RUNNING HEADER: Purposes of Schooling

Purposes of Schooling
Laura Stadele
Colorado State University

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What was, is, and should be the purpose of schooling in the United States?
When I first wrote this paper at the beginning of our summer semester here at Colorado
State University I had, what I thought, a very clear understanding of what the purpose of
schooling was. But as I have gone through this course my thinking has changed just a little bit. In
my first paper I focused a lot on how I thought it was important for the teacher to instruct
students on the basic curriculum that is expected of them but to also instruct the kids on how to
be morally upstanding citizens of the United States. In this regard I still think this same way,
after all most [states] require between 175 and 180 days of school and/or between 900 and
1,000 hours of instructional time per year, depending on the grade level (Hull, J., Newport, M.,
2011) and if they arent learning good morals and behaviors at school, where they spend a
majority of their time, how are they supposed to learn them? But, after going through this course
my list for the purposes of school has expanded.
I now believe that on top of teaching my students the basic curriculum and how to be a
successful and respectable human being, that I must be very hyperaware of my students lives
and how they are learning the material based on what I am doing. Before I was really focusing
on what exactly I could do, myself, to teach my students the basic curriculum and how to be
successful in life, but what it really comes down to is the students themselves. I have to be an
active part of their lives just as much as they are an active part of my life. I think this supports
the idea that Richard DuFour gets at in his article, What is a Professional Learning
Community? where he talks explicitly about how educators need to shift thinking from a
focus on teaching to a focus on learning (DuFour, R., 2004, 8). If we implement this shift in
thinking then education will once again become what it was always meant to be about: learning.
What is your role as a future teacher in fulfilling that purpose?

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My role as a future educator will be not only to instruct my students and help them to
succeed, but to create a classroom environment that invites all of my students to want to learn
new things and to be successful on their own. In order to do this a few key things must happen in
my classroom. The first thing that I need to keep in my mind as I begin teaching is that our
schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are designed for extroverts (Cook, G., 2012, 1)
and so usually the more introverted and quiet students get left behind. It will be my job to notice
these types of behaviors in my students and if I can do that I will be better equipped to work with
those types of students and see how I can best foster their learning so that they get the most out
of their school experiences. This also goes along with how I will need to take note of the
different multiple intelligences that are present in my classroom. According to Carla Lane in her
article Multiple Intelligences, the broad spectrum of students would be better served if
disciplines could be presented in a number of ways and learning could be assessed through a
variety of means, (Lane, C., 2000) and so when I become a teacher it will be very important for
me to use a variety of different teaching methods to try to incorporate as many learning styles as
is possible in my classroom so that I can foster to those different multiple intelligences. Plus if I
have a variety of fun lessons my students will be able to engage more with what I am teaching
and hopefully be able to apply my lessons to their everyday lives.
The next thing I need to keep in mind as I begin teaching is that social and emotional
factors play such an important role [in learning], [that] schools must attend to this aspect of the
educational process for the benefit of all students (Zins, J., et al. 2004, 191). Basically what this
means is that on top of teaching my students the material I am supposed to, that I will also need
to keep an eye on the social and emotional behaviors of my students. If I can do this then I will
be better prepared to teach certain students and aide their learning in the best ways possible. I
also think this is important because it is just good as a teacher to know what is happening in the

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lives of your students. Instead of blaming failures on the students themselves see if maybe there
is something socially or emotionally going on that could possibly be distracting them from
learning.
Another key thing I need to keep in mind for when I become a teacher is that the quality
of student teacher relationships is the keystone for all other aspects of classroom management
(Marzano, R., Marzano, J., 2003, 6). With this in mind my classroom management should
become a little easier. Yes I believe that I must assert my dominance and show my students who
is boss, so to speak, but I also believe that building good relationships and foundations with my
students is a great way to build trust and confidence with my students. If they feel like I respect
them and am interested in their lives they will be much more willing to listen to what I have to
say, which means they will be much more invested in their school work.
And lastly I believe in order to help my students to succeed in school and in life, my
classroom will need to be based on dialogical pedagogy. Most classroom settings are based off of
a monological pedagogy in which the students voices are often absent (Balboa, J., Marshall, J.,
1994, 24) which makes the teacher an all-knowing, dictator-like being. But what I want in my
classroom is a dialogical pedagogy in which students can explore topics with me through
discussion and then they will be able to perceive their lives and experiences as important
(Balboa, J., Marshall, J., 1994, 27). This is important to me because I believe that the best type of
learning comes out of discussion. During discussion students can question, they can explore, and
they can create ideas that all pertain to a subject I am talking about, but they can do it
individually. Also this would create a classroom environment that is welcoming and all-inclusive,
where all my students could feel as if they have a voice, and more importantly that they have
something worthwhile to say.
In the end if I can incorporate all of these things that I have talked about into my
classroom I believe I will be a very successful teacher. By creating a welcoming, caring, and

