The Purpose Of Schooling

In my opinion, the true purpose of schooling is to provide an inclusive and safe environment with equal opportunities to teach students how to learn, interest students in learning valuable knowledge, prepare students for life after school, and to promote social relationships with peers. How could this be achieved?

1. Create Positive Socialization Among Students

In “The Unfinished Century of the Child”, Mintz discussed how more socially favorable peer groups such as athletes would reject persons in peer groups that were not socially accepted. This lead students to not enjoy schooling, feel unsafe at school, and have low self esteems. In an ideal world, schooling would be a safe place for students where everyone learned to accept and respect everyone. Because this is not an ideal world, schools should be equipped with school therapists to help students with their emotional needs caused by bullying. In addition, schools should implement different interventions to try eliminate bullying. These could include bullying awareness and prevention activities and holding students accountable for their actions. By preventing these negative relationships among peers, the purpose of creating meaningful relationships with peers in a safe environment could be accomplished as a purpose of schooling.

2. Increasing Learning by Incorporating Student Interests into the Curriculum

Teachers are required to teach content based off of the curriculum regardless of whether or not the content interests the students. In an ideal world, the purpose of schooling would be to motivate students to learn by teaching things that interest them. In Egan’s “What is Curriculum?” he discusses the concept of open education which involves student’s interests in formulating the curriculum. Teachers facilitate learning and focus more on teaching students how to learn rather than the content itself (Egan, 1978). This idea of open education would promote student learning which is the ultimate purpose of schooling. This can also relate the controversy over ethnic studies. In the documentary "Precious Knowledge", the teaching of ethnic studies engaged students, increased their desire to learn, and improved academic performance. Many students of different ethnic backgrounds feel left out due to the absence of their ancestral history in their education. This isolation also can lead to disinterest in the curriculum due to the lack of personal relevance. With open education, students could learn what they wanted such as ethnic studies which could satisfy one of this purpose of schooling.

3. Implement More Effective Bilingual Education Programs to Achieve Learning for English Language Learners

Often, children who are English language learners are victims of linguicism which is discrimination on the basis of language. Students who speak a language other than English are commonly required to neglect their native tongue and forced to learn in English. This can be detrimental to academic success for students because they will have more trouble learning the content when they are not proficient in English. These challenges can lead to frustration, low self-esteem, social isolation, and high drop-out rates (Schniedewind & Davidson, 2000). In an ideal setting, the purpose of schooling for bilingual students would be to help them learn English while preserving their native tongue and cultural identity. This could be possible by hiring bilingual faculty, using technology to help students learn English, and having classes for parents of bilingual students to help them learn English and practice at home with their child. There are also more affordable ways to value a student’s native language as discussed Jacqueline Jules article on ways to support English language learners. Some of Jules’ suggestions include providing books in languages other than English and books about countries where the students were from. In addition, Jules’ suggests using visual aids to help the students learn English. She also encourages use of audio resources and translating materials to send home to families (Jules, 2016). By implementing these resources, English language learners would be able to learn more leading to increased academic performance and comprehension, and they will feel as though their culture is included and valued in their school.

4. Educating, Including, and Preparing Students with Disabilities

Similar to English language learners, students with disabilities require assistive resources in order for them to meet their learning needs. Education for students with disabilities has greatly improved due to laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that was created to protect their rights to education. With the laws that have been created, schools are forced to provide these resources to the student (“A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement”, 2017). Students with a disability create an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with their parents and faculty to establish what accommodations are needed for the student’s learning and to assess if the goals for the student are being met with these implementations (McGahee-Kovac, 2002). Schools are also required to allow the student with a disability to spend as much time in the general classroom as possible which is referred to as mainstreaming and inclusion (“A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement”, 2017). This also helps to achieve the social purpose of schooling because it allows students with disabilities to engage with their peers without disabilities. This idea of mainstreaming allows students with disabilities to not feel isolated from their peers. Mainstreaming has created social benefits for both students with and without disabilities due to the ability to interact and learn from each other. Although rights for people with disabilities have come a long way, there are ways to further support people with disabilities. Schools need to promote post-graduation plans such as attending a university for students with disabilities. Schools should also help students with disabilities who do not wish to go to college find jobs. Schools need to teach all students ways to prepare for life after school to achieve one of its many purposes.

5. Promoting Learning and Inclusion for Students in the LGBTQIA+ Community

All students need to feel accepted by their school and their peers. In order to do so, cisgenderism needs to be eliminated. There needs to be more books in the curriculum involving the LGBTQIA+ community. Like the English language learners, students who are in the LGBTQIA+ community who do not feel as though their identities are involved in their schooling may feel isolated and unaccepted in the school. In addition, learning about the LGBTQIA+ will increase understanding for students who do not identify as LGBTQIA+. This could lead to greater acceptance for these students. Through education and awareness, these bullying rates could decrease (“Bullying and LGBT Youth”, 2015). Students who are transgender should be allowed to use the restroom that corresponds to the gender they identify with. Schools should also create all inclusive bathrooms for students who are nonbinary (“Transgender Students and School Bathrooms: Frequently Asked Questions”, 2017). Along with bathrooms that support gender identities, if a school has dress codes or uniforms, they should be nonbinary in order for all students of all gender identities to feel comfortable in their clothing. Thus, student clothing or the bathrooms would not interfere with their learning if these ideas were implemented (Mattern, 2018). With these implementations, schools would achieve the purpose of being an inclusive and safe place for all students to learn material that interests them.

References

A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2018, from https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/disability-rights-movement

Bullying and LGBT Youth. (2015, August 17). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/bullying-and-gay-youth

Compulsory Education Laws: Background. (2018). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://education.findlaw.com/education-options/compulsory-education-laws-background.html

Jules, J. (2016, February 12). 10 Ways to Support ELLs in the School Library. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/10-ways-support-ells-school-library

Kieran Egan (1978) What Is Curriculum?, Curriculum Inquiry, 8:1, 65-72, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.1978.11075558

Mattern, J. (2018, July 10). Finally, a School District With a Gender-Neutral Dress Code. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1135940/sexist-dress-codes-gender-neutral-school/

McGahee-Kovac, M. (n.d.). A Student's Guide to the IEP. Retrieved December 05, 2018, from https://www.bridges4kids.org/StudentGuideIEP.pdf

Mintz, S. (2006). The Unfinished Century of the Child. In Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harward University Press.

Palos, A. (Director). (2011). Precious Knowledge [Motion picture on Online]. United States: Dos Vatos Productions.

Schniedewind, N., & Davidson, E. (2018). LInguicism. In M. Adams (Author), Readings for diversity and social justice (pp. 129-130). New York, NY: Routledge.

Teenage: An Inside Look at The Invention of Youth Culture & Adolescence | The Takeaway. (2014, March 13). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.wnyc.org/story/teenage-inside-look-invention-youth-culture-adolescence/

Transgender Students and School Bathrooms: Frequently Asked Questions. (2017). Retrieved December 05, 2018, from https://www.genderspectrum.org/bathroomfaq/