Purposes of Education by Schanell

Purposes of Education by Schanell - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

Throughout history, the purpose of education has changed and evolved to serve the needs and desires of society. For instance, at times it has been used to assimilate immigrants into mainstream society. During the 20th century, education was used to prepare workers for the industrialized workplace. Ultimately, the purpose of education progressed from producing a literate public through tutoring the youth during the religious doctrine, to producing a learning society that is instrumental in the preparation and transition of life in a democracy and beyond. In my opinion, the purpose of education is multi-faceted. Some of the purposes include developing intellect, serving social needs, contributing to the economy, creating an effective work force and preparing students for a career. Below, I will describe some of these purposes more in depth.

First a foremost, the obvious purpose of education is to increase intellect or knowledge. Education promotes the fullest possible development of every learner. It helps individuals to realize and meet their full potentials. In addition, education teaches students cultural tolerance. In school, individuals learn what is called cultural literacy. Cultural literacy means having knowledge of the history, background, contributions, and perspectives of different cultural groups. In some cases, this may even include a better understanding of one’s own culture and history. It is especially important because throughout a lifetime, individuals encounter many different people with different religions, cultures, beliefs, values and much more. When they meet these people that are different from themselves, education helps individuals to be respectful of others.

Another purpose of education is to develop a skilled and effective workforce. Having an education demonstrates hard work and accomplishments. Especially if you graduate from college, it symbolizes that an individual has a mastery of certain skills and trades. Education creates qualified doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, architects, accountants, professors and more. It is also very effective in helping individuals to compete in a global marketplace with the skills and trades that they have learned and acquired.

The next purpose of education is to prepare students of all ages to become members of society. As John Dewey once said, “the purpose of education has always been to everyone, in essence, the same—to give the young the things they need in order to develop in an orderly, sequential way into members of society.” Obtaining an education sends informed, active and diverse people out into the world. It helps students to living morally, creatively, and productively in a democratic society.

The last purpose I will be describe is how education helps students become critical thinkers. According to Martin Luther King Jr., “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically…” Critical thinking is the careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true or false, or what steps to take. It is important for understanding, comprehension and performing purposeful, deliberate and thorough thought processes. The critical thinking skills that are learned in classrooms are applicable to real world problem solving and decision making.

All in all, I believe education serves many purposes. It opens many doors and helps individuals to mature at different times and in different areas of their lives. Education is not the end all be all but as the old saying goes: the more you know, the more you grow.