Continuing Education Tips

What is (the purpose of) education?

The memorization of facts? Attainment of knowledge? Pursuit of an art? Is there a difference between learning about history and learning from history? Do people learn for the sake of becoming ‘smart’? To get high-paying jobs? Because they are interested in a subject? Has it always been like this? What is learning? Is education a process? Is it different from educating? Is what education is and what it should be two different things? Does learning environment matter (public, private, online, etc)? Is there learning beyond the immediate face value of a given subject? Has education/its purpose changed over the years? How so? Are these changes for the better? What do you think education is? What do you think education should be? thanks for all the answers so far kmtiburona -- haha, no, I'm not writing a paper, I'm asking because I've been thinking about it lately (I have a friend who is 50, speaks 5 languages, has a highly respectable job, but still takes classes at a local college), I already know what I think, I'm interested in what other people have to say

Public Comments

1. TO LEARN!!!!
2. To reproduce the class system and keep children off the streets.
3. education is used so ur parents can party with out u noing about it...follow them and youll see
4. there is no point in education
5. dude... you ask way to many questions.
6. if you dont want to be a fucking idiot and not accomplish anything in this world then education isnt important other then that if you want to be a functional member of societ then education is key
7. To get you to take student loans that help the crapshit banking community. Otherwise, considering how mediocre the education system is, not much... On the other hand, if you are interested in something, STUDY IT. You can beat the system by being smarter than it is.Which isn't hard.
8. go to college dummy
9. so you won't end up a hobo on the street begging for money and dying of starvation
10. Thinkin' good and noing stuff!!
11. education is for learning. Learning occurs every single day; if it weren't for education and learning, no one would be sitting in front of a computer right now on the internet. I am giving a brief answer, you ask a lot of questions that I could write a 20 page paper on, which makes me wonder if that's what you're supposed to do.
12. Well I'm not gonna answer all your questions, but I'll just say as a high school student that it's difficult to see how 90% of what I learn will ever help me. Do I really need to know who Napoleon's financial advisor was? I figure that they're preparing us for college, when we can learn how to actually do something useful.
13. Einstein said that an education is what you have after you have forgotten everything you learned in school. He was not a good student, and yet made profound contributions to scientific knowledge and inquiry. He had curiosity, motivation and determination in solving many of the most important scientific questions and theories of the 20th Century.
14. education is the key to being noticed and respected in the occupational world. even if the two people were equally intelligent and capable of doing the job, who would get it, a collage grad with a master's degree, or a highschool drop out?
15. Memoriazation of facts help pursue the attainment of knowledge by building your comparibility and synthesis of ideas. You learn from history by learning about history. People learn because of an interests; and your interest could be to make alot of money (high paying job). There are plenty of "dumb" people who have advanced degrees (ph.d's) Learning is the synthesis - going beyond the facts. The more facts you have, the greater the ability to relate and recall - what most people classify as "intelligence". I always use Forrest Gump as the definition of smart. Although he didn't have formel education, he made sound decision based on his limited knowledge and pragmatism. I think education should be knoweledge ensued with the desire to build a passion for learning more.
16. The fact that you have education and posted the question should answer your question. Education teaches our children and you,that with out it, our world be in the dark ages.
17. Purpose: Self enlightenment. Does not matter how as long as you do. The left has put public schools in the toilet! . And most Colleges as well. So your learning process in those is typically one sided. Damn shame I'd say. Education should incorporate all things left or right. Let the student decide. But that's just me.
18. There are by far too many areas of knowledge for anyone ever to know all of even (just the facts.) I think education should equip you to know how and where to find and how to use information in a wide variety of areas. I think much time and concern should be spent at a younger age to explore where you are going, what you are equipped to do, and then education specialized toward that field at an earlier age. That is not to abandon all other learning, as it would be a poor individual indeed, who had no interests beyond their career, but to give that individual more choices to study where their interests lie. You asked so many interesting questions that it will be hard to touch on half of them. People pursue education for all of the reasons you mention, and more. Reasons for an education have certainly changed with time, as there are thousands more career choices within reach of the average person. As to what education is, so many ways would describe it , but how about the process of becoming most able to maximize use of ones learning and common sense?