Opinion
Teaching Profession Letter to the Editor

Student Potential, Not ‘Indoctrination,’ Should Rule Classroom Learning

September 22, 2015 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

It seems obvious that the focus of any system of education should be to meet the student’s need for fulfillment of personal potential, whatever that may be. The reality, however, is very different. My experience as a high school student—and as someone who has taught theater, drama, and communications over a 44-year career at the elementary through college levels—has shown me that the existing system leans more to indoctrination than to education in the Socratic sense.

It is a system designed to meet the needs of the society, as opposed to one that meets the personal needs of each student. It is a system designed to equip the corporate world’s bottom-line mentality with an adequate and obedient workforce.

Education’s purpose should be to preserve a natural curiosity that leads to creativity. The student must be provided with an adequate means of reaching his or her potential for personal achievement and fulfillment, in concert with the innate talents he or she may possess. This is the only source of true happiness.

A truly just system of education would be one that, before we ask how to educate, asks, why we educate.

Hal O’Leary

Wheeling, W.Va.

Related Tags:
Opinion

A version of this article appeared in the September 23, 2015 edition of Education Week as Student Potential, Not ‘Indoctrination,’ Should Rule Classroom Learning

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Creating Resilient Schools with a Trauma-Responsive MTSS
Join us to learn how school leaders are building a trauma-responsive MTSS to support students & improve school outcomes.
School & District Management Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: We Can’t Engage Students If They Aren’t Here: Strategies to Address the Absenteeism Conundrum
Absenteeism rates are growing fast. Join Peter DeWitt and experts to learn how to re-engage students & families.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession Teacher Burnout Is Real. What's to Blame—and How to Keep It at Bay
Teachers share their tips for avoiding burnout.
3 min read
Overwork Burnout Symptom Concept. Tired Overloaded Teacher Character with Low Life Energy Power
iStock/Getty Images
Teaching Profession Quiz Teachers, How Does Your Morale Compare to Others in Your State? Take This Quiz
Take the quiz to calculate your Teacher Morale Index score and see how it compares to your state’s average.
Collaged image of teachers gauging their morale
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Teaching Profession Teaching in 2025: ‘Every Day Is a Crazy Day. It’s Fine.’
The profession is changing, and it's more challenging than ever. Resilient teachers are adapting. But at what cost?
Clayton Hubert is an art teacher who wears many hats as an educator, including driving the school bus each morning, as seen here on Jan. 16, 2025, in Lamberton, Minn.
Clayton Hubert, an art teacher, wears many hats as an educator, including driving the school bus some mornings, as seen here on Jan. 16, 2025, in Lamberton, Minn. Many teachers say the expectations of the role have grown far beyond classroom instruction.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Teaching Profession Data What Teacher Morale Looks Like in Every State
See how teacher morale compares across the states—and where it's highest and lowest.
4 min read
Collaged image of teachers and data
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva