By Shazad
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
It’s that time again…many college and university students as well as children in lower grades are graduating from another year or perhaps the final year of their formal studies. Why do we go to school? What are we supposed to get out of it? When does academic learning stop and practical living start? These are some very key questions I have been wondering for about 3 decades. Below I share some ideas and suggestions to consider.
First, education is Awesome! To learn, understand and know things is so much better than ignorance about the world. Everyone needs some basic framework of knowledge such as literacy in one or more languages, the basic concepts of math and physics, and the ability to challenge ideas that are not fully understood or sensible.
Second, life is continuous learning or ‘education’ for the person with the right mindset. Long after we have graduated with a Bachelors or Masters or even a PhD, we continue to learn and understand the world around us. Learning is never ‘done’ or completed. If it were, many would be geniuses living perfect lives in their late 20’s or by the time they are 30 years old. That is not the reality of even the most educated people living in the most literate countries of the world.
Third, and this is the most important point I want you to consider is the purpose of all this higher schooling. What I believe I have been able to do and what the essence of school is about is to encourage MORE learning. The education we start to get from our homes to elementary school and then high-school is building a framework of knowledge to understand the world but it’s also encouraging us to learn more. Curiosity and seeking more knowledge is what drives many to higher education..and this is a good thing!. There should be a desire in all of us to learn how to learn new things and keep sharpening our understanding of things. We should also pursue knowledge and wisdom as adults for the sake of becoming better human beings. When you know better, you should do better and be better!
One or more degrees or diplomas should not be the end goal of someone’s education. Rather, it should be the LOVE of wanting to learn and understand more along with the realization of how ignorant we still are so we keep learning. I don’t mean in a mechanical way to simply absorb facts and info - that’s something any computer can do. I’m talking about extracting the right meaning from the learning we have received so far and building on it to have even better understanding of how things work.
Let’s use all of our formal and informal learning time to create the best lives for ourselves by continuously learning, developing critical thinking skills, and loving the process of becoming a little better each day. Education never ends as long as we are breathing so let’s keep pursuing it inside and outside the classroom.