What is education? Everyone asks themselves that very question. Education is defined in the Oxford Advanced
Learners dictionary as “a process of training and instruction, especially
children and young people in schools, colleges etc. which is designed to give
knowledge and develop skills.” You learn
through education and through learning knowledge is gained. Knowledge is defined as “the facts,
information, understanding and skills that a person has acquired through
experience or education”. Can you be
educated through life experiences or only learn through being taught by a
teacher or elder etc.?
Oscar Wilde said “Education
is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember, from time to time, that
nothing worth knowing can be taught”. This quote has both truth and lies. It is true that nothing that is worth knowing
can be taught as many skills and important life lessons are learnt through
making mistakes and through life experiences, whereas the statement is untrue
in that without elders teaching, learners would not learn. People learn to ride
bikes, and learn to change tires, which are very useful skills which are passed
on through learning, i.e. being taught.
However, learning how to be sympathetic to people in times of need or
learning how to read people to understand them is achieved through life
experience. This type of education
cannot be taught. Heinrich Heine
said “Experience is a good school but
the fees are high.” Unfortunately
experience is generally gained a lot later in life (i.e. through age) and very
often people learn hard lessons through harsh life experiences. Sometimes life experiences are more valuable
than lessons taught. It is not always
about the direct lessons taught in the classroom by the teacher which are
important, but the lessons being taught indirectly.
“The value of a teacher is
90% of what he is as a person, and 10% of what he knows. – this prolific statement was given by Yhuda
Tager.” A teacher can have all the
knowledge on his subject of learning, but without the passion of the subject at
hand and drive to teach, he will not impart his knowledge on the learner. A teacher without passion cannot pass on his
knowledge to his pupils. Likewise a
teacher with passion with zero knowledge cannot teach. Edward Bulwer – Lytton
said “the best teacher is the one who
suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to
teach himself.’ This statement also
suggests the value of the person in the teacher as opposed to the value of the
knowledge in the teacher”. The best form
of teaching is to teach a learner how to think for themselves. This will help the student get through life. The way in which learning occurs is as
important as the content learnt.
Scholars remember the good teachers not for what they taught them but
for whom they were.
Education is something which
cannot be taken away from you. In life,
you can have it all and loose it all but you cannot lose the knowledge that you
have gained through education and learning.
People should never stop learning.
There should always be a willingness to learn. If a teacher manages to teach his class so
that the students come away with a desire and willingness to learn throughout
their life, the teacher would have been successful.
So what is education? Nelson Mandela said that “education is the
most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.” Teachers come in all forms to educate us; we
must just be ready to accept the teachings.
