The Aims of Education

The Aims of Education

Education as a whole has many goals. However, one of its main missions is to teach the children, who will be the leaders of the future. Therefore, it is highly important that the children of today be thoroughly taught in all of the important subjects. This is where a major controversy can develop. Who is to say what is or is not an important school subject? A child can only be taught so much through formal schooling. As a result, a teacher must select what is the most appropriate for the foreseeable future.

For that reason, the education has changed dramatically over the centuries. Today, it is not enough for a child to be sent to weave textiles in a factory, or pick crops in a field. In this day and age, most people are formally educated through college, and some go on to graduate schooling. Yet, children during the Industrial Revolution in Britain were formally taught very little. However, they had mostly informal, "on-the-job" training. A child who worked for years in a factory would become very efficient at what they did, as would anyone who performs the same task repetitively. Unfortunately, the child would learn little about most other matters. A diverse education (as far as materials learned) early on in a child's life can help that child find a job better then manual labor when the child becomes an adult. In Britain, labor laws were passed that set standards for children working in factories. These new levels of work let children go to school until they were teenagers. Although this increase in the minimum age for child labor was a slight one, it can be said that Britain improved as a whole due to the boost in new concepts and new ideas. Therefore, it can be inferred that a high-quality education for a youth leads to a more advanced future.

Another point that Broudy makes about education is that all forms of education can help a child, if they are given to the youth in equal proportions. An education that consists of formal, informal, and non-formal teachings is equally valid, if not better, than an education that consists solely of formal education. It is not enough for a child to know the facts learned in a school, that child must know how to apply the same knowledge when they are employed. That child must also know how to socialize and how to act amongst other people. Only in school does a child learn these extremely useful traits. As children interact with one another while they learn, they gain knowledge of their social surroundings. Broudy argues the point that there is no real reason to separate these different forms of education by giving each a title. However, he concedes to the fact that the definitions do allow people to differentiate and classify people from each form of schooling.

Broudy makes several good points about education, its importance, and its definitions. Not only does education include a child's time spent in school, but it includes all of the forms of education; and the time spent throughout life, not only as a youth. I believe Broudy's facts and philosophies on education are true. An education should be a compilation of formal, non-formal, and informal teachings. A formal education will not teach everything a child needs to know in life. Only by having a diverse selection of teachers from different forms of schooling will a child learn how to not only survive, but also succeed through his or her life.

A child will need more than just a formal education. At a young age, parents should teach the child as much as is possible. As the child grows older, a combination of schooling and on the job training can teach the child a great deal. As time progresses, the schooling will become more difficult, and the job will consist of more responsibilities and more decisions based on judgment. When the child grows to be an adult, he or she will be able to use all of the lessons learned from schooling, experience, and the wisdom of parents and elders. This is a true education, as the person has many references to mentally go over when making complex decisions. That person is capable of doing more than someone who was only formally schooled; and thus will have a better chance of survival in the world. +