The Purpose of a Public School Education

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As an educator, living in a country where public schools are not as praised, or in the eye of the public, are not as strong as they are in other countries, I constantly ponder about the question: what is the purpose of public school education? Lots do not contemplate about the purpose of public schools, forgetting that this question is probably at the base of all schooling.

As I started to dig deeper into this topic and really think about the purpose of public school education, I took to my fellow colleagues to ask them what they think it is. The results of our discussions and conversations were astounding, and I realized that many teachers never really took the time to think about this. Their definitions about education in itself, as well as, what the purpose of public schools education is, vary widely. The most common answers were: o to provide universal education, o to provide basic education, o and to fulfill students’ needs

Providing a universal education means that the system should be devised to function for all children, regardless of socio-economic backgrounds; public education has aided in bringing together distinct parts of society, thus functioning on social equalization. Also, many stressed that the purpose of public schools is to provide a basic education (obligatory for all citizens until grade 6), and at its heart teaching the three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, in contrast to this, some teachers believed that there are several purposes for public schooling, going beyond academic goals, such as creating citizens who are able to participate in their societal duties, training students for jobs, and some even went on to say that it is a form of child-care service. Many proposed that the re...

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...ching that is ineffective), as well as issues that are not in the hands of the schools (low funds, little support from the community, poor communities).
Many people see these setbacks as a reason to support private education instead of public schooling. However, in a society with no public schooling, education would be privatized, and this would likely harm the society. Private schools will end up accepting the students who achieve high and come from families who can pay the tuition. What would happen to the rest of the children in the society? Can we count on a private institution to educate students who can’t afford to pay the tuition? Can we expect a private institution to blindly enroll all students, regardless of their economic or social background, or their personal needs? Can you imagine what kind of world we would live in if it had no public schools?

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