A few of my students have come for the grade and left with learning so obviously the grade/credential is not the only thing that education offers — at least in the ideal. The evidence is largely anecdotal, but I think you’re correct in asserting that credential is not the only thing offered by Big E.

My original assertion was that what’s learned in school is a very small subset of all things that are learned and that Education has a problem in recognizing that a great deal of what’s learned in the classroom has nothing to do with anything that’s going on at the front of the room.

In pursuing this discussion, tho, I can see that my current opinion on the purpose of classrooms — as work centers for the instructional machine and an efficient application of scarce resource (teacher time) — is likewise flawed. Whatever other activity happens in the classroom, classrooms afford more to the student than simple instructional space by providing opportunities for social interaction as well.

Thanks, DrJillZ – this has been enlightening.

DrJillZ: @nlowell You argue that because the world requires credentials that this is all “Big-E” is selling. Straw man.

I need to think on this one a bit. I’m not sure that I believe that, altho that’s certainly the implication of what I wrote above. I think what I believe is that credential is all that the public are buying. It’s not what they’re demanding, but it seems that’s all they’re willing to pay for.