Would if it were that easy to answer. After spending twenty years in it now, I can say that "get a job" is not really what we're doing, because who's to say what job each of our students is going to choose and what jobs will be around in the years to come? Educating for jobs is futile, but yes, many people do say that's what we're doing. "Educating just to get kids through the system" is what really happens every day, and is arguably the high crime and misdemeanors of our public school system, but that is hardly its defining purpose. What is its purpose then? I guess you could argue it begins and ends in the home. Why do YOU send your kids to school? I can tell you this, if you tell them that it's merely to get a job, then they will argue and fight with their teachers in all the classes they deem "unnecessary" in their eventual quest for a paycheck. I see it all the time. The smart kids will verbalize it to me. It begins with, "Why do I need to know if this I'm going to be..." etc., etc., etc. Should schools themselves set the purpose for education? I hope not. They are too bound by state and federal regs and the need to stay funded and thus do things like prep for questionable standardized test. What is our national purpose for our educational system? What is our national story? What do we believe in as Americans? Certainly, leading political figures like Donald Trump have a story for us. So do others from the other party. Which story guides our thinking on the values we should place as Americans and thus on our education as Americans? Answer all these questions, you'll have a real purpose for what we're doing in school. I know this is a long-winded non-answer, but it's the best I've got so far. Suffice it to say, however, that "get a paycheck" is probably not a very inspiring message for kids who are wading through twelve years of schooling. We, as the adults, can do better.