What is the Purpose of Education?

If you are an educator, you are all too familiar with State Standards and assessments. Educators are often forced to “teach to the test” and comply with State Standards in every lesson. Although I like the idea of specific standards for each subject, topic and lesson, I am weary of what standards are being enforced.
Think for a moment about education as a whole. What is the purpose of education? That question may be too broad, so let’s start with a simpler one: What is the purpose of your specific content area? Let’s use Math as an example. Many would say the purpose of learning math is know how to count, add, subtract, multiply and divide in a nutshell. However, the true purpose of learning Math is to train your brain in problem solving. Problem sloving is the skill being taught and Math is merely the vehicle or the method of teaching the skill. Sure it is still important for students to know how to perform basic functions and know important formulas, but if students learn one thing in Math it should be the ability to logically solve a problem. This idea goes back to last week’s blog about teaching skills over content. Let’s look at another example: Social Studies. We have all heard “if you don’t learn history, you are doomed to repeat it”. Although learning about history is important, the real purpose of history in school is to teach government, citizenship and cultures. It is also used to explain consequences and cause and effect relationships. Again, history is the vehicle for teaching specific skills.
So let’s get back to the purpose of Education. The purpose of education is to give people the skills they will need to be productive members of society. It is a purpose that is all too simple and all too complex. What skills? What does productive mean? What society? These questions are all valid. In order to truly understand this it is necessary to consider the following: Today, when a student graduates from a k12 institution they should be prepare to be productive members of the society. That can either mean going directly into the workforce based on the skills learned in High school or going on to High Education. Either way, graduates should have the knowledge to follow one of those paths. With the skills they learn they should be able to go out into the workforce and contribute to society in some way. However, there is a huge problem with our educational system.
The skills being taught on the K12 level do not match the skills needed in the rapid changing workforce. There is a skills gap that is rapidly growing. Think of it like this: Imagine being taught all of your life how to use a VCR with the hopes of one day becoming a VCR technician. You learn how to record, stop, rewind, fast forward, tracking and everything there is to know about a VHS tape. However, when it is time for you put your top-notch skills to use, you realize that all the schooling you went for was obsolete, and you really needed to know how a DVD/Blu-ray Player works.
Blogging, Podcasts, Wikis, Social Networking, Virtual Worlds, Twitter, are often blocked in many school districts across the U.S. Why? Educators should be incorporating these communication tools into their lessons. I know many people fear that if students use these tools they may be used inappropriately. Well they are RIGHT! Without an education on how to use these tools correctly they will be bound for trouble. Many teens and fresh out of college students use these tools on a regular basis. Why not teach them how to use Social Networking to get a job or wikis to complete a collaborative task. These tools are popping up in the corporate world all over the place. Few know how to use them effectively. Schools need to start integrating skills that students can transfer to other facets of their lives. It is hard to plan for the future, but if you teach in the present, you won’t be left in the past.