The Correct Answer to "That" Question

Every teacher, regardless of their subject has had that smart-alec student, who in a futile attempt to avoid doing work and to try and humiliate you in front of the class, has asked the most annoying question ever: "Where in my future life am I going to have to know this?"

Most teachers hem and haw when this question is asked, which is only perceived as a win for the smart-alec student. Otherwise, they fall into the trap of answering honestly, which is just what the kid wants, because that will lead to a 40 minute long debate over the validity of your class, rather than the actual lesson you've planned.

It can also serve as the basis for negative opinion of Education in general, and unfortunately has led to the ridiculous plans which masquerade as education reform in this country. That's because we, as educators, fail to stand up and challenge modern thought on the topic.

The question, at its heart, implies that children's education serves only to prepare them for a future career. While it's certainly helpful, that's simply not the case. Many Americans with little or no education make a good living in their chosen career, which they most likely learned on the job or through a vocational program. In fact, many people who went to college currently earn a living in a field other than their major.

There was a time that education was exclusively for those who could afford it. Those who couldn't had to learn a trade through an apprenticeship, and although they couldn't read, write, or add, unless it was vital to that particular trade; their "education" consisted of acquiring one particular skill that would wind up becoming their career.

When Thomas Jefferson saw the need for Public Education in America, he wasn't seeing the need for American citizens to get a better job, or to learn employment skills. He foresaw the danger of creating a government "of the people, by the people and for the people" when those people were, frankly, quite stupid. Through the Tea Party, we have seen what kind of dysfunction happens when uninformed people who are unable to think critically participate in government. This was Jefferson's greatest fear. So, he came up with the idea of public schooling in order to make sure that EVERY American would get a quality education, and that the government would be run by people elected by intelligent citizens.

In a misguided attempt to "reform" education, the whole idea of education has been reduced to "how can our children succeed in the future;" and THAT has been reduced to a Science, Math, or English test. Many so-called reforms focus on particular menial skills rather than on whole learning and critical thinking; and the state exams show that. Performance on exams has replaced the whole experience of discovery and curiosity that should be the focus of education.

Which brings me to the correct answer to that distracting question: "Where in my future life am I going to have to know this?"

"Well, Bobby, since you asked, probably nowhere. But, that's not the point of you learning it. The process of learning this skill expands your ability to think and reason, and that will help you to become a competent member of society, and a functional citizen of these great United States. In short, you may not ever use algebra in your so-called 'real life,' (although I use it all the time) but the fact that you took on the challenge of learning algebra MAKES YOU SMARTER. You may never become a musician as a career, but the fact that you expanded your horizons to allow for the experience of singing with a choir makes you a more well rounded individual of character, and that character will benefit you in all aspects of your future life. For you are not in school to learn a trade, my boy (or girl as the case may be,) but rather to become a smarter, free-thinking, civilized human being."