Yesterday during methodology class, we got asked a profound question concerning our profession: What is the aim of education? After some prolonged silence, this is what our group came up with:
#1 We are preparing children for life
School is a system, life is a system. Learn to cope in the school system, you can cope in life. In school, students come into contact with different subjects and different subject matters. The classroom should – figuratively speaking – extend into the world. Real-life topics and current affairs should be discussed, and are to be linked to subject matter. Unfortunately, not all teachers appear to be able or willing to take this into account when planning their lessons. Sometimes ‘the system’ doesn’t allow a lot of room for the real world.
#2 We are promoting economic growth
The Netherlands are great supporters of a knowledge economy; educating people to become lifelong learners and innovators. This, it is argued, would benefit our economy. Inherent to this love for the knowledge economy, is that you preferably take subjects in the field of science: physics, chemistry and mathematics. These are considered to be the hardcore and useful subjects. Studying languages or social sciences is considered to be a waste of time by the general public.
#3 We are giving children choices
The better your education, the more choices you have. More doors open to further education, in turn increasing your options on the job market. However, even if you have more choices, it is generally not done to go on to vocational training when you could go to university. Also, you’re limited by the subjects you picked. Furthermore, a higher level of education does not necessarily mean better education and vice versa. In class we teachers tend to limit the choices students have. I know that several of my students, for instance, are great artists and would like to draw and write poems and stories during my lessons. I take their choice to do this when I tell them to put their drawings and poetry away and focus on the lesson.
#4 We are making sure they’re having fun
Although I would not consider myself a teacher who insists on students having fun at school all the time, I do recognize the importance of ‘fun’. Some teachers are quite adamant on making every lesson ‘fun’ for their students. Referring back to the first point I made, not everything in life is fun; sometimes you just have to do something that you don’t necessarily like. You have to grow some perseverance to cope with those situations. No one could deny, however, that having fun is a great motivator and you need motivation to learn. When there’s only stress and no fun, we tend to secrete the hormone adrenaline, which indirectly negatively affects the operating of the prefrontal cortex – the area in the brain regulating cognitive behavior among other things. Endorphins help to ease that stress and can give the prefrontal cortex a breather.
You might be able to tell from the above that, for me at least, the question was not a very uplifting one. When I mentioned this to the teacher, she said that if you reach the conclusion that there is no aim to education or that you are unable to incorporate some of your ideals in your work, you might want to consider looking for another employer or for another profession altogether. I thought that was a bit unfair, but hey, I probably shouldn’t blame her for being ignorant of my passion for teaching.