At today's workshop about an hour North of here, I asked the teachers (in a polleverywhere poll) to tell me what they thought was the purpose of school. Not original, certainly. But, the idea was to ask again at the end to see if their thoughts had changed. The session ran long so I didn't get to ask the seond time. Here, though, is the list of thoughts that they submitted during the first round:

To prepare students for the future.
help children learn- keep their minds busy
To create an educated population that is capable of supporting the needs of the nation such that all people have access to resources that are essential to life.
It depends on whose point of view we are using. The government's point of view is to create "good" citizens. The business world's point of view is to create good workers and problem solvers. The academic world's point of view is to create good thinkers.
The purpose of school is to promote life-long learning.
To educate students and make them self-reliant is the purpose of school.
the purpose of school is to help each child reach their potential
To prepare students for career and social needs.
The purpose of school is to create independent, adult learners.
to facilitate student learning and to prepare them for success in the real world
How to acquire and learn new informaton
the purpose is to input the brain as much as possible
To help students to use critical thinking, to help them to be able to gather information and to use it in our global community.
The purpose of school is the provide opportunities for every student to develop their potential so that they may be productive members of society.
To prepare students for be productive members of society.
provide core information and prepare students for the future
To educate young individuals preparing them for tomorrow.
to learn
to impart knowledge: about academics and everyday living
To educate students and prepare them for life whether it be academia or job-force.
To be competent citizen in a democracy.
The purpose of school is to educate our students so that they can have the tools necessary to enhance their knowledge and skills to contribute or acquire a 21st century career.
for a job
To facilitate and provide experiences that encourage curiosity and learnintg in a safe and caring atmosphere.
The purpose of school is to educate children so they may become a productive member of society as it is today and also as it will be in the future.
To provide educational opportunities for all students with a variety of learning styles.
To educate students in all subject areas. To build confidence in students and to build life skills.

Interesting, no?