The End of Education

By: Parag Chowdhury

Postman, Neil (1996) The End of Education, New York, New York: Vintage Books
The following passage by Postman summarizes the intent of this book: "I write this book in the hope of altering, a little bit, the definition of the “school problem”-from means to ends. “End” of course has two important meanings: purpose and finish. Either meaning may apply to the future of schools' depending on whether or not there ensues a serious dialogue about purpose." (Postman, pX)

The following quotes from the book sparked my interest:
"Nietzsche's famous aphorism is relevant here: “he who has a a why to live can bear with almost any how.” This applies as much to learning as to living." (Postman, p 4)

"The point is, call them what you will, we are unceasing in creating histories and futures for ourselves through the medium of narrative. Without a narrative, life has no meaning. Without meaning, learning has no purpose. Without a purpose, schools are houses of detention not attention. This is what my book is about (Postman, p 7)."