What is Education?

A Sod School House

 My great grandmother, Susan Beck, was the first country schoolteacher in the community where I grew up.  She had taught school before coming to Kansas, and when neighbors learned that there was a teacher in the community, they asked her to teach their children.  She had two young children, so she felt that was the most important responsibility for her, but as soon as her children were old enough to be brought to school with her, she agreed to begin teaching, although they were still quite young.  The neighbors were so excited to have a schoolteacher, that they built a sod school!  This picture is not of her school; however, there were many communities that built sod schools, just happy that their children could have an education.  

I find myself wondering about education today.  My family has a history of teaching.  Susan's daughter became a teacher, and her nieces followed in her footsteps, as did my generation and the generation that followed.  I am sure that is true of many families.

I have blogged before about my concerns of education today.  Frankly, I disagree with the notion that every child deserves a trophy.  Part of learning is being taught to do your best, but also to realize that all of us are given different skills.  Pretending that everyone is deserving of a trophy is a disincentive, both to the ones who deserved it and to the students who are taught to expect a reward for undeserved recognition.  Sometimes it becomes an excuse for not giving those who need help the extra attention they need.  Sometimes it creates resentment when they leave school and aren't given the jobs they have been misled to believe they could do.  Students need help when their work is not at the level it should be, not a false sense of achievement.  And, students with a "big head" need lessons in such things as empathy, respect, courtesy to value others, with different skills, for which trophies may not be given. 

This blog was inspired by a quote from Theodore Roosevelt.  He said, "To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to Society."

I taught elementary, high school, and graduate school levels, but I have not taught since the internet existed, and I realize that the world has changed.  What a wonderful tool that is, but what negative risks it has also delivered.  

I went in search of quotes about education, and I found many encouraging its importance. However, I found far fewer about the importance of good character and respect for others as an important part of a successful education.   I will close with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.  "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.  Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education."