Education

The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School

The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School

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  • Create Date：2021-06-05 09:54:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Neil Postman
  • ISBN：0679750312
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Summary

Postman suggests that the current crisis in our educational system derives from its failure to supply students with a translucent， unifying "narrative" like those that inspired earlier generations。 Instead， today's schools promote the false "gods" of economic utility， consumerism， or ethnic separatism and resentment。 What alternative strategies can we use to instill our children with a sense of global citizenship， healthy intellectual skepticism， respect of America's traditions， and appreciation of its diversity？ In answering this question， The End of Education restores meaning and common sense to the arena in which they are most urgently needed。

"Informal and clear。。。Postman's ideas about education are appealingly fresh。"--New York Times Book Review

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Reviews

William ，

This man of posts has written about a time when the education must end。 Just too much education happening when other things need taking care of。 Postman says we've moved into relaxation， and that's where man's hearts truly be。 We are the highly relaxed generation and need to put our relaxation techniques to proper use。 We've reclined in so many positions and yet there are infinitely more positions in which one can find repose。 We've conquered the fetal position but have yet to explore the possib This man of posts has written about a time when the education must end。 Just too much education happening when other things need taking care of。 Postman says we've moved into relaxation， and that's where man's hearts truly be。 We are the highly relaxed generation and need to put our relaxation techniques to proper use。 We've reclined in so many positions and yet there are infinitely more positions in which one can find repose。 We've conquered the fetal position but have yet to explore the possibilities of the Neo-fetal position or the toddler position。 We've explored every nook and cranny of the lotus position but have yet to appreciate the subtleties of the daffodil position or even the milkweed pose。 I think I understood everything about this book and agree with Posts that education must end here and now and forever。 。。。more

Rizky Arya ，

Buku Ini pertama kali terbit di Amerika pada tahun 1995 dengan judul The End of Education。 Neil Postman memandang sekolah kini kehilangan maknanya sebagai wahana pendewasaan， termasuk dengan otoritas-otoritas yang bersinggungan dengan keberadaannya。 Bahkan menurut Postman， sekolah lebih mirip dengan kerangkeng penjara di mana para siswa dipaksa tidak bisa menelisik cahaya alternatif。 Peristiwa-peristiwa seperti guru yang marah jika dikritik， menolak jika ada usulan， membentak jika ada kesalahan， Buku Ini pertama kali terbit di Amerika pada tahun 1995 dengan judul The End of Education。 Neil Postman memandang sekolah kini kehilangan maknanya sebagai wahana pendewasaan， termasuk dengan otoritas-otoritas yang bersinggungan dengan keberadaannya。 Bahkan menurut Postman， sekolah lebih mirip dengan kerangkeng penjara di mana para siswa dipaksa tidak bisa menelisik cahaya alternatif。 Peristiwa-peristiwa seperti guru yang marah jika dikritik， menolak jika ada usulan， membentak jika ada kesalahan， bahkan memukul。 Situasi semacam ini tentu dapat menimbulkan resistensi dari para siswa itu sendiri。Implikasinya luas， bisa-bisa berangkat ke sekolah menjadi beban berat bagi siswa karena sesampainya di sekolah tidak hanya pelajaran yang sangat banyak disesakkan ke otak， tapi kesadarannya pun dipacu lewat pola-pola ancaman， hukuman dan keresahan， sehingga sekolah seakan kehilangan rohnya sebagai wadah aktualisasi pemikiran， ekspresi dan kenyamanan dalam belajar。Selanjutnya disini : https://kepinganarya。blogspot。com/202。。。 。。。more

Grace Hill ，

An easy little read， about 1 idea---children need a reason to learn。 He suggests that it be a coherent， overarching theme， and lists off 5 possible themes we could base our curricula on。

Dana Hutchins ，

Some good thoughts and insights。 Metaphors not well explained。 Quick read though。

