The Purpose of Education (Chapter 6 in Experience in Education)

Chapter 6

The Meaning of Purpose

Thus chapter discusses the purpose of education.  Dewey expands on the theme of experience and says there are three aspects to keep in mind when we talk about the purpose of education: observation, knowledge and judgment.  Observe the conditions from which a learning experience “resides”; knowledge of what has happened in similar circumstances in the past; and judgment that is used to help the person signify what is important from the first two which will lead to a future outcome.  This is the “book report” part of this essay.  What becomes interesting is when Dewey talks about the significance of what we observe about schooling/education.  This is no small thing. 

In an effort to untangle the significance of education and schooling, let’s try to look at schooling as if this is the first time we have seen it.  What would we “see” if we were from our sister planet in a far away galaxy?  We would notice that we place our young people in buildings that resemble another cultural icon of our times…prisons.  Once we open the doors and walk inside these buildings (assuming we have the proper identification to get in) we would notice that we further break the students into smaller groups and place them in smaller compartments, called classrooms.  Once we step inside the classroom we notice how orderly the room is including rows of desks.  There is an adult in front of the class telling students information.  In some classrooms we see students in groups working together under the supervision of the adult in the class.  When asked what is happening in the classroom, the adult tells our interloper that the students are learning and that they will be tested on what they learn at a future date.  When asked why this information that is presented to them is important, the adult in the room will say that the students will use it later in life.  After the classroom visit, our intergalactic traveler visits what they are told is the “boss” of the school.  Once inside the principal’s office he asks the principal where do the kids live?  The principal explains to our friend that schools are based on where you live and that each community has their own school.  It is further explained that kids must attend the schools that serve their community.  When asked what is taught in the school, the principal explains that a group of people from outside the community determines what is important, and therefore, what must be taught. 

I am going to stop at this point and discuss the implications of what we have learned so far.

So what, at the basest level, is the purpose of education/schooling?  As I try to dig deep into this question I arrive at one point.  Schooling is for the benefit of society.  The benefit does not come from the content of what is taught/presented in the school.  Rather, what is important is the structure of schooling and what the structure says about society.  (For example, waiting in line for classes, placing our youth in buildings resembling prisons, sitting in rows waiting expectantly to be enlightened, and being subservient to authority.)  This is what society wants from school. This is the true purpose of schooling/education.  Of course John Dewey argued extensively against this type of school structure, as do many people today. All of the “controversy” surrounding curriculum or teaching methods takes a back seat to indoctrinating students to be subservient to authority.  I am not going to argue whether this is good or bad in this blog post, I am just claiming that this is what society gains from “schooling” over the past 130 years. 

The bigger question that is implied is what will the structure of education (or schooling) look like in the future?  One could argue that the structure of schooling will not change.  However, I believe that we are in the midst of a significant structural change right now.  Currently our educational structure is based on the organization of society that occurred at the end of the 19^th century.  As society accelerated into the industrial age, everything about society incorporated the industrial model which was emerging.  What people forget to realize is that this transformation took a long time.  We like to think that this transformation occurred in just a few years or a couple decades.  The actual reality is that the change started in the late 18^th century and did not codify until the early 20^th century.  This is reflected in education (or schooling) as comprehensive high schools became ubiquitous in the early 20^th century.  The structure of industrialization became embedded in schooling and it worked for the needs of society.  I am not forgetting the valid criticisms of the industrial model (including the racism of segregated schools); what I am saying is that the structure served a purpose.  The structure reflected a factory which implied conformity to rules and acquiescence to authority.

I believe we are now in a stage of transition to a new structure.  The foundational pieces are in place. Organizations are being created that can offer learning experience to students, schools and families that move beyond the current industrial model of school.  These new educational platforms will allow students access to learning experiences that were unthinkable a few years ago.  The new structure of education will involve schools becoming a place of facilitation where students access the many different ways of learning available to them.  The new school structure will not have teachers and buildings like we know them now.  There will be various platforms of learning that students will access.  These platforms will become the learning content and instructional spaces for students.  “School” will be a place of access of new learning, not a place of transmission of knowledge.  Education thought leaders that understand this transformation will position schools to be in the vanguard of societal change.  There is a significant change occurring in the structure of learning…do we have the courage to direct this change?