The Purpose of Education

This week we discussed the purpose of education. I never thought about why I'm going through so many years of schooling. I just always thought it was something I needed to do. My parents had a huge influence on my schooling. They would be very disappointed if I decided not to go to college. It's something they just expected me to do. I couldn't imagine what they would do or say if I told them that I didn't want to go to college. For them, the purpose of education, is to get a job and be successful. When I told my dad that I wanted to be a teacher, he was somewhat shocked.He wondered why I didn't want to be a doctor or an acountant and make more money. For me personally, I would rather teach and be happy, than be miserable doing something that do not enjoy. Even if my parents were okay with me not going to college, I think I still would. College is a time for me to figure out where I want to go with my life. I can be an adult and live on my own and grow as a person. I found what I'm interested in and what type of job I would like to have later on in life. In today's society it's very important to have a college degree in order to get a job. Many places will not hire you without it. Therefore, in my opinoin, the more education you have, the easier it is to get a job. Companies want to hire the most qualified people: in order to be qualified, you have to have diplomas.

We also discused the possibility of leveling the playing field. I'm not sure that our society would be able to do that. I don't know how we would do that, especially because education does not seem to be a priority in our society. Areas like Ghana and Barbados are reforming their education systems, making scooling free for their children. Here are some articles that discuss their systems in more detail: education in Barbados and Ghana.

Unequal Resources

Today in class we discussed the issue of unequal resources in our education system. When I first thought of what resources would consist of I thought about things like books, sports equipment, and school supplies. I didn't realize that there was much more to it. We talked about money being a huge factor in this issue. Althought it makes it easier for someone with money to obtain the resources needed in our education system, I feel that money isn't everything. I feel that with hard work and dedication, it is possible for children in low-income areas to overcome. My parents moved to the U.S. in 1981 with not a lot of money. My father barely spoke english when he first moved to this country. Even now he has trouble with grammar and spelling. He worked hard and was determined to improve his quality of life. He started off at the bottom of an architecture company in the city. He was very dedicated to his job and worked long hours which eventually paid off. He recieved promotions and now is the president of the company. Although my father came from a lower class, he was able to overcome and provide for his family. Having money is not everything. If someone has money but lacks the motivation, he will not make the effort to use the resources available to him. It is a drive inside the person that also is a factor. If a person wants something bad enough than i believe with hard work he will be able to acieve his goals.

We also talked about montessori schools which I had never heard about before. I like the idea of children having the freedom to choose what they want to learn about. if children have fun learning, they will want to do it more often. They won't be bored sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture them. Below is a link for the montessori foundation where you can read about its history and the programs they offer.

http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=164

September 5th Discussion

In today's class we discussed the issue of segregation in our schools. Until then I did not see my school as segregated. It never occurred to me that it would be considered segregated even though there is no diversity in my town. The majority of the people in my town are white. There were only a few Asians, and even fewer blacks. But still I saw my school as integrated. It was not until i came to Binghamton that I experienced true diversity.

As we went over the education timeline, I was shocked to learn that the mentally retarded were once called idiotic and feeble minded. Calling someone idiotic and feeble minded will no doubt bring down their self esteem and make them feel segregated from the rest of society. We then discussed the issue of mainstreaming. I feel that mainstreaming has both positive and negative aspects. I think that mainstreaming will help improve the social skills of people with mental retardation. While helping the general education students an opportunity to learn acceptance and respect for others. On the negative side, i think that the classroom would move at a slower pace in order to accommodate the disabled children which might make the general education students lose focus and interest. A possible solution would be something like a partial integration. where the mentally retarded would join the regular classes for subjects such as art, music, gym, yet learn the major subjects like math, english and science in their own classrooms where they can move a comfortable pace.

This article talks about what teachers should expect in a mainstreamed classroom. http://www.jstor.org/view/00274321/sp060288/06x2560b/0