BLOG: Students should be left to learn on their own

Dozens of topics interest me (as with you doubtlessly), yet, due to the nature of time and circumstance, we are directed to particular areas. A theme has been on my mind and I wish to share it with you.

We are living within a society in a world. For a society to properly function (such as we have it today), the greater majority of citizens need to be adequately educated. Additionally, individuals need to be acquainted with the social paradigm so as to engage in social and economic intercourse.

Shouts can be heard from many places: “The education system is ineffectual and too expensive.” Some of these claims are warranted and others come from ignorance. Rather than lambast what is, I will instead share with you a perspective of what education should be. Some of these aspects will be more or less areas already a part of the system, although you will notice many as quite foreign to how we imagine what education ought to be. I once heard reality is where we live and the ideal is what brings us to the future. Without an idea of what we want we are as stranded boats. Ideas represent a hosting of the sails and a pushing outwards.

In writing this piece, I am much thankful for the keen, enlightened perspectives of deep thinkers like Rousseau, Osho, and Krishnamurti, along with the physical instructors of present day. To these I give gratitude for shaping my perspective on this matter.

Those whom we hold in high regard shape us, thus it is wise to surround oneself with those whom you’d wish to be. Naturally, the teacher in a classroom comprises a significant portion of a student’s day, so it appears obvious the importance of good role models. Therefore, the teacher and education system, which that teacher exists within, is of top importance in the crafting of good bodies and minds. Motivated and intelligent students equates to a thriving culture and economy. It is truly in our best interest both on an individual level and a societal level to seriously consider the merits of education and the potential options for improvement. Our lives are certainly bound up in the minds we can create. Healthy plants need healthy soil; the education system is the soil.

In my mind, education is learning how to learn; the purpose is to awaken one’s own intelligence. A bright and sensitized mind is open to others and has the capacity to solve real world problems. Sadly, schools today impose belief systems and interfere greatly in the maturation process of students in a negative way. The correct way is to leave students to their own devices and let them learn for themselves. Belief systems may on the surface unite peoples together, yet what really occurs is a setting up of man against man. With any belief system comes the desire to convert others to it, hence violence and division manifests.

By imposing structure, a specific reality, you obstruct what would grow naturally. Truth and principle is not on the agenda, illusion and convenience are. In place of this, schools should be vehicles for both true self and world discovery, places where one feels safe and at home. I do not mean to say all schools do not do this, but many are altogether authoritative. This not only kills creativity and art, but also actually instills fear into students. From one sinister perspective this is good since this will create a law abiding and conformist society. In the new age of information and connection this will no longer do.

Painting, music, philosophy and the humanities should be emphasized. Actually, the synthesis of mind and body, self and world, a spiritual reality should be at the fore. Life is about expression; it is about unveiling qualities, making the individual aware of their talents so they can utilize them. In turn, a healthy society will manifest. Healthy individuals equal a healthy planet. Through creation we free ourselves.

Shouldn’t we be learning how best to live so as to have the highest feelings? Education is not about acquiring knowledge or objects, but rather to engender a state of mind at ease with itself. Moreover, it should be about awakening the individual to the experience of itself and its relation to a wider whole. We not only have a responsibility to ourselves, but actually to all people and the entire world. The human being is not detached from the environment.

Actions ripple everywhere and there is not cause without an effect. If our actions do not matter then one could say nothing matters. This is nihilism, a hopeless decay of civilization.

Universities and schools should work as collective brains for the purpose of solving real world affairs. A thousand seven year olds could probably outperform approximately 500 100-year-old white men in Congress. Give the power to the young since their minds are less tainted by ego and other delusions. Schools can be testing grounds for new ideas, which can then be implemented society wide. In place of using schools as indoctrination centers, they could be used to create and implement large-scale projects. We need not leave this solely to government organizations and corporations.

Only awake individuals who can put aside their egos can improve society. While individual selfishness, on the surface, may appear to benefit all, it, in fact, perpetuates underlying issues and leads to further problems. Furthermore, this mindset views the human and all of nature as products of consumption and manipulation. Everyone becomes superficial, clever and crafty so one can scheme for money and status. This is no way to conduct a civilization. A more cooperative model can replace the old paradigm of competition while still maintaining a degree of rank and order. A divided society is a conquered society. As our minds become more aware and desire greater freedoms, this is the only proper way of administrating civilization.