What is Education?
Education is the acquisition of knowledge,
knowledge is what the mind intake and the mind should be a thing that works. A
working mind will crave for education because it will get bored and tired of
the same information and will want a constant refreshing of new information.
(Sheerwood Anderson)
Education has many different definitions, but it is still difficult to clearly articulate the definition. According to Merriam-Webster, education is the action or process of educating or of being educated. What does it mean to be educated? Merriam-Webster states that educated is giving evidence of training or practice. If someone has training then they are educated, so education would be the process of someone being trained. It also states that if you have evidence of practice then you are educated. If someone practices a task until they show evidence of having practiced the task, then they have received an education in the task. Therefore, education is not limited to formal schooling.
It is widely agreed that the relationship between poverty and education
operates in two directions: poor people are often unable to obtain access to an
adequate education, and without an adequate education people are often constrained
to a life of poverty. However, before addressing the interrelationships between
poverty and education, it is important to discuss the concept of poverty.
The work of Amartya Sen (1992, 2001) has broadened our understanding of
poverty by defining it as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom
to choose arising from a lack of what he refers to as the capability to
function effectively in society. This Multi-dimensional interpretation moves
far beyond the notion of poverty as being solely related to a lack of financial
resources. For example, Sen’s viewpoint would suggest that inadequate education
could, in itself, be considered as a form of poverty in many societies.
In contrast, relative poverty is seen as poverty that is partly
determined by the society in which a person lives. Someone who may not be
regarded as poor in
Both absolute and relative poverty are relevant for education. Lack of
financial resources may limit school attendance among the absolutely poor in
developing countries. The relatively poor in developed countries, however,
often feel excluded from the school community, or the whole school community
itself may feel excluded from the wider society. Such exclusion affects their
ability to gain the full benefits from education or to translate the benefits
of education into remunerative employment. This also has a potential impact on
motivation to participate or to do well in education. Where absolute poverty is
considered, the focus will be on developing (poor) countries. In contrast,
where relative poverty is considered, the focus will usually be on developed
(rich) countries (even though relative poverty is also widely present in poor
countries).
Citing
data from the National Statistics Office 2003 Functional Literacy, Education,
and Mass Media Survey, the study said the top reason of people aged 6-24
for not attending school is
employment or “looking for work,” with almost one-third or 30.5 percent citing
that reason.
Lack
of personal interest came in second at 22 percent, while the high cost of
education came in a close third at 19.9 percent. Other reasons include, among
others, housekeeping, illness or disability, failure to cope with school work,
and distance from school.
“The
challenge, therefore, is how to make the school interesting and encouraging
rather than intimidating; how to make it inclusive, non-discriminatory and
poor-sensitive rather than exclusive and elite-oriented; and how to make it
accommodating rather than restricting. Finally, the education content, process
and experience should be made more meaningful to the children’s life
experiences by ensuring appropriate, culture-sensitive and values-based
interventions,” it added.-GMA
news TV
The impact of education on earnings and thus on poverty works largely
through the labor market, though education can also contribute to productivity
in other areas, such as peasant farming (Orazem, Glewwe & Patrinos, 2007:
5). In the labor market, higher wages for more educated people may result from
higher productivity, but also perhaps from the fact that education may act as a
signal of ability to employers, enabling the better educated to obtain more
lucrative jobs. Middle-income countries – which frequently have well developed
markets for more educated labor – are particularly likely to see the benefits
of education translated into better jobs and higher wages. In
Education’s linkages with economic growth much evidence that investment
in education at secondary or even tertiary levels may bring even higher returns
in some countries. This could indicate that returns to education vary with
factors such as the level of development, the supply of educated workers, and
shifts in the demand for such workers in the development process. It is well
known that the demand for more educated labor rises as a country develops
(Murphy & Welch, 1994). This increase in demand for highly skilled workers
requires educational output to adjust accordingly, raising the relative returns
to higher levels of education (Goldin & Katz, 1999). Nevertheless, the
absolutely poor in developing countries usually have low education levels. Some
may still not even have access to primary education or may not complete their
primary education.
Some of the factors associated with this include poverty (especially
relative poverty), language, ethnic
minority status , or immigrant status (Schnepf, 2004). Although these factors may
all separately contribute to social disadvantage and social exclusion, they
often interact. Thus social exclusion is a common feature of many educationally
‘at risk’ students, both poor and non-poor. Social mobility varies across
countries in the developed world.
Generally, education improves job prospects for poor groups, although
upward social mobility is more difficult for groups that are also otherwise
socially marginalized, such as immigrant communities or ethnic minorities. Even
among such groups though, education lowers poverty, but the returns to
education may be smaller than for non-minority members due to discrimination.
Family and Education
Family’s crucial role in child’s education
Why Do We
Need Education?
The importance of education in life cannot be doubted. Education opens up our minds and makes us broadminded. There is no better time than the present to understand this. Globalization has transformed the world into one big village. It is possible for us to know about the different cultures or events taking place at the other end of the world today. All these have been made possible due to education. Learning about new things and different cultures not only adds to our literacy bank but also instills in us humane qualities. For example if we see that a society in some other part of the world has accepted HIV patients and begun to work for them, then we might also begin to do the same. Maybe we had resorted to shunning them earlier but education can change our thought processes for the better. It therefore helps in making us more tolerant and accepting.
