To Socialize Or Not To Socialize, That Is The Question

The topic is whether or not schools today have an obligation to socialize students. This topic has been around for years and is a very important one. Some say that the schools job is to educate, and that's it. While others say that schools have the responsibility to produce a well rounded individual, capable of social interaction. I personally think that there should me a happy medium in the whole process. I think that to a certain extent, K-12 schools have an obligation to socialize, while universities have the obligation to solely educate.

When in grade school, being a person that does well with other people is very important. Being that these years in one's life are so crucial, experiences had in them will remain with an individual for many years. That is why most elementary, middle, and high schools today put a high emphasis on producing a social student. Things like group projects help immensely to this process. Students will be forced to interact with other students striving toward a single goal. I think that most of the socialization efforts of the schools today are pretty unintentional, yet they work. Students are forced to go to school and see the same people everyday, and naturally people will tend to make friends. I doubt that school systems plan this, because it doesn't need to be planned. This will automatically happen. Other methods schools use are sports teams and school clubs. These are both great agents of socialization. Especially clubs because they are usually open to anyone who would join and there are immediate social interaction.

Colleges and universities on the other hand have the obligation, in my opinion, to solely educate. Basically, when the student gets out of high school, he or she is expected to be socially stable. It is here when the tables should turn and these institutions should produce well educated individuals. I think that once one enters college that that person is considered