How Dare We Mistake "School" for "Education"?

I would take that even further and say a lifelong 'education' is not all that is needed. Perhaps you mean the same thing as I am about to say anyway, but I feel we can 'know' a lot of things and still not be 'wise'. Wisdom should be the goal. Wisdom is the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight. There are many who know facts, but have not learned how to use them. There are many who have learned what they think are facts but are not. There are many who have spent a lifetime learning and have no judgment or discernment. Perhaps this was what you meant in saying 'school is not an education'.

I agree with you here. School is where we go to in the hope of getting educated, but it doesn't necessarily mean that if you attended school and graduated, you're already educated. There are a lot of people who attended the best of the best schools, earned a prestigious degree, was even top of the class and graduated with honors but don't act "educated" at all. They act like they own the world just because they went to school, or better schools than others. They act all arrogant and snobbish. They talk trash, they don't conduct themselves well, as opposed to what they supposed to have learned about mingling while they were in school. In another sense, some people go to school but don't learn a thing. They just attend classes (sometimes, not even attend classes), cheat off homeworks, seatworks and exams. They just pass through school, without learning a thing. They graduate with a degree, but they didn't learn anything. When you ask them, they don't know a thing. They can't even perform basics. They struggle at work, and since they had a very laid back attitude while still schooling, they would be the same at work. They'd take shortcuts and cheat on stuff just to get the job done. Educated? Definitely NOT!

well i just feel schooling is just a small part of a ladder that the education is. education never ends and schooling does comes to an end someday. But we are taught from the early age that schooling is everything and you need to be the best in schooling to have best of everything. this is just rubbish as i think now.

You are correct. People generally speak for economy and, hopefully, efficacy of speech. However, in this instance your point is more than valid. It is rare that one could possibly receive anything akin to an "education" in a modern American "school". It's more like indoctrination, regurgitation, and total violation of any kind of independent thinking, learning, or true academics, not to mention the integrity or safety of the student.

School is merely a building and and a place where educators are suppose to educate a student who wants to be educated. Some people attend school simply because they are told too and or are under the impression that if they attend "school" daily and complete that they will get a good job. But some others Education is a a tool, one that they learn and experiment so that not only they get a job but a life long career. For the ones that take half-done jobs those are the ones that really did not utilize the tools before them to their full potential. See education alone is not enough for the secure career, it is also taking what you can get in the beginning and gaining the experience so that a bit later they fully gain the career they deserve.

Exactly. Once can learn ten fold as much in half a year, reading informational books, magazines, articles on the internet etc, than they can in 12 years of schooling. What people don't realize is that school is for behaviour modification, not education. It really makes me sick.

Going to school is not the same as getting an education. School is where you should receive the tools necessary to educate yourself. It seems that education is becoming more of agreeing with the teacher and giving the right answer. It used to be when you challenged an idea presented by the teacher you were considered a good student because you were thinking for yourself, now you are being a trouble maker and to some in need of reeducation.

You're absolutely right. School and education are two completely different things, especially today. Today, our kids and grandkids are not being taught that the best gift they could own would be a love for learning and a desire to explore the world around them by reading and discovery. They think books are boring. Some schools don't use text books any more, just "sound byte" learning. We can't blame this all on the schools, though. The problem starts at home. How many parents do you know who get down on the floor and play with their kids or who sit them on their laps to read? If they do, how often? Do they take them outside to dig in the dirt? Do they hand them a magnifying glass to explore the back yard? Or do they plop them in front of the TV, video console or computer instead? I mentioned a study that was done in another comment - one that showed that our kids can't pass a basic civics class that immigrants can pass. The article I did about this had a link to a test taken by college kids and some opinion questions. One of the opinion questions was about whether or not educators should instill more doubt in students and reject certainty. Only 21.9% responded affirmatively. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979305199 Thank goodness the number of kids being home schooled grows each year. They, at least, are receiving an education.

Cramming facts into your head doesn't teach you to think. I agree with above comments that schooling is behavior modification: they want an obedient labor force, and increasingly, they want kids to grow up into consumers. Kids who think for themselves are punished. 4 out of 5 marks for a math question are given for "showing your work" which really means showing that you think exactly like the teacher thinks. When the right answer on every question can still result in a 20% on the test, there is something seriously wrong with the system.

School is not education no - school is a discrete time length, education is an ongoing progress. But school is a crucial part of education - you can be clever yet uneducated. School helps to teach you the skills you need to earn an education - discipline, time management, self control, motivation, ambition. It teaches you how to read, to write, and to do basic maths. Without school, there would be no education. But education does not end with school. There are plenty of ways to educate yourself further - like learning a trade through learning-on-the job, reading, travelling to broaden your horizons and further understand different people and cultures. Learning a language, practicing your writing skills, talking to people to improve your social skills. All of these are things you can learn outside of school, but the fact is, without school to teach you how to read, you'd never be able to learn a new language. Without self discipline and time management, you'd never get a job. Without basic maths, you'd never even be able to sort out things like budgeting for flights, hotels, food etc, and so you'd never travel. School is a CRUCIAL part of education, but it isn't the end of it.