As cited in the article of Manali Oak, 2010 the importance of education as a concept needs to be instilled in children from an early age. Education does not simply mean bookish knowledge or learning things by rote but holds a much deeper meaning. It means opening your minds to learn new things and pursue different options. Opting for higher education provides one with a clearer vision and makes one more receptive to change. It makes a person rational with an ability to think and question. And these are the basis on which reforms are made.
Education also provides opportunities to interact with people from different walks of life. It leads to better understanding and an exposure of how the world lives and thinks. It is our duty to inculcate the importance of education in children. They should be made aware that list of degrees that tail an individual’s name does not mean that one is educated. It holds a much wider perspective. Education means to go beyond the degrees and continue to achieve by acquiring knowledge. In the real sense education means to evolve from being an individual to a human being capable of, not merely ‘surviving’ but living life.
He further explained that education should aim at resolving to foster the good practices into the youth in such a way as a conscious choice rejecting the bad ones. Education to youths should bring forth the critical social issues and encourage the youngsters to resolve them. Education should motivate the youths to come forward to work for society. It should instill in them a feeling that they belong to the society and that it is their responsibility to drive it on the righteous path.
Overpopulation is another important social issue we face today. It is one of the greatest concerns of mankind. Sex education, effects of excessive growth of population and the ways of controlling population need to be taught to the youths of the present times. The education to youths should give them a sense of social awareness, along with their growing sense of self-awareness.
What Is the Value of Good
Education?
Education has many different definitions, but it is still difficult to clearly articulate the definition. According to Merriam-Webster, education is the action or process of educating or of being educated. What does it mean to be educated? Merriam-Webster states that educated is giving evidence of training or practice. If someone has training then they are educated, so education would be the process of someone being trained. It also states that if you have evidence of practice then you are educated. If someone practices a task until they show evidence of having practiced the task, then they have received an education in the task. Therefore, education is not limited to formal schooling.
Education is the acquisition of knowledge. It is taking
ownership of the information given to you whether through formal education or
through life skills. Education is living. Education begins from the time you
are born until your death. These are basic truths of education. If you stop
having an education then you die, because to be alive is to learn new things. “The
whole object of education is...to develop the mind. The mind should be a thing
that works.” (Sherwood Anderson) If we follow this guideline we will have a
mind that continually works and learns new things. It is a mind that will crave
education because it will get bored and tired of the same information and will
want a constant refreshing of new information.
One of the most important educations you will receive is life skills.
These skills will teach you how to treat other people, how to behave in a
social setting and how to take care of yourself. You are educated on many
different aspects of life; whether financial, social, or moral, through
different channels and people you meet. How much education you choose to
receive will determine how well you do in life. If you decide that you do not
care to learn about the financial aspects of life then you will have a difficult
time achieving your retirement goals. Receiving a financial education is able
to teach you how to invest, save your money or even balance your checkbook. The
acquisition of financial
knowledge could save you quite a bit of heartache if you learn it at an early
age.
A social education teaches you how to act around other people, whether
in a personal or professional setting. If you have a solid social education
then it is able to help improve your financial status also. By speaking well in
a group or personal setting, you will be noticed and it could help you receive
a promotion or a job offer. Your moral education is something that you are
learning from the time you are born. Your moral education is normally based on
your parents’ beliefs in the beginning but as you age your own belief system
will evolve. It is up to you whether your moral compass is set to help you
improve your life. ( Don Berg, Founder of Attitutor Services )
Education and the Significance of Life
When one travels around the world, one notices to
what an extraordinary degree human nature is the same, whether in India or America ,
in Europe or Australia
Conventional education makes independent thinking
extremely difficult. Conformity leads to mediocrity. To be different from the
group or to resist environment is not easy and is often risky as long as we
worship success. The urge to be successful, which is the pursuit of reward
whether in the material or in the so-called spiritual sphere, the search for
inward or outward security, the desire for comfort - this whole process
smothers discontent, puts an end to spontaneity and breeds fear; and fear
blocks the intelligent understanding of life. With increasing age, dullness of
mind and heart sets in.
In seeking comfort, we generally find a quiet corner
in life where there is a minimum of conflict, and then we are afraid to step
out of that seclusion. This fear of life, this fear of struggle and of new
experience, kills in us the spirit of adventure; our whole upbringing and
education have made us afraid to be different from our neighbors, afraid to think contrary to the established pattern of
society, falsely respectful of authority and tradition.
Fortunately, there are a few who are in earnest, who
are willing to examine our human problems without the prejudice of the right or
of the left; but in the vast majority of us, there is no real spirit of
discontent, of revolt. When we yield uncomprehendingly to environment, any
spirit of revolt that we may have had dies down, and our responsibilities soon
put an end to it.
Revolt is of
two kinds: there is violent revolt, which is mere reaction, without
understanding, against the existing order; and there is the deep psychological
revolt of intelligence. There are many who revolt against the established
orthodoxies only to fall into new orthodoxies, further illusions and concealed
self-indulgences. What generally happens is that we break away from one group
or set of ideals and join another group, take up other ideals, thus creating a
new pattern of thought against which we will again have to revolt. Reaction
only breeds opposition, and reform needs further reform.
