Philosophical Debate on Education - Essay Example

Philosophical Debate on Education In the modern world, education has become an important pillar and this has created a situation where it has come to receive a lot of attention. In the UK, education has become a matter of extreme concern for the government as well as other stakeholders in society because there has been recognition that it is important for the enhancement of all individuals in society. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in concern about the number of children who are dropping out of school as a result of their parents not having the incentive to take these students to school. This has brought about a situation where the government has offered to provide free meals for students in school until they reach the age of seven. The free meals are incentives to ensure that parents send their children to school but the matter concerning the free meals being stopped at the age of seven has brought about a lot of concern in some circles. The concern that has been raised is that stopping free meals for students might have a negative impact on the gains that these meals have encouraged among the students and might make some students drop out. While the free meals help increase the number of students who enrol in schools, stopping these meals after students reach their seventh years might be detrimental for their education. Sean Reid (2012) in his article states that the system of education in the UK has over the years developed in such a way that it encourages students to attain better grades rather than ensuring that they gain knowledge of the content necessary for better understanding of issues at hand. Reid finds that most employers in modern UK have come to value grades rather than knowledge when seeking employees and this has created a situation where a significant number of individuals have ended up losing out because they do not seem to have the necessary academic qualifications. In order to remedy the situation where grades are valued more than knowledge, Reid suggests that the system of education be modified in such a way that it puts less pressure on students to attain better grades and instead focus on the content that they learn. Through developing knowledge of the content, these individuals are likely to ensure that they enjoy their lessons while at the same time attaining the practical knowledge necessary to ensure that they are able to get through complex situations in life. This article seems to propagate the belief that the attainment of knowledge is better than having high grades because the former is more useful since it allows individuals to have an understanding of their environment and how to navigate through it (Cahn, 1997, p.197). However, Reid fails to address the manner through which the value of grades over academic content might be harmful for both individuals and companies in the long run. This is especially where educational institutions and companies often choose to consider grades attained more than the knowledge that individuals might have and this creates a situation where people who have good grades and little knowledge are the ones who are active participants in the economy; essentially becoming a potential disaster. Another issue that is briefly raised by Reid in the article is that of cheating through highlighting a recent cheating scandal, although this issue is not conclusively discussed. In my opinion, there are often more opportunities and motivations to cheat in schools today because of the huge workload in addition to the manner of learning which is not as simple as it was in previous years. The result is that many students find it hard to make a balance in their studies and this creates a situation where they end up concentrating on some topics at the expense of others. According to Stone et al (2009, p.222), academic cheating tends to come about as a result of the emphasis on grades since it is grades, not academic excellence, which gets students to good universities as well as good jobs. I have at various times found that even those students who believe that cheating is wrong participate in this vice in their bid to achieve good grades. According to Brochado (2009, p.175), it has been reported that a significant number of students have either cheated or copied the homework of their fellow students. In addition, many students often cheat so that they can get to the top of their class and these believe that it is the only way in which to get the opportunities they want to excel in life. A majority of those students who cheat do not get caught since many have devised ingenious ways to do so, often from long experience, and this is the reason why they become serious scandals when they are found out (Sattler, Graeff, Willen, 2013, p.444). It is my belief that the provision of meals at school will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the infants who are eligible for it because it will ensure that they are motivated to do better in their education. This is because a significant number of these children come from backgrounds that are not well to do and this creates a situation where some of these children are unable to associate with others because they believe themselves to be unworthy (Rothon 2009, p.421; Ridge 2002, p.59). Furthermore, there are instances where parents opt not to send their infant children to school because they feel that to do so would be quite expensive; especially considering that they will have to provide meals for their children. One would argue that the government’s initiative to ensure that free meals are provided at infant schools is necessary to encourage parents to take their children to school; in this way allowing them to attain an education. It is through these meals that students will have an opportunity to take an active part in their education because they will value it above anything else. When it comes to children from poor backgrounds being able to attain meals, it allows them to have better concentration during class, which makes them learn faster and ensures that they do not have distractions which might interfere with their progress. It is my belief that by choosing to provide free meals for infant schools, the government has taken a correct step because it allows for the academic development of the infants involved. However, the fact that the government only plans to provide these meals over a certain period puts at risk the very objective that it wishes to achieve (Twycross, 2013). This is especially the case when one considers that it is the free meals which encourage parents to take their children to school and the discontinuation of this programme after a certain period would make it difficult for these parents to continue encouraging their children to go to school (Evans et al. 2010, p.474). One would suggest that such a move by the government would be unethical because it does not provide equal opportunities for students of all ages to attain an education in a constructive manner. Mupinga and Livesay (2004, p.261) argue that primary education is one of the most important stages of education in the UK today and it has become essential for students to have a good foundation in order to prosper. I agree with this statement and believe that for a good primary education to be achieved, students have to have the best kind of incentives, such as free meals in school that are designed to help them academically. Therefore, it has become necessary primary schools to adopt this incentive as well as providing special attention to students’ progress to ensure that their students are able to access a wide variety of support that can be used for their academic development (Petrova and Claxton 2005, p.27). In addition, Twycross (2013) suggests that because of the growing demand for the expansion of free meals to other children older than seven, there has developed a wide interest in the development of this programme so that it can become a basic part of UK’s primary education system. I agree with Twycross and argue that while many of the learning institutions all over the world have come to adopt free meals as a means of supporting the learning process of their students, the UK has the ability to ensure that it provides food for all primary school students and not just infants alone. Moreover, the UK government would be going