Name: Jung, Seowon
Class : ESL100

The Purpose of Education

What is the purpose of education nowadays? Why do people try to teach other people? In the past, people wanted to teach children about life and how people interacted with one another. However, nowadays, our parents want us not to live a dull life among other people because our parents are worried about children living with other people in a society filled with difficulty. Therefore, I firmly believe that a good education should not only teach intelligence but also teach sensibility because I think our children already have a smart brain. However, on the contrary, we have seen from the newspapers and TV that they have lost their sensibility and are becoming crueler.

When I was a high school student approximately 15 years ago, I studied math, English, science, ethics and 10 other courses. The ethics was a required course for every student in Korea until now. However, I thought that ethics was not a necessary course for me because, my parents and teachers wanted me to get high score in math, English and science. Therefore, I neglected learning ethics and I think Im sometimes ill-mannered until now. Do students learn the ethics in their schools now? I question whether they learn even though I do believe it is one of the necessary courses. In Japan and Korea, some students have left their classmates in the cold for no reason. The only reason that people can come up with is that the children want to be cruel to the other students. This a social phenomenon that has been a problem among the students. The intelligence of the student is getting higher every year, however, the crimes of the student are becoming crueler. The government and parents want the children to be helpful to people or someone who will make lots of money. However, the students have become more competitive with their friends to get ahead in school and survival their jobs. As a result, peer pressure has become a significant issue and there is less of a concern about the childrens personal development and social skills in off-campus life or extracurricular activities.

Now, Im studying again, but I’m not studying ethics. What is it that I studied when I was high school and a university student? If I learned ethics while I was a high school student, I might have grown into an adult faster. What is growing into an adulthood? Is it being older than 21 years old? Or is it graduating from high school? My view on this issue is that growing into adulthood is being a level-headed person who can tell right from wrong. People can still learn about culture and get social skills, and become a good person even though they may be living under strict regulations from society and schools. In conclusion, a good education is to make children a man or woman of decent character and growing their intrinsic quality. Besides, by investing in our children now, we are investing in our future.