But there is
an intelligent revolt which is not reaction, and which comes with
self-knowledge through the awareness of one's own thought and feeling. It is
only when we face experience as it comes and do not avoid disturbance that we
keep intelligence highly awakened; and intelligence highly awakened is
intuition, which is the only true guide in life.
Now, what is
the significance of life? What are we living and struggling for? If we are
being educated merely to achieve distinction, to get a better job, to be more
efficient, to have wider domination over others, then our lives will be shallow
and empty. If we are being educated only to be scientists, to be scholars
wedded to books, or specialists addicted to knowledge, then we shall be
contributing to the destruction and misery of the world.
Though there
is a higher and wider significance to life, of what value is our education if
we never discover it? We may be highly educated, but if we are without deep integration of thought and feeling, our lives
are incomplete, contradictory and torn with many fears; and as long as
education does not cultivate an integrated outlook on life, it has very little
significance.
All of us have been trained by education and
environment to seek personal gain and security, and to fight for ourselves.
Though we cover it over with pleasant phrases, we have been educated for
various professions within a system which is based on exploitation and
acquisitive fear. Such training must inevitably bring confusion and misery to
ourselves and to the world, for it creates in each individual those
psychological barriers which separate and hold him apart from others.
Education is
not merely a matter of training the mind. Training makes for efficiency, but it
does not bring about completeness. A mind that has merely been trained is the
continuation of the past, and such a mind can never discover the new. That is
why, to find out what is right education, we will have to inquire into the whole
significance of living.
To most of us,
the meaning of life as a whole is not of primary importance, and our education
emphasizes secondary values, merely making us proficient in some branch of
knowledge. Though knowledge and efficiency are necessary, to lay chief emphasis
on them only leads to conflict and confusion.
There is an efficiency inspired by love which goes
far beyond and is much greater than the efficiency of ambition; and without
love, which brings an integrated understanding of life, efficiency breeds
ruthlessness. Is this not what is actually taking place all over the world? Our
present education is geared to industrialization and war, its principal aim
being to develop efficiency; and we are caught in this machine of ruthless
competition and mutual destruction. If education leads to war, if it teaches us
to destroy or be destroyed, has it not utterly failed?
To bring about
right education, we must obviously understand the meaning of life as a whole, and for that we have to be able to
think, not consistently, but directly and truly. A consistent thinker is a
thoughtless person, because he conforms to a pattern; he repeats phrases and
thinks in a groove. We cannot understand existence abstractly or theoretically.
To understand life is to understand ourselves, and that is both the beginning and
the end of education.
Education is not merely acquiring knowledge, gathering
and correlating facts; it is
to see the significance of life as a whole. But the
whole cannot be approached through the part - which is what governments,
organized religions and authoritarian parties are attempting to do.
The function
of education is to create human beings who are integrated and therefore
intelligent. We may take degrees and be mechanically efficient without being
intelligent. Intelligence is not mere information; it
is not derived from books, nor does it consist of clever self-defensive
responses and aggressive assertions. One who has not studied may be more
intelligent than the learned. We have made examinations and degrees the
criterion of intelligence and have developed cunning minds that avoid vital
human issues. Intelligence is the capacity to perceive the essential, what is;
and to awaken this capacity, in oneself and in others, is education.
Education should help us to discover lasting values
so that we do not merely cling to formulas or repeat slogans; it should help us
to break down our national and social barriers, instead of emphasizing them,
for they breed antagonism between man and man. Unfortunately, the present
system of education is making us subservient, mechanical and deeply
thoughtless; though it awakens us intellectually, inwardly it leaves us
incomplete, stultified and uncreative.
Without an
integrated understanding of life, our individual and collective problems will
only deepen and extend. The purpose of education is not to produce mere
scholars, technicians and job hunters, but integrated men and women who are
free of fear; for only between such human beings can there be enduring peace.
It is in the understanding of ourselves that fear
comes to an end. If the individual is to grapple with life from moment to
moment, if he is to face its intricacies, its miseries and sudden demands, he must be infinitely pliable and
therefore free of theories and particular patterns of thought.
Education should not encourage the individual to
conform to society or to be negatively harmonious with it, but help him to
discover the true values which come with unbiased investigation and
self-awareness. When there is no self-knowledge, self-expression becomes
self-assertion, with all its aggressive and ambitious conflicts. Education
should awaken the capacity to be self-aware and not merely indulge in gratifying
self-expression.
What is the good of learning if in the process of
living we are destroying ourselves? As we are having a series of devastating
wars, one right after another, there is obviously something radically wrong
with the way we bring up our children. I think most of us are aware of this,
but we do not know how to deal with it.
Systems,
whether educational or political, are not changed mysteriously; they are
transformed when there is a fundamental change in ourselves. The individual is
of first importance, not the system; and as long as the individual does not
understand the total process of himself, no system, whether of the left or of
the right, can bring order and peace to the world. (J. Krishnamurti, Education
and the Significance of Life.)
