Chris

Mertz
Purposes of Education

As I vision myself in the classroom a few years from now, I see myself following a
Progressivist philosophy with a hint of Essentialism. Just for the fact that I feel at times I will
need to step in front of the class and present information and that would be relevant to what is
being taught. The students will be presented with information on the topic with a lecture style
of presentation. Once they get the information, they will be assigned to independently work or
split into groups or partners to work and discover new information that they will be able to tie
into the subject. My main focus is to have the students learn through self-discovery and having
them think critically.
Education is the process for students to gain knowledge of certain subjects in order for
them to gain an overall understanding of the world and how to apply that knowledge to their
everyday lives. For example, a student will learn about world war two and be able to see the
long term effects that took place during that time and how the effects transferred over years
later. Schooling helps students gain a stronger understanding and speeds up the process of
understanding the knowledge they will obtain. This also is just a step in the road of continuing
education for people. The schools role is to provide structure to students, help them build
social and work skills that are applicable to their everyday lives.
The official definition of democracy is an organization or situation in which everyone is
treated equally and has equal rights (Merriam-Webster). As for democracy in education is

simply the fact that all students in the school have equal opportunity to learn and have to abide
by the rules. Education is very essential to a democratic society. It gives structure to a childs life
and teaches them how to live in a way that is fair for all instead of whats best for them. Having
student government is important to have in schools. It allows students to learn the basics about
how the nations government it is structured and how it operates.

Historical events that have influenced education have framed the ideals that I believe in

and will go by. The first of which is probably the most notorious, the Brown v. Board of
Education. This case only reinforced my belief of every student being equal in the classroom
and that no race is smarter or better than another. An additional event that helped me realize
issues that are prevalent in schools was the Matthew Shepard incident. Bullying was a big issue
in the 90s, when he was killed, and today there is still a strong presence in and outside of the
schools. This is an issue that teachers first-handedly could help influence. History isnt just
name and dates, but they are events that have helped shape who we are today.
Almost every school in America has a population that is either extremely diverse or
sparsely diverse. This population holds students that are LGBTQ, from a minority background,
ones who are singled out religiously, and finally students of socioeconomic status, good or bad.
The mentality of towards LGBTQ has shifted in current years in a way that they are becoming
more accepted and involved in schools. The reality is that these students are still being singled
out in a negative manner and most likely those actions are influencing the LGBTQ student in
and out of the classroom. As the acceptance of these students continues to grow, it will not be
too much longer where a LGBTQ student is treated equally. The pools of students who are from

an ethnic background are equally a part of the education system as any other student. When
thinking about minority students the common thought is that these students are either African-
American or Hispanic-American. These two groups of students still get picked on, but they are
not the only ones. Students who are Arabic, Eastern European, Native American Indian, and
others are ridiculed the same or even worse than the first two mentioned. Along with this come
students who are different religiously from the majority of students. A Muslim female student
can be bullied who is wearing a headdress in respect to her religion and a Jewish male wearing
a Yamaka can be teased when he is only following what his religion believes. There are plenty of
other religions that students follow but if they are a part of a different religion other than what
the other students are familiar with, they will be picked on. Socioeconomic status can be very
broad. Jean Anyon researched different schools who had diversity in wealth related to the
students and she stated there were substantial differences in knowledge among the
schools.(Anyon, 1981) Students who are predominantly more privileged can be taken
advantage of by others or bluntly called out for having more resources than others. On the flip
side, those who are barely making by are called names and have low expectations tied to them.
Students get after each other simply because they do not understand their peers background. It
is easy to pick on those students who are different from the majority crowd because society
today encourages people to fit a social mold and this is where issues arise. With all of this
happening in the schools, the most important two things a teacher can do to help are to create
an equal environment for everyone and hold students to a realistic high expectation. Having an
environment that puts no one student above others will allow the minority students to feel
equal and comfortable in the classroom. Along with that, holding the students to an

