What’s The Role Of Education?
This is a question which I have always pondered on, and whenever I asked people they would all regurgitate the same generic answers; Such as, “To prepare you for a job”, “To make money so you can live.”
These were never convincing answers, because deep down I always believed that education played a bigger role than just collecting a cheque every month. A job is a part of that jigsaw puzzle but there are many other important parts in this life equation.
There has to be more than just making a buck here and there. What about the appreciation of Nature or how to treat other people. Education should intuitively incorporate all of these factors while still adhering to healthy routines that instil discipline and nurture the minds of kids.
The school system needs to impart the belief system that anything is possible. I know that it seems like I have my head up in the clouds. But this is something I’ve experimented with, these aren’t just cheap words.
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I had the glorious opportunity of teaching English in South Korea for 2 years. The conditions were certainly challenging due to language, culture and a rigid school system. But I saw these as opportunities to really push hard into unknown borders, one of the important things was teaching meaningful things which the kids could actually use. A good start was to throw out the old, dusty textbooks I was instructed to use.
Hitting two birds with one stone was also a key objective, thus trying to make the lessons fun and engaging. Scientific studies have shown that the ability to retain information increases when the activity is compelling and engaging. There is nothing better than using games, kids love games so this should always be the secret weapon in conveying key messages to them.
Around The World Game
In retrospect the biggest challenge I encountered was the general attitude among the kids. “It’s not possible to learn English”, “Why do I have to learn English”. These were all valid points from their side. The biggest difference with Korea is the environment.
Korea has been a homogenous society linguistically and culturally for a very long time. The Korean ethnic group accounts for approximately 96% of the total population. So this has created an environment which validates these belief systems. One of them being, “I can’t learn English.” But once these kids start believing, everything eventually falls into place.
If we set aside the technical aspects of language, the biggest factor which determines whether a person learns to speak or not is self-belief. People who truly believe that someway, somehow they are going to achieve their goal, ultimately end up doing it.
I’m not talking about the cheap aphorisms we repeat to ourselves every morning in front of the mirror. I mean trusting the process and believing that you are competent enough to achieve your goal.
Since we have identified that self-belief plays a significant role in effecting our progress, how do we cultivate it. Elementary is a crucial stage in our development as human beings. This is the stage whereby habits and mindsets can be shaped accordingly.
The challenge which educators face is managing all of the different personalities in a classroom. We have to accept the fact that people learn differently, there are Kinaesthetic and Analytic learners. A good system is one which is able to incorporate both and promotes equal inclusion.
School should replicate real life situations which will help make the transition from school to work more fluid. One way is helping kids deal with real life situations such as depression, fear, sex and the psychological aspects of economics.
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Games which simulate the realities of life in a safe environment are essential. A person who comes to mind is John Hunter the creator of The World Peace Game.
The World Peace Game is a hands-on political simulation that gives players the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war.
The goal of the game is to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. Kids are also introduced to philosophical texts from resources such as Sun Tzu - The Art of War. These help in cultivating an appreciation for ancient wisdom.
World Peace Game
As “nation teams,” students will gain greater understanding of the critical impact of information and how it is used. This is just one of the ways education can become essential and beneficial to the lives of kids.
The biggest problem we are facing with the education system is the information overload. Kids are faced with the problem of learning to sift through the flood of information available.
This is a new and unique problem which never existed over a decade ago. Social Networks have become the access point for most of this information and this poses a grave danger as to the validity and quality of this information. Chat GPT has thrown gasoline onto this information forest fire.
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Students now have access to a tool which will totally destroy the desire to go through the vital process of reading large amounts of information and synthesising their ideas coherently. This Super-tool will do everything for them in a few seconds, free of charge.
We are at the crossroads of humanity whereby learning to think critically and analytically have become valuable skill sets for any knowledge worker in the 21st Century.
We are at that point whereby more people including 3rd world nations are getting access to free information via the Internet. But the skill now is how to sift through the junk to find the diamonds and pearls and most importantly knowing what to do with this information.
The modern world is moving rapidly fast. Just ask your parents how many career choices they had while growing up. The number of career paths a person can take is overwhelming.
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
The internet has changed the whole complexion of the world. But with all of these changes we shouldn’t forget the fundamentals of education which is to create decent human beings who are able to think critically and analytically. Not walking robots who spend 12 years of their lives in a school system that drills in facts but ignores the principles of what it really means to be human.
We are living in the most exciting times, but we should also be aware of the perils which come with the vast industrialisation of the world.
Technology should not be a replacement for our fundamental values. It should be a tool to develop our humanity. Education should give us the belief to not only use these tools but to also build new ones that help us realise our true potential. Education should help us to always remember that at our deepest core, our one unifying force is that we are all human.
