“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” - Paulo Freire
Summarize the quote in your own words. Which side of the function of education do you believe applies to you? What side do you think is the best for America to function at the highest possible level? Explain and elaborate in no less than 150 words.
- Education is an opportunity for young people to gain all sorts of knowledge about the past, present, and the future. It also gives us the freedom to decide what we might want to do with that knowledge to adjust our future to our liking.
ReplyDelete- I believe that both functions of education apply to me. As I continue through my schooling, I gain the knowledge of different subjects, but I am also thinking about how I will use this knowledge to my advantage in the future. For example, when I acquire a job, I will use select pieces of information that I have learned to help better my performance.
- America should focus on both functions, but if I had to pick the one that America should focus on more, I would choose the first function of teaching the young people about the past, present, and the future. I only say this because I think that America’s younger generations should be educated in the basics before the specifics.
Excellent analysis and response Jenna
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ReplyDeleteIt describes two types of education, one version is when we tell our youth how to do things our way, and tell them that is how it has to be. The other is when we give our goals to accomplish but we don’t give them a set way to do it, this lets them be creative while being critical about it. I think of it as a box the first side are the people who want everyone to think the same and never different so they always think inside the box. While the other side is the people who want everyone to think differently and in their own way they are the types of people who encourage people to think outside the box.
ReplyDeleteI think the second side applies to me I am the type of person who doesn't like to do things by the book. I like to do them in my own way, not the way other people tell me it should be done. I like to think outside the box it; I think it gives me more options and freedom, making the way I do things unique and different from how other people do things.
I personally think that the second way is the better way for America to teach education, because if we were to all think inside the box we wouldn't get anywhere, we would just stay the same. This would allow America to function at the highest possible level, because we would have many different views giving many different perspectives striving toward the same goal, and in the end this would further society than just having a set way to do it.
I really enjoy your comparison between the educational philosophy and a box. Good post David.
ReplyDeleteEducation is a tool used by younger generations to help them grow in many ways. It is a method of gaining more knowledge of your self too. AS people grow up they learn what they like and what makes them react to different thing. Education teaches you all of this.
ReplyDeleteEducation that becomes a "practice of freedom" applies to me. I believe learning about how people handled things and what they went through defines the decisions I make. I like to compare everything I learn to something else. I like to hear what other people did and base my method of learning or reacting off of a little of all.
In my opinion, America should focus on both functions because I think we need a diverse America which means several opinions. If we didn't have mishaps that people didn't agree on, I do not think we would have gotten anywhere.
Experience, even the experience of others, can be a great learning tool.
Delete-Education can be given by teachers in various forms, or can simply be gained as we go older and have new experiences. We begin our scholastic learning at a very young age, and continue it through high school and college. However, we will never stop gaining experience and learning how the world works and how to deal with reality. This kind of education is never ending.
ReplyDelete-I think both sides of education apply to me. I am still gaining and being taught what I need to know, but the time is also coming for me to start making serious decisions about what I want to come for me in the next several years of my life, and I’ve gained what I need to know for this through experience and self-teaching.
-I think in order for America to function, the people not only need to memorize facts in school just to graduate, but they need to know have the experience and street knowledge to operate in the real world. People can become very successful without ever going to college, simply because they have a solid understanding of how the world works. Ideally, having both sides of knowledge would make our nation better, but I do believe that the latter one mentioned is more important in our society.
You make an interesting point about successful people who never got a college, or even high school education. These are the minority, but it does happen. There are many other examples of people who have done well in the structured school system, but failed when they got out on their own.
DeleteEducation is very important to all kids and adults. We gain education everyday whether we realize it or not. Over time you gain education in many different ways, because of all the responsibilities and experiences we go through.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both apply to me in there own different ways. I like to teach myself a lot. I enjoy doing things by myself and trying to figure them out instead of going through the motions all the time in a book. So I would say practice of freedom is more what I lean too.
I believe America would function at its highest possible if they learn "practice of freedom" more. I think this generation needs to focus more on common sense than book smart. A lot of kids now don't have common sense so when they get out in the real world and get jobs, they won't really know what to do. Having book smart is a good thing too. You also need that but common sense is the key, at least in my opinion.
Basically, education exits to brainwash young impressionable children into conforming into the binding walls of our society; or, it teaches us how to rebel against what we’re taught and find our own way. Personally, I think it’s best to encourage individuality and tolerance; therefore, we will learn to deal with (and even embrace) adversity. Also, there is no end to injustices that occur in high school (the “popularity” illusion, favoritism, and the like) that help us better understand that the world is full of the same injustices, only in vastly different circles. If we understand this, we can go into the world with a thicker skin and survive in today’s market. If we can all learn to survive in today’s market, we would become productive, happy, and unique employees and employers.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side of the coin, if we don’t find some form of similarity with each other, there is no way we’ll be able to work with each other and America would fall into deeper pitfalls than it already exists in. Underneath everything mentioned in the previous paragraph, we are able to communicate with vastly different people through certain similarities.