Will Ejzak ，

This book is as annoying as it is inspirational。 In 1969， Neil Postman wrote my all-time favorite pedagogy book， Teaching as a Subversive Activity， in which he deconstructs pretty much everything schools do， makes fun of a lot of common assumptions about what a "good" education entails， and tries to evaluate what's actually worth doing in the classroom。 The End of Education has some of the same magic， but for every brilliantly snarky observation， there's some snobbishly pretentious idea to count This book is as annoying as it is inspirational。 In 1969， Neil Postman wrote my all-time favorite pedagogy book， Teaching as a Subversive Activity， in which he deconstructs pretty much everything schools do， makes fun of a lot of common assumptions about what a "good" education entails， and tries to evaluate what's actually worth doing in the classroom。 The End of Education has some of the same magic， but for every brilliantly snarky observation， there's some snobbishly pretentious idea to counterbalance it。 I appreciate Postman's scathing wit and vicious skepticism--he takes very little for granted， and he's willing to challenge every conventional idea about education from the bottom up。 But I also get the sense that he got a little more conservative as he got older （this was written 26 years after Subversive Activity）， and there's some snobby old white man energy in this book that I don't find especially useful。 The End of Education is a provocatively misleading title--what he really means is "The Larger Purpose of Education，" as in "the means and the ends。" Basically， Postman is saying that the current narrative that's supposed to give meaning to schooling--which he calls "the god of Economic Utility"--is neither inspiring nor believable nor powerful enough to make education worthwhile。 As he describes it:"[。。。] Many believe it to be the preeminent reason for schooling: the god of Economic Utility。 As its name suggests， it is a passionless god， cold and severe。 But it makes a promise， and not a trivial one。 Addressing the young， it offers a covenant of sorts with them: If you will pay attention in school， and do your homework， and score well on tests， and behave yourself， you will be rewarded with a well-paying job when you are done。 Its driving idea is that the purpose of schooling is to prepare children for competent entry into the economic life of the community。 [。。。] The story tells us that we are first and foremost economic creatures， and that our sense of worth and purpose is to be found in our capacity to secure material benefits。 According to this god， you are what you do for a living。 Goodness inheres in productivity， efficiency， and organization; evil in inefficiency and sloth。"Postman proceeds to trash this "purpose，" and he spends the rest of the book searching for a new one: a larger narrative to explain why kids should be educated， and how。 This is a hugely ambitious project， and this ambition is both exciting and， ultimately， overwhelming: the project feels too big for Postman， and the second half of this book becomes a bit indulgent and rambling as he gets lost in the epicness of his scope。 From a philosophical perspective， this book is often exciting; from a practical pedagogical perspective， this book is basically worthless。 But teachers should think about this way more often than they do: What's the point of schooling， exactly？ What's it trying to achieve？ What's the larger narrative that gives it meaning and purpose？ What is its role in society， exactly？ How much should it reflect the world vs。 shape it？ How can teachers harness the boundless energy and potential of young people for the forces of good rather than the forces of evil （or the forces of indifference）？ How can we make school more galvanizing and less demoralizing？ And so forth。 。。。more

Michael Christofferson ，

Postman's thesis has aged like fine wine: without a powerful narrative （he offers five candidates） education will come to an end。 Postman's thesis has aged like fine wine: without a powerful narrative （he offers five candidates） education will come to an end。 。。。more

Miguel Panão ，

Excellent book。 The only limitation is its focus on American education， although I believe it’s defects are spreading throughout the world as technology gets uniformed worldwide。

Adam ，

Prose- Fantastic。Insights- There is at least one profound idea per two pages， if not more。Relevance- Everyone should read this book。He may not be someone you agree with on everything， but you can't deny that the insight here is what what America （and the whole world） needs to think about deeply。This book definitely changed the way I look at everything， and I will be reviewing my notes on it regularly。 Prose- Fantastic。Insights- There is at least one profound idea per two pages， if not more。Relevance- Everyone should read this book。He may not be someone you agree with on everything， but you can't deny that the insight here is what what America （and the whole world） needs to think about deeply。This book definitely changed the way I look at everything， and I will be reviewing my notes on it regularly。 。。。more

Joel Fletcher ，

A lot to ponder。

Hestia Istiviani ，

Many parents， in fact， are apt to like the idea of school as a primary training ground for future employment， as do many corporate executives。 This is why the story of Economic Utility is told and retold in television commercials and political speeches as the reason why children should go to school， and stay in school。。。

Chrisanne ，

Neil Postman remains oddly prophetic regarding the progress（or regress） of the education system。 Though this is almost 30 years old， he presents a disheartening view of the ways in which our system is failing our kids（and it doesn't end in 12th grade）。 He also presents several solutions that it would be interesting to try（particularly the no- textbook solution）。His disgust for the typical classroom makes me wonder if he practiced what he preached。 Neil Postman remains oddly prophetic regarding the progress（or regress） of the education system。 Though this is almost 30 years old， he presents a disheartening view of the ways in which our system is failing our kids（and it doesn't end in 12th grade）。 He also presents several solutions that it would be interesting to try（particularly the no- textbook solution）。His disgust for the typical classroom makes me wonder if he practiced what he preached。 。。。more

