Seth Godin Asks – What Is School For?

Seth Godin, author of Tribes, Meatball Sundae, and The Dip, certainly yanked a few chains with his recent blog post, What is school for?

To create some dialogue, he offers his suggested list of 27 possibilities. Among them are a number that certainly will turn the heads of a few teachers, professors, school board members and university trustees.

How about:

• Homogenize society, at least a bit
• Pasteurize out the dangerous ideas
• Give kids something to do while parents work
• Teach future citizens how to conform
• Teach future consumers how to desire
• Defang the proletariat
• Make sure the sports teams have enough players

In fairness, he does offer these counters:

• Become an informed citizen
• Build a social fabric
• Create leaders who help us compete on a world stage
• Learn for the sake of learning
• Teach creativity and problem solving
• Increase emotional intelligence
• Increase understanding of a life well lived

Readers, where do you weigh in? Category one or category two? Any suggestions to add to either category?