School’s somewhat constricting rules help us comprehend structure, which is necessary for today’s society; however, sometimes the rules can strip us of our individual creative freedoms. If we see these rules and decide to rebel against them, we will hopefully have taken back our creativity. However, if certain rules weren’t in place, we would go to a total madhouse rather than a schoolhouse.
Education to the younger population is either a way for society to integrate them into the ways of the world as they know it, which means to show children what to do and how to do it, so that they can do so later in life, or a way for children to experience the knowledge of being older, wiser, and more responsible, of which says that, to children, education should be seen as a way to express who they are, rather than oppress them as they may think.
ReplyDeleteI see education as the latter opinion. I see it as a way to show to world who I am rather than vice versa. Education, in all sense, is myself showing my capacity to learn and apply my learning to situations that call for it. I also feel that America should view it as I do. It would increase children to want to learn, rather than having to.
Education can either be a place to be yourself and grow as a person or to destroy one’s creativity and make us all like one another. Everyone takes what they learn in school differently and no two ideas are alike. We can either use those ideas to be innovative or we can edit them to fit those around us. It is all how we utilize the information we absorb in our years at school.
ReplyDeleteI believe the “integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity” side is the one that applies to me. The basic principle of school is to teach us subjects that will help us in our daily lives or prepare us for college. We can take these ideas we are taught and form our own opinions; however, when you have 60-100 kids around the same age in one building, things tend to get clique-y. People want to be around like people and when we reach adolescence, especially, we just want to feel accepted or part of a group. Creativity cannot really be encouraged when the peers around you give you weird looks or make snide comments when you say or do something really out there. So, we don’t always share those ideas for fear of those looks and comments.
I think both are best for America to function because people working together, whether it is in the workforce or in society, need to be on the same wavelength. However, we also need to be open to new ideas. If we close ourselves off to new ideas, then we miss countless opportunities for growth and learning.
Hunter Thompson
ReplyDeleteMr. Bing
American Literature
8/29/13
What the poem really meant to me was that education is a valuable thing for the future to educate our younger men and women and children. It says that it educates them for the world ahead of them and prepares them for the outside world. When is says that “education either functions as an instrument” is saying that if the instrument isn’t functioning right then the education isn’t going right then the education isn’t working then the system going to work and it is going to fail. When it talks about the facilitation of the younger generation and the expansion of them and how they are going to succeed in school and in college and in life. The poem in summary is meant to tell us about how the educations of the youth of the next generation are preparing themselves for the nexr generation.
I think this quote is saying that education could go two ways: it could either teach students how things are normally done and forces them to conform to those ways, or it allows students to discover new ways of doing things on their own. I don’t think either statement is entirely true. There are several factors that affect education, including teachers, students, the school, and society’s influence. If teachers teach only one way of doing things and never allow students possibility of alternate ways to do things, then they aren’t doing their jobs. They are trying to make students conform to how things are always done, but it’s possible that one of these students could be the next Einstein, or Ben Franklin, discovering new and better ways of doing things. By not allowing students the option of creativity, they are possibly depriving the world of genius ideas that we could all benefit from. As a student, I learn how things are done, but I also try to keep my mind open to new or better alternatives. Society as a whole would benefit by not shutting out ideas just because they are new. We should all be open to new things because that’s the only way we can move forward.
ReplyDelete- I feel like this quote explains that education either works as a tool to educate kids in the current system of what we want them to learn or give them the comfort in education to take their own path in what they want to do. We can teach them what we know how we have been teaching or give them the boundaries to take their own paths into what they want to do with their life and career. I feel like this is the governments way of teaching kids order and to build their intelligence into society to better our jobs, technology, and careers.
ReplyDelete- I feel like both apply to me because I have been taught a wide variety of subjects that I can take and use in the future if I need too. I am able to take all the things that have been taught to me and decide which I like best to take the best path that interests me in the future.
- I feel like America should continue with the ways of education in that they have been using but also to encourage kids to get on their career paths of what they want to do at a young age. They should continue to do it because it builds intelligence and structure in what we learn all our life but we could also strengthen it by have kids specialize in it earlier to have more time and focus on the thing that they are going for.
Brittany Greathouse
ReplyDeleteEducation is something most of us have to go through. It is a stage of life, as I've come to accept, you go through many changes in school. Whether it's elementary, middle or high school. And whether we like learning or not, it is a fact of life.