expectation where they will have to work to reach will support the notion that no student is
different depending on where they come. A classroom is a community and having peace in that
community will only make it stronger and easier for the students to learn.
Students who have disabilities or who are gifted of any kind should be involved not only
within the classrooms but also outside. They should be involved in some sort of program. This is
where the teacher comes in. A teachers role for these students is to incorporate them in the
general education classroom and accommodating assignments for them. But what is important
for teachers to do, is to encourage and help these gifted/disabled students to become a part of
a social gathering. Examples of this would be to have students be managers for sports teams,
become a member of a club, or volunteer for community service with a group of people. These
activities will gain confidence in the students and provide them with strong social skills as well
as providing them a sense of responsibility towards something. Also, they would receive skills
that would be transferrable to when they start to get jobs. This idea is supported by William
Heward and Rodney Cavanaugh when discussing what special education does for students.
Special education is not a slowed-down, watered-down version of general education. It is a
systematic, purposeful approach to teaching students with disabilities the academic and social
skills they will need to live independent, satisfying, and productive lives, and do it more
effectively and efficiently than could be accomplished by general education alone. (Cavanaugh
& Heward, 2000)
Along with students who have disabilities, students who are learning English as a new
language would also feel out of place in the classroom. The biggest barrier the ELL student

would face would be to comprehend the context of the subject being taught. Schools have had
a hard time infusing education and foreign language into the classrooms. In an Edward Nieto
article he addresses this gap. Nevertheless, school policies and practices concerning language
have by no means been uniform. Rather, they have ranged widely from sink or swim
policies.(Nieto) There are alternative ways for incorporate these students in the classroom.
Some ways to assist the student in their learning would be to show more pictures that relate to
what is being taught. Also to comfort the student, learn about their background and culture and
try to infuse it in class and discuss it with the student about certain things in order to build a
comforting relationship. Teachers shouldnt overplay this infusion because then it would start
to single out that student. In turn it would probably overwhelm them with attention they dont
desire. It is something that a teacher must watch and take note to see when the student finally
shows comfort and leave it at that rather than over exposing it.
In secondary education primarily in history classes, students will be expected to learn
and be able to analyze a document, photograph, art, poster, or anything that deals with a
historical event and be able to explain why the certain event(s) happened by thinking critically.
This practice will allow students to expand and improve their writing skills by writing essays and
short response answers to questions. Along with this, it will encourage students to think deeply
and critically about the topic and in turn will familiarize them to do so in real life instances.
Finally these ideas will improve students ability to read and comprehend information that is
stored in the assigned readings. Another practice that can improve learning is simply group
work. Students receive multiple skills while participating within a group. Each person is
responsible for providing work and ideas toward the assignment and it helps strengthen

collaboration skills. Communication, responsibility and collaboration skills are necessary every
day in and out of the classrooms.
While all teachers want to help students improve their students learning, there are
some policies and practices that hinder more than help the students. One technique that
doesnt provide full retention from the students is when the teacher is standing in front of the
class constantly talking. This bores the student and in effect they will tune out and lose focus
for the class. There is minimal learning occurring during this practice. When students say they
do not like a class or a teacher, it usually translates over to the teacher themselves. They show
disrespect and disinterest in their students which the students reflect back onto the class by the
amount of effort put into the work for that class. One other obstacle that tampers with
students learning is having them do an overload amount of assignments. If a teacher is
constantly assigning homework that is high in work load, the student will eventually get burned
out and they do what they can to finish the assignment instead of applying their knowledge to
it. Also with this, students could give up on the class work because their willingness to do it
disappeared and in result bring their grade down.
In both direct and indirect ways, they bring their families and communities with them.
It is our role as educators to make space in our classrooms and schools for all those who
accompany them. (Pushor) Besides the students within the school, the parent of these
children are the second most important people connected to the school. Parents roles in the
schools are very unique. The reason why is that they bring constructive criticism of what the
school system is doing right and wrong. They also balance out the environment when they do

