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INTRODUCTION In 1870 the Elementary School law was passed out in Parliament. It was the first major education law. This was the birth of the modern state whereby tax was raised so that the state could provide schools. Such laws have been made which compel children in the UK to go to school, and it is genuinely believed that the school experience is ‘for their good’. Indeed, schools are needed and even more nowadays. Schools are seen as a resource for the larger society (Giroux 1981) however, there is a question that must be asked and considered critically: Is a school experience really a positive asset for children in the UK? In this essay I will briefly examine how my experience in school formed my opinion on the schooling system and how I learned from it. I will examine the pros and contras of schooling for the young in the UK, exploring the relationships between education and society, and how teachers and teaching are central to the process and outcomes of education. Teachers are at the ‘chalk face’ of classroom contexts and are also the frontline implementers of educational policy. Throughout this essay, I will observe how the teaching profession has been challenged in the latter part of this century. Continuously, I will question whether all children should go to school and whether there should be different types of schools. Finally, I will discuss what school education would be like if all forms of education were freely accessible to each individual. It is also important to consider how by acknowledging the flaws in the system, students and teachers can change the structure for the better. MY EXPERIENCE During the first few years at school, all appeared to go well. My class friends and I were in high spirits, energetic and willing to learn. This ambience of spontaneity was encouraged by teachers to explore, gain knowledge and create. Yet, when I consider what had happened by the time I reached my adolescence, I am forced to identify that the promise of the early years repeatedly remains disappointing. I questioned how something that had commenced so well, ended so badly. Children often complete school with a feeling of defeat. Sadly this is a reoccurring problem, which needs to be understood. There is no denying that a large number of children emerge from school ill-equipped for life in a demanding society. Like in my school, many teachers excuse the unhappiness of the child’s experience with the fact that the pupil is unintelligent. They hardly question or justify whether it is what they teach that is inadequate, and it would seem unfeasible that ‘they’ are the failures. In my school experience, I would agree with Holt, that some schools are made for teachers and not pupils. Students were left on their own to cope with school demands, fellow classmates, teachers, new knowledge, transitions between education stages, attempts to change and to develop oneself.
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