I was reading a book on educational theory that suggested that, to help clarify educational goals, it was helpful to look beyond the obvious reasons we do things (“Everyone should be able to read!”) and ask yourself why. It gave this list of suggestions; finish the sentances:
Students should:
think for themselves in order that…
acquire a love of learning in order that…
seek excellence in order that…
be able to read in order that…
write and do arithmetic in order that…
attain high achievement scores in order that…
acquire demonstrable skills in order that…
exhibit courtesy in order that…
I imagine these will be very individual, but I was wondering what other people would think. I find that I am certain that some of these are important, but putting the ‘why’ into words is harder than I expected. (I’m not so sure that high achievement scores has a ‘why’ that I can consider essential.) What do you think?
You know I could only think of one answer for most of them
In order that they can function and achieve at the highest levels of society for the betterment of all overall.
For reading I would teach it purely for enjoyment first 
Not sure thats actually my goal for education but that’s what my brain was telling me :biggrin:
Students should think for themselves in order that… they are not misled by charlatans, pseudo-scientists, or other bad influences
Students should acquire a love of learning in order that… they never stop learning. There is too many interesting new things happening in the world to have a negative view of learning.
Students should seek excellence in order that… they are proud of their own accomplishments and become the positive influences of the world.
Students should be able to read in order that… they learn for themselves, and not rely on others for their information
Students should write in order that… they express their thoughts clearly to others.
Students should do arithmetic in order that… they understand the language of the universe, or at the very least can mind their finances.
Students should exhibit courtesy in order that… they are the people with whom they would like to share the world.
Students should attain high achievement scores in order that… they can brag? LOL. I don’t care if kids score well on tests. It’s completely irrelevant to being a good person, or a successful person, or a happy person.
Students should acquire demonstrable skills in order that… in childhood their mother doesn’t have to put up with the BS of people that cannot do any of the above.
Lol, carpe vestri vita, I love the way you phrase your last two answers! I agree. It’s funny, high achievement scores and demonstrable skills seem to be the Holy Grail of traditional education, and what purpose do they really have? Nothing much.
I’ve been thinking a bit about my answers. Here are what I’ve come up with:
Students should:
think for themselves in order to be able to find and recognize truth.
acquire a love of learning in order to find joy in learning and doing new things throughout their lives.
seek excellence in order to establish a pattern of seeking to improve throughout their life.
be able to read in order to have fun and learn.
write and do arithmetic in order to communicate information to others.
attain high achievement scores in order to brag. lol
acquire demonstrable skills in order to achieve in their life’s work.
exhibit courtesy in order that the world becomes a more courteous place.
All of these would also include, “and to improve the world by encouraging others to do the same.” There is also another level of “why” that ends up being very religious, so I decided not to include it; it probably wouldn’t apply to most people. But it does give me lots of things to think about when teaching my children.