The Right Kind of Education
The ignorant man is not the unlearned, but he who
does not know himself, and the learned man is stupid when he relies on books, on
knowledge and on authority to give him understanding. Understanding comes only
through self-knowledge, which is awareness of one's total psychological
process. Thus education, in the true sense, is the understanding of oneself,
for it is within each one of us that the whole of existence is gathered.
What we now
call education is a matter of accumulating information and knowledge from
books, which anyone can do who can read. Such education offers a subtle form of
escape from ourselves and, like all escapes, it inevitably creates increasing
misery. Conflict and confusion result from our own wrong relationship with
people, things and ideas, and until we understand that relationship and alter
it, mere learning, the gathering of facts and the acquiring of various skills,
can only lead us to engulfing chaos and destruction.
Present-day education is a complete failure because
it has overemphasized technique. In overemphasizing technique we destroy man.
To cultivate capacity and efficiency without understanding life, without having
a comprehensive perception of the ways of thought and desire, will only make us
increasingly ruthless, which is to engender wars and jeopardize our physical
security. The exclusive cultivation of technique has produced scientists,
mathematicians, bridge builders, space conquerors; but do they understand the
total process of life? Can any specialist experience life as a whole? Only when
he ceases to be a specialist.
The right kind of education is not concerned with any
ideology, however much it may promise a future Utopia: it is not based on any
system, however carefully thought out; nor is it a means of conditioning the
individual in some special manner. Education in the true sense is helping the
individual to be mature and free, to flower greatly in love and goodness. That
is what we should be interested in, and not in shaping the child according to
some idealistic pattern. It also consists in understanding the child as he is
without imposing upon him an ideal of what we think he should be. To enclose
him in the framework of an ideal is to encourage him to conform, which breeds
fear and produces in him a constant conflict between what he is and what he
should be; and all inward conflicts have their outward manifestations in society.
Ideals are an actual hindrance to our understanding of the child and to the
child's understanding of himself.
The highest function of education is to bring about
an integrated individual who is capable of dealing with life as a whole. The
idealist, like the specialist, is not concerned with the whole, but only with a
part. There can be no integration as long as one is pursuing an ideal pattern of action; and most
teachers who are idealists have put away love, they have dry minds and hard
hearts. To study a child, one has to be alert, watchful, self-aware, and this
demands far greater intelligence and affection than to encourage him to follow
an ideal. Another function of
education is to create new values. Merely to implant existing values in the
mind of the child, to make him conform to ideals, is to condition him without
awakening his intelligence. Education is intimately related to the present
world crisis, and the educator who sees the causes of this universal chaos
should ask himself how to awaken intelligence in the student, thus helping the
coming generation not to bring about further conflict and disaster. He must
give all his thought, all his care and affection to the creation of right
environment and to the development of understanding; so that when the child
grows into maturity he will be capable of dealing intelligently with the human
problems that confront him. But in order to do this, the educator must
understand himself instead of relying on ideologies, systems and beliefs.
Education is at present concerned with outward
efficiency, and it utterly disregards, or deliberately perverts, the inward
nature of man; it develops only one part of him and leaves the rest to drag
along as best it can. Our inner confusion, antagonism and fear ever overcome
the outer structure of society, however nobly conceived and cunningly built.
When there is not the right kind of education we destroy one another, and
physical security for every individual is denied. To educate the student
rightly is to help him to understand the total process of himself; for it is
only when there is integration of the mind and heart in everyday action that
there can be intelligence and inward transformation. ( J. Krishnamurti, Education
and the Significance of Life. )
What affects Educational Growth?
Poverty and Education
Poverty is the lack of basic human needs,
such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education,
clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. This is also
referred to as absolute poverty or destitution. Relative poverty is
the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a
society or country, or compared to worldwide averages. About 1.7 billion people
live in absolute poverty; before the industrial revolution, poverty had mostly been
the norm.
Poverty reduction has
historically been a result of economic growth as
increased levels of production, such as modern industrial technology, made
more wealth available
for those who were otherwise too poor to afford them. Also, investments in
modernizing agriculture and increasing yields is considered the core
of the antipoverty effort, given three-quarters of
the world’s
poor are rural farmers.
Today, economic liberalization includes
extending property rights, especially to land,
to the poor, and making financial services, notably savings,
accessible, inefficient institutions, corruption and political instability can
also discourage investment.
Aid and government supporting health,
education and infrastructure helps growth by increasing human and physical capital.
It is widely agreed that the relationship between poverty and education
operates in two directions: poor people are often unable to obtain access to an
adequate education, and without an adequate education people are often constrained
to a life of poverty. However, before addressing the interrelationships between
poverty and education, it is important to discuss the concept of poverty.
The work of Amartya Sen (1992, 2001) has broadened our understanding of
poverty by defining it as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom
to choose arising from a lack of what he refers to as the capability to
function effectively in society. This Multi-dimensional interpretation moves
far beyond the notion of poverty as being solely related to a lack of financial
resources. For example, Sen’s viewpoint would suggest that inadequate education
could, in itself, be considered as a form of poverty in many societies.
