schooling and education

    It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education . Nevertheless , it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school . The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important .
    Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling . Education knows no bounds . It can take place anywhere , whether in the shower or in the job , whether in a kitchen or on a tractor . It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning . The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio , from a child to a distinguished scientist .
    Whereas schooling has a certain predictability , education quite often produces surprises . A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions . People are engaged in education from infancy on . Education , then , is a very broad , inclusive term . It is a lifelong process , a process that starts long before the start of school , and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life .
    schooling , on the other hand , is a specific formalized process , whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next . Through out a country , children arrive at school at approximately the same time , take assighed seats , be taught by an adult , use similar textbooks , do homework , take exams , and so on . The slices of reality that are to be learned , whether they are the alphabet or an understand of the workings of the government , have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught . For example , the high school students know that , they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about the political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with . There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling .