The Goals of Education

“To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?” To answer this question requires defining what the “goals of a true education” really are. I don’t believe there is any one specific goal, so answering this question requires analyzing education from several angles.

One commonly-stated purpose of education is to prepare students for the “real world” – to “succeed” in the “maze of life.” No doubt, the many years of schooling have an impact on a student’s knowledge and the student therefore learns some things which may be useful in the workplace. After all, common perception says that students need to graduate from college in order to “be successful.” But the complete truth is not so straightforward. Students spend thousands of hours studying topics that have no practical use in the vast majority of fields. The skills that have practical use only account for the fraction of the skills required in an occupation. And unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, the average student who graduates college makes only a little more than an average starting salary.

A prime example of the practical (or rather impractical) state of learning is personal finance. College students typically graduate with a large amount of debt that they must immediately pay back by working a job. Yet little personal finance education is provided, if at all.

Another goal of education is to teach students how to socialize and communicate – both informally and later professionally. Without teamwork and interacting with others in school, students have a hard time succeeding later in life. This is a major reason for perfecting writing styles and learning new vocabulary. Then why is it that the time students used to have for talking with friends is being cut shorter and shorter even when socialization with peers has been proven to be more effective at building vocabulary than traditional curricula? Why is it that socialization no longer means learning the behaviors of other human beings and communicating but instead obeying the rules and standing in line?

By harming socialization, school kills creativity and reasoning. School instills fear, overwhelming students with the possibility of getting a bad grade. Unnecessary control, brainwashing, and discouragement harm the possibility of independent thought by teaching a mindset of conformity, measured through grades and tests. Those who do not conform destroy their chances of “future success” at a good university.

To a pessimist school is designed so that people will listen and obey when their boss yells at them and tells them to work overtime. It’s no wonder that a vast number of billionaires were high school and college dropouts. To another pessimist school brainwashes students to conform and support corporate and political agendas. Why else would the pledge of allegiance be forced upon students at such an early age, when they don’t even understand its words?