28 August 2019 Sociology of Ed., Intro (Discussion #1)
What do you think the purpose of education should be? Are current educational systems operating towards this purpose?
I believe that education serves a number of purposes. Ideally I think it would be a “Great Equalizer” in the sense that people would come out of education having achieved a standard form of opportunity—one that would provide an individual the ability to support themselves on a living wage and pursue family, recreation, or further education as it pleases them. Something I wonder now is how fixing the biases of society would reveal the successes and failures of education, and vice versa, in being that “great equalizer.” I don’t believe an equitable school alone can overcome prejudice against an identity.
Under our modern American circumstances, I believe an emerging purpose of schooling is to teach students critical empathy, a way of maintaining one’s compassion and emotion as a part of rationalization. The economic system under which the United States functions is capitalist, competitive and, often by design, callous. Our culture frames k-12 school as a means of “getting ahead” or the cause of “falling behind.” How circumstances proceed after that become personal success or failing—which I believe conflict theory calls the “achievement ideology” (Sadovnik 6). Currently, critical empathy develops when engagement with a variety of perspectives is fostered in a learning environment—however, as times grow more divisive and identity politics more strained, it becomes clear that even simple empathy is often stifled and not a universal value. It is not a priority of American secondary schools due to the overwhelming pressure to perform, compete, and succeed at the expense or degradation of others.
Identify a current issue in education. Why do you believe this to be an issue or problem within the greater system of education? Are there certain individuals or institutions you believe contribute to this issue/problem?
A current issue with education is that the way schools are funded leaves schools in certain areas with far less funding than those in affluent areas, often for a greater volume of students. The snowball effect continues segregation and subjugation of race and class. By the time people understand the systemic issues of their circumstances or communities, they are motivated to move somewhere with greater opportunity. As individuals they are not equipped to uplift the communities or even their extended family from whom they are forever distanced by education.
Administration on the federal, state, and local levels contribute to this, but so do wealthy people who send their students to private schools or charter schools. I went to a private school and often my mom would make complaints about how she and my dad still had to pay income tax that went to public schools because neither my brother nor I were in public. As a kid I did think it was absurd that we were paying for “others.” By creating separate, “superior” locations for education, generations of students are enrolled in a system that rewards their ability to devalue and ignore their less privileged counterparts. I guess what this makes me wonder is if it is possible to utilize education to socialize people to be more socially conscious, or if the influence of privilege and political parentage is always going to more powerful, positioning students along party lines despite their best intentions.
I believe that education serves a number of purposes. Ideally I think it would be a “Great Equalizer” in the sense that people would come out of education having achieved a standard form of opportunity—one that would provide an individual the ability to support themselves on a living wage and pursue family, recreation, or further education as it pleases them. Something I wonder now is how fixing the biases of society would reveal the successes and failures of education, and vice versa, in being that “great equalizer.” I don’t believe an equitable school alone can overcome prejudice against an identity.
Under our modern American circumstances, I believe an emerging purpose of schooling is to teach students critical empathy, a way of maintaining one’s compassion and emotion as a part of rationalization. The economic system under which the United States functions is capitalist, competitive and, often by design, callous. Our culture frames k-12 school as a means of “getting ahead” or the cause of “falling behind.” How circumstances proceed after that become personal success or failing—which I believe conflict theory calls the “achievement ideology” (Sadovnik 6). Currently, critical empathy develops when engagement with a variety of perspectives is fostered in a learning environment—however, as times grow more divisive and identity politics more strained, it becomes clear that even simple empathy is often stifled and not a universal value. It is not a priority of American secondary schools due to the overwhelming pressure to perform, compete, and succeed at the expense or degradation of others.
Identify a current issue in education. Why do you believe this to be an issue or problem within the greater system of education? Are there certain individuals or institutions you believe contribute to this issue/problem?
A current issue with education is that the way schools are funded leaves schools in certain areas with far less funding than those in affluent areas, often for a greater volume of students. The snowball effect continues segregation and subjugation of race and class. By the time people understand the systemic issues of their circumstances or communities, they are motivated to move somewhere with greater opportunity. As individuals they are not equipped to uplift the communities or even their extended family from whom they are forever distanced by education.
Administration on the federal, state, and local levels contribute to this, but so do wealthy people who send their students to private schools or charter schools. I went to a private school and often my mom would make complaints about how she and my dad still had to pay income tax that went to public schools because neither my brother nor I were in public. As a kid I did think it was absurd that we were paying for “others.” By creating separate, “superior” locations for education, generations of students are enrolled in a system that rewards their ability to devalue and ignore their less privileged counterparts. I guess what this makes me wonder is if it is possible to utilize education to socialize people to be more socially conscious, or if the influence of privilege and political parentage is always going to more powerful, positioning students along party lines despite their best intentions.
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