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 thepeople 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.

　　Throughout  a  country，  children arrive at  school  at approximately the same time， take assigned seats， are 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 understanding of the workings of government， have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example， high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

　　上學(xué)與受教育

　　在美國(guó)，人們通常認(rèn)為上學(xué)是為了受教育。而現(xiàn)在卻有人認(rèn)為孩子們上學(xué)打斷了他們受教育的過(guò)程。這種觀念中的上學(xué)與受教育之間的區(qū)別非常重要。

　　與上學(xué)相比，教育更具開(kāi)放性，內(nèi)容更廣泛。教育不受任何限制。它可以在任何場(chǎng)合下進(jìn)行，在淋浴時(shí)，在工作時(shí)，在廚房里或拖拉機(jī)上。

　　它既包括在學(xué)校所受的正規(guī)教育，也包括一切非正規(guī)教育。傳授知識(shí)的人可以是德高望重的老者，可以是收音機(jī)里進(jìn)行政治辯論的人們，可以是小孩子，也可以是知名的科學(xué)家。上學(xué)讀書(shū)多少有點(diǎn)可預(yù)見(jiàn)性，而教育往往能帶來(lái)意外的發(fā)現(xiàn)。與陌生人的一次隨意談話可能會(huì)使人認(rèn)識(shí)到自己對(duì)其它宗教其實(shí)所知甚少。

　　人們從幼時(shí)起就開(kāi)始受教育。因此，教育是一個(gè)內(nèi)涵很豐富的詞，它自始至終伴隨人的一生，早在人們上學(xué)之前就開(kāi)始了。

　　教育應(yīng)成為人生命中不可缺少的一部分。然而，上學(xué)卻是一個(gè)特定的形式化了的過(guò)程。在不同場(chǎng)合下，它的基本形式大同小異。在全國(guó)各地，孩子們幾乎在同一時(shí)刻到達(dá)學(xué)校，坐在指定的座位上，由一位成年人傳授知識(shí)，使用大致相同的教材，做作業(yè)，考試等等。

　　他們所學(xué)的現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中的一些片斷，如字母表或政府的運(yùn)作，往往受到科目范圍的限制。

　　例如，高中生們知道，在課堂上他們沒(méi)法弄清楚他們社區(qū)里政治問(wèn)題的真情，也不會(huì)了解到最新潮的電影制片人在做哪些嘗試。

　　學(xué)校教育這一形式化的過(guò)程是有特定的限制的。

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