Way
An ideal philosophy of education
The government were shocked by the sloppiness which crept into some schools in the 1960s and they vowed to keep “theory” out of education. This has been a disaster. A ‘philosophy for education’ is simply a map which tells everyone where they are and how what they are doing relates to what others are doing.
What is the essence of education?
The word ‘education’ comes from ‘ducare’ which means to lead. The ‘e’ means ‘ex’ or ‘out of’. The essence of the idea of education is to lead the mind of the youngster from the narrow confines of family, home and neighbourhood to tune-into the big world out there.
What can be done?
The examination system is still looking for signs that the candidates can recall information bites prompted by standard questions. This invites parrot learning or learning with the flimsiest comprehension. An overhaul
of the examination system is urgently required to ensure that it picks up permanent rather than transient capabilities.
Teaching for the exam
Nowadays teachers often refuse to answer questions in class which
“are not in the syllabus”. This is anti-educational. The aim of education must be to broaden the mind of the student, not to constrict it. In today’s world it is the big picture which everyone needs to know: detail can be got from experts or the internet. It is curiosity which is needed by employers, not closed mindsets.
Campaigning is going to be necessary
Those at the helm in the examination system will only change if they are instructed to put their house in order by the government. The examination system is like a tail which is wagging the dog of education. This is negating the whole system. We need an education system which correctly diagnoses each student’s capability, because there are thousands of different kinds of capability, and thousands of different career paths.
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