against its responsibilities if it only provided food for infants and not for the rest of students in primary school because this would make sure that there is better enrolment as well as an increase in the level of students’ performance in these institutions. Ethics involve practicing moral principles that guide the behaviour of the government as well as other institutions related to it as well as the similar principles that determine the actions of individuals and how they are applied to real life (Miller, 2009, p.123). Ethics entails doing the right thing and this means that ethical behaviour requires that the government acts in a manner which is considered to be honest and fair by the stakeholders. Therefore, I find that it is important for individuals who make decisions in the context of government to take into account the impact of the action and fairness. Individuals who act in an ethical way distinguishes right and wrong then make the right choice, because identifying unethical practices within a school environment is easy (Azeem 2011, p.308). The government has a lot of power and this power can be used responsibly or in a selfish manner, meaning that it has the capability of providing meals for students of all ages until they finish their education. Thus, when making the decision to discontinue meals after students reach a certain age, there should be careful consideration of the implications of what it is doing and the effects it will have on the children involved. After the age of seven, it is my belief that students will most likely end up being forced to purchase school cooked meals and this would mean that only those who can afford it will be able to have these meals. On the other hand, those from poorer backgrounds will either have to carry food from home or starve. Under such circumstances, it would be most difficult for the latter students to fit in with the other who are considered to be from more affluent backgrounds because they would feel that they do not belong. This is mainly because individuals often act by relating to a specific collective cultural activity and not a response internal elements or environmental stimuli (Rinaldo et al. 2009, p.42). The sharing of meals is a cultural activity that is prevalent not only in the UK but in almost all cultures in the world because it creates a basis upon which social bonds are strengthened. For students older than seven years, it is important for them for form strong alliances through sharing of the same meal because it allows them to help one another in academics while blurring the social divides between them. The sharing of meals helps in the development of emotion, motivation and agency to the academic activities that individuals are involved in (Drewett 2007, p.84). The enhancement of academic activities through the provision of free meals for students is extremely important because it allows for the framing of the students’ thinking capabilities as well as their social activities. In my opinion, the ethical concerns over the provision of meals for infants and its being brought to an end once they reach seven years can best be explained through the social practice theory. This is mainly because children after the age of seven might end up being segregated, albeit unintentionally, at an early age based on their backgrounds because of not having the same meals at school. Some students end up buying school food while others, who cannot afford it, have to carry theirs from home (Twycross, 2013). This theory states that the differences between individuals develop when a person, in behaviour of life, forms personal identities in relation to the person’s important roles and positions. An individual’s background formation on the various environmental activities makes environmental identity become a construct of the person which is developed and used in organizing the person emotionally and the actions to take. Personal identities are conceptualized based on the complexities of memory, sentiments, an individual’s knowledge and ideas of the environment which the person can evoke by the use of cultural identity symbols for the purpose of organizing one’s self to take an environmental action (Smolka 2001, p.362). Once the individual’s identity is entrenched in the history that is inside him, it will provide a ground for guiding the individual’s behaviour towards academic activities and the person will avoid behaviours that are not harmonious with their assigned identity. I find that in situations where students who previously enjoyed government sponsored meals are suddenly left to cater for themselves, there is a likelihood that their performance will also take a negative impact. This is because despite all facilities being provided at school, the lack of meals that they used to enjoy brings about a situation where students are no longer interested in their academics and might instead dwell on activities that are not academic related (DAniello 2008, p.310). Moreover, there is a possibility of some of these individuals becoming depressed because they cannot enjoy the same diet as that of their fellow students; essentially leading to a situation of resentment rather than concentrating on their studies. Under such circumstances, teachers will notice that some students are not able to concentrate in class and that their overall performance experiences a sharp drop (Rinaldo, et al, 2009, p.42). When I consider the article by Rinaldo et al, I come to the conclusion that It is essential for both government and academic institutions to work together to ensure that all students within an institution are treated equally because this is the only way through which they can be able to fully concentrate on their studies while at the same time attaining the knowledge that will help them in future. Furthermore, through being provided with free meals at school throughout their primary education, it is possible for students to be encouraged to have an interest in their education, instead of dropping out, which will allow for them to attain high grades through merit rather than by having to cheat. In conclusion, the discussion above has attempted to show that while the free meals help increase the number of students who enrol in schools, stopping these meals after students reach their seventh years might be detrimental for their education. This is because the provision of meals at school will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the infants who are eligible for it because it will ensure that they are motivated to do better in their education. Furthermore, the discussion has shown that ethics involve practicing moral principles that guide the behaviour of the government as well as other institutions related to it as well as the similar principles that determine the actions of individuals and how they are applied to real life. In this way, it is essential for the government to act ethically so that it ensures that free meals are provided for all primary school students so that they can be better able to work at the same level within their respective institutions. Moreover, it has been recognised that after the age of seven, students will end up being forced to purchase school cooked meals and this would mean that only those who can afford it will be able to have these meals. Finally, in situations where students who previously enjoyed government sponsored meals are suddenly left to cater for themselves, there is a likelihood that their performance will also take a negative impact, thus creating a situation where there is a failure of the education system. References Azeem, M., 2011, "Problems of Prospective Teachers during Teaching Practice", Academic Research International, 1(2), pp. 308-316. Brochado, A., 2009. "Comparing Alternative Instruments to Measure Service Quality in Higher Education." Quality Assurance in Education. 17(2), pp. 174-90. Cahn, S.M. 1997. Classic and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Education. New York, McGraw Hill. DAniello, S., 2008. “Beginning teacher follow-up studies: A critical component of teacher education program evaluation and policy decisions.” Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(5), pp. 309-312. Drewett, R., 2007. The Nutritional Psychology of Childhood. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 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