As we learn and grow, we are getting ready for our future life. I use English a lot in my life. It applies to my hobbies as well, I love to write poetry and write song lyrics. That takes a certain mental state of creativity to fabricate poems.
English is a big part of our culture. If we didn't have it, we all run our words together and no one would use punctuation. We would have no correct communication. Some and most of people do not realize how much and how important it is to use correct terminology.
Thank you.
Education is a very open way to learn so many things about yourself and how education can benefit your life in two different aspects.
ReplyDeleteBoth functions of education really apply to me. I obviously learn many things to help me in the future with my college studies and later on with my job. Yet there is a side of me that makes education a "practice of freedom". Not only the education, yet the teachers can teach you so much about the real world and truly try to prepare us for the future through education both "freely" and "instrumentally".
I honestly think America should focus on both. They both help in such tremendous ways. Yet I think they should focus more on teaching "instrumentally" so more children will learn about the past, present and future through out their life and through their schooling.
Thank you for reading. Shout out to Vanessa for help on the last sentence!
I feel like the quote tells us how vital education is for a bright future. As people grow older they gain more knowledge which will be passed on to the next generation. If we want to have a bright future the youth must be educated because one day they will become the elders and there will be another generation of the youth that will need education.
ReplyDeleteI believe the “practice of freedom” applies to me the most. The older I get, the more I learn and the more I can do on my own. One day I’ll be living on my own and making all of my own decisions so it is very important that I am educated and can make the best choices for myself.
I believe America would be best off with the “practice of freedom”. As a country, we would be better off with people that can survive and succeed on their own without being constantly dependent on someone else.
Education is a vital component in today’s society. It has led to a greater understanding of those around us, and has given us a greater ability to work with one another. We can learn how the past has affected us, and how we can improve for a brighter future.
ReplyDeleteBoth functions of education describe by Paulo Freire apply to me. Though it brings out a sort of conformity in me and my peers, it also presents more and more opportunities for everyone to find something that sets them apart from the crowd.
Both functions of education can benefit America in many ways. But if given only the choice of one, I would choose for young people to learn of the past. I believe that this would be the most beneficial because it will prevent past mistakes from being made, and for future generations to look back on ours and see a great progression in our nation.
The quote describes two different interpretations of education and how different people interpret education. It also tells how important education can be in life.
ReplyDeleteI personally fall under educating myself for life so I'm actually being taught things that will one day be one useful and help people succeed in life and to make someone a better person others might prefer to be taught random e and useless things that are not needed in life just to get by. But at the same time everybody is different and learns different ways. Some of us learn better by being taught while others learn better when we teach ourselves.
I think America needs to better educate itself instead of teaching nonsense. It would better prepare us for what lies ahead of us. Teaching us what we need to know will help us achieve higher goals in the future instead of knowing random things that are not as important.
• The education system can do two things, it could teach the younger generations to become a part of society and the working class, or, it could teach them to live their lives their own way, and spark their creativity, then possibly change the world.
ReplyDelete• I hope to be a part of the education system that is trying to get out of the main stream work force, and achieve above expectations of my peers. I would like to be in a career involved in science that helps change the everyday life of the public.
• I think the U.S. should try to inspire the younger generation to leave the world better than the way they came into it. If the children of the U.S. grew up wanting to improve things, better the life of the public, and make a safer country, not just get a job to get by, the country could create solutions to problems or improve lives. For example, Steve Jobs created a large company that connects though ground breaking devices.
I believe the quote is saying that education is what we make it. We can either accept it and have success in life or to do nothing with it. Basically there is two pathways to take. You have the freedom to decide what you want to so with your education.
ReplyDeleteI think that both sides portray me. I take in what I need for my future and still remember the things I don't or won't need as often. I don't think any school can fully teach you everything some things need to be self taught by mistakes or commen sense.
The U.S. needs to focus on both sides the generation needs both to be able to survive. I think we should be taught after 8th grade based on what we are doing in our future life or what we plan to do. The basics need to be taught from grade 1-8.
Noah Sturgeon
ReplyDelete8/29/13
I believe that the first part of the quote applies to me as a student. Education in a school is used by teaches and then we in turn receive it. It is a part of growing for the younger generation and I believe that it is necessary. The other half of the quote, “the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world,’’ makes me think of anyone after school you have already obtained your education and now you go into the work force and eventually find a job. Education doesn’t stop when you in school though. You then have the opportunity to change anything by doing your job and going beyond what is required of you. This can apply to anyone outside of school. Something that really stands out to me is that education is the key to success.