Today, as we were discussing Gatto’s essay, I started to think about school and the pros and cons of it. To me, school has a lot more positive things about it instead of negative. So far we have completed twelve years of school; within those twelve years we have grown into the people we are today. I believe school is not only a place to learn about History, Math, and other subjects, but also a place to learn to communicate well with others. In Gatto’s essay he talks about a few people that have done well in society and they never had to go to school like we do now. I believe everyone is different. I have met some of my closest friends at school, I have learned how to work well with others, and I have also pushed myself to do well and try hard at whatever I do. If I had been home schooled my entire life I certainly would not be the person I am today, but maybe that is just me.
On Tuesday, we talked about the pictures that were taken in some sort of school environment, the main thing I got out of discussing these pictures were that kids enjoy the social aspect of school. Kids may not always want to go to school to learn and study but most kids do love to go and socialize! School is a good place to learn to talk to others, share, and work well with other kids. Not only is school a good place to socialize but also a place to learn… imagine that. Going to school, especially a liberal arts school like Cofc, we are given the chance to learn about new ideas and information that we would have never known about if we were not in school. Some students think school may be boring but it all depends on how you look at it. Every day you learn something new, whether it be from your studies or from the people you talk to.
Few people believe going to school is a waste of time because you “waste” time learning about subjects that will not benefit you in your career path. Even though you are learning information that is not specifically related to what you want to do in life, the “waste of time” subjects can help you in other situations. For instance, when you go to a holiday party with your boss you could impress him with the supposedly random information you learned about in school. You can never say the information you have learned about is useless because you never know when you might be able to use it!
All in all, I believe school is a very important place. Everyone can benefit from going to school in some way!
Building on your support of a Liberal Arts experience, Katie, I’d say that it’s so important to remember that learning is limited if it’s seen as simply a means to a particular end–training leading to a certain kind of future employment. We are far more than future workers, with our employment just one aspect of what we do and who we are. Understanding the world, and developing tools for thinking about and engaging in it, is a central aim of this kind of education.