Daniel ，

This is an excellent book。 Neil points out that， in the past few years， academics and practitioners in the education world have been more concerned about the next best way to teach or how， for instance， technology "enhances learning。"。 Most of these are attempts to solve the "how" of learning。 What many of them miss is the "why" of learning。 What is the "end" of education？ Neil goes into detail describing how people come up with "gods" to serve and how those "gods" help explain many things that This is an excellent book。 Neil points out that， in the past few years， academics and practitioners in the education world have been more concerned about the next best way to teach or how， for instance， technology "enhances learning。"。 Most of these are attempts to solve the "how" of learning。 What many of them miss is the "why" of learning。 What is the "end" of education？ Neil goes into detail describing how people come up with "gods" to serve and how those "gods" help explain many things that they do。 He notes that the easiest "god" is the religious god， but there are other gods such as science， democracy， technology， and tribal or national gods。 He identifies that some of these gods have failed to serve us as they are being replaced by newer gods。 The gods that explained the "why" of education are also becoming obsolete。 Neil points out that we need to offer new ends to education for it to maintain it's relevance。 An excellent read and a great reference book for those interested in education。 。。。more

Robin ，

This a three star rated book that I recommend people read There are some threads in there in terms of structuring our public education system that are uncomplicated but seriously worth pondering about。There has been a lot of criticism of the way we educate our young but not much has changed。 The change if anything has been in the opposite direction ， to further impose the framework of work /job on the young if that wasn't obvious already。The current mainstream discourse has been limited to argum This a three star rated book that I recommend people read There are some threads in there in terms of structuring our public education system that are uncomplicated but seriously worth pondering about。There has been a lot of criticism of the way we educate our young but not much has changed。 The change if anything has been in the opposite direction ， to further impose the framework of work /job on the young if that wasn't obvious already。The current mainstream discourse has been limited to arguments and counter arguments about whether or not to fund public schools or whether to let private actors take in。 When the base is unnecessarily called into question， the important superstructural discussions are unfortunately cast aside。 。。。more

CTEP ，

In January， I read The End of Education by Neil Postman。 I read a few of his articles in college， and heard about Technopoly but haven't been able to get my hands on it yet。I can guarantee that I spent well more than 10 hours trying to get my mind wrapped around this book。 Postman attempts to solve the problems in the educational system in the United States by addressing what he refers to as the “why” of education。 Rather than worrying about how long students should be in school， or the teacher In January， I read The End of Education by Neil Postman。 I read a few of his articles in college， and heard about Technopoly but haven't been able to get my hands on it yet。I can guarantee that I spent well more than 10 hours trying to get my mind wrapped around this book。 Postman attempts to solve the problems in the educational system in the United States by addressing what he refers to as the “why” of education。 Rather than worrying about how long students should be in school， or the teacher to student ratio， or any other structural， “how” issues， Postman argues that what we really need is a clarification on the purpose of education。 Along the way， he ties in ideas about diversity， technology， multiculturalism， philosophy， civic engagement， citizenship， and more。This book was published in 1995 and while a lot has changed since then， Postman has some good ideas that shouldn’t be ignored—especially by AmeriCorps members and others interested in service as the means to learning。 He tells a “fable” about New York City sometime in the future。 The city is falling apart， students are apathetic at best， people have lost hope， etc。 An aide to the mayor runs across a quote about civic engagement from Walden that moves him to save the city by overhauling the school system。 Students of certain ages are required to spend portions of their day on activities that will save the city。 “Wednesday mornings were reserved for beautifying the city。 Students planted trees and flowers， tended the grass and shrubs， painted subways and other eyesores， and even repaired broken-down public buildings， starting with their own schools” （97）。 Other students helped deliver mail， worked in daycare centers， and published neighborhood newspapers。 Some were required to organize science fairs and community gatherings， and others assisted in hospitals and nursing homes。 It’s a fable， so of course the plan worked。 “The city began to come alive， and its citizens found new reason to hope that they could save themselves。 Young people who had been alienated from their environment assumed a proprietary interest in it。 Older people who had regarded the young as unruly and parasitic came to respect them…。 Amazingly， most of the students found that while they did not ‘receive’ an education， they were able to create a quite adequate one” （98-99）。 This fable appeared on its own as a short essay in the New York Times Magazine， and I probably should have just read that。 （You should: http://bit。ly/postman-fable。） It’s a visionary argument for teaching young people about the impact they can have on their community by empowering them to impact the community， and teaching them that their perspective matters by enabling them to share their perspective。 True， students spending more time on civic engagement and service learning might not be able to tell you the difference between differential calculus and integral calculus。 But I know the difference， and all it makes me think about is why I quit math。 Postman’s ideas might not be entirely practical， but are definitely worth studying and working towards。 。。。more

