Welcome To The Machine

Education

The System of Today

For the World of Yesterday

Hello World.

First, I apologize for missing on two Sundays / Mondays which i haven't posted anything on, the reason for this is, I wrote 3 blog post drafts, and simply didn't think any of which were "good enough" to be posted.

So after watching a TED-Talks video on education, and creativity etc... I got inspired and simply couldn't resist to add my say to this subject!

Enjoy!

Surely all of us have heard, or even said it to our own kids that:

"without a good education, you won't accomplish anything in life, so listen well in school and get good grades because they are important for a good job in the future!"

 well something along those lines... we might not be so blunt when we say it, but it sure is what we imply.

Despite its oh-so promising encouragement of "good grades - good future", this statement has lost its value a long time ago... I suppose before I try to bring my point across, I'll quickly explain why I'm bringing this topic up in the first place...

In the beginning, there was the Industrial Revolution.
It was a time where people began making the transition from hand production methods to machines, we found ways to become more efficient and create higher quantities of merchandise through the use of factories and tons of other new equipment...

Simply put:
It was a different time which required certain needs for a certain lifestyle.

Because of the condition we lived in back then, skills such as languages and mathematics were valued more than other subjects because of its "high-in-need" status for its time, therefore schools got formed in a way that the education they provide serves the needs and requirements that the factory-workforce demands.

Our solution to a flourishing society eventually became the reason for its very own demise.

I believe Ken Robinson made a fantastic illustration of this matter by saying this:

Schools were and still are structured like the factories they were developed to serve. They treat education like an assembly line - you move from one task (Class) to the next - Day in and Day out. There is little collaboration or interchange between the work done in one department (Course) versus the next. The product (Students) are processed, as in a factory, in batches (By year of birth). 

The resultant product (Graduates) are therefore all from the same mold.

When this system first got put into place, students accepted it because it almost certainly guaranteed a job, a chance in going to a college, and then a better job.

Although many of us faithfully hold on to this image of what our current education "should" provide, the fact is... That's not how it works anymore.

"Even with great grades, there is an oversupply of graduates. Couple this with the boredom and lack of enthusiasm generated by this production line education and is there any wonder why there are more costly drop-outs and an overall uninspired set of students?" - Harvey White

Our world and the needs to our lifestyle had changed a long time ago... Yet our system of education fails to realize that...

If you ask our students a question ... most of them will probably tell you to hold on a second and take out their iPhone or laptop and Google the answer... Acquiring information is not a problem anymore now that we have the internet, it isn't essential to hammer facts into our children's heads... instead we must teach them how to put that information to good use!

We must stop seeing our world as it was back in the 70's / 80's / 90's... we do NOT need to waste the beautiful minds of our generations to come, into some factory machines... we are past that stage of the Industrial Revolution, right now we must seek improvement... we have to find ways to create a better world around us, and this cannot happen without Imagination and Creativity...

Don't think that you are not creative, or don't have the imagination to come up with something original...

Pablo Picasso said:

Every child is born an artist, the problem is to remain one once they grow up

We are simply conditioned to believe that a piece of paper with a couple of letters and numbers may govern our lives, by believing in this nonsense we choose to settle for "some job" and forget the fact that we should take risks in our lives, we should try everything we can, and not simply "settle" for something...

After all we only have one life! therefore forget what people tell you about education, be creative, be yourself and do what you want to do.

Albert Einstein said:

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

 Oscar Wilde said:

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. 

and so on.. I could go on quoting countless amounts of people, and list numerous individuals who decided to disregard the ignorance of "schooling" and finding their own way in life, and live with incredible success.. but I think you get my point.

At the end of the day, you'll only get as far as you want to.

Don't be another brick in the wall ;)

Thanks for reading, Should be posting again this Sunday/Monday & I'll try to make it more interesting next time :S