What Is The Underlying Purpose of Schools?
Education is an art of appreciating life. The purpose of education is to provide ample opportunities for every child to flourish and grow. Through all the things students are taught should help them develop confidence and to be happy and healthy in their everyday life. School should be a safe place for students to be creative, take risks, embrace and learn from failure. They should be able to have dreams and ambitions about who they want to be in the future. School gives students the chance to learn social skills and how to work in groups, it teaches honesty and hard work. Teachers are amazing because not only are they teaching academics, but they are also teaching about lifelong lessons that help build the foundations for the future of these students.
For Educators to be able to achieve this purpose, it is necessary for communities as a whole to come together. A marginalized student is one that feels left out or disregarded in their school community. Marginalized students may rarely hear positive expectations from teachers or see role models in the media who look like them. As a result, it can be very hard for them to envision a bright future, or any future at all. It can be hard to learn and grow in a place that perceives you as "not fitting in," when that place is supposed to provide ample opportunities for everyone. Education is in need of some change and schools need to focus more on patience and being willing to adapt their teaching depending on the student's needs. If a student feels unwanted or like you're not interested, then they are less likely to learn and listen to what you say. If you make the students feel wanted and excited, it will be much easier to achieve the true purpose of education.
I agree kids should be able to have the biggest dreams and be able to follow them, with the help of teachers to show them the way! I think schools should find ways to meet every child's needs in order for all kids to get a good education.
ReplyDeleteTiyana, I really love your paragraph about the marginalized student. Instead of just talking about the race/ethnicity side of it you really discussed the students who maybe are quiet in class or academics aren't their strong suit so they don't excel. As a student who didn't talk much in class, I really think the marginalized student goes beyond the color of our skin.
ReplyDeleteTiyana, what a beautiful view on what education is and what the purpose of school is. It is so true that so many of our lifetime social skills and learning how to work in groups comes from our exposure to the educational system. Which is why it so important that children have plenty of opportunities to explore these skills and to find the subjects / activities that make them excited to learn, to really help them sharpen their goals and interests. I posted this in another response, but I really think that helping represent marginalized students in extra-curricular activities is important. Extra-curricular activities help build confidence in ways outside of what traditional desk learning teaches. Successful exposure to extra-curricular activities often comes from supportive parents/ guardians and the ability for the student (or their parental figure) to pay the additional expenses that go a long with extra-curricular activities. If one, or both of these things is missing in the picture, then it seems almost impossible for a student to grow and learn from any activities outside their class. So, community efforts are extremely important in helping bridge any gaps that exists in this area. I most definitely agree that making marginalized students feel more included, wanted and like they have an important role as a student, is a great place to start!
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