Maggie Korfhage ，

Required reading for my Master’s degree！ I actually enjoyed the viewpoints that Postman has about education。 I recommend if you’re interested in education！

Stefani ，

I just felt like this book kept missing the mark。 There would be parts I agreed with， but then parts where I felt he was assuming too much or too little， or taking the argument down some weird turn， etc。

Teun Voost ，

A crucial book for anyone who's even slightly interested in education。 Be prepared to rethink everything you think you know of education。 Postman brilliantly shows insights which make every teacher smile while reading them。 Ideas that every teacher thinks of but doesn't say， or ideas that every teacher says but doesn't think about more deeply are discussed。 Perhaps if we all would listen to Postman a little more， and pay a little more attention to our own practices， we would be able to reform th A crucial book for anyone who's even slightly interested in education。 Be prepared to rethink everything you think you know of education。 Postman brilliantly shows insights which make every teacher smile while reading them。 Ideas that every teacher thinks of but doesn't say， or ideas that every teacher says but doesn't think about more deeply are discussed。 Perhaps if we all would listen to Postman a little more， and pay a little more attention to our own practices， we would be able to reform the educational system to a system of sustainability and profound quality。 Loved reading it。 。。。more

Anton ，

Back to reading Postman after some pause。 I always found a lot of optimism in his ideas and his style of communication。 He is modern thinker with a lot of ideas and he is not afraid to start discussing them。

Joshua ，

A number of different things are going on in this book。 Postman identifies metaphysical challenges to schooling in America， as opposed to merely technical ones。 He also recognizes that the technical/technological aspects of schooling have some relation to the metaphysical ones。 The crisis in American schooling， he argues， is the lack of a coherent， unifying narrative tradition。 Postman， who is of the "Great Tradition" school of thought offers American 'cultural literacy，' together with a critiqu A number of different things are going on in this book。 Postman identifies metaphysical challenges to schooling in America， as opposed to merely technical ones。 He also recognizes that the technical/technological aspects of schooling have some relation to the metaphysical ones。 The crisis in American schooling， he argues， is the lack of a coherent， unifying narrative tradition。 Postman， who is of the "Great Tradition" school of thought offers American 'cultural literacy，' together with a critique of technology that draws heavily on Marshall McLuhan's work as a path forward。 It is a book that draws on classroom experience and offers valuable insight。 Where Postman is at his weakest is in his tirades against multiculturalism， and in his defense of the beleaguered 'dead white males。' Pointing to provocateurs like Farrakhan and arguing， with confusing scare-quotes， that 'revisionist' history is making us aware of the violence and oppression of American history， Postman avoids the question of whether the 'American experiment' is itself plagued by internal inconsistencies。 （Just to be clear， it is。 The self-evident truth of freedom was written by slave-holders。） Postman， like McLuhan before him， is focused so strictly on the technological medium that he ignores the social conditions that allow for that particular technology to exist。 。。。more

Andrew ，

Like “Amusing Ourselves，” Postman’s teachings still have something to say decades after the fact。 I do think Postman’s pessimism sometimes drown out everything in the book。 Despite this， I agreed with almost everything he had to say about what education should be。

Jamal ，

The book explores new territories that should occupy educators and governments that deal with setting educational ends。 The way the system works today has been since humans created schools and the objectives has been stagnant for so long。 It is high time we regard education as a global humanistic need instead of the way it is nowadays。 Every field is a human endeavor to understand this world and every society and era has contributed to that end。 Thus， it must be taught that way in all subjects。 The book explores new territories that should occupy educators and governments that deal with setting educational ends。 The way the system works today has been since humans created schools and the objectives has been stagnant for so long。 It is high time we regard education as a global humanistic need instead of the way it is nowadays。 Every field is a human endeavor to understand this world and every society and era has contributed to that end。 Thus， it must be taught that way in all subjects。 The story of physics for instance and how humans aspire to grasp the rules governing this universe and even alter it。 。。。more

Mark Greathouse ，

After reading this， every parent should want to home school their kids。

Vance J。 ，

A really nice read。 I recommend it to school administrators， education policy leaders， and teachers who want to think about the “why” of K12 education。 The author’s insights are very interesting。