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open environment for my students not only will I be able to engage with them on a
social/cultural level, but they will be able to engage with me, which in turn will make them more
excited and interested in learning new things.
How does schooling continue the existing order?
It is said that in America anything is possible, but is that really true? As a culture, the
United States is obsessed with success. And we measure success usually by how much money a
person is able to make. I think in our fast-faced, money hungry society, education has just
become a stepping stone for people so that they can get a good job and fit in with the rest of
society. For instance if you were to ask anyone in college why they are actually in college, the
answer that you will most likely get is that they are in college to get a better job to make more
money. And because the United States praises wealth a myth about poverty stricken
people/students has started to take shape. According to Paul Gorski in his article The Myth of
the Culture of Poverty, he states that among the many myths associated with low-income
students the chief among these is the culture of poverty myththe idea that poor people share
more or less monolithic and predictable beliefs, values, and behaviors (Gorski, P., 2008, 32)
which can manifest itself in the classroom in many ways. Generally people tend to think that
those living in low-income situations are unmotivated, uninvolved, different, and typically abuse
alcohol and drugs, but most of the time this is not the case. But because of this myth teachers and
most importantly educational institutions do tend to treat those in low-income situations
differently than they would other students. For instance: if a child is particularly unmotivated in
class the teacher could notice but could also write it off because they see that as typical/normal
behavior for low-income students. So, as you can see what is happening culturally/socially is
definitely impacting educational institutions because even though they dont mean to perpetuate
stereotypes or negativity a lot of it comes into the building because of the people that are

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employed in that building. In the end I do believe that our schooling is continuing with the
existing social order, no matter how appalling it may sound, our teachers will always be
influenced by what is happening in society and because of this our schools will also be
influenced by what is happening in our society.
How can schooling transform the existing order?
I believe that schooling could greatly transform our existing order. If we create classroom
environments that are inclusive, open, and respectful with teachers that are passionate, caring,
and supportive, I believe our society would benefit immensely. If we are teaching kids the right
ways to act, and are doing it on an equal playing field then I believe that as those kids grow up
and go out into the real world they will be better equipped to change our society for the better. If
we take the emphasis off of the end game, which is money, we can create more compassionate
learners that are better equipped to deal with reality.

References
Cook, G., (2012). The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance. Scientific
American. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/the-power-of-introverts-a_n_1229320.html?
view=print&comm_ref=false
DuFour, R., (2004). What is a Professional Learning Community? Educational
Leadership, May, 6-11.
Fernandez-Balboa, J., and Marshall, J., (1994). Dialogical Pedagogy in Teacher
Education: Toward an Education for Democracy. Journal of Teacher Education, 45, 2434.
Gorski, P., (2008). The Myth of the Culture of Poverty. Educational Leadership, April, 32-36.
Hull, J., and Newport, M., (2011). Time in School: How Does the U.S. Compare? Center
for Public Education.

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Lane, C., (2000). Multiple Intelligences. The Distance Learning Technology Resource Guide.
Marzano, R., and Marzano, J., (2003). The Keys to Classroom Management. Educational
Leadership, 61, 6-13.
Zins, J., Bloodworth, M., Weissburg, R., & Walberg, H., (2004) The Scientific Base Linking
Social and Emotional Learning to School Success. Journal of Educational and
Psychological Consulation, 17, 191-210.