enter the school. The students get excited that their parents are either witnessing the students
success or participating in activities. The reason why this balances out the school atmosphere is
that the focus isnt 100% on neither the teacher nor the student. Rather it is more 50-25-25
because half of the attention is on the parents, then the other half is split between the students
and teacher. One final area in way the parents play an important role is because having the
teacher-parent communication allows more room for understanding. The parent understands
where the teacher is coming from when a student is assessed and a teacher will understand
why a student might be feeling upset or showing a lack of sleep. There is a common
communication between the two that they can both be on the same page about things.
Without teachers there would not be any schools. Teachers provide the skills necessary for
children to learn in order to succeed. Whether it is academic, social, or life lessons, teachers are
the ones second handedly, only following the childs parents, in dealing with the students
personal growth. The students role in the schools is simply to be in an environment to learn
and grow individually. School for students is more than just learning what X equals or reading
Shakespeare, but its a place students develop and gradually figure out their self-identity. Social
skills are learned in and out of the classroom, forming the sense of responsibility, and
developing a work ethic that is directly translatable into the real world job market. The
knowledge the student learns is important because it broadens the students mind, but the
experiences they learn are far more important because those moments help form that
students identity. Last of all, administrators are the bones to the educational skeleton. They
are the ones who provide the structure for the schools and make sure the system is flowing
smoothly. The principle is the first hand person who takes note of what is happening and if it is

working or not. Also the principle reinforces the rules students must abide by if a student
breaks that, the principle must discipline the student in a reasonable manner. A metaphorical
view on the principle is that they are the Queen Bee of the bee hive which is the school. They
deal with any simple issues that occur but present larger issues to the school board if needed.
The school board reviews the students academic success and make sure that the school is
functioning the way it was intended to. If not, the board will review what needs to change and
if all agree, those changes are applied.
In order to fix issues that lie within the schools with students, the first step I will take
towards the issue is to talk to the student(s) involved. Giving the student a resource, like a
teacher, in order to express any feelings they have or allow them to explain a certain issue to
someone who isnt directly involved. If the concern continues to linger, I would contact the
parents to find out if they have any input on the issue at hand. Parents are a great resource and
they can provide a lot of helpful information towards their students. The largest issue that I see
a teacher can fix is one of inclusion. Including students who are in special education is very
important! I believe that having students who are not involved in the general education
classroom participating with students who are, creates an environment that benefits both
students. For the general education student it provides an understanding towards children with
disabilities that these students are different physically or mentally, but in the end they are both
students with the same interests. For the children in special education it continues to develop
social skills that they might lack. This interaction will also build relationships between the
students and memories that will stick to both students for a lifetime. My main goal as a teacher
to make a difference is to make sure that there is equality in and outside of my classroom. I

know this is a more abstract idea but I believe I can support the notion to make sure equality is
a part of the schools. In the article Why Teachers Must Become Change Agents by Michael
Fullan he supports this idea of equality. working with all students in an equitable, effective,
and caring manner by respecting diversity in relation to ethnicity, race, gender and special
needs of each learner; (Fullan, 1993) Having this mentality will only help create a classroom
environment that is welcoming and comfortable.
Being active in the community by interacting with parents and students will create a
stronger relationship than if I wasnt involved at all. Taking interest in the students
extracurricular activities is an easy way to interact with the parents. This could be done by
showing up to the events, talking to them about it, or encouraging them to take part in those
activities. Taking an active role in the parents lives will again create a better line of
communication between the teacher and parents. This decreases potential issues that could
arise if there was minimum communication. Taking part in the community shows students that
it is important to do something that gives back. If its doing food drives, cleaning road ways,
volunteering to help around a neighborhood teaches humanity to students that people are less
fortunate. This also teaches them diversity in people and to not poke fun at those people
because simply they do not understand their background.

Works Cited
Anyon, J. Social class and school knowledge.
Fullan, M. (1993). Why teachers must become change agents. (Vol. 50).
Heward, W., & Cavanaugh, R. (2000). Educational equality for students with disabilities. (4 ed.).
Nieto Linguistic diversity in u.s. classrooms.
Pushor, D. Are schools doing enough to learn about families?.