This discussion has me pondering. Why exactly do we as a society want our kids to be educated? What do we want to get out of it? Assuming, in so far as we collectively pay taxes and send our children to school, that we DO want them to be educated. In The Story of B, Daniel Quinn argues that rather than educating children, the purpose of school is keeping kids babysat and off the job market.
It is also reasonable to assert that early education is part of a child's introduction to his broader culture and values. It prepares him to be a citizen with integrity and a work ethic. There is certainly a problem with our melting pot society in that we have a hard time agreeing on the most fundamental values, so young students are taught less and less in order to avoid conflict. This has generated 1-3 generations of students with progressively less that they can agree on.
My underlying assumption is that early education is to build language and reasoning skills. Math is reasoning. Language is every subject, because you can't talk about anything without it. Science is about reasoning also, as the conclusions chase after the evidence. But at some point, when the abilities of reasoning and communication are well developed, the pursuit turns to knowledge. Building a network of understanding using information plugged into a reasoning mind.
Is there some aspect of education I am forgetting? Do you think there is a very different purpose?
what is the purpose of education?
It is also reasonable to assert that early education is part of a child's introduction to his broader culture and values. It prepares him to be a citizen with integrity and a work ethic. There is certainly a problem with our melting pot society in that we have a hard time agreeing on the most fundamental values, so young students are taught less and less in order to avoid conflict. This has generated 1-3 generations of students with progressively less that they can agree on.
My underlying assumption is that early education is to build language and reasoning skills. Math is reasoning. Language is every subject, because you can't talk about anything without it. Science is about reasoning also, as the conclusions chase after the evidence. But at some point, when the abilities of reasoning and communication are well developed, the pursuit turns to knowledge. Building a network of understanding using information plugged into a reasoning mind.
Is there some aspect of education I am forgetting? Do you think there is a very different purpose?