Teacher Diversity and Reflection

Running Head: EDUCATION
Education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2EDUCATION
The term education has been derived from the following four Latin terms- ‘educere’,
‘educare’, ‘educo’ and ‘educatum’ (Ravi 2015). Education is the process of acquisition of values,
knowledge, skills, beliefs, habits and many such positive aspects. Education is inseparably
associated with learning. The commonly practiced methods of education include teaching,
training, storytelling, research and discussion. Education can be both formal and informal.
Formal education comes in different stages, namely pre-school, primary school, secondary
school, college and university; informal education refers to those instances of learning where a
person acquires knowledge in an unconventional manner and not through defined curriculums or
books, knowledge acquisition in this form might be through real life experiences. The following
essay aims at discussing the various purposes of education, the contribution education has made
so far and the contribution of teachers towards education.
The pertinent query survives through ages, which questions the purpose of education;
similarly the answer to this question too survives and evolves for betterment, with the passage of
time. The basic purpose of education is to transfer knowledge, but that is not the only purpose of
education. Education helps in delivering a fairer society; in such a society opportunity is shared
equally amongst all, irrespective of one’s background. Education is the engine of a country’s
economy and it is the foundation stone of one’s own culture. Education further prepares a pupil
to enter adult life. Education is believed to introduce students to the best that has been thought
and stated, so far; this instills an urge in the learners to know more and gather information about
their respective culture. The discipline ensures the development of a student’s flexibility and
moral character, so that the person might overcome challenges and succeed in life. The primary
character traits which education instills in a student are: optimism, persistence, determination and
inquisitiveness. On a materialistic level, the purpose of education is to ensure that the young

3EDUCATION
people receive the training they require to secure a respectable job and develop a career (Gov.uk,
2018). Broadly speaking, the major purposes of education are to enhance a country’s economy,
nurture a country’s culture and empower a pupil towards entering adult life with a sound
character and sense of morality.
According to a renowned school of thought, education must not only be limited to young
people; it is believed that education is a lifelong process. The above-mentioned school of thought
has identified four different purposes of education, they are as follows: intellectual purposes,
political and civic purposes, economic purposes and social purposes. Difficulties continue to
occur in the sphere of schooling and there exists nothing as the perfect method of teaching; hence
to eradicate the anomalies a teacher must be involved in a continuous process of self evaluation
and self education. The consideration that better education is capable of producing brighter
students, is likely to motivate the educators to pursue further studies and keep themselves
involved in a continuous process of self education. Several adults, in the political domain, reflect
inclinations towards practicing tyranny; education alone is capable of enlightening their minds
and obliterating such heinous thoughts. The authorities at the head of a nation, must send
circulars at regular intervals to remind the educators about the sentiments and ideas that must be
imprinted upon the minds of the students, this will make the educators revisit the ideas and
nurture the sentiments.
Education, in modern society, is expected to produce socially responsible human beings.
The actual purpose of education is to turn every person into a better human being, with love for
fellow beings, for nation and for himself or herself. A child must be nurtured by an educator like
a gardener takes care of a flower. Education must bring out the latent fire lying within the bosom
of the learners. The aim of present day educational system must be to establish a new society,

4EDUCATION
ornamented with love, peace, equality and justice. Education should be like a lamp which must
stir up the fire of preparation for the varied adventures of future life and to meet any form of
challenge with confidence. Education is believed to be the manifestation of divine perfection that
already exists within a person.
Enlightenment is one of the most vital purposes of education; it translocates a person
from a state of ignorance to a state of awareness of entire life. One of the marking feature of an
educated person is that he or she is empowered with the power of reasoning; instead of following
things blindly, the person questions every action that is performed. Education is a bliss on
humankind, as it enlightens a person with knowledge and further allows the person to be
acquainted with the sole purpose of his or her life on this planet. Knowledge development needs
a special mention when question arises regarding the purpose of education. Education imparts
both worldly and spiritual knowledge; this aspect helps a person to deliver better decisions in
life. Knowledge acquisition also helps an individual to comprehend, the outer world and the
phenomenons taking place in it, in a proper manner. Moreover, education allows a detailed
understanding of the environment we live in. Learning about the environment we inhabit, is
exceptionally essential for thriving properly. The students or the future adults must be aware of
the conditions of the planet they inhabit, in order to adjust accordingly.
All round development, which is also known as wholesome development, is a very vital
purpose of education. Education is said to be a process, which imparts training to head, heart
and hand. Education must ensure that a person has fully developed and is capable of reasonable
thinking. The development should not only be restricted to the development of intellect, but it
must also ensure that an individual transforms into a good human being. Personality
development is another purpose of education. A well educated person usually champions the