Education Essay

Sydney Mory
What is Education?
Mrs. Konjura
April 17, 2008

What is Education?

The meaning of the word education is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” (Dictionary.com). How is education defined, and who determines that it has to be a certain way and only that way?
Education in history defined us as a society. Most of education was imparted by parents to their children, and it was also determined by their sexuality. Boys learned from their fathers how to farm or they learned a skill such as blacksmithing or carpentry. Girls learned from their mothers how to run a house, cook, and take care of children. Folklore and religion were passed down through the generations by oral communication.
When a society became more progressive, such as ancient Egypt or Rome, servants were assigned to do the household and mundane chores. Boys of the upper class were given the opportunity to attend schools which were taught by scholars or philosophers. Their sisters were shown by their mothers how to be good hostesses and wives.
One of the main ideas the founders of our country started was the concept of education for everyone. (But it did take years for this idea to come about in all the areas of the country.) Our forefathers believed that democracy would be successful only if the people could decide issues on their own and vote, so they determined that education should be decided at a local level. Children in the New England colonies were taught how read, write, and decipher. One room schools were set up around the country as people moved west. But still children learned the necessary living skills from their parents.
But within the last fifty years, government has taken a much larger role in education. Back in the 1930’s, students usually had to pass a test in order to graduate to the next level. If they could not pass, they usually dropped out and entered the job market or farmed. After World War II, the public determined that everyone should have the opportunity to go to school for at least twelve years and receive a high school diploma.
With that determination, education also had to expand its boundaries. It no longer includes reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, but also business, technology, trade, music, and art skills. Students are expected to succeed in all areas of education. If the students do not have the grades, they are not allowed to enter the next phase of education which is learning a trade for a job.
Now, our society has determined that education is a high priority. In 2001 the United States Congress took away local control in the No Child Left Behind Act. Instead of the local school district or state agency deciding if a school is successful, the federal government is making that decision. Those decisions are based upon test scores and students’ grades—yearly improvement must take place or a school can be closed. The question that should be asked is—are the students learning what is really necessary for their future, or just what some government official has determined what they should know? For example, if a student has earned a 4.0 grade point average and is stuck in the middle of the desert alone, yet has no survival knowledge skills, what good is the 4.0? Or is spending time in class discussing the literature of Charles Dickens really necessary to someone who has decided to become an automotive mechanic? Is there a reason that everyone in school should have to memorize the periodic table or the eras of the earth? Why isn’t there more time in school devoted to current events and politics since the voting age is 18? Some of a school’s smartest students may not have an interest in typical school subjects, but find other outlets in sports and fine arts. But do school officials or government officials realize that these students are still learning necessary life skills?
We are now in an age of instant information which is available through the media. Students are now learning less from their parents and the school district, and more from the media. Many of the students feel unprepared after leaving high school since there are few survival and life skills being taught to them. It is my belief that the government should be more concerned with preparing the young people for the future by evaluating all the schools and see how they are meeting their needs, than worrying about constant testing which wastes the time and efforts of everyone in the educational system.