Importance and Purpose of Education

Take-Home MidTerm Essay: A Family Letter on the Purposes of Education
Over the first few weeks of class, we have explored the many purposes of education, both in and out of schools. We have examined the historical emergence of schools in different parts of the world (both in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and as part of colonization and so-called “development”), and the many purposes these schools have tried to carry forth. We have examined the “official” purposes of schools, as stated by politicians and policymakers (for creating modern, assimilated, moral citizens or obedient colonial subjects; skilled workers for the labor force; loyal patriots; creative thinkers and problem solvers, etc.), and we have examined critiques and counter-proposals by some educators. This essay assignment should help you sort through the many purposes of schooling, examine your assumptions, and develop clarity as an educator and global citizen.
Use this mid-term assignment to craft a statement about what you view as the most important purposes of schooling today. You should write the essay as a letter to an audience of family members and/or friends, and assume they have little to no familiarity with the material you are discussing. Write the paper as though you are informing someone outside this course what you have learned so far, and how this has helped clarify your thinking about the most important purposes of schooling today. In developing this statement, you must make specific reference to the ideas and theories of at least 5 different thinkers from 5 different readings we have read and discussed over the first part of this course, and you must cite details from them (feel free to mention other authors you may know as well, but at least 5 should be from our common course readings). In other words, your own statement about the most important purposes of schooling should emerge out of a critical dialogue with other thinkers and authors. You may want to use some (bot not necessarily all!) of the following questions as an aid in developing the paper: How have changing historical circumstances brought certain educational purposes to the fore, and which of these purposes have persisted to the present day? Which ideas or proposals from the past do you find useful and worthwhile in the present day, and which do you find useless or misguided? How has your own thinking about the most important purposes of schooling been strengthened or sharpened by your exposure to “new ideas” (even if they are historically “old”)? How does your knowledge about the purposes of education in other cultures and countries, or in settings outside of schools, help you clarify your own ideas about the purposes of schools? Upon looking back at what you wrote on the first day of the semester, how have your own ideas about the purposes of education and schooling been changed so far in this class?
Please consult and read carefully the “Writing Guidelines” that I have attached jere for more details about my expectations on formal writing assignments. The paper will be evaluated according to how clearly you organize your ideas and express yourself in writing, how well you draw on course materials to develop your ideas, and how creatively and imaginatively you state your position. In referring to the authors and readings, you should provide concrete detail in the form of direct quotes or extended paraphrases (make sure you acknowledge direct quotes, and cite the page numbers). Feel free to cut and paste sentences or passages from your own Discussion Briefs. You do not need to include a formal bibliography with full citations if you are not citing readings outside the assigned material for this class. If the readings are from the syllabus, simply refer to the authors and the titles of the readings. This paper should be at least 1,500 words, around 5 full double-spaced pages (11 or 12 point font). It may go up to 2,000 words or a little longer, if you so wish. The paper is due by Sunday, February 25th, midnight, in this Canvas Assignment tab. It is worth 200 points.