When considering poverty’s linkages with a lack of sufficient financial resources it is useful to consider the two distinct components of absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is the absence of financial resources required to maintain a certain minimal standard of living. For example, an absolute poverty line can be set, based on factors such as the financial resources needed for the most basic needs or the income level required to purchase basic food needs (Fields, 2000; Deaton, 1997). Such poverty lines need to be adjusted for inflation if they are to be used at different time points. A poverty line commonly used by the World Bank for making international comparisons is US$1 per person per day, or sometimes US$2 per person per day. This kind of absolute poverty line provides a fixed yardstick against which to measure change, to see whether a country is making any progress in reducing poverty for example, or to compare several countries or several regions.
In contrast, relative poverty is seen as poverty that is partly
determined by the society in which a person lives. Someone who may not be
regarded as poor in Bangladesh
may (with the same financial resources) be considered as poor in Sweden
Both absolute and relative poverty are relevant for education. Lack of
financial resources may limit school attendance among the absolutely poor in
developing countries. The relatively poor in developed countries, however,
often feel excluded from the school community, or the whole school community
itself may feel excluded from the wider society. Such exclusion affects their
ability to gain the full benefits from education or to translate the benefits
of education into remunerative employment. This also has a potential impact on
motivation to participate or to do well in education. Where absolute poverty is
considered, the focus will be on developing (poor) countries. In contrast,
where relative poverty is considered, the focus will usually be on developed
(rich) countries (even though relative poverty is also widely present in poor
countries).
Poverty to Blame
Poverty is one of the main causes of the country’s poor education record and has affected participation in education in more ways than one, according to “Education Watch Preliminary Report: Education Deprivation in the Philippines,” a study done by five advocacy groups including E-Net Philippines, Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, Action for Economic Reforms, Popular Education for People’s Empowerment, and Oxfam.
Citing
data from the National Statistics Office 2003 Functional Literacy, Education,
and Mass Media Survey, the study said the top reason of people aged 6-24
for not attending school is
employment or “looking for work,” with almost one-third or 30.5 percent citing
that reason.
Lack
of personal interest came in second at 22 percent, while the high cost of
education came in a close third at 19.9 percent. Other reasons include, among
others, housekeeping, illness or disability, failure to cope with school work,
and distance from school.
“The lack of interest among school children indicates a weakness on the part of the school system to make education interesting for the students. This may be due to poor teaching quality, inadequate facilities and supplies and poor infrastructure. Poverty, social exclusion, school distance and poor health are, likewise, factors that weigh heavily on children and dampen their interest to pursue schooling,” said the report.
“The
challenge, therefore, is how to make the school interesting and encouraging
rather than intimidating; how to make it inclusive, non-discriminatory and
poor-sensitive rather than exclusive and elite-oriented; and how to make it
accommodating rather than restricting. Finally, the education content, process
and experience should be made more meaningful to the children’s life
experiences by ensuring appropriate, culture-sensitive and values-based
interventions,” it added.-GMA
news TV
Education reduces poverty in rich and poor countries
Throughout the world it has been found that the probability of finding employment rises with higher levels of education, and that earnings are higher for people with higher levels of education. A better educated household is less likely to be poor.
The impact of education on earnings and thus on poverty works largely
through the labor market, though education can also contribute to productivity
in other areas, such as peasant farming (Orazem, Glewwe & Patrinos, 2007:
5). In the labor market, higher wages for more educated people may result from
higher productivity, but also perhaps from the fact that education may act as a
signal of ability to employers, enabling the better educated to obtain more
lucrative jobs. Middle-income countries – which frequently have well developed
markets for more educated labor – are particularly likely to see the benefits
of education translated into better jobs and higher wages. In Chile
Education’s linkages with economic growth much evidence that investment
in education at secondary or even tertiary levels may bring even higher returns
in some countries. This could indicate that returns to education vary with
factors such as the level of development, the supply of educated workers, and
shifts in the demand for such workers in the development process. It is well
known that the demand for more educated labor rises as a country develops
(Murphy & Welch, 1994). This increase in demand for highly skilled workers
requires educational output to adjust accordingly, raising the relative returns
to higher levels of education (Goldin & Katz, 1999). Nevertheless, the
absolutely poor in developing countries usually have low education levels. Some
may still not even have access to primary education or may not complete their
primary education.
Some of the factors associated with this include poverty (especially
relative poverty), language, ethnic
minority status , or immigrant status (Schnepf, 2004). Although these factors may
all separately contribute to social disadvantage and social exclusion, they
often interact. Thus social exclusion is a common feature of many educationally
‘at risk’ students, both poor and non-poor. Social mobility varies across
countries in the developed world.
Generally, education improves job prospects for poor groups, although
upward social mobility is more difficult for groups that are also otherwise
socially marginalized, such as immigrant communities or ethnic minorities. Even
among such groups though, education lowers poverty, but the returns to
education may be smaller than for non-minority members due to discrimination.
Family and Education
Family’s crucial role in child’s education
Fr. Cimagala of Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise
(CITE), Talamban, Cebu
City
In the first place, parents have to create a conductive family
atmosphere, where the children can grow up with as much ease and comfort as
possible. Problems and difficulties, both minor and major, will always be
around, but parents precisely have to find a way of making a homey environment
for the kids.
Priorities have
to be clear in their minds. While work and income are important,
spending time
with the children is even more required of them if they want to be good
parents. Children need the physical presence or bonding with parents to get
that direction-setting toehold in their lifelong formation.
