What is education for?

[Padraig]

It's always good if local interest can be used to such an effect.

For example, to refer to vinteuil, in nudging pupils towards finding alternatives, better questions/answers/approaches, as detailed in that news report

[Serial_Apologist]

...online is pretty good at offering 'answers' : it's less good at nudging people towards thinking of alternative/better questions/approaches. For that I still think a human bean is needed...

Libraries too - if there still is one in the locality.

[gurnemanz]

It occurred to me after I taught my final lesson in 2014 that education had constituted almost my entire life from school aged 4-18, higher ed 18-23, teaching English in Germany 23-27, Boys Private 27-29, large Comp 29-43, FE College 43-60, supply/private-tuition 60-65. I decided I could either call it dedication to the cause or rather unimaginative.

Got my index-linked pension and often bump into ex-students.

[gradus]

That's training. Education has rather higher aims. Sadly, training has been more and more paraded as education in recent decades.

My point is that education has a fundamental component, not that it solely comprises a firm grasp of basic skills. Without the ability to read write and carry out basic arithmetic 'higher aims' have a severely impaired chance of success.

[Dave2002]

Education's fundamental purpose is to produce functionally literate and numerate adults but it still often fails at this task.

That’s very basic, but I agree helpful and almost essential. Cuba has a very good record for educating a significantly illiterate population to one in which most people can read over a short time span. Ignoring any politics, that has been quite an achievement.

[JasonPalmer]

I think the theory of human capital comes into play, educated people..trained people...people who can prove they can acquire and remember knowledge. The main thing is to learn how to read and basic mathematics, from that you can teach yourself via books and the web ? Universities were originally just where the books were kept, anyone who has browsed academic bookshops and been to university knows they just tell you whats in the course books. Advantages exist in for ing friendships and dating people in the same age group, university is popular for socialising with like minded and like aged peers.