Emily Claire ，

This is the most important book you’ll ever read to understand not only the enigma of modern public education， but the troubling state of a divided American culture as well。 Thoughtfully written， the solutions Postman gives to the culture of separatism （multiculturalism） are ubiquitous。 I love Postman’s writing and mind - urging us to ponder a way to a united country through unique public school subjects like anthropology， astronomy， and archaeology。 A new trivium if you will， compromised of mor This is the most important book you’ll ever read to understand not only the enigma of modern public education， but the troubling state of a divided American culture as well。 Thoughtfully written， the solutions Postman gives to the culture of separatism （multiculturalism） are ubiquitous。 I love Postman’s writing and mind - urging us to ponder a way to a united country through unique public school subjects like anthropology， astronomy， and archaeology。 A new trivium if you will， compromised of more subjects that lead to the question: “why is studying this important for us？” 。。。more

Raymundo ，

It reads like prophesy now。 Well even back 1996。

Daniëlle Van den Brink ，

"Profound but contradictory ideas may exist side by side， if they are constructed from different materials and methods and have different purposes。 Each tells us something important about where we stand in the universe， and it is foolish to insist that they must despise each other。"A renewed sense of responsibility， curiosity， awareness and growth enabled by diversity in religion， culture and language。 That should be the foundation of education according to Postman。 There is great potential is s "Profound but contradictory ideas may exist side by side， if they are constructed from different materials and methods and have different purposes。 Each tells us something important about where we stand in the universe， and it is foolish to insist that they must despise each other。"A renewed sense of responsibility， curiosity， awareness and growth enabled by diversity in religion， culture and language。 That should be the foundation of education according to Postman。 There is great potential is schooling but it is lost in a sea of unwarranted rules and backwards requirements。 Teachers proudly say they attempt to teach critical thinking but don't think twice when they provide their students with scripted material that is not open to questioning。 Quite disturbing when you think about it。 The teachers are not the only ones doing harm。 In fact， they are often victim of the regulations they are forced to stick to。 Schools haven't evolved nearly enough to keep up with our modern society。 Students are taught how to use technology but not about what it has done and is doing for/to our society。 Too often are they simply provided with rules and regulations they need to "know" by heart without being fully aware of the implications。 One of Postman's most compelling suggestions is to teach courses from a historical point of view， by means of treating our current knowledge on a subject to be the best we have to offer at the moment。 From there， students should be taught where it comes from， including all the stumbled humanity made on its way to success and be given the opportunity to consider how it could be improved。 It is an ambitious thought and not easily done but it would provide so much perspective for both learners and teachers。 It is quite the masterpiece。。。 Postman does not only address the problems in our current educational system but dives deep into their origins and what we can go to turn things around。 He acknowledges the difficulty in changing and remains critical， even of his own ideas。 A very impressive book。 。。。more

Rohit Patel ，

Three line Summary - Its very easy to point out the flaws of the present education system（there are too many），but only a few books are actually able to ask the toughest questions like why do we actually need schooling and what should it look like in an Utopian world（which when you think about is not that easy to answer） and provide a viable alternative at the same time。 On top of that this book was also able to pave the way forward as to how we could achieve that。。。Thought we might never actuall Three line Summary - Its very easy to point out the flaws of the present education system（there are too many），but only a few books are actually able to ask the toughest questions like why do we actually need schooling and what should it look like in an Utopian world（which when you think about is not that easy to answer） and provide a viable alternative at the same time。 On top of that this book was also able to pave the way forward as to how we could achieve that。。。Thought we might never actually end up implementing the ideas suggest here， this book definitely will convince you that a deeper dialogue on "where our education system is headed and what should we do about it " is needed。 。。。more

Todd ，

It is both impressive and depressing that a book about education written 23 years ago may have more salience now that at the time it was written。 “The End of Education” addresses many of the complicated question about public education with a perspective that is simultaneously conservative and radically subversive。 Postman defends the traditional role of public education in crafting a common culture， the conservative bits， while outlining curriculum content and pedagogical approaches that could p It is both impressive and depressing that a book about education written 23 years ago may have more salience now that at the time it was written。 “The End of Education” addresses many of the complicated question about public education with a perspective that is simultaneously conservative and radically subversive。 Postman defends the traditional role of public education in crafting a common culture， the conservative bits， while outlining curriculum content and pedagogical approaches that could please much of today’s SJW left。 。。。more

Billypal ，

cheap 1990s contrarianism

Kevin ，

Pretty much a very insightful book。Sometimes it feels like I'm listening to an old grumpy man who doesn't want things to change， but that'd be just an impression at first glance。In reality Postman does provide lots of details/subtleties on each of his arguments which makes all of them very valid and not just bold guidelines。 Pretty much a very insightful book。Sometimes it feels like I'm listening to an old grumpy man who doesn't want things to change， but that'd be just an impression at first glance。In reality Postman does provide lots of details/subtleties on each of his arguments which makes all of them very valid and not just bold guidelines。 。。。more

Reference

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hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0