What if learning is not the point? Enlarging educational goals beyond learning

Schools are often thought of as sites where one goes to learn something. Along with this association is the notion that meaningful representations of practices can be had, and that young people’s understanding of these representations is an ideal preparation for the future. However, learning may not always be the point, representations will always be incomplete, and what understanding means may not always be clear. While we make no attempts to address the latter two notions, we offer being as the point of education, specifically, that the point of education is in being emancipated. We use this term with deference to the far more serious forms of oppression that have been (and in many cases continues to be) inflicted upon particular groups and individuals. If we desire students to become responsible autonomous agents capable of transcending existing limitations, the best way to achieve this is simply to be, rather than merely learning about it, and hoping for the day when the knowledge we provide can be useful. We discuss the case of creative making in makerspaces—junior engineering workshops—often considered as sites for STEM education. We use the philosophical insights of Gert Biesta and Jacques Rancière to support our position, and show through an ethnographic case study how makerspaces can either achieve, or fail to achieve, emancipation.