What children see and hear at home becomes their basic resource engine
to drive them through life, their primal pool of values that would guide them
in the world. It’s in the home where their fundamental character and attitudes
to different things are formed.
Whether children become men and women of character, with the proper
hierarchy of values and virtues, knowing what are truly right and wrong, what
freedom is, how to use time and money properly, etc., depends on how they are
brought up in the family more than anywhere else.
Parents, therefore, should make their family their priority in life.
It’s there, before anything else, where they can prove their true faith and
love for God and others. Failing in this, all their successes in other fields
would fall hollow.
Crucial in this task is for parents to strike the proper blend between
parental authority and tenderness, discipline and understanding, effective
family management and boundless flexibility and patience.
Parents have to be both parents and friends to their children. This
difficult combination can be made easy if the love the reigns in the family is
the true love that comes from God. Otherwise, many possible distortions can
spoil the parents-children relationship.
Parents have to understand that they are the first representative of
God to their children. They have to understand that their authority over their
offspring is a participation of the fatherhood of God over all of us. It would
be good for parents to chew over this truth often to come out with practical
resolutions daily.
That parental authority has to exercise according to the mind and will
of God. For certain, it will be played out on the bumpy road of freedom all of
us have to pass. It will require both strong and gentle means to attain its
proper goal.
More than anything else, what parents can do first as educators to
their children is to give good example. This duty cannot be waived. Parents
have to be the first to show example of personal hygiene, order, courtesy, and
all the other virtues.
They have to continually support their example with the appropriate and
prompt explanations, the whys and the wherefores of the things they are
imparting to their children.
These days, what children need most is to appreciate the objective
value of study, prayer, constant concern for one another. The environment today
is filled with comfort and pleasure-seeking ways, indifference to God and
spiritual realities, self-absorption.
Also, parents should be competent in showing and explaining the
importance of purity and sobriety, since these are the virtues continually
threatened by the errant culture in the world these days.
The families today are especially challenged to do something to correct
this trend that is undermining the true health of humanity.
Lastly, parents should not shirk from the responsibility of teaching
their children about the ultimate truths—God, morality, vocation, continuing
formation, etc. This is an integral part of their duties towards their
children.
Why Do We
Need Education?
It is often said the ‘knowledge is power’. The debate on ‘why do we
need education’ is one that has many strong arguments for and against. However,
in our present society, the need for education cannot be denied.
Education does many things, but most importantly, it empowers an
individual to think, question and see beyond the obvious. We are born with a
natural tendency to question, however over time we turn compliant, and slowly
begin to accept all the way it is, no longer questioning. Education must
satiate the question, but never put out the fire. (Marian K. of buzzle.com)
Marian K. of buzzle.com suggested some of the obvious reasons why do we
need education are:
- Education broadens your horizon and gives you
a better understanding of the world around you and how things work.
- The world needs education as it is the basis
of a civilized structured society.
- Another reason why we need education is
because it reduces social and economic disparity, allowing progress to be
equally shared.
- Advancements in all fields, including science
and technology are made possible through education.
- Studies indicate that educated people have
longer life expectancies. They also tend to exercise more and play more
sports. They also understand the implications of diet and lifestyle on
their health enabling them to make healthy choices.
- On an average, educated people have jobs that
are more meaningful and interesting than those held by uneducated people.
They are usually in a position to make decisions at work. This results in
higher job
satisfaction that often also contributes to better quality
of life.
- Educated people are found to have higher self-esteem.
Their lives are more planned and thus have more direction. They have
better problems solving skills and are consequently better equipped to
handle everyday decisions.
- Another trend noticed, is that children of
educated parents are more likely to receive an education and have higher
cognitive development, than children of uneducated parents.
- Educated people are in a better position to
contribute more positively to society and even towards the planet, as they
understand the implications of their choices and actions.
Importance
of Education
Education has a fundamental role to play in personal and social
development. While it isn’t a magic pill to solving the problems of the world,
it is a ladder that can be used to climb out of poverty, exclusion, ignorance,
oppression and war. The children and youth of our times, who will take over
from today’s adults, need to be equipped with knowledge to usher in a better
future.
Education
is important because it equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams
come true. Education opens doors of brilliant career opportunities. It fetches
better prospects in career and growth. Every employer of today requires his
prospective employees to be well educated. He requires expertise. So, education
becomes an eligibility criterion for employment into any sector of the
industry. We are rewarded for exercising the expertise required for the field
we venture. We are weighed in the market on the basis of our educational skills
and how well we can apply them.
Many ineffective modern educational systems have proved successful in
opening the eyes but closing the mind. However, our debate is not to point out
the failings of educational systems, but to examine why we need education. In
our disenchantment with the prevailing education system, we must not disregard the
benefits of education. It is very important to analyze the education needs and
improvise the support system to ensure a better future for further generations.
Turning back the pages of history and reexamining primitive societies and their
often barbaric ways, is the best reminder for why do people need education. The
purpose of education should be to empower the mind and soul to achieve its full
potential. Whether our education systems achieve or hinder that purpose is
another discussion.
The words ‘cultivate’ and ‘civilize’ are almost synonymous to the word ‘educate’.
