The foundation of real education must be love of learning and critical thinking. With these two elements in place, we can stop there. Our educational system has seen to it that these elements are obliterated. Teaching to the test in a square environment, picking and choosing the subjects that may be important for political correctness, has rendered the nation's most recent generations ill equipped to handle an emerging world. There are so many culprits to name in responsibility, but to be useful about the problem is to offer solutions. The first focus must be of course primary education.
Along with love of learning and critical thinking, discipline is necessary. But not imposed discipline, but a self-discipline that can be taught with generosity and gentleness. Every individual has something unique to offer and tends to be better at one thing than another. Early on, if those attributes are brought out and nurtured, a sense of self, and confidence in that self emerges and a foundation built in each individual begins. These are the seeds of a better society being cultivated.
The Basics: reading, writing, math and natural science must be emphasized throughout the first twelve grades. These are the foundations by which the study of history, geography, government, the arts and other subjects pertinent to the changing world of today must be built upon. A curriculum must include these basics along with and expectation of discipline in the classroom.
What is missing in the structured state determined education is a broader classroom. In order to appreciate the natural world, young people must be exposed to it. Nature study trips should be planned once per month for exposure and excitement about interest and learning. The information can then be taken back to the classroom for discussion and further learning. This fosters the first necessary element, love of learning. Open discussions about the adventure will advance the natural ability and tendency of the human mind to be curious. This is a step toward an open classroom structured in a round table format, as our planet indicates. Natural artists, writers, analysts, teachers and budding scientists will emerge in this format style. An instructor qualified to teach in this way, must be open minded and curious herself in order to assist and instruct the students with their love of learning. The study of natural science brings out wonder and curiosity in all of us and is so vital to the growth and intellect as our natural world is the home we live in, but can be ignored or often romanticized through ignorant teachers. it is a world to be studied and savored with scientific inquiry. Young minds are perfectly equipped to study our natural world with correct guidance and natural curiosity. Respect and understanding are the usual outcome with this type of learning promoted.
The early instruction in natural inquiry fosters the mind and brings out the essence of the young and budding individual. Love of learning creates a life time learner ready to indulge in life's banquet of offerings and renders a student limitless in any pursuit that she has a passion to dive into. Individuals are just that. Unique and equipped with gifts and talents that benefit the world in various ways. Not all are meant to head for higher academic learning. Some are trades people, a few inventors who need greater outlet for their curiosity, artists, entrepreneurs, service workers, health care specialists and on and on. A child is born with a particular temperment and attributes and finding out early what they are and encouraging their love of doing a particular thing is a win[win situation for individuals and society as a whole. Practicing this way of education will surely lead to an advanced society rather than one that has stagnated over centuries.
At last, in a world that has advanced so dramatically with technological and scientific knowledge, this area must continued to be advanced also starting in the lower grades. Instructors must be more capable of transferring this knowledge and therefore it must be required of all in the teaching profession to be conversant and trained in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics through calculus. Without this basic teacher training and education, the society is doomed to mediocrity or less in a world that will advance. Those societies that recognize this will seize the prize, but only to have it constantly threatened by an impoverished world. Deep, ongoing learning, fostered by an advanced educational system is the only key to creation of a better world. Critical thinking being present as a norm rather than an anomaly will elevate the human family to the level it needs to be if the world is to survive. Poverty and overpopulation are advancing and real eduction with a foundation in using the critical mind will eliminate the hypnotic march toward a destiny that will find mankind and her planet doomed to extinction. Real education is that important.
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