrannous stars.

Ryugen

Ryugen

Chibbi Style!

I think the purpose of education is to expand our understanding. have a look at what 3rd formers learn and then have a look at what 4th formers learn, its a big difference in unde4rstanding capacity. it's the same with the beginning of 7th form and near the end of 7th form.

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Remember that of old, for it was there for a reason.

kuroimisa

Retired Moderator

kuroimisa

Wizard of Darkness -under a rock

Hehehe well I was brought up in a school where everyone was dead smart, and the teachers boosted our confidence by continuously telling us that we were talented students etc. and I learnt a lot of things during my high school education. I was taught to be a better person [this was through interacting with different people of different backgrounds and participating in charity events] - whilst we were taught facts, we were also taught other things like using our own imaginations and minds to explore concepts/ ideas. We were also encouraged to use our creativity and to aim for the very best.

So I do agree, education is not only about learning facts or to teach you to have an open mind. Really, school could also be seen as a place to meet friends. Humans after all would like to have a few friends in the future wherever they go :) Hahahha so not only is education about "expanding horizons" it's also about learning and developing as a person. There are probably more reasons and stuff, but I won't go into that... I'm too tired XD

PS: That's the way I view education because we have a different education system, spirit-chan :P I have no idea what exactly they teach you peeps over there in America, but here, the syllabus is completely out of whack XD

merged: 12-12-2005 ~ 03:31pm
PS: I was taught also at school that there are no such things as facts because there is no absolute truth... see how English has ruined my way of thinking? lol... I've become a sceptic :\

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saiyukifan

saiyukifan

GOMENASAI EVERYONE. :(

why neglect this topic? it caught my eye... and it would be nice to explain.

I think the purpose of education is using the experiences that we learn in our everyday life or even at a dangerous task (like those in anime shows where they train you to do some weird stuff and it will be useful in some dangerous times)

but that's what I think. And I guess education helps us with knowing what is exactly around us, what were discovered... like those stuff. Education is like a branch of curiosity. We get curious, then we investigate, then we learn, then we discover, then we share... it goes on and on... just by making us curious, we'd learn. Ok, I think I'm getting lost... an explanation deeper would be... cool ^_^ lol I'm not good at giving real deep explanations... oh well, hope that helped...

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