Today I woke up thinking out of the box. Actually, I am writing this while still in bed. Anyway, I think my current thought process stemmed from a conversation I had with a friend last night before going to bed. Basically, he said he likes school. I said all well and good but nobody actually likes it, we just endure it. What we do like are our friends and the fun part of school. He went on to say he actually enjoyed learning. True, learning is enjoyable but that depends on your environment.
I think I'll talk about school and education in particular today. According to Wikipedia, the definition of education is "in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research." School, on the other hand, is defined as "is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory."
From the definitions given, I would say education is simply the transferring of skills and knowledge from one generation to the next. School, however, is more constructing in the sense that there is a particular way something is done. So I like to believe that somebody can have an education without having been to school. You get? However, that does not mean I am against the concept of school and schooling.
School is important because it gives you an opportunity. Some of you might be thinking, " I have a talent. I don't need school." Sadly, you do. Making it in this world on talent alone is not the easiest thing to do. I'm sure some of you here may have tried that already. If you have made it already without having had schooling, I say wow. It's not so often that happens. I know we have examples of school dropouts like Steve Jobs and Mark Z-they've made it. Realistically speaking, chances of having a million dollar idea are slim to one. Also, you may have a talent in which you are riding on. You know, singing, dancing, acting or whatever it may be. Thing is you can't rely on that alone.
So what exactly am I trying to put across here? Education and school are two different things. You can have a form of education but may not have been schooled. Schooled is more institution used and more likely to help you later in life. If you have talent, all well and good. Talent coupled with school would be a plus for you. If you feel like you have no particular talent, not to worry. School is the perfect fall-back plan. If you've been to school and had an education from a formalised institution, chances are that you'd be better off than if you didn't. Having yourself some papers would be beneficial to you.
Your thoughts on this? I would love to hear from you and what you think about this particular post. You can just drop your thoughts in the comment box below. Enjoy your day.
In line with what you've said I do agree that school is fundamental in the building of one's capacity and well being. With the examples you gave of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbug I'd add on that in as much as they did not complete their tertiary education, the foundation of the businesses they began was based on knowledge they obtained while at school, for example Mark by profession was a hacker, hacking isn't something any Jim and Jack would teach themselves in 24hrs in their bedroom. It takes time and lots of application of Mathematics and Physics which is taught in 'EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS'
ReplyDeleteOn the part of talent well it's a sad reality that the only way through is by attaining basic qualifications from school meaning education is the medium through which the qualifications are obtained. But often a time I think to myself, is most of what we learn from school going to be relevant in the careers we seek or endeavor, why should I learn Physics when I want to be an accountant lol I'd say education is a tool that can give our minds a broader idea of what the world is like, with a broad idea of what the world is like we stand better chances at making rational decisions.
Education however can also be a limiting factor to one's self development for example, a man who is a carpenter and makes a living off designing and assembling furniture has a son who watches and admires his father doing what he does, instead of teaching the little boy the skills he has he instead has the notion in his head that I want my son to go to school so that he can become a lawyer forgetting that he could pass the knowledge that he has to his son and his son with the passion he has can become better than his father and transform the knowledge he obtained from his father into better skills. What's sad is that in this 'CAPITALIST' society we live in education has brought about its own prestige to people of certain professions and this has caused classism between people and has them looking down on other professions. One will want to send their child to university to study Medicine, Law, Economics or Engineering because of the prestige that the so called 'PROFESSIONS' carry, many today will look down on other courses such as Nursing and Teaching and yet our society needs more teachers and nurses.
I went a little off topic but really that just shows that the topic at hand can be viewed from a totally distant angle and is of course largely debatable. Compliment of the season to you Poniso :)
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you're saying. I don't mind the "off topic" discussion, it was quite a good read. Nevertheless, what you said was interesting and had some truth in it. Thanks for reading and commenting. Happy holidays to you too :)
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