Schooling for Social Transformation - Case Study Example

Histories of Schooling in Ontario through Schooling through Growth, Transformation, and Induction Introduction People have varied beliefs about the purpose of schooling. Why should we have schools in our lives? What is the primary purpose of admitting children to schools? These are the most essential questions that people should ask themselves while admitting their kids in schools. If we they do not understand the goals and objectives of getting children to school, then there is no need of getting them there (Axelrod, 1997, p. 24). There are three primary opposing views that exist regarding the goals and missions of schooling. These three views are that the purpose of schooling is growth, transformation, and induction. This essay purports to discuss how “schooling for induction, ”“, schooling for growth” and “schooling for social transformation” mean in the histories of compulsory schooling in Ontario and Canada. Schooling for induction Plato’s Republic and canvas other scholars believe that the objectives and goals of schooling is to enlighten the mind, impart knowledge of reality, and inculcate values. This simply means that the experience of school should usher/initiate the child into her place in the world. Generally, according to Cornford (1945), the primary purpose of schooling is to inculcate and create knowledge to the child about the world and himself (p. 77). Schooling should also develop higher order of communication and enable a child to develop cognitive skills such as giving them the ability to make logical decisions. This is true according to Peters (1965), who emphasizes that “…there are two substantial aspects of the philosophy of education: the normative and the cognitive” (p. 34). After completion of schooling, learners should have developed other skills such as motivation of posing challenges to their status quo, and be able to develop sophisticated values. This is because we are currently living in a very complex world where one should have the necessary skills and knowledge in order to prosper. Therefore, according to Yonemura (1986), “…teachers should ensure that they build leadership and foster development to the children to ensure that they create a professional learning society” (p. 33). These authors also believe that schools should aim at shaping the behaviors of the learners to ensure equity and fairness. Other teachers pose panic to learners making them unable to concentrate in the school environment hence increasing the rate of school dropouts. Ranciere (1991),suggests that “…teachers should not spread panic throughout the learning community…” (p. 65). However, the today’s societal view schools as learning ground where children join to create and strengthen their proficient and career skills. This notion develops tension between the following two notions: whether the primary purpose of schooling is to create public good or private good. Because of such tension, schoolsarebecomingmore and more political and diverse (Cornford, 1945, p. 77). This tension leads to the increase of managerialization of schooling processes. This notion frequently contradicts with the traditional view of primary purpose and goals of schooling. Contradicting with Menand’s argument that children go to school to read texts and pass exams, Plato’s and canvas other scholars believe that schooling should not only focus on reading texts and passing exams, but also develop both the child’s hard and soft skills (Peters, 1965, p. 87). According to Plato and canvas other scholars, the purpose of schooling should also focus on enhancing the children’s core dispositions and abilities such as professional skills, knowledge, and understands to usher/initiate the child into her place in the world. Schooling for Growth We read Krishnamurti’s (1981), Education and the Significance of Life and delve into his, and other scholars, writings extolling the belief that “… education should allow students to reach for personal fulfillment, be student-centered, driven by student interests and that teachers should address each student’s individuality and they shouldplace value on social difference” (p. 15). The truth is that a large number of parents and teachers claim that they do not only want to educate children to work as being the primary purpose of schooling outcome, but they want much outcome from schools.according to Neill (1966), parents and teachers should ensure that children enjoy the freedom of education. He further argues that “…Every child is entitled to freedom; an excess of freedom constitutes license” according to him “Freedom deals with the rights of the child; license constitutes trespassing on the rights of others” (p. 57). Studies indicate that for most teachers and parents, a better school should ensure a good relationship to the learners rather than ensuring that they only pass their examinations (Yonemura, 1986, p. 97). This will aid in developing a welcoming society and growth. Schooling should purposely ensure that a child grow both politically, socially, and economically. Additionally, apart from ensuring cognitive learning of critical thinking and basic skills, the social and emotional well-being of a learner is paramount. Helping the learners grow in these areas is a primary expectation, objective, and a goal of schooling (Peters, 1965, p. 57). According to Prentice (1999), “… early experience does not inexorably shape our lives and that the influence of the family is more subtle than has been supposed” (p. 45). Additionally, Krishnamurti (1981) argues that in the early stages of education, the main purpose of education is to make a child grow generally in developing basic literacy and interpersonal communication skills to enable the child to be able to learn complex subjects and skills (p. 47). After acquisition of these basic skills, schooling is purposely focused to ensure that the children gain the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them improve the ability to add value as well as livelihood (Krishnamurti, 1981, p. 51). The common reasons why people take children to schools is to enable them to satisfy their personal curiosities and desire for personal growth to “better team”. Krishnamurti also believes that another purpose of schooling to act as a means of addressing handicaps, acquiring good status quo, achieving greater equality, and enable the learners to acquire wealth after completion of their courses. Learners also gain motivation from their individual interests in specific skills or subjects they are trying to pursue (Yonemura, 1986, p. 77). Therefore, teachers should ensure that learners have interests towards what they are teaching in order to ensure successful educational outcomes. This is because the most learners’ education models are mainly motivated and driven by their interests towards a certain skill or subject (Neill, 1966, p. 67). Krishnamurti further believes that schools should serve as training grounds where children can grow and develop in accordance to their unique potentialities