Excellence in Education :: essays research papers

The concept of outperformlence in education is one that, on thesurface, seems to be unquestionable. After all, who wouldnot accede that students within our schools should, in fact,excel? Certainly teachers, p arents, and administrators raisenisteragree on excellence as an be trace to shoot for. Theinterpretation of the term "excellence" is, however, lessobvious. How do we reckon excellence? Is it the collegebound student with a broad liberal humanistic discipline education? Is it thestudent who graduates high school trained in a specifictrade? Many in the field of education cannot come to anagreement on how our schools can best achieve excellencefor and from our students. unitary of the many an(prenominal) authorities who have contributed a modelfor what schools should be is Robert L. Ebel. consort toEbel, cognition is the single most significant and mostimportant aspiration in the education of children. In his article"What are schools for?" Ebel answers &q uotthat schools are forlearning, and that what ought to be learned mostly is usefulknowledge" (3). He builds this declaration in answer totrends in education that focus upon other aspects oflearning in schools. Ebel states in the beginning of hisarticle, that he does not assume schools should be socialresearch agencies, recreational facilities, adjustmentcenters, or custodial institutions. (3). While he does notdeny that our nation is currently wrestling with a sourarray of social ailments, he does argue that the answer tosuch problems can or should lie within the jurisdiction ofour schools.In discussing educations mission to provide usefulknowledge, Ebel defines what he means by the deviseknowledge "It is an integrated structure of relationshipsamong concepts and propositions" (5). Knowledge, theway Ebel describes it is not the same as information. Ebelstates that "knowledge is built out of information bythinking". Knowledge, gibe to Ebel, must beconstructed from information by each individual savant itcannot be looked up, or given to students by a parent orteacher. " A student must earn the right to say I know byhis own thoughtful efforts to understand" (Ebel, 5). Theintellectual proficiencies many educators hope to teach are,like information, essentially useless to Ebel without aknowledge base on which to draw from.Ebel feels that a good teacher can "motivate, direct, andassist the learning process to great advantage". AlthoughEbel feels that good teachers are essential to providing a"favorable learning environment," he puts much of the accountability for learning on the students themselves. Ebelfeels that teachers are there to facilitate students in theirlearning, not to coerce those who are indifferent andunmotivated and do not craving to learn, against their will.