The purpose of education?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Intriguing perspective from an educator at the Hyde Schools (family-based character education), especially as I think of texastaximom’s thread on cheating in her HS
Link and some excerpts below:
<a href=“http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/mvoice/050610gauld.shtml[/url]”>http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/mvoice/050610gauld.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The purpose of education should be to prepare us for life. But what passes for “academic proficiency” today doesn’t develop character, the true foundation for success and fulfillment in life. One poll of highly proficient high school students found 80 percent of them have cheated; half of those polled felt cheating wasn’t necessarily wrong, and 95 percent hadn’t been caught.</p>

<p>This lack of integrity is now being expressed in wide corporate and insurance fraud, legal and medical overbilling, tax evasion, journalistic and academic plagiarism, resume padding, electronic piracy, sports steroids, workplace theft, shoplifting and so on. We have become a cheating culture.
…
America must rely upon its schools and colleges to produce wise and ethically strong leaders and citizens.</p>

<p>But our present education system is clearly failing in this responsibility. Former Bowdoin College President Rob Edwards called today’s students “ethically unformed . . . many with anxieties that have been sanctified.”</p>

<p>At our four Hyde Schools, all education is built on the development of character:</p>

<p>Curiosity: I am responsible for my learning; courage: I learn the most about myself by facing challenges; concern: I need a challenging and supportive community to develop my character; leadership: I am a leader by asking the best of myself and others; integrity: I am gifted with a unique potential and conscience is my guide in discovering it.</p>

<p>Once students truly internalize the power of these qualities, we find they are never willing to give them up in life, no matter what the circumstances. …</p>

<p>A new emphasis on character in our elementary and secondary schools would redirect students from the present outward drive for ego successes to the inner development and appreciation of their deeper intellectual, emotional and spiritual potentials. …</p>

<p>Then we will truly achieve “no child left behind,” by fully developing every child’s character.</p>

2

<p>Nice sentiments in the article, but I’m not too sure how this can be implemented in government schools. I honestly don’t think there is a chance for improvement without universal vouchers. As long as parents have no practical alternative, government school teachers, administrators and the NEA will continue to ignore parental complaints of all sorts.</p>

<p>My husband and I have worked hard to pay for private schools after it became apparent early on that even the “best” public schools were completely out of sync with what we felt was important for our kids to learn as they were growing. IMO, you cannot have different standards depending on the setting (home, school, church, club, etc.) and expect children to somehow weed through it all and reach adulthood with a solid sense of self.</p>

<p>A large part of what we have tried to teach our sons is that one purpose of education is to instill appreciation of learning for its own sake. You never know when learning that seems irrelevant, petty, or boring at the time will suddenly provide you with a deeper understanding of something, someone, or yourself later.</p>

3

<p>I disagree that values cannot be taught in public schools. In fact, my children have been at both public and private, and so far, I must admit, I was surprised at the sense of community and interest in community service seen at our public school, as compared with the private schools attended. They may not preach it in the classroom, but it is definitely present through example. However, my experience is limited to our local schools, which are small in comparison with most public systems.</p>