The purpose of education

As I was babysitting today I came across a letter written from Columbus City Schools to parents regarding their mission and goals for education. Their mission is "each student is highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community". The first goal listed was "each and every child reaches his/her potential: prepared to go to college, secure a job, serve in the military, or start a business. The second goal listed was "learning environments are student-centered, efficient and stable".

I immediately thought back to the discussion we had in class regarding the emphasis that is put on preparing students to be part of the global economy. While I can see where Columbus City Schools is coming from, I think there is way too much focus on the do this then do that order to "be a successful citizen". Goal two in my opinion should come first, especially for children in elementary school. It is ridiculous for students in elementary school to be worrying about being a citizen in the global economy. What happened to making learning fun and getting educated on things that interest or excite students? The problem with education today is that all the fun and student ingenuity is getting sucked out. It is more of a chore on a person's to do list. After trying so hard for so long in school and being about to graduate in December I find myself having to continually motivate myself to keep going because I have come to resent school.

As I was looking online I came across this article that I found to be really interesting on Forbes.com. The link is http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2012/08/15/what-is-the-purpose-of-education/. I agree with the idea that education does not have a single purpose and I like that the article said education serves multiple objectives, and the relative importance of each of these objectives can be very personal.  The varied emphasis is a result of the diverse economic, social, spiritual, cultural, and political realities of our individual lives. Another point that the article makes is that education is still being based on an information age when really it is conceptual because there are more than a single solution to the world's many problems. The statement that children are moving along an assembly line is exactly how I feel. This article brought out so many thoughts in my head and I would love to hear others' views on the purpose of education.