TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

Transformative Teaching: The Purpose of Schooling

Amanda Nickless
Rereading my original draft containing my reflection on the purpose of schooling in the
United States, brought one main word to mind: nave. While I, and probably almost everyone
else, am far from being an expert on the educational system and on teaching, I can identify that I
have already begun to grow and learn more about the field I am aspiring to enter. In my first
write up of the assignment, I honestly feel as though I coined a lot of the same ideas about the
purpose of education that I did in my final essay. The biggest difference, however, is that with
understanding of lecture combined with the readings, my second essay felt much more
emotionally charged and more passionate. It was almost as if I knew what I thought I was
supposed to say when responding the first time, but now and elaborate and can truly connect
these ideas to each other and do me. Through course work and interactions with other students, I
was able to first handedly experience some issues and aspirations surround the educational
system. My second response is much more developed. Overall, the growth is evident and I
extended far lower than the surface level explanation that I began with.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

Education has served a prominent role in the society of the United States since the arrival
of the first peoples to the continent. As a society, we cannot function without education.
Education provides a social and political context where ideas are introduced and shared.
Education is the means in which a population creates a successful society. Analyzing the
overarching questions in relation to the purpose of schooling, the responsibility of the teacher,
and the conformity to existing order, allows for the understanding of the role of the education in
United States society.
When considering the origins of school, its hard not to picture a small prairie
schoolhouse in colonial America. While this was certainly a step in education, forms of
education that differed much more than the current form arose before this. For example, Native
American tribes had a legacy of oral traditions through which they taught and learned. The
purpose of schooling began as a means to create more productive members of society. People
would be educated in certain trades in order to serve society. I truly believe education began as a
process to help all individuals and to promote society. However, modern society has begun to
lean towards and foster a more competitive and conform based society. Not only do schools now
encourage students to each be the best of the class, but they need to do so in one specific way
(Fernandez-Balboa & Marshall, 1994, p. 24). As Banks states (2001), The traditional goal of
schooling has been to socialize students so they would accept unquestioningly the existing
ideologies (p. 236). Instead of fostering an environment for individuality and for expansion
of ideas, students are being taught to only think in a certain way. If a student does not think in
that specific way, they are bound to fail. The purpose of schooling should be to encourage
growth and intellectual and social expansion. As the Dalai Lama says (1999), What is the
purpose of our life? Of course, I believe that is happiness (p.85). Although this is vague and

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

open ended, the Dalai Lama is oversimplifying to remind his readers that the ultimate goal of
most things should be to create a happy life. Whatever a student decides to pursue with his or her
life, schooling should help prepare he or she for that future. More than as individuals, education
is supposed to give students the tools to further society as a whole and to encourage participation
in the democratic system (Fernandez-Balboa & Marshall, 1994, p. 24). If students are taught to
accept and conform, they are not stimulated to attempt to change the existing order and become
valuable members of society. To put it simply, the purpose of schooling is for the advancement
and benefit of the population as a community, although this is not always reflected in current
systems.
As a future teacher, my role is to encourage the growth that leads to more active, and
happy, members of an advanced society. According to the Dalai Lama (1999) it is
shortsightedness that needs to be changed in the context of schools and teachers need to focus
on expanding purpose for the good of the community. By encouraging a global sense of
importance teacher can help not only expand knowledge, give purpose, and encourage new ways
of thinking for students, but it encourages participation in the society. According to FernandezBalboa & Marshall (1994), If we agree that teachers play a crucial role in the development of a
democratic society and that dialogue is an intricate part of democracy, we may concur that
teachers must be prepared to practice and foster dialogue in the classroom (p. 31). Encouraging
participation and the ability/desire to question is crucial to my role as a future educator. Creating
a large scale impact for a community comes from the attention to students as individuals
(Landson-Billings, 2006, p. 31). The ability to foster and develop genuine relationships with my
students will allow for a better and more respectful community which they can then transfer onto
a larger scale in the social and political world outside of schooling.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

