Public education
From RationalWiki
Public education is the provision of state-funded education to a country's residents, or, more generally (and taking history into account), the provision of publicly-funded education to the residents of a given region.
The existence of public education itself is largely uncontroversial (although in the United States movements to privatize the entire system have gained increasing clout), and most debate concerns the material being taught, the nature of funding, and the ultimate goal of the education system.
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[edit] International comparisons
Every year the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) carries out an international comparison of students around the world. The most recent period for which data has been released in 2006. [1]
In OECD countries the top five were Finland, Canada, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, and Hungary. The UK came 18th and the USA 28th out of 30. The only two countries with a lower combined science literacy scale were Turkey and Mexico. [2]
[edit] Education goals
One can ask why it is necessary to send children to school from the age of four. A number of possible explanations occur which will appeal to different segments of the population. These include:
- To give their parents some peace and quiet.
- To socialise children, in other words to teach them how to get along with their peers.
- To indoctrinate children into the particular world-view which happens to prevail in a given society, whether they be religious, political, racial, etc.
- Associated with the above, to teach them the moral values of the society where they live.
- To teach them something about maths, history, Latin etc.
- To teach skills and behaviors deemed beneficial to their likely future employer.
- To teach them how to think for themselves. (Improbable but possible.)
It is probable that the goals of the education system change along with the age of the student.
[edit] Attempt by conservatives to hijack the education system
[edit] History of public education
One reason for attempts to improve the overall levels of literacy was so that more people could read the Good Book and benefit thereby.
[edit] Alleged history
Oh, no, evil industrialists founded the education system to churn out obedient little factory workers! Clearly the nefarious goals of men who died 100 years ago should lead us to dismiss one of the most beneficial services provided to us by the government!
[edit] Compulsory vs. optional attendance
Compulsory attendance takes away children's freedom, and their parents', if non-public education options are not allowed (such as private schools or arrangements such as homeschooling). On the other hand, if attendance were optional, students would elect to sleep in until 4pm.
[edit] Privatization
Some people feel that, since public schools are aimed at producing productive citizens, they should be owned by the people who will later be employing the students. This is called privatization, and many many other things, mostly four-letter words.
[edit] See also
- School
- Homeschooling
- Public school (Something quite different in some countries)
