Since the nation’s beginning, the object of schooling has been to create knowledgeable, active, critical-thinking citizens. Because the U.S. is founded on a principle of equality, all citizens deserve an equal educational opportunity. Public education should be the great equalizer, the institution that allows mobility between the social classes. A good education is not just for the elite who can afford to send their children to private schools; it must be made available to all.A good education does not just challenge the student to realize his/her full potential; it actively helps the student achieve that potential. A good education does not just teach the student to do a math problem or analyze poetry; it teaches the student how to learn and instills a love of learning. A good education does not just teach academic lessons to the student; it promotes personal growth and understanding on both the part of the student and that of the educator. A good education does not just show the student how to recognize human differences; it teaches the student to celebrate human diversity. A good education does not just teach the student a career; it prepares the student to live life as a contributing member of a larger community. Graduation from a good education does not signify the end of learning; it signifies the beginning of a lifetime as a student of the world.
Students must be active participants in their education, choosing to learn for the sake of learning, not for the sake of a résumé, grade, or career. The curriculum must account for the individuality of the students, fostering creativity, imagination, self-esteem, and social skills while maintaining a firm basis of academic knowledge. Only in such a manner as described can the nation fulfill its original objective for schooling: the creation of intelligent, critical-thinking citizens who are constantly learning.
The test of a successful education is not the amount of knowledge that a pupil takes away from a school, but his appetite to know and his capacity to learn. If the school sends out children with the desire for knowledge and some idea of how to acquire and use it, it will have done its work.
--Sir Richard Livingstone
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