When we had the open discussion about education on Wednesday, I found myself thinking very in depth on the topic. My assertion was, “I believe that we are educated so in order to become productive members of society.” After I made that comment, many people proceeded to ask about high school drop outs and people that did not partake in the privilege of a public education. I reacted to these comments by saying, “I did not necessarily say that education is school.”
Look at many wealthy Americans today and you will find that many of them were not formally educated in school. Many musicians, actors, wealthy businessmen, and entrepreneurs do not have their high school diplomas. For example Jim Carrey, Ray Charles and even Albert Einstein were not formally educated in a school. These examples clearly show that to be educated you do not have to attend school.
As a nation, the first thing that comes to mind when we hear education is school. Has anyone ever thought of anything that is not taught in school to be defined as education? For example, morale values, religion, and often times perspectives on issues are not taught in school. We are educated at the home, just as much as we are in school.
Education is everywhere, not just in the school place. At home, in nature, in church, simply in the everyday world there is education. I believe that we are educated to become productive members of society; however you don’t have to attend school to achieve that. Everyone has the opportunity to be educated, just not in the same ways. Simply take part in every day activities and you will become educated.
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I agree with Brian that education allows us to e productive members in society, but is not limited to schools. Every day we learn from one another, so school is not the only place we learn. We educate one another through meaningful discussions in which we share our own accumulations of knowledge and our opinions. Families provide people for us to engage in these conversations with. My family will often talk about a controversial topic at dinner and we will all share our thoughts on the matter and learn things from one another. Brian also mentioned religion as a means of education. Through our religious institutions, we learn discipline, structures, morals, and values. Learning these enables us to be productive members of society, too.
ReplyDeleteMany careers in our world do not require a formal education, but instead on-the-job training. Even without a high school degree, there are jobs in landscaping, construction, culinary arts, cosmetology, or in retail. It is also possible to start your own business based on your own skills if you have minimal education. Sure many of these jobs may not be considered desirable or financially supportive, but who's to say that these employees are not "productive members of society"? Employees are needed in every single one of those jobs, so therefore they are being productive members of society. On-the-job education is often given to these employees and that serves as their education.
Education exists in many areas outside of the school. It teaches us values, principles, morals, and skills for which we then shape to make our own personal knowledge. We then use this knowledge to become productive members of society to support ourselves and one another. School is definitely an important structure in our education, but it is not limited to there.