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Writing Log #1: Purpose of Education

In the regards of Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy theory, I would agree that the purpose of higher education is to teach the individual to think critically and question everything for the purpose of building a more just world in the future. I believe higher education gives people the opportunity to examine history, theory, literature, and the present state of the world in order to build a better future for themselves and their communities with the skills they learn in the classroom. I also believe that people must understand themselves to understand the world, and that every teacher has the responsibility, "of educating students to become critical agents who actively question and negotiate the relationships between theory and practice, critical analysis and common sense, and learning and social change" (Giroux 717). To understand oneself and the world requires an education that values creative ideas and new solutions more than the indoctrination of classical concepts. There is a great importance of learning both theory and critique for the purpose of expanding one's knowledge and laying the foundation of informed decision making, yet the rift between preparing students for a test and allowing creativity in the form of intellectual disruption leads most students to accept the information at hand instead of challenging current ideals. The purpose of higher education is an opportunity for students to learn and grow as individuals, as well as the responsibility of educators to pass down the ways information has developed throughout time. Educators, apart from texts and media, are the holders of knowledge and how they relay the curriculum to their students impacts how they will view and interact with the world. It is crucial that education is used to help people learn how to inform themselves while also integrating ways to challenge the current system, so it may evolve into a system that serves the needs of every person through justice and social understanding. As Freire believed, "Critical pedagogy, unlike dominant modes of teaching, insists that one of the fundamental tasks of educators is to make sure that the future points the way to a more socially just world, a world in which the discourses of critique and possibility in conjunction with the values of reason, freedom, and equality function to alter, as part of a broader democratic project, the grounds upon which life is lived" (Giroux 717). Fostering a creative and question-encouraged environment in the classroom is a vital part of education because it allows people to learn about the past and the present while actively demanding for social change. 

Higher education or even a liberal arts education cultivates a pedagogy that attempts to inspire self-reflection and critical thinking in students, but there is still need for institutional reform for the current pedagogy. Inequality of education in the form of expensive tuition rates that is inaccessible to every person, different curriculums based on location of an institution, curriculums designed specifically for convergent thinkers, and capitalistic foundations of the current pedagogy leading students into the workforce are some of the reasons for reform. "Teaching to the test and the corporatization of education become a way of ‘taming’ students and invoking modes of corporate governance in which public school teachers become deskilled and an increasing number of higher education faculty are reduced to part-time positions, constituting the new subaltern class of academic labor" (Giroux 715). Although American academic institutions attempt to teach critical thought through course materials, the basis of the current pedagogy is rooted in the capitalistic ideals of the country. As creator of the American school board and successful contributor to modern capitalistic ideals, John D. Rockefeller, once said, "I don't want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers." This mindset of the richest man in America has created a culture of valuing hard work over critical thought within the educational systems. His success in business has made him the face of the "American dream," but the reality of this coveted dream is that hard work does not always lead to social and financial success for every American. 

There are many issues within the academic institution, but with the privilege of pursuing an education and obtaining a degree comes numerous benefits for the individual. In Brandon Busteed's interviews with numerous American educational leaders about "the ultimate outcome of an education," he finds an empowering answer from Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman: "It’s to change what you believe" (Busteed). Busteed goes on to describe that knowing something is emotionless, but to believe is to feel deep emotion. From this perspective, the purpose of higher education is the act of evolving one's beliefs overtime and with that comes the "transformative" act of self-determination. Education gives learners the opportunity to understand and impact the world with a critical lens that help transform the corrupt systems of power in place and for educators to "‘unveil opportunities for hope, no matter what the obstacles may be’ (Freire, 1994, p. 9)" (Giroux 719). 

Works Cited

 Busteed, Brandon. “A Nobel Laureate's Mind-Blowing Perspective on the Ultimate Outcome of an Education.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Dec. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2019/12/23/a-nobel-laureates-mind-blowing-perspective-on-the-ultimate-outcome-of-an-education/?sh=f4aca2a6cd59. 

Giroux, Henry A. “Rethinking Education as the Practice of Freedom: Paulo Freire and the Promise of Critical Pedagogy.” Policy Futures in Education, vol. 8, no. 6, 2010, pp. 715–721., https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2010.8.6.715.