Running Head: PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

Purpose of Schooling Final

Shannon Able
Colorado State University
EDU 275
Professor Elizabeth Pike
December 16,2015
Meta-Reflection
After writing both my pre-write and my final I used a lot more of the articles and the resources
and discussions in class and I learned a lot more and therefore was able to understand more about
what the purpose of schooling is then I did in my pre-write. I also felt like I understood better the
existing order.

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

Abstract:
A brief overview of the class Education 275, the objectives, the reasons that schooling is
important, educators are important, how education attributes to the existing order, and
how education transforms the existing order. A look at multiple topics taught in the class
ranging from gender to learning styles.
Key words: Purpose of schooling, Purpose of educators, Gender, Learning styles, multiple
intelligence
Introduction
In the class Education 275, there were four main objectives that were explored through
out the course. The four objectives were; 1. What was, is, and should be the purpose of schooling
in the United States? 2. What is your role as a future teacher in fulfilling that Purpose? 3. How
does schooling continue the existing order? 4. How can schooling transform the existing order?
Through out the course these objectives were defined through many concepts. Three of the most
important are the danger of a single story, learning styles, and issues of gender.
Purpose of schooling
What, was and is the purpose of schooling? The purpose of schooling in the beginning
and still now is to educate children to make an impact on the world. It was also to have equal
education available for everyone. In Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality, Joel
Spring states that educators have always said that everyone should have the equal opportunity for
anything including education.(Spring 2013) However, throughout history this hasnt always
been the case when it came to education. One theme that was explored in EDUC 275 was the
issue of gender. The issue of gender has impacted the purpose of schooling because throughout

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

history females havent always received the equal education that they deserve. Gender is still
prominent issue in the classroom because of the amount of boys and girls. The amount of times a
particular gender is called on in the classroom has also been an issue. Its important to realize
how important gender is. It is important not to perpetuate the gender stereotypes in the
classroom. In the world today, women get paid less than men. Men tend to be bosses where as
women tend to be bossed around. (Spade & Valentine, 2007) Whether we focus on gender or not,
being able to focus on teaching kids in a fair, equal environment because everyone deserves an
equal opportunity to learn.
Purpose of the Educator
In order to successfully meet the purpose of school, which is to give everyone the
opportunity to learn there have to be teachers willing to achieve that purpose. The purpose of a
teacher is to make sure their students can learn and have the ability to learn equally. A big idea
thats important for teachers to understand is the danger of a single story. The danger of a single
story is when a person assumes that one person falls under one category. For example, in
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story, Ted talk explains how as an African
from Nigeria people only think of the single story of women who are from Africa. For example,
she had a college roommate who asked about listening to her tribal music. When in reality, she
really listened to Mariah Carey. Her roommate only knew the single story of African women so
she assumed that the stories she heard of Africans was true for all Africans. In her speech, she
said, The single story creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are
untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.(Chimamanda
Adichie 2009)

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

This concept is important for educators because the purpose is to educate children who are
going to be successful and make a change in the world. If educators are only teaching to single
story students, they could potentially have a bias and they might perpetuate that bias. Therefore
its important for educators not to perpetuate the single story in the classroom. Teachers need to
examine each student and learn about them instead of putting them in the single story mold. Also
it is important for the teachers not to put their students in a single story. If they think of the
students as single stories, they might only think of the stereotypes. As a result, they might not
teach the students as effectively as they could.
Continuing the Existing Order Through Schooling
Educating students is very important and contributes to the existing order for many
reasons. The existing order in education and society today is that white people still discriminate
against other races like African Americans and Hispanics. There is discrimination more recently
with homosexuality and gender. Also the human race does not treat others who are low SES very
nicely. Through education today, we continue the existing order because teachers have to teach to
the test. They are only teaching history from the white mans perspective, which allows the
students to become racists and form opinions about the other races. Education continues the
existing order by not teaching children about diversity and other cultures. When you teach
students about culture, they become more aware of the cultures around them. Allowing them to
contribute to and create a diverse culture. Another way that education promotes the existing
order is through gender roles and the LGBTQ community. Education is becoming more
accepting. However, there are still instances of discrimination. For example, there are many
examples of court cases in the article, Fifteen Expensive Reasons Why Safe Schools Legislation
is in Your States Best Interest. This article examines discrimination on the bases of sexual

