Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Views on Educational Goals of Society
Doug Feldmann, Ph.D.
Abstract
“Why do we send children to school?” This question has been asked for centuries, in various ways, by students, teachers, taxpayers, historians, bureaucrats, and nearly everyone else. It is no less prominent today than when Plato detailed the famous conversation in ancient times between Socrates and Meno on the subject. For when one sifts through all of the political footballing of public education that occurs in the twenty-first century United States, this question is the inevitable ending point to discussion and debate on educational processes. Compulsory attendance laws have existed in nearly all states since 1918 (Rippa, 1992), requiring that young people before a certain age – typically, sixteen years – attend some manner of formal schooling. The purpose that these young people find in schooling is often dictated by local customs and mores, leading to a variety of reasons for having children sit in the classroom each morning.