Write an essay on the school as a social institution Draw from both your reading as well as your personal observations.
(i) Education is life long process. School is a place in which the foundation stone of learning process laid down. School helps in providing such environment which is generally very important for all round-mental, physical spiritial and emotional, development.
(ii) Sociology as a discipline and sociologist as a scholar understand need of schooling. This institutions provides occasion and process of transmission, communication of group heritage, common to all society. There is a qualitative distinction between simple society and complex, modern society. In the case of former. There was no need for formal schooling. Children learnt customs and the broader way of life by participating in activities with their adults.
(iii) It is a art fact that most of the modern society are complex society. We saw there is an increasing economic division of labour, separaton of work from home, need for specialised learning and skill attainment, rise of state systems, nations and complex set of symbols and ideas. How do you get educated informally in such a context ? How would parents or other adults informally communicate all that has to be known to the next generation ? Education in such a social context has to be formal and exitlict.
(iv) School in modern society or design to promote uniformity, standardised, espiration and universalistic values. There are many ways of doing this. For example uniform dress for school children is provided for uniformity and some standard and look. Similarity same standard of courses, syllabus method of teaching, labs and libraries and some standard at least to all student of the same school
(v) Academic and training, -reserved minimum for teacher of different levels-primary teacher, secondary teacher, higher secondary or senior school teacher are decided and before there appointment, there suppose to qualify either a selection board or competative examination and interview board also.
(vi) Schooling (or education) should prepare each and every boy and girl for a special occupation, and enable them to internalise the value of society. Because the child of today is future citizen or he/she is father/mother or next genertion to come.
(vii) School education is an important stage for the selection and allocation of the individual in their future role in the society. Education of this stage is also regarded as the ground for providing. One's ability and hence selective agency for different status according to their ability.
(viii) For instance some argue that schooling intensifies the existing divide between the elite and the masses. Children going to privileged schools learn to be confident while children deprived of that may feel the opposite (path at 2002 : 151). How, ever these are many more children who simply cannot attend school or dropout. For instance a study repots :
You are seeing some children in the school now. If you come during the cultivation season you may see almost zero attendance from the SC and ST children. They all take some household responsibilities while the parents are not to work. And the girl children of there communities seldom attend school as they do various kinds of work both domestic and income generating. A 10 year old girl picks dry cow dung to sell for example.
