The constitution guarantees that every child has the right to access safe, quality education. But the there are many purposes that good education must serve. Its purposes are not only to produce graduates or post graduates or educational elite but to provide good citizens to the society and serve the humanity. The one continuing purpose of education, since ancient times, has been to bring people to as full a realization as possible of what it is to be a human being. Other statements of educational purpose have also been widely accepted: to develop the intellect, to serve social needs, to contribute to the economy, to create an effective work force, to prepare students for a job or career, to promote a particular social or political system. These purposes offered are undesirably limited in scope, and in some instances they conflict with the broad purpose I have indicated; they imply a distorted human existence. The broader humanistic purpose includes all of them, and goes beyond them, for it seeks to encompass all the dimensions of human experience. The purpose of education has always been in essence, the same—to give the young the things they need in order to develop in an orderly, sequential way into members of society. Any education is, in its forms and methods, an outgrowth of the needs of the society in which it exists. Education is about the outcomes it achieves for its learners. More than being about the nuances of technology, learning space design, curriculum structures and pedagogical practices schools should have effective answers to questions that focus on what they hope to achieve for their learners. How we answer this question should then dictate the measures we utilize to achieve these goals and it is to these ends that we must apply our efforts. An alternate perspective of education is to prepare for participation in the productive processes of society; its economic life is one that sees the early years of education as preparation for an academic life beyond school. In this view Primary School prepares students for High School which in turn prepares students for University which prepares students for a life as an academic. The obvious dilemma here is that society needs a limited set of academics and at some point education must do more than prepare students for a more academic study. There is an element of this view present in much of the mechanics of learning that we focus on with school and beyond school in University where correct detailing of referencing systems as dictated by a specific faculty seems to more important than the learning that occurs or does not occur in a broader sense. Preparation for a life of academia is right for some but not for all but learning does have value and knowing how to learn seems to be a valuable use of our time.
Preparation for a life of learning may be a more appropriate foundation. If students leave schools equipped with the skills they will require to be self directed learners then they may well be equipped to adapt to a changing world. The life-long learner goal is a common one and it does have merit as the ability and desire to continuously learn new skills and knowledge is a worthwhile goal. Such a model may not be the complete answer as the learning that is linked to such a model may not always include the learner becoming actively engaged in the creation of new knowledge. Mastery of a broad set of skills and knowledge has value but we will require people who are seeking answers to questions not yet asked or not yet answered. The life-long learner model does not guarantee that the learner will have a disposition towards problem finding only that they will when required endeavor to learn the new skills identified for them by others. Such an approach was once valid, when knowledge had value acquiring more of it made sense. Academics pursued this model and an individual’s success was closely linked to the number of books and journals they had read and the obscurity of the knowledge they could recall. This model has been squashed by the internet and with ready access to all of the knowledge the question is not what do you know but what can you do with what you can find, what problems can you solve with your wit and your unlimited knowledge resources. So perhaps preparation for a life as a problem finder and solver is most appropriate. If our students leave school with a belief in their ability and capacity to identify problems and find solution to them, then maybe they are prepared not only for whatever the future may bring but possess the capacity to shape that future. Design thinking and problem based learning become the preferred methodology and students engage frequently in a search for problems. Multidisciplinary approaches seem to have value here and proponents of STEM and STEAM will indicate that their approach is built upon a problem finding model even if that is not a necessary condition for such a programme. But problem solving alone may not be enough. If the problems we find serve the needs of those who have power and freedom in society then education has failed to produce learners with the capacity to empathies with those less fortunate. The reality of the world we live in, where money and power results in educational advantage, where industry and economic rationalism dictates what problems get solved and where those with the greatest need have difficulty accessing equitable outcomes through the educational system, dictates that some thought to how our learners will understand and relate to power be included. Problem solving with empathy might be the desired goal then. The design thinking process can and should include empathy as a starting point and a reflection point throughout the process. If our students learn to ask questions about who their ideas will impact, whose needs most require a solution, what the real or economic cost of their actions will be they may shape a world where not only are the problems of the privileged solved. Teaching for empathy within the power structures and politics of educational systems can be challenging and requires a considered approach if teachers are not to be labeled activists but this is a goal worth achieving. Education for utility and purposeful application towards the betterment of society should not occur without suitable acknowledgement of human activity that adds to the aesthetic worth of humanity.
How does Education benefit young people?
Most of our youth develop a perspective from the very beginning that their ultimate goal is to get a good job after the completion of their education forgetting the other main purposes of seeking education. But our youth must keep in mind that Education has some other purposes as well
1. It helps them to develop self-confidence and a sense of agency, and successfully deal with life changes and challenges such as bullying and discrimination.
2. It gives them a voice in the life and to their communities and society at large.
3. It enables them to make a positive contribution by developing the knowledge and experience needed to claim their rights and understand their responsibilities. It prepares them for the challenges and opportunities of adult and working life.
(The author is a teacher in the school education department @ Govt. High School Brakpora Anantnag Kashmir. Views are his own)
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