and needs with the focus of growing and developing the learners to their extreme potentials.Schooling should also aim at ensuring that students reach their personal fulfillment and expectations. Schools should also enhance the ability of learners to grow into being self-centered individuals who can make critical decisions to better their well-being and lives. According to Krishnamurti (1981), and other scholars’ believes, it is clear that teachers should ensure that they enhance growth to the students to, shape them to become good and successful personnel in the future (p. 57). Schooling for transformation Ayers& Ayers (2011)believethat schooling should be a means for social transformation, a progressive site of experience that interrupts the reproduction of the status quo, offering opportunities for all to participate in making a democratic and socially just world (p. 99). According to these authors, the primary purpose of schooling is to add social value and ensure social transformation since this is the key to create better democracy. This will be profitable since it will give the learners an opportunity to participate in making democratic and socially just world (Neill, 1966, p. 45). According to Ayers& Ayers (2011), “… we would be moving then, entering the deeply contested space of school and social change…” (p. 6). Arguably, a democracy of a country will always remain good if the nation has well-educated public, which has knowledge of the existing issues affecting the sociability, economic, and political status of the country. The addition of social value to the learners will, however, enhance social mobility (Prentice, 1999, p. 35). This entails that schooling education shouldalwaysremain central to the nation’s commitment to enable learners come out of schools being able to improve the quality of their lives. In addition, adding social value to learners will enable the students to specialize in the professions that they have an interest and become be responsible individuals. For schools to be successful,they teachers should ensure that they give the learners power and confidence in different modes such as skills, knowledge, qualifications, and abilities since these are the main essential outcomes of schooling education (Johnston, 1988, p. 34). According to Ayers & Ayers (2011), the current society is looking for appropriate mechanism that can sort individuals who are highly qualified and intelligent from those who are less qualified and intelligent (p. 6). The society aims at identifying individuals who are more intelligent in order to enhance and maximize their competencies, skills, and talents (Ranciere, 1991, p. 65). Although the current society is aiming at achieving quality outcomes from people, teachers should ensure that they put effort in shaping both the intelligent and the less intelligent learners so that by the time, they come out their training grounds their skills and talents are up to the full maximization (Prentice, 1999, p. 34). In today’s world, the current knowledge economy only favors individuals who posses highly skilled professions, which warrants that they are able to cope with the rapid changing digital world. To enable students to meet the today’s needs of our societies, schooling should purposely focusonimplementing educational policies and regulations so that all learners canattain the necessary competencies and values after completion of their schooling (Johnston, 1988). Additionally, Ayers & Ayers (2011)believe that schools should be a progressive site of experience that interrupts the reproduction of the status quo (p. 116). He argues that “… education in practice in support of the status quo” (p. 116). This means that, after completion of schooling, learners should have developed other skills such as motivation of posing challenges to their status quo, and be able to develop sophisticated values (Ranciere, 1991, p. 47). One can describe these authors’ argument as both a set of alternatives and a challenge. The authors try to challenge what the public thinks about the purpose of getting a child to school. The two authors look at schooling from a different perspective, which is extremely different from the one that dominates the public. The authors claim that, teachers should particularly focus on test scores, although this is an obsession, which mainly drives the learning policy. The brothers Ayers is trying to advocate a schooling approach that incorporates the perspectives and the voices of learners as having importance and value. To conclude this, the primary purpose of schooling, according to these authors is to ensure that the outcomes cannot only transform the individuals but also the entire society (p. 50). Teachers should ensure that they provide learners with the necessary knowledge that can help them transform their lives and that of others in the society. Teachers should not only aid in ensuring that students pass their test but also ensure that they come out of these “training grounds”with the abilities of making a democratic and socially just world. Conclusion In conclusion, Students go to school so that they can grow, transform, and enlighten their minds, impart knowledge of reality, and inculcate values. In U.S, the public seems split, depending on their notions of the purpose of schooling education. In accordance to the content of this essay, many people believe that, the primary purpose of school education is mainly teaching learners work-related information and skills (Ranciere, 1991, 67). Others argue that school education should give learners an opportunity to grow socially, intellectually, and personally. However, the public should acknowledge that the main purpose of taking children to school is to not only read texts and pass examinations, but also to grow, transform, and enlighten their minds, impart knowledge of reality, and inculcate values. References Ayers, R & Ayers, W. (2011). Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. Krishnamurti, J. (1981).Education and the Significance of Life. New York: Harper San Francisco. Cornford, F. M. (1945). The Republic of Plato. New York: Oxford University Press Axelrod, P. (1997). Schooling in the industrial age. In The Promise of Schooling: New York: University of Toronto Press. Yonemura, M. (1986). Jean’s perspectives on teaching. In A Teacher at Work. New York: Teachers College Press. Ranciere, J. (1991). An intellectual adventure. In K. Ross (Trans.). The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation. New York: Stanford University Press. Prentice, A. (1999). Human and child nature: The search for perfection. In The School Promoters. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Peters, R. S. (1965). Education as initiation. In R.D. Archambault (Ed.), Philosophical Analysis and Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Neill, A.S. (1966). Excerpts from Freedom—Not License! (pp. 11-13, 49-64, 181-185). New York: Hart Publishing. Johnston, B.H. (1988). A day in the life of Spanish. In Indian School Days (pp. 28-47). Toronto: Key Porter Books. Read More