What is Education? Part 1
Recently, out of curiosity, I decided to check the definition of Education in some of our older, more respected dictionaries, and found these:
Merriam-Webster:
1a. The knowledge and development resulting from the process of being educated.
Also: a stage of such a process
2. The field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools.
According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, education was defined as:
1. The discipline that is concerned with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments, as opposed to various nonformal and informal means of socialization.
Out of five sources checked (The Merriam-Webster, Brittanica, Cambridge, Collins, and Oxford), all defined the word as primarily related to or acquired by the practice of formal schooling. This is by no means surprising considering most countries over the last two centuries have been educated this way. It is efficient. But is it ideal?
To answer this question, we need to look well beyond the 19th century to the agricultural economies of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, where formal education was non-existent for most children. Going back still further to the earliest civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome), similar formulas were followed. ‘Formal Education’( i.e: sequential dissemination of knowledge via the use of a systematic model) was mainly available only to upper-class males and privileged members of society, which only began to change during the Industrial Revolution, when trained workers of both sexes were needed to work in factory environments.
While this may describe the ‘Institution,’ education on its own can be something quite different: a more germane thing inextricably linked to human development. What does it mean to be ‘Educated,’ both personally or in groups? Does it relate to this process undertaken by elite members of society, or should it be a customized toolkit that individuals can use to lead a more productive life?
The species Homo Sapiens has existed for longer than it has been civilized. Over the last 300,000 years it has navigated difficult environments and extinction-level events. Considering the trials it overcame to become the leading form of life on the planet, it is interesting to note that few of those successes were achieved with formal education. Recent advancements have made our modern lives comfortable, but the resulting threats we face are exponentially more complex.
The type of mind humanity will require over the next century or so will be slightly different than the mind of the past. In the era of robots and AI, the need for factory workers will fade and with them, most assembly-line skills. What will soon become necessary is a different kind of intelligence: a unique blend of the skills that enabled us to evolve, combined with an ability to address challenges with creativity, bold questioning, and the sound judgment required to ensure new solutions benefit the world. The needs of this modern age are too great to leave in the hands of convention. The time for redefining education is now.