As I mentioned previously, in the competitive society present in the United States, school
has become much more about telling students the cookie-cutter way to succeed, and allowing
them to do only that. According to Banks (2001) A mainstream-centric curriculum is one major
way in which racism and ethnocentrism are reinforced and perpetuated in the schools, in colleges
and universities, and in society at large (p. 225). If students are taught conformity instead of
diversity, then schools will function only to continue the existing order and provide no
encouragement for students to become valuable members of a diverse society. Classrooms have
been formed as monological pedagogy, where the students are not allowed or encouraged to
participate in discussion (Fernandez-Balboa & Marshall, 1994, p. 24). Although, hopefully, the
United States is making strides towards a focus on different types of education where students
voices are valued, set curriculums taught to all students in ways that do not support
differences, are evident all across the United States today.
On a more positive note, education has always and will always serve as a way to knock
down barriers and to allow individuals and communities to question the dominant discourse. The
clich saying, knowledge is power, certainly continues to hold true in United States society
today. By creating opportunities such as scholarships and financial aid, students otherwise unable
to rise out of their current socioeconomic level are capable. The more students know, the more
they can question, and the more likely they are to create change and promote the well-being of
society. In certain classrooms, dialogue is encouraged, and the students meet to share ideas
(Fernandez-Balboa & Marshall, 1994, p. 25). If this type of celebration of diversity can
successfully begin in the classroom, it can then follow those students and teach them to utilize
those skills in the context of the larger society.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

In the United States, education is a requirement. Considering that the average student is
expected to be in school at least until the age of eighteen, thinking and rethinking the system is
always necessary to meet the needs of the millions of students that participate in it every year.
Education is a foundation for change, and this should always be its purpose: to create individuals
that better their society, and as the Dalia Lama would say, create happiness.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

References
Banks, J. (2001). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In Banks, J. & Banks. C.
(Eds.), Multicultural education (pp. 226-246). New York: Wiley.
Dalai Lama (1999). Education and the human heart. In Glazer, S. (Ed.), The heart of learning
(pp. 58-68). New York: Putnam.
Fernandez-Balboa, J. & Marshall, J. (1994). Dialogical pedagogy in teacher education. Journal
of Teacher Education, (45), 3, 172-182.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). Yes, but how do we do it? In Landsman, J. & Lewis, C. , (Eds.),
White teachers/diverse classrooms (pp. 29-41). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

Original Paper
Education has played a critical role in the culture and politics of the United States since
the countrys birth. Education was originally created to train individuals to service the
community. Without a system which gives members the proper tools to service the needs of the
whole, the community would fail. However, this focus on individuals bettering the entire
community has certainly shifted in the present day competitive society. Schooling today has the
purpose of eventually getting students into the working world through a step by step process.
While the degrees of this process vary, without schooling there is almost no chance to maintain a
job and create an income. Students are taught to succeed in one step only so that they can
continue on to the next. For example, students are taught to do well in high school so they can
attend a prestigious university and are taught to attend a prestigious university in order to get a
degree more likely to get them an esteemed career. The purpose of schooling should be to further
growth for an individual in a community setting. This growth includes moral, social, and
cultural aspects as well as academic. Schooling should foster a positive environment encouraging
involvement and a sharing of ideas that leads to cumulative learning.
Entering such a crucial part of the educational system as a teacher comes with a great
deal of responsibility. Teachers get the privilege of working directly with students, impacting
greatly the educational experience and success for each individual student. As a teacher my role
would be to encourage the growth of the students and to create a classroom environment which
would help promote a celebration of diversity. The purpose of schooling should be to have the
students learn in a multitude of aspects. By opening up the minds of all my students through
participation and dialogue each student as can gain collected knowledge and perspective which
will prepare them to be successful and productive members of their communities. My role as a

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING

teacher is to facilitate this participative learning and to ensure that each individual leaves my
classroom having experienced growth.
Schooling in some ways is designed to continue the existing order in the United States.
Children entering a school in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood are much less likely to
succeed then those in wealthier neighborhoods with more prestigious schools. Less money
creates fewer resources and therefore less of an opportunity to learn and develop the skills
necessary to advance out of the existing class. In some ways, schooling keeps the poor, poor and
the rich, rich. Schooling environments, for the most part, are designed in a lecture fashion. The
students are expected to value the information fed to them by the instructor, and see no value in
their own specific knowledge and perspective. Without students being encouraged to question
and create their own opinions existing order easily remains unchallenged. This type of
atmosphere is stifling to growth and to diversity. Students do not explore the minds of their
peers, who are each unique, and therefore no type of social or cultural order is disturbed.
Education is a miraculous tool, one that has the ability to transform people, situations,
and even societies. Currently in the United States, policies are put into place which are designed
to allow equal opportunity to succeed. Financial Aid allows those from lower income families to
still attend college in an attempt to get a better education and therefore a better career. College is
no longer reserved for only those privileged enough to afford thousands of dollars of tuition. Acts
such as affirmative action and scholarships for certain unique skills or achievements promote
atmospheres of diversity on college campuses. As well as this, certain classrooms and teachers in
the schooling system encourage a sharing of ideas and a welcoming of diverse backgrounds. This
transforms the typical social order by creating students who value all perspectives instead of just
those considered correct or normal in the current social and cultural order.

TRANSFORMATIVE TEACHING: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING