Introduction
Education is the foundation of our society. Education is a fire in the hearts of children. Education is what remains when all else has floundered. Education is the safeguard of liberty. Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Education is movement.
All these are true, undoubtedly. Repetitively throughout history humanity's greatest figures have commented on the matter of education and its necessity in society. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aristotle, Oscar Wilde, Mahatma Ghandi, Mark Twain, and their many colleagues, influences, and rivals all echo one important message throughout their livelihood: Education is power.
Modern society has given many, but still far fewer than what is just, the opportunity to a free education. However, it is irrefutable that we have, in fact, twisted what education is supposed to be. "We" have twisted it. The aforementioned, ominous "we" is especially inclusive, and it is necessary to understand who all it encompasses.
The answer is every person who has drawn breath in the past two hundred years. We have all, either through action, inaction, or disadvantageous behavior, directly led our collective society down a path of a agenda-driven and bureaucracy-infested misunderstanding of what education should be. And though it sounds disgustingly political,
Yet, before we are able to truly admire what education must be, we first must define what it must never be.
On Education
From a purely scientific standpoint, with no inclusion of religious ideologies (Without saying those ideologies are to be regularly disregarded, in writing this paper I intend to.), once any human has passed away they are, quite simply, gone. They cannot continue to speak their mind, and thus all that remains of them are the words they have cast into people's minds. Individual life comes and passes at a whim as nature sees fit, however what we accomplish as a society or species remains far beyond the inscription of your or my tomb. This is the importance of education. Presuming that there is no life following the one live now, and presuming that a paranormal entity has not set out a so-called "meaning of life", we must create our own. So I call my brothers and sisters of the Baby Boomers, of Generation X, of the Millennials, and of the Connected Generation to heed my words; that it is our job as a people to provide the best possible world, the world closest to perfection we can come, before our passing which we can hand off to our successors in faith they will only improve on it further. And, I hope, that one day when we pass we can whisper to ourselves, "I've done all I could to improve this world".
However, while education has potential to become a spectacular and influential force in culture, one that Aristotle and Plato would nod in admiration at, we have regrettably distorted the philosophy and purpose behind education.
In modern education, or, at the very least, the education I and my classmates have been offered, there is a particular agenda that must be met. While politicians and bureaucrats enjoy throwing around the philosophy that an education is important, they disregard the qualities which reflect a healthy education as particularly inappropriate. The trace of rebellion which tends to form in the presence of a matured library of knowledge is severely from on. While the nature of rebellion may not, in itself, be an outstanding quality for teachers to impress in their young students, it is a vital characteristic that a child be ready and prepared to question every societal, personal, and academic understanding which we accept. Without this characteristic, we as a people fall into a dangerous pattern of traditionalism, where the population brings itself to fear change.
In this system of education, we do not only attempt to shame those with this rebellious quality, but go a step further, and aim to suppress it. The Common Core System (Naturally, this is not the ruling system in the majority of the world. However, it is the primary system I will be addressing when speaking in specifics.) establishes a system where, just as it intended, every child is guaranteed an equal education. Consequently, it establishes a system where any child not in advance placement classrooms is guaranteed an equally poor education.
To those not familiar with the methods of the implemented structure of education, at heart it involves a very strict curriculum written by twenty-four members of a work group. Within this group there are zero members with any familiarity with the process of children's education. They are all very qualified in their fields, but have little experience in the way of how proper learning experiences are to be executed. Once this curriculum is in place, there is a very typical one-size-fits-all series of testing which is (very inaccurately) used to gauge a child's understanding on the subject.
Alexandra Trenfor once said that the best teachers show us where to look, but never what to see. By this very sound educational philosophy, the Common Core system is overwhelmingly flawed in its methods. The idea that one technique and syllabus of education can accurately be applied to every child in the nation is an idea that, while its romantics excite us, is simply unreasonable. Education is not something which can be generalized and administered to every pupil equally. Every young mind is a masterpiece which simply needs the correct frame, and while giving each one an unornamented, wooden mount may be considered fair, it is the job of society and the job of those responsible for the teaching of a child to strive for better.
It is not difficult to observe what most would agree a proper education should not be. Speaking from a factual standpoint most individuals can agree that loading a child down with a flawed curriculum and overzealous amounts of standardized testing is not a proper way to prepare an eccentric mind. Simultaneously, from a romantic standpoint, most individuals would agree that education should be about the expansion of the mind to discover new ways of thinking and new paths, not tunneling a pupil's vision so that their only focus is their next big exam.
However, looking at what education should be is significantly more focused, but we must first accept one very basic educational philosophy; Education is not a process in which to make sure children can answer a series of questions correctly. Education is the process in which we give young minds the ability to meditate on an issue and find an answer using both their intellect and their emotion. Through this process, we give them the ability to grow and resolve the issues which we will leave behind.
Education, or at least robust education, would be a system which encouraged students to better themselves to their fullest extent in every field to create a genuinely well-rounded individual who could work through the most complicated mathematics, but simultaneously be fluent in the language of poetry, and so on.
While standardized testing seems to be an appropriate method of scaling students worth to an administrator in Washington, it is simply inappropriate to punish a fish for not climbing a tree as well as a chimpanzee.
However, while education has potential to become a spectacular and influential force in culture, one that Aristotle and Plato would nod in admiration at, we have regrettably distorted the philosophy and purpose behind education.
In modern education, or, at the very least, the education I and my classmates have been offered, there is a particular agenda that must be met. While politicians and bureaucrats enjoy throwing around the philosophy that an education is important, they disregard the qualities which reflect a healthy education as particularly inappropriate. The trace of rebellion which tends to form in the presence of a matured library of knowledge is severely from on. While the nature of rebellion may not, in itself, be an outstanding quality for teachers to impress in their young students, it is a vital characteristic that a child be ready and prepared to question every societal, personal, and academic understanding which we accept. Without this characteristic, we as a people fall into a dangerous pattern of traditionalism, where the population brings itself to fear change.
In this system of education, we do not only attempt to shame those with this rebellious quality, but go a step further, and aim to suppress it. The Common Core System (Naturally, this is not the ruling system in the majority of the world. However, it is the primary system I will be addressing when speaking in specifics.) establishes a system where, just as it intended, every child is guaranteed an equal education. Consequently, it establishes a system where any child not in advance placement classrooms is guaranteed an equally poor education.
To those not familiar with the methods of the implemented structure of education, at heart it involves a very strict curriculum written by twenty-four members of a work group. Within this group there are zero members with any familiarity with the process of children's education. They are all very qualified in their fields, but have little experience in the way of how proper learning experiences are to be executed. Once this curriculum is in place, there is a very typical one-size-fits-all series of testing which is (very inaccurately) used to gauge a child's understanding on the subject.
Alexandra Trenfor once said that the best teachers show us where to look, but never what to see. By this very sound educational philosophy, the Common Core system is overwhelmingly flawed in its methods. The idea that one technique and syllabus of education can accurately be applied to every child in the nation is an idea that, while its romantics excite us, is simply unreasonable. Education is not something which can be generalized and administered to every pupil equally. Every young mind is a masterpiece which simply needs the correct frame, and while giving each one an unornamented, wooden mount may be considered fair, it is the job of society and the job of those responsible for the teaching of a child to strive for better.
It is not difficult to observe what most would agree a proper education should not be. Speaking from a factual standpoint most individuals can agree that loading a child down with a flawed curriculum and overzealous amounts of standardized testing is not a proper way to prepare an eccentric mind. Simultaneously, from a romantic standpoint, most individuals would agree that education should be about the expansion of the mind to discover new ways of thinking and new paths, not tunneling a pupil's vision so that their only focus is their next big exam.
However, looking at what education should be is significantly more focused, but we must first accept one very basic educational philosophy; Education is not a process in which to make sure children can answer a series of questions correctly. Education is the process in which we give young minds the ability to meditate on an issue and find an answer using both their intellect and their emotion. Through this process, we give them the ability to grow and resolve the issues which we will leave behind.
Education, or at least robust education, would be a system which encouraged students to better themselves to their fullest extent in every field to create a genuinely well-rounded individual who could work through the most complicated mathematics, but simultaneously be fluent in the language of poetry, and so on.
While standardized testing seems to be an appropriate method of scaling students worth to an administrator in Washington, it is simply inappropriate to punish a fish for not climbing a tree as well as a chimpanzee.
In Conclusion
In addressing my fellow student, I ask that we all see it in ourselves to strive for perfection as individuals. We have fallen habit to dismissing our weaknesses as an unfortunate side effect of the disease we call humanity. Instead, I ask you to identify your failures and venture to better yourself in these areas. Do this every day until the day you finally pass on, and before you go, write all that you have learned in a book, bind it in leather, and release it to the world. Do this, and understand in your heart that you may never reach a point where you are without flaw, but that is not the aim. On this journey of self-betterment, all of its importance lies in the journey itself, and none in the end destination.
Life is a precious thing, and do not waste a moment of it on miniscule things and everyday dramatics. Instead, we should always learn with one hand, and build with another. Through this process, we will only further the reach of science, philosophy, art, mathematics, social sciences, and culture. And, in reflection, I hope that one day we are able to look at the world we have built and commend ourselves for our eccentricism and how far it has brought us. I do find it in my heart to believe that we, as a people, are only at the beginning of our long journey in which we will never quit learning.
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