Dominant Culture Of Education Essay

Education is an ambiguous term that is frequently debated but rarely defined. To American lawmakers, education is simply a matter of funding and curriculum. Many school boards across the United States have decided that education is best administered through student compliance and frequent testing. However, these perspectives fail to address the most important aspect of education: the student. Because the hallmark of an educated person is their need to acquire knowledge, one must create an environment that is conducive to learning in order to educate. The need to be independent and the desire to constantly improve are crucial components of an educated person. In his book about drive, Daniel Pink notes, “Control leads to compliance; autonomy …show more content…
To many institutions, achievement is defined by a certain score on a standardized test. The emphasis is not on actual education, but rather on memorization. This practice is very damaging to students because it hinders learning; dampens curiosity; and encourages conformity instead of self-sufficiency. Ken Robinson argues, “the dominant culture of education has come to focus on not teaching and learning, but testing. . . . should not be the dominant culture of education.” Although assessments are an important component of education, it cannot be the focal point. To combat this, teachers need to modify their teaching style. They should focus on actually teaching the material, instead of instructing students on how to take a test. This is imperative in the development of an educated population. Ultimately, to be educated is to have a desire to gain knowledge, and thus it is imperative to create an open, safe, and interesting atmosphere in an educational facility. A person who is educated has different qualities that enable them to acquire knowledge. In order to ensure that students receive an excellent education, educators should encourage curiosity, independence, and critical thinking. In order to create a society of people that wish to learn, it is important to create an educational system that can effectively