The Purpose of Schooling

[Banefull]

Originally Posted by Aquaplant

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That touches on a lot of things that require changing.


Briefly mentioned but not expanded upon is the need for higher standards. I have the impression that standards in schools are just way too low.

When it came time for me to go to high school, I had two options. I could have gone to the public high school in my town, or my family could have paid thousands of dollars in tuition to send me to a private school. I consider myself fortunate enough to have had opportunity of choosing the second option.

Now I do not intend to involve religion or boast but to quote one of my university professors who recently said: "Roman Catholic schools are excellent at providing an education. You rarely see someone who graduates from a [Roman Catholic school] that cannot read or write at a proper college level."

Just to illustrate the differences: At my high school, 98% of students graduated on average per year, whereas, 60% of students graduated annually at the nearby public school. In fact in my graduating class of 2010, every single person graduated out of a class of 225 even though my shcool had a more difficult grading scale and higher standards. You could say that economics plays a role; however, my high school gave free rides to many disadvantaged students of various levels of intelligence, yet they all graduated and excelled at standardized tests.

I am under the impression that schools have lowered standards over the years so that more could simply graduate; however, lower standards bring lower expectations. If school seems easy, then everyone just takes it as a joke and does not work hard. My English teacher would often discuss the appalling standards of public schools with her class. One day, she brought in a textbook used in public schools. She handed out a pamphlet containing George Washington's complete farewell address and then showed us the version contained within the textbook. The textbook version was four paragraphs long with the text simplified so that a third grader could read it. (the actual address in this link)

Schools should also teach more of the liberal arts such as rhetoric, debating, philosophy, humanities, etc. A lot of people dismiss them but as someone who took such classes, I can truly say that they are extremely important for going far in life.