Education
is a term which encompasses the teaching of specific
skills[?], and also something less tangible but more profound:
the imparting of
knowledge, good
judgement and
wisdom.
Education begins the minute a
baby is born and is life-long. Education may even begin before
birth as evidenced by some parents playing music or reading to the
baby in the womb in the hope it will influence (educate) their
child before birth. For some, the struggles and triumphs of daily
life are far more instructive than formal
schooling (Thus
Mark Twain: "I never let school interfere with my education.")
Family members have an educational effect which is quite
profound -- often more profound than they realize -- though family
teaching techniques may be highly informal.
Formal education occurs when
society makes a commitment to educate people, usually the young.
Formal education can be systematic and thorough, but the
sponsoring group may seek selfish advantages when shaping
impressionable young scholars.
Life-long education has become
widespread. Many
adults have given up their notion that only
children belong in school. Computing devices can change when
and where we learn. This is the computer based or networked
learning structure, in which people contribute to each others'
education.
Major educational issues
in the United States center on curriculum, funding, and control.
- What type of school works
best.
- How to teach reading:
phonics vs.
whole language
-
Evolution: whether to
teach evolution as a historical truth, or simply present
evidence and how it supports various theories.
-
sex education: how much
to teach about
sexual intercourse, and at what age; is purpose to reduce
disease and out-of-wedlock
pregnancy, or what?
- "diversity" and hate speech:
to what extent may students be required to tolerate or even
approve of repugnant people and practices?
- Dumbing down of curriculum:
high school graduates often at 6th to 8th grade levels in 3 R's.
Each state government provides
free
schools for residents, funded by
taxes (often on real estate).
-
Vouchers: have voucher
programs helped students learn better? Or do they damage public
education? What are the trends?
- Spending: is there any
correlation between per-pupil spending and student achievement?
- Class size: does hiring more
teachers to reduce the teacher-student ratio have any
correlation with student achievement?
- Who's responsible for a
child's education?
- Who decides curriculum
contents: what should be mandatory, what should be forbidden?
There are some facts. In U.S. law
parents have the ultimate responsibility for, and authority over
their children's education. The crucial tests of this legal
doctrine occurred in attempts to sue public school officials for
malpractice, in cases where, for example, illiterate young people
graduated from high-school. The U.S. Supreme Court (Wisconsin v.
Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972)) defined the proper goal for education
as "literacy and self-sufficiency," that is, an educated, not a
socialized child was recognized as the essential goal for the
U.S.'s democratic republic. This decision is now interpreted as
court recognition that parents have a fundamental right to choose
the method to achieve literacy and self-sufficiency, that is to
educate their children.
-
Classical education --
Reading --
Math --
Language --
Science --
Ethics --
Physical education --
Religious education
-
Primary education --
Secondary education --
Tertiary education --
Quaternary education --
Higher education --
Vocational education --
Post-secondary education --
University --
College --
School --
Further education
-
Literacy --
Testing & policy --
Education reform --
School choice
-
Early instruction[?] --
Home schooling --
Unschooling --
Democratic Schools
-
Philosophy of education--Teaching
method --
Instructional theory--
Learning theory --
Learning disability --
Instructional technology --
Education Psychology[?] --
Behaviorism