That says it! Education is important as it teaches us the right behavior, the
good manners thus making us civilized. It teaches us how to lead our lives.
Education is the basis of culture and civilization. It is instrumental in the
development of our values and virtues. Education cultivates us into mature
individuals, individuals capable of planning for our futures and taking the
right decisions. Education arms us with an insight to look at our lives and
learn from every experience. The future of a nation is safe in the
hands of educated individuals. Education is important for the economic
growth of a nation. It fosters principles of equality and socialism. Education
forms a support system for talents to excel in life. It is the backbone of
society.
Schools and colleges define the basic framework of education. Schooling
gives us the fundamentals whereas we specialize in fields of our interest,
during the degree courses. But education does not end here. It is a lifelong
process. Self-learning begins at the point that marks the end of institutional
education. The process of self-learning continues (Manali Oak/ buzzle.com).
Education Opens Our Minds
The importance of education in life cannot be doubted. Education opens up our minds and makes us broadminded. There is no better time than the present to understand this. Globalization has transformed the world into one big village. It is possible for us to know about the different cultures or events taking place at the other end of the world today. All these have been made possible due to education. Learning about new things and different cultures not only adds to our literacy bank but also instills in us humane qualities. For example if we see that a society in some other part of the world has accepted HIV patients and begun to work for them, then we might also begin to do the same. Maybe we had resorted to shunning them earlier but education can change our thought processes for the better. It therefore helps in making us more tolerant and accepting.
Education
– The Basis of Society
Education forms the basis of any society. It is responsible for the
economic, social, and political growth and development of society in general.
Education imparts knowledge whereby making discoveries and implementing them
for the betterment of the society becomes possible. The thread of the growth of
society depends upon the quality of education that is being imparted. The
better the quality, the better people can learn and utilize it to make reforms
that lead to research and development.
Society and civilization improves
with education. This paves way for developments in science and technology and
medicine; these two improve a person’s standard of living and life expectancy.
Today the third world countries like India
and China
Importance of Education for
Children
As cited in the article of Manali Oak, 2010 the importance of education as a concept needs to be instilled in children from an early age. Education does not simply mean bookish knowledge or learning things by rote but holds a much deeper meaning. It means opening your minds to learn new things and pursue different options. Opting for higher education provides one with a clearer vision and makes one more receptive to change. It makes a person rational with an ability to think and question. And these are the basis on which reforms are made.
Education also provides opportunities to interact with people from different walks of life. It leads to better understanding and an exposure of how the world lives and thinks. It is our duty to inculcate the importance of education in children. They should be made aware that list of degrees that tail an individual’s name does not mean that one is educated. It holds a much wider perspective. Education means to go beyond the degrees and continue to achieve by acquiring knowledge. In the real sense education means to evolve from being an individual to a human being capable of, not merely ‘surviving’ but living life.
Importance of Education to
Youths
Furthermore, Manali Oak states that education serves as a mean to bring
about the desired change in society, to develop a generation of virtuous
individuals and thus contribute to the development of good human beings. The
fundamental purpose of education is to gain knowledge, inculcate the forms of
proper conduct and acquire technical competency. Education serves as the means
to develop oneself physically, mentally and socially. The importance of
education to youths manifests itself in terms of the need to cultivate the
youths of society into mature individuals.
Moreover, education to the youths should consist of the training that
is an extension to their fields of interest. The education should help the
youths define their career objectives, decide what they want from life and
enable them to achieve success in their fields of interest. Education to youths
must aim at helping an individual form a skill set and work upon it to develop
expertise in the areas of his/her interest. The education for youths should
consist of courses that can help the youths with their careers and aims of
life.
He further explained that education should aim at resolving to foster the good practices into the youth in such a way as a conscious choice rejecting the bad ones. Education to youths should bring forth the critical social issues and encourage the youngsters to resolve them. Education should motivate the youths to come forward to work for society. It should instill in them a feeling that they belong to the society and that it is their responsibility to drive it on the righteous path.
Overpopulation is another important social issue we face today. It is one of the greatest concerns of mankind. Sex education, effects of excessive growth of population and the ways of controlling population need to be taught to the youths of the present times. The education to youths should give them a sense of social awareness, along with their growing sense of self-awareness.
Help With Education
Educated persons contribute more
to the development of nation. The ideas which educated people give are very
helpful for the nation’s progress. For taking any important decision these
people’s views are considered the most. They are given utmost respect and are
revered throughout the nation. This is another point which gives a light
on why do we need education. Gist: People think that there is a similarity
between being educated and being literate. But there is a large difference
between these two. Literacy gives a person the ability to read and write. But
knowledge gives person qualities like being humble, the ability to
differentiate good or bad. Education gives us the power of knowledge. The power
to use this knowledge vests with human beings. Education is the food to human
beings mind. As the saying goes in India
The question – Why is education valuable can have
many answers but growth angle is the most prominent one. There may be
exceptions to this but the world does not run on exceptions for the majority of
us. Education has an immense value for a holistic development of the
individual. It has values beyond one can comprehend. (Khushboo Sheth / mysticmadness.com)
The value of education for an individual has been
recognized across world and
this is reason basic education has been made mandatory
till the certain age group. The world is equivocal on its importance and has
given provisions that make it easy for children to get education. But the
purpose of this article is different according to Khushboo Sheth that would answer
the basic question – Why is education valuable?
So, Why Exactly is Education Valuable? It helps in
mental growth of the person; the person becomes knowledgeable and knows about
most of things, Education assures that one would be able to earn their
livelihood once they grow up. More than that, the more educated the person is,
the more success he will get, good education assures the flow of money, the
surest way to know that you would have secure future.
Every Viewpoint is true; yes it is your insurance
policy for success, yes it will insure a better future, yes it will help you in
a mental growth. But more than that Education is insuring that; you know how to
live in this world, you know how to face this world, and you know how to take
on this world. Just because; you learn it every day from your environment, you
learn it from the students and your teachers you study with, and you learn it
from your parents and from other people with whom you get it in contact. And that Education does not comes from books
alone; you need to ensure the whole round development, you need to ensure that
apart from books a wholesome education gets imparted, the education given is
right, to the point, and in right direction. Apart from studying, books etc. it
comes through; the company the child keeps, the home and outside environment, extracurricular
activities like sports, debates etc.
Education imparted only through books is not
sufficient at all. For an all round performance of the child one needs to
insure that a wholesome education gets imparted.
So finally, Why Is Education Valuable? Education
is not only valuable to help you secure a job or get a great future. It should
be there so that; even if you don’t get a job you should be confident enough to
make living, no matter what the situation is, your mind should be strong enough
to tide it through, and even if the life gets worse, you know how to put it
back on track. That’s the real essence of Education. Away from bookish
knowledge to a whole some development that comes from parents, activities,
people and lot of factors that influence our environment. So the crux is to get
the Education that makes you strong to face life and not your next elementary
school tests. Of course elementary school tests are important but in bigger picture
they comprise just the small part.
When you look at the education you need to look
beyond the school, studies, tests or jobs. Life is much beyond and larger than
text books. Good marks in school tests are not enough, you need to exceed in
other sphere too. People answer why education is important more from the realm
of the future it helps to secure. They forget that future has different shades
and not only the one in which you get a regular day time job.
What Is the Value of Good
Education?
Illiterate
people often ask what the value of good education is. The answer can be given
by only those who have gone through a rigorous procedure called education and
found themselves in better position now. If we talk about us also, in our
childhood many a times we feel like the education is useless and teachers are
putting extra and unnecessary burden on us. But, this is not true and we
understand this when we pass out with good marks or finally get the degree of
our wish. The value of education is so much that it cannot be compared by any
other thing in the world.
Unfortunately,
such a priceless thing i.e. education is not free for all. The more amounts you
pay, better education you can get. There is no doubt that the government is
also funding and encouraging education for poor people without a single penny.
But if we look at the quality of the teachers as well as education, we will try
to escape from that place as soon as possible.
The
education holds much value in our life. Let’s see what the value of good
education is or what is their outcome?
1. Broadens thinking- Good education has the main outcome that it provides you a new
perspective. It gives you a new eye of thinking other things with a rational
and analytical approach. You can understand everything well and can find
yourself in a better position than others. At this time, you can understand
what the value of good education is.
2. Opportunity- If you are educated then only you can look for more and more
opportunities. Without the education, it will not be possible. Some people are
blessed and they even can make out big without ample amount of education. In such
situation, there are some other factors like their passion, attitude, and other
stuffs that determine their success. But on a general basis, education does
hold a great importance in seeking opportunity for oneself.
3. Rationality – People with good and competitive education will be more rational
than those having an average or low education. Rational thinking is very
essential in deciding what is wrong and what is right for you and this can only
be possible if you have a good and sound background of education.
4. Exposure- The main benefit of today’s education is the practical exposure
the students are being provided by their institutes. Earlier this facility was
not there. Education was restricted within four walls of classrooms but now as
the world is advancing and so do the education. People are realizing the
importance of exposure in business and corporate world and at the same value of
good education. So, they induce such training program which could be beneficial
for the students in understanding their future world.
5. Competitive- Well this is needless to say that by having good education,
students become competitive internationally. Nowadays, people are focusing more
on general knowledge and other current affairs that make them competitive and
provide them an extra edge over others. Even the teachers and parents are
focusing on gathering good knowledge about various topics so that they can
educate their children.
6. Updating- Earth is a huge habitant and in today’s scenario, we are expected
to know about each major event. But as you know, the world is divided into
continents and further into countries. Each country has its own set of language
and understanding. If we are not competitive and flexible enough then we cannot
get the news of other parts of the world. We need to know as many languages as
possible and this can be possible only through good education
7. Flexible- Students become flexible enough to get fit
into any kind of work related to their field. An illiterate person can do what
you will teach them. He will do the work all his life in the same fashion. But,
an educated person will use his mind and analytical powers and will do the work
smartly in less time and in better manner.
This is
very obvious that good education does hold much importance in today’s scenario.
Good education will fetch you a good job and easy access to available
resources. You just need to concentrate on your subject and you can surpass it
easily. Remember, only good education can answer the wordings “what is the
value of good education”. So, if next time anyone would ask you about the value
of good education then politely answer them that first go and get it then
automatically you will have the answer. (Vineet Sharma / mysticmadness.com)
