WHAT SCHOOLS ARE FOR

Schools are a public service and are therefore a servant dependent for support on their clients. A major problem that schools face is how to balance the demands of the client and still educate the students. The author states that schools are to promote critical thinking, literacy, and cultural enlightenment and a sense of devotion to the nation-state; these goals must not be divided since the promotion of free individuals results in the building of a free, democratic state. The quality of a school depends on the process that takes place within; education can become corrupt if external pressures restrict its goals.

Education prepares one for vocation, society and a changing civilization, and present and future life satisfactions. The author reports Dewey's contribution to the definition of education which states that education must make human beings who live life to the fullest, rather than to simply make citizens. Education is therefore viewed as helping the process of an individual becoming whole or flourishing. To evaluate education is to evaluate this process, which requires the extraction and understanding of what

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needs of the student. The question of how schools are to satisfy demands and still educate the students, is reflected on with examples. The author makes his position clear that the making of individuals is important for the building of a nation and therefore it is imperative that this educational process be understood. In other words, if the goals of the client continue to be manifested as efforts to re-do curriculum, the goal of building an individual and a nation will not be reached. For example, the goal of a stronger society will not be met with a lack of individual growth. Next the author uses a list of school goals to further exemplify his philosophy. He consistently points out that the interpretation of each goal is important. Current interpretations are viewed as not tending to facilitate the growth of human qualities that are required to come to terms with life; examples are used to support these conclusions. The author concludes that these goals are settled in the socioeconomic-sociopolitical marketplace, without consideration of the student or the educational process, and are therefore corrupt. This conclusion is consistent with the author's views, but is unsubstantiated. One point that lacks consistency is
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Approximate Word count = 2410
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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