- Shilpah Seetharaman
“What sculpture is to a block of Marble, Education is to the Soul” – Joseph Addison, 1711.
“Altaelim” means Education on one of the ancient Egyptian Arabic language. As we are in the 21st Century, technology has been on its heights but what about Education; still untold millions of children are receiving no regular schooling or basic education. This has been true for a long time, so today close to billions of adults are illiterate.
Good education is a basic need and right of both children and adult and it is not an unachievable luxury, but for few it remains a luxury which affects their dream for a better life, where in they remain illiterate for their entire life. Education is not about to just educate, but its main aim to inculcate the purposeful education on young minds and its essential.
Does education give you the Real Freedom? Yes. But how? Education guides students to think and decide on what has to be done or what not to be done in real life. An individual can explore the real freedom leading a happy and content life which can be attained through education.
Let us consider this incident as an example, a young boy gets into cigarette smoking with his fellow students as he does not have the basic knowledge that smoking is a bad habit, it will affect his health, it is very dangerous on a long run, and its severe side effects may also lead to death. If he lacks on this basic information he may go ahead with smoking and he may be addicted to the smoking habit in a future. On the other hand, in the prior situation a boy who is well informed about smoking and its side effects will think and reconsider what he has learnt, and what will safeguard his entire life. The education as a shield protects children, and helps them to choose the right and enjoy “real freedom”.
The above mentioned example gives us the brief idea “Education Elites the Minds of Young ones”. Education gives us the freedom, throughout the whole life, where in illiteracy steals ones individuality on the deciding capacity regarding which is right or wrong for his betterment towards life.
Now let us take a look on Egyptian Education System, which makes us go wide eyed. The children were taught to write and read a language, through a practice of writing letters and administrative documents, which also includes their exposure to many literary works.
An exemplary educational career of an elite child, who wants to become high priest of Amun at Karnak, “he has to spend 4 years as an excellent youngster, 11 years as a youth, as a trainee stable master”. (Munich Statue, G1.WAF 38, back pillar (translated in Frood 2007:41)) Not only has the school education been taught, but also an informal and circumstantial, personally chosen professional as per his/her wish has also been taught. The potential successor has been taught that includes art, painting, temple musicians, training young sculptors, as like based on their skill sets.(see for instance, Brunner Traut 1979, Training of Sculptors, see Von Lieven 2007).
The education system has been evolved throughout the long period, as century passes. The history dated back to Egypt has shown that education is a skillset, which has to develop the skills and ideas and techniques within an each individual. But to some extent, the education has seen its highest peak, through technology. Yes, we have technical access and speed at receiving needed information through internet and other access.
But on the whole the question arises is “Does today’s education really build individuality and individual skill sets and area of interest within”? Modern education has inculcated the materialistic goals on children rather than the productive ones. Mