Why do we do school?

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Recommended: Define education as social institution

To understand the problems of the educational system, we must first understand how society defines society. “Education the process by which a society transmits knowledge, values, and expectations to its members so they can function in society.” (Ferris & Stein, 2010) Education is theoretically a process for the members of society to remain aware of what is going on in the world around them. In society, education is used to pass down generations of information. It also provides a person with basic knowledge about the rules and regulations of society; we also learn what happens when we break those rules. Sadly, this is not reality. Education today is faced with a plethora of problems.

Since I left my mother’s womb, education was one of the first phenomena that I encountered. It was quite simple, if I worked hard and prospered in school, then I was guaranteed a life of success. I went through my school years naïvely believing that this was a possibility true for everyone. In a perfect society, education is completely equal and fair; everyone has the same chance of achieving. However, what I have come to realize is that America’s education system is nothing close to perfect. With a system plagued with racism, discrimination, and false ideologies, most of our young ones will barely make it out of elementary school without scars. The United States has focused its attention on a false narrative that is running our schools into a dark abyss.

This false narrative begins with a character named individualism. Even before our children enter school, we train them to compete against everyone else. Competition becomes a part of our foundation. Instead of grading our children on their personal achievements, they are graded compared to oth...

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...on, P. (2007). The seven deadly sins of no child left behind. (pp.744-748). New York, NY: Phi Delta Kappa International.

6. Kohn, A. (1992). No contest: The case against competition. (p. 11). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

7. Reel Link Films. (2012). Race to nowhere. Retrieved from http://www.racetonowhere.com/

8. Take Part. (2010). Waiting for superman. Retrieved from http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/

9. The National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983, April). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html

10. U.S. Department of Education. (2012). No child left behind. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

11. U.S. Department of Education. (2012, January 12). Race to the top fund. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html

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