Many people have talked a lot about the importance of education. There is a lot of ambiguity in this list. Education is ‘an adornment in affluence, and a refuge in hardship’, according to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. There have been numerous attempts to explain this description, but none of them have been able to satisfy my curiosity to the point where I am completely satisfied. Alternatively, Joseph Addison, an English essayist, argues that education is a waste of time: Education is to a human soul what sculpture is to a block of marble. This, too, has a plethora of reasons and justifications. Do we know what education is if we believe this? Is it clear why education is necessary? The idea of a soul is still rather nebulous, thus that’s not the case. Is it possible for us to begin to comprehend what everyone says is crucial in today’s world? Basically, education is a process of educating our minds so that we may use them in an area of our choice, which is why we have numerous divisions of education, such as music, science and technology, art, and even teacher education!
It’s possible to compare education to the act of picking and eating fruit. An analogy can be drawn between picking out a particular fruit from the tree and selecting an area of study. That bite gives us our first experience with the topic. When we are ready to go on to the next part, we swallow what we have assimilated so far so that it can be used for further application as we chew on the bitten section and begin to understand its many characteristics – the tastes, textures, intricacy and complexity of it. It is the teacher who serves as both the tree and the voice that tells us which fruit to pluck from the tree of previous philosophers’ teachings.
We learn about things that have always been, are still, and always will be all around us, just waiting to be noticed and acknowledged as part of our lifelong education (no, it’s not like school or college, which has an end date). In education, both literally and metaphorically, light plays a key part because visual inputs are the best learned and without light, we would be missing out on a huge world of knowledge. As it turns out, terms like “light of understanding,” “shed light on the topic,” “kept in the dark,” and so on all stemmed from this source of origin.
Perhaps the question on your mind is, “How can we reduce the endless field of knowledge to select what we will need or desire to learn?” In this section, the focus shifts to “training the mind.” When it comes to cognitive faculties like consciousness, reasoning, perception and judgement, psychology says the mind is the hub. When we gather information, it’s like having a kitchen where we may season and cook it into a whole understanding. Minds have an infinite number of potential uses (which is why it can be so difficult for us young people to choose a “specialisation” in higher education) and as such, they require training to help them make better choices, just as a good chef must know when and how to use certain ingredients in a dish. This world does not permit us to test the limits of our skills without being shunned or driven to poverty. As a result, specialisation is required. Because of this, education is necessary.
Obtaining an education is another glaring need. A real-world comparison is sometimes difficult to convey, but metaphors and analogies make it easier to explain. A school, college, or university could be an option. In addition, there are various ways to receive a formal education. Homeschooling and distance learning are examples of this It’s a place where we may learn from each other as well as from each other. In the Indian context, this is a highly regulated form of schooling. Finding a school that allows us to customise our education based on our preferences and interests is difficult. Even if the chance is right in front of us, we often choose not to take advantage of it. The desires, whims, and expectations of our parents and elders, as well as current society trends, all exert influence on our decisions. As a result, students often find themselves unable to deal with the conflicting information and succumb to the added stress. To reach one’s greatest potential, one needs an educational system that allows pupils to follow their own interests and aspirations without being swayed by fads. John Keats, the famous English poet, is a good illustration of how this approach might be helpful. With the goal of becoming a doctor, Keats gave up his pharmacy licence and embarked on a new route that no one else has been able to follow.