We have attributed many of today's problems involving youths to the lack of education. Many people may also not agree with this observation as they argue that we could not say there is a lack of education when education is easily available to anyone.
However, what is education? Is it merely stuffing information and materials into the head of our children so that he could reproduce the same materials during his examination and score high points? Is it merely excelling in his studies?
In the Chinese language, education is represented by two Chinese Characters, "Jiao Yu". The meaning of "Jiao" is to teach; and the meaning of "Yu" is to nurture to become a good and kind hearted person who is mindful of others. The meaning of education is therefore to teach and to nurture a person so that he will become a good and responsible person who is mindful of others, in the family and society. It is not merely stuffing him with all the knowledge and materials and to feed him so that he grows up physically fit. If education is just concerned with feeding him so that he can grow up strong and physically fit, then what is the difference between human and animals? Other animals also feed their offspring so that they can grow up physically fit.
Education is therefore about teaching and nurturing our children so that they can become responsible person to their family and society. If we do not teach and nurture our children correctly, our children may turn out and become a burden to the family and the society. The key for the education is to focus on building the child's character to be a good and kind hearted person who is mindful of others. What is the focus of our present day education? The focus is to get a piece of paper so that we can find a good job and make a lot of money.
The education system in the schools is focusing on imparting the knowledge and skills to find a job. Fifty over years ago, if you go to the rural area and have a chat with a farmer who is illiterate and you pose him this question, "What do you think is the basic foundation to be a human being?" Even though he is illiterate, without any notes to help him, he could chat away with you for not less than half an hour. He would tell you the foundation of becoming a good human being which will include:
a. to be filial to the parents;
b. to work hard honestly so as to have job security;
c. to fulfill the promise; for example, once I promise to sell my produce to the person at a certain time, I must make sure that I sow the seed in time and look after the crops so that I can deliver the produce as promised;
d. the do's and don'ts of a good human beings.
However, fifty years later, if the very same question is posed to a fresh graduate who has just graduated from the university, he may accuse you of asking him a silly question. He probably would tell you why you are not asking him about the latest movies, the hottest songs, the granny awards, the popular actresses, the sex scandals, and so on. Within a spate of fifty over years, the understanding that has been implanted in our minds varies so much.
We therefore need to question and examine how we may improve our education system. We may need to go back to the teachings of our learned ancestors to pin down the foundation that we need to build in order to ensure that our children will become a responsible person to the family and to the society.
However, what is education? Is it merely stuffing information and materials into the head of our children so that he could reproduce the same materials during his examination and score high points? Is it merely excelling in his studies?
In the Chinese language, education is represented by two Chinese Characters, "Jiao Yu". The meaning of "Jiao" is to teach; and the meaning of "Yu" is to nurture to become a good and kind hearted person who is mindful of others. The meaning of education is therefore to teach and to nurture a person so that he will become a good and responsible person who is mindful of others, in the family and society. It is not merely stuffing him with all the knowledge and materials and to feed him so that he grows up physically fit. If education is just concerned with feeding him so that he can grow up strong and physically fit, then what is the difference between human and animals? Other animals also feed their offspring so that they can grow up physically fit.
Education is therefore about teaching and nurturing our children so that they can become responsible person to their family and society. If we do not teach and nurture our children correctly, our children may turn out and become a burden to the family and the society. The key for the education is to focus on building the child's character to be a good and kind hearted person who is mindful of others. What is the focus of our present day education? The focus is to get a piece of paper so that we can find a good job and make a lot of money.
The education system in the schools is focusing on imparting the knowledge and skills to find a job. Fifty over years ago, if you go to the rural area and have a chat with a farmer who is illiterate and you pose him this question, "What do you think is the basic foundation to be a human being?" Even though he is illiterate, without any notes to help him, he could chat away with you for not less than half an hour. He would tell you the foundation of becoming a good human being which will include:
a. to be filial to the parents;
b. to work hard honestly so as to have job security;
c. to fulfill the promise; for example, once I promise to sell my produce to the person at a certain time, I must make sure that I sow the seed in time and look after the crops so that I can deliver the produce as promised;
d. the do's and don'ts of a good human beings.
However, fifty years later, if the very same question is posed to a fresh graduate who has just graduated from the university, he may accuse you of asking him a silly question. He probably would tell you why you are not asking him about the latest movies, the hottest songs, the granny awards, the popular actresses, the sex scandals, and so on. Within a spate of fifty over years, the understanding that has been implanted in our minds varies so much.
We therefore need to question and examine how we may improve our education system. We may need to go back to the teachings of our learned ancestors to pin down the foundation that we need to build in order to ensure that our children will become a responsible person to the family and to the society.
SHARE
