I am a teacher, so of course I think everyone needs to go to school. However, and this is a big one, I don't think school should be compulsory. It is frustrating to see students who genuinely want to learn placed in the same class as students who are just passing their day. I think a system that allowed students to explore options other than secondary education (internships, apprenticeships, community service opportunities) would make many students realize why school is so important in the first place. It is amazing to see the difference between students that want to be in school and students that don't. Let's give students the opportunity to realize for themselves how important education is.
There is a political overtone to this question as well. Dictatorships thrive on an ignorant population. When we first operated as an independent country, even under the Articles of Confederation, we emphasized education. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set aside provisions for publicly funded schools. In part, for a democracy to function at its most efficient, or so the argument goes, the voting population needs to be as well educated as is realistically possible so they can make more rational decisions regarding our leaders. This would help ensure our democratic institutions.
Going to school is certainly one way to gain an education. However, going to school is much more than merely attaining academic essentials. School, for many of us, is our first foray into the wider, more diverse social world, a time and place for us to leave the confines of the nest and test our own wings in a broader community. School, then, is much more than the "three R's;" it's a place and a process for seeing one's worth and potential.
Absolutely everyone needs school but in different capacities. As a teacher I feel that it is in a way my responsibility to make school relevant for each and every one of my students. They all have different interests. If I can discover a way to engage them then I have won the battle.
School is also necessary for socialization skills. Kids need to learn how to interact with one another in appropriate ways. School helps to achieve this.
I cannot stress the value of education enough, and I am an educator, but I also think that education needs to be targeted to meet each person's individual talents. Some people are good at the arts, some at sciences, and others at mechanical tasks. I don't think that everyone needs the same education. Some people would do well to focus on building or make things, while other people would do well to focus on creative efforts - dance, music or painting. Still others find that they like studying the hard sciences, and that is the direction for them. The problem that I see in education is that we keep on tyring to make everyone the same - give everyone the same education in the same subjects within the same time frame -...
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and that does not work because human beings are decidedly NOT all the same!
Although I believe in education, we can gain knowledge in a multitude of ways outside the classroom walls. As well, I do find that some of the content delivered in a traditional school environment is repetitive and impractical. However, school is a comforting place to not only gain knowledge, but to develop in areas of socialization and self-worth. Furthermore, it gives students the background knowledge that they will require to be contributing citizens in society.
I agree with post #5 about the fact that education has opened many doors for women and for the poor. Many women hold high positions and many people who were at one time unable to go to school because of lack of money are able to pursue an education. However, we still have a long way to go in terms of equality in the workplace which unfortunately, does not always relate to the level of education one has attained.
It really depends on what you think about education. I don't think we should force every child to go to school. If you take away the choice, you are automatically downgrading the value of the time spent there. I also disagree with the post that very few people are curious enough to learn on their own. I believe very strongly that every child is curious and motivated to learn, though many of them cease to be motivated when we start forcing them to go to school, forcing them to learn certain subjects in certain ways and at certain times rather than being allowed to focus on what they want and what they are interested in.
Children all learn to walk and to talk and to eat and do all kinds of complex things to make sense of their worlds. Then they go to school and suddenly we say some are motivated and some aren't. Could it be just that school only appeals to certain kinds of kids? Could it be that school and learning are two different things that sometimes intersect but not always?
School today is designed to sort kids into the haves and have nots and to then designate certain kids as worthy for certain things based on arbitrary standards or considerations. Forcing everyone to go to them to be sorted, etc., could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.
I agree that ignorance is a terrible thing, but school is not the only solution to that problem nor is it always the best, and sometimes it may in fact encourage ignorance by stifling curiosity, destroying children's desire to read and think outside the box, and telling them that only certain things are "worth" learning.
I think that we all need to be given opportunities to learn. Whether that is in a traditional classroom setting or some other setting I am not sure it matters.
It is not about GOING,really, but about becoming "scholars" that the whole thing with education begins. There are plenty of reasons for people to become educated, no matter how. The importance is not neccesarily where it happens, but how and when. Homeschooled children have made it to Harvard just like privately educated students have end up as bums. Just find what drives you and put it into practice. That is the best education of them all.
Very few people are naturally curious enough to seek knowledge without the help of qualified experts (teachers) to guide them. On the contrary, most humans are lazy and unmotivated except in the areas that interest them. Schools and the teachers in them help push and encourage the population at large to better themselves. Be honest, would you seek knowledge in the areas of school which are difficult for you if left on your own? Probably not. For me, that would have been math...and that would have been tragic. Had I not been taught the basics of math, today I would not be able to balance a checkbook, consider the best deals at the grocery store, and figure out the dimensions and plans for building the storage buildings and greenhouse I wanted last year. There's also a lot of math in music which I love! So you think about that. Many students have difficulty in English...without the skills to read well, think and reason well, listen well, and speak well, how far do you think you would get in the world? Most every other academic area requires you to be able to do all of these things well in order to succeed.
School is necessary, and the quicker the stinkin' thinkin' is turned around, the quicker you will learn to enjoy the process instead of loathe every minute of it. Good Luck!
One example of why going to school is essential can be demonstrated by looking at the history of the poor and of women. Name a field, and for centuries it was dominated by men: wealthy men, in fact. They were the only ones with education. Now that education is mandatory for all, women excel in almost every field, and the poor certainly have more opportunities than in the past.
As a teacher, I too, see value in education and continuing education. At the same time, however, I cannot deny the fact, that our schools cater to those who intend to pursue college educations. What of those students who want to pursue futures that do not include college? They are sometimes, and too often, deemed less significant than those who decide to pursue college. I think empowering students to be lifelong learners whether that be in college, the workforce, or life in general is why we need education.
Unless you happen to be extremely talented in some way, you can't get a very good job without going to school. Maybe you can make it if you are hugely talented in music or computers or whatever, but for most of us, education is necessary.
Also, a lot of people (including me) think that it's more fun and more rewarding to understand as much as we can about the world than to be ignorant.
Stupidity and ignorance are terrible things, and school helps to eradicate these traits. It was drilled into me at an early age that grades were important and that a college education was a must, so I never considered otherwise. As a longtime school teacher, I am more aware than most the importance of continuing education: It creates brighter individuals who excel in the workplace and earn more money which creates financial security throughout life. I realize that there are plenty of jobs--and well-paying ones, too--that do not require an advanced education, but even in most of them a continuing knowledge of the specific field is important.