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

orientation. There were many examples of cases where adolescents were not a loud to participate
in gym class because of their sexual orientation. In some cases they were even bullied. (GLSEN
and NCLR 2005).
Transforming the Existing Order Through Schooling
Even though education is contributing to the existing order, it is also transforming the
existing order. By showing teachers how to teach to their students using learning styles allows
for the children to change the existing order. Learning styles and multiple intelligences are
important for children because they can help them learn and understand. Learning styles are how
a person receives and process information. (Nieto and Bode 2012) Howard Gardeners Multiple
Intelligences is the theory that intelligence is not just being intelligent but now researchers are
saying that there are multiple characteristics of intelligence. (Huerta 2007). It is essential to teach
to the different learning styles and multiple intelligences because then the students will learn a
new way of thinking and no how to apply that thinking to the world. Another important concept
that is transforming the existing order is Dialogical Pedagogy. The Dialogical Pedagogy is where
the students have the voice. The teacher lets them learn traditionally. There has been a
monological pedagogy where teachers have been the voice and the students do not have a voice
in the classroom. (Fernandez-Balboa and Marshall 1994) If teachers use the dialogical pedagogy
in the classroom, students will start to have a voice the classroom. The climate will change and
they will become strong problem solvers. If dialogical pedagogy is used in the classroom, it will
create strong members of society. These members will know how to solve the worlds issues and
help them come up positive solutions.
In the class Education 275, there has been a lot of information about education and how
important educating students are. Throughout the class we discussed the purpose of schooling,

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

the purpose of the educator, how the existing order impacts education and how the existing order
transforms the existing order. In the class these objectives were explored through many articles
and class discussions. This class was very informative about the importance of education. Even
more important how education impacts the world around us.

References

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (July, 2009). Ted Talk [The Danger of a Single Story].
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?
language=en
Fernandez-Balboa, Juan-Miguel & Marshall, James.(1994). Dialogical Pedagogy in Teacher
Education: Toward an Education for Democracy. Journal of Teacher Education, 45(issue
3). Retrieved from
GLSEN & NCLR. (Sep 1, 2005) Fifteen Expensive Reasons Why Safe Schools Legislation is in
Your States Best Interest. Retrieved from
http://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/Expensive%20Reasons%20-%20FINAL.pdf
Huerta, C. Grace (2009). Teacher Practice: Understanding the Work, Educational Foundations:
Diverse Histories, Divers Perspectives (171-175). New york: Houghton Mifflin company
Nieto, Sonia; Bode, Patty. (2012). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of
Multicultural Education. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Spade, Joan & Valentine, Catherine. (2007). The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns and
possibilities. Sage Publications.

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

Spring, Joel (2013) Deculturalization and the Struggle For Equality: A Brief History of the
Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States. New york, NY: McGraw Hill

Prewrite
Schooling in the United States affects every single person from adults to toddlers. The purpose of
schooling is discussed amongst all types of people and everyone has a different opinion. In my
opinion, the purpose of schooling in the U.S should be to teach kids how to be productive
citizens, teach kids how to be independent learners by and finally the purpose of schooling is to
have students who will make the future better for our country. Schooling is important because it
teaches kids to be productive citizens by teaching them to be problem solvers. They are taught
Math, English, Social Studies and Science. The subjects that kids need to know in order to
succeed in the world. The purpose of schooling is to have people who know how learning
develops and how to teach others about their learning. If all we knew how to do was to
regurgitate information, we wouldnt be successful in the world. I think that it is important that
schools in the U.S make productive citizens and people who are going to make a difference in
the world.
One major influence in education is the teacher. I think the role of the teacher is to create
a safe and comfortable learning environment. They must develop students who have opinions
and who can learn on their own. Finally, the role of the teacher is to create life long learners. I
think its important for the teacher to create a safe a comfortable learning environment so that

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING

students can learn efficiently. Students need a place where is it safe to make mistakes and then in
turn learn from those mistakes. I think its also important to create a classroom where students
can learn and teach themselves so that they can be productive citizens. If they do not know the
information, can they and do they have the ability to research to find an answer. Its also
important as a teacher to create life long learners. When students are no longer in school they
need to be able to find solutions to problems on their own or to know where to go to ask for help.
If they do not know how to learn or dont want to learn, they are not going to be successful. Or
more importantly make an impact on the world.
Schooling continues to exist in the same order as it has for many years. If we continue to
teach and educate the students the same, all the problems in the world are still going to be there.
Unless we change to meet the changes in our world, our students are not learning any new ways
of fixing problems. As a result, the same problems will still exist. Also if we do not teach
students how to problem solve correctly, they will not know how to solve or fix future problems.
Finally I think schooling can fix the existing order. I think we can teach students how to
problem solve, so that when they go out in the real world they can find solutions to new
problems. I think schooling can also help students learn how to work well with others. This is
important because students will have to work with people their entire lives. I think schooling can
fix the exiting order because the new teachers coming in, like me, are coming in ready to change
how teacher teach. They are ready to change the students way of learning. Hopefully by doing
this, the students we teach, who are going to be the future politicians, businessmen and health
care workers can change the world.

PURPOSE OF SCHOOING