To be able to go to college and from there get a job. That was always what I thought my public school education was for. Never before had I thought my public education was for anything else. But now looking at it in perspective of American democracy, my thoughts are different.
The purpose of American public education is to be able to make your own decisions. So that your parents won't always have to. Yes, the education system gives you tools to go into all kinds of fields, but it must teach everyone one thing: to be self-sufficient. A democracy is built on being able to give your own opinion and hear others. Public schooling gives you the power to formulate your opinion and share it. In school they teach you how to find all the facts, through books, computers, and real life situations. Then from the facts you decide. A democracy doesn't want you to just go with the flow. The idea is to see the facts and decide for yourself. This is why public schools are so harsh about cheating. You're just taking someone else's thinking and believing it. By doing this you are contributing to dictatorship ideals. Is it a coincidence that when your public education ends you're old enough to contribute to a democracy? No. Public education prepares you for democracy and citizenship.
In my years at Milton Public Schools, the system has related to this purpose. Public education wants to help you make your own decisions, which eventually will be to vote for senate, president, town offices, etc. And from middle school up through high school, Milton has prepared us to vote by having student council and grade office elections. Another part of Milton Public Schools that prepare us for democracy is gathering our own opinion. Milton has no tolerance for cheating, because they want you to share your own findings. So that when you vote, the country has confidence no one is persuading you in the wrong way. Also, being part of this democracy is about being respectful. In my experience at Milton, respect has always been preached. Being a good citizen is being respectful.
Public education's purpose in American democracy is to mold you to be a good citizen.
Thanks Eric. Your writing style is interesting. You write several sentences that are not, in fact, sentences; they are fragments. I am going to assume that you know this. "To be able to go to college and from there get a job" and "So that your parents won't always have to" are not sentences, but they definitely work. Your style is engaging and I enjoyed reading this post.
ReplyDeleteMy only real criticism of this post is that you offer no specific examples. You talk about your education in Milton, but you use the same vague terms that you express in your first paragraph. Readers love specific, concrete examples. This post would be really awesome if you provided one. Everything you write seems logical. If you had only offered a specific example, you would have garnered a bit more credibility. If you want an example, see Will's example about the Civil War.