What is the purpose of education?

This post was written by C4K Senior Consultant, Aleah Rosario. 

This question agitates scholars, teachers, statesmen, every group, in fact, of thoughtful men and women," Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in the 1930 article, "Good Citizenship: The Purpose of Education," in Pictorial Review. While its answer may never be completely agreed upon by all, the question itself is a good reminder of the potential impact we have as educators in the lives of young people - after and out-of-school included. To showcase how the purpose of education has evolved over time, ASCD recently created this infographic:

In an accompanying article, James Harvey, a senior fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, is cited as saying, "The most important skill [young people] can develop in the 21st century is the same skill that served them well in prior centuries: a mind equipped to think."

We know that afterschool and out-of-school time programs have the potential to give kids the support needed to succeed academically as well as help young people cultivate important values like responsibility, empathy, grit and creativity. In these informal settings, kids are given the chance to practice being good students, good leaders, good friends and good humans. 

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