Paideia
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It is said that education is the distinction between being the future and remaining a relic of the past. As centuries pass, societies evolve and human beings adapt, so do the systems that are meant to inform and teach. But have we perhaps, in the vast and never ending journey towards purpose, lost the ideals that shaped what it meant to be a student?
Yes, we have grown beyond the ancient ways of sitting under a tree and being lectured about the ways of life and yes a collective of Greek men debating about the intricacies of human nature no longer holds ground because everyone is a philosopher due to the internet, but what of the pupil? What of the young minds that governments, parents and society seek to educate? Do they still receive the basic knowledge that any citizen requires to truly forge their path?
It seems that with the advent of modernization, we sought to forgo the principles of the past simply because they were the past. Instead we focused on the division on subjects and the creation of communities to go along with them. Sort of how one makes a parliament, people decided that a simple concept would be applicable to a completely different system.
As a result of this notion, people did what they did best, they marginalized and formed prejudices. This is human nature, cannot be blamed. The seed that has been planted as a result of this distinction however, is one that cannot be quickly rooted out. Like most human ideas and inventions, it tends to remain no matter how much you will otherwise.
A child therefore, is brought to choose (the word is used lightly here, as there is often only an illusion of choice) between three separate paths.
If you wish to learn more about businesses, trade, finance and firsthand knowledge of development, choose to be a scholar of commerce.
If you wish to study human culture, society and the nature of the human condition itself, choose to be a scholar of humanities.
But unfortunately even this current system is just that, an illusion of choice. Though we have already divided knowledge into compartments, the choice to study as they wish rarely rests in the hands of the student themselves. It relies on income, distance and the goodwill of the parents.
Education, that which was brought upon to create informed members of a democracy is now based on what would provide a more stable future based on the economy. It no longer focuses on all-round development of a child. But again we cannot criticize people for the inventions of well...people. It would be an unfair debate, though an understandable one.
Let us, instead, go back to the doors. The child 'chooses' a door. Now a community has been chosen. You are one of them, opposed the 'others'. Instead of accepting or realizing that everyone has their own strengths, these three groups are now pitted against each other. This might seem like a dramatic reinterpretation but reality can be a bitter pill to swallow. Though each door represents an important facet of humanity, society has already disregarded that. One door is given more value, another given respect, while one always remains underappreciated. This is the way prejudice works, there will always be that third door. But the scholar of which subject that door belongs to depends on who you ask.
In the Ancient era, philosophy and reason was given importance, curiosity was a trait to be nurtured. The humanities were crucial to the way people explored the universe. Then science was introduced, which was rebuffed by the religious people as it questioned the meaning of life but still slowly started sparking heads. Commerce had existed since the cavemen realized that they needed one another for survival. Depending on what we considered precious at a given moment in time, that was what was prioritized. Anything new was simply ignored or rebuffed.
Nothing has really changed since then except what subjects we give importance to. As a result, children get it into their heads that some studies or work is more deserving of dignity than others. Maybe it is not so severe, but there is an idea in their head that they do more labor or they receive more income or they are more respectable due to what they study. This idea is borne of conversation overheard from family, friends and elders. But it is a rather demeaning and unnecessary one.
It is because the child is not brought up in a society that encourages plurality of work that this exists. The current unemployment rates and lack of income in certain sectors is not because there are no people who seek it out but because the work is diminished for its worth. A worth that people decide.
Science is what helps us understand more about our surroundings, the relations between things, why we exist the way we do and helps us to heal. Commerce is what helps us understand how to grow as a country, to get our wants and needs and to build institutions. And humanities is what helps us understand human nature, history and culture. All these things help us to question everything. Kind of like what I'm doing right now. I'm questioning the status quo because that's what we're supposed to do.
But if we have a system that pushes factionalism and doesn't actually inculcate the desire to protest or argue or reason, what education is it really? If it is simply blind memorization instead of understanding and debating, are you learning or are you just a good storehouse?
Even a bright child cannot consistently succeed in such a system because it does not focus on teaching you. No one will sit down and tell you what is, carefully and kindly because it is important information. We stress the medium of education and not the practicality of it. Think of a child who is not so bright, perhaps average or duller in comparison. It is not the fault of the child for being that way, but as educators, would not be a failure if they did not receive the due diligence required from a school because they weren't 'the ideal student'. Would it not be a disservice to claim to want to 'help create a fruitful future generation' but disregard them when they need you?
They say a teacher is the one who shapes the tomorrow but how can they do so when the organization that rules it all is the one who truly shapes us all. It may seem silly and theatrical, but the education you receive throughout your life, it impacts many.
Stating this will not cause change to decades old way of being. It may not even change the mindset of the person reading this. But it is posing a question. What are you educating the youth of today? And does it really uphold as we speak? And if your immediate answer is yes, how sure can we be that it holds true in the entire country, continent and the world? Have we truly been taught the way we deserve or are we just grateful to have be taught at all?
A thought to leave with: Educated people tend to look down on those who have not gotten such opportunities or maybe dropped out of school early. This doesn't have to be through discrimination or violence, it could be a joke, maybe even an inside thought. But it showcases how even people who are literate, can read and write, and know more still resort to classist ways of thinking. It isn't a dig at anyone, because we've all done this (conscious or not), but it reveals the simple truth that even when we claim to know 'everything', there is still much to learn.
One does not stop becoming a student after attaining a diploma, certificate or degree. And if it is so, then it is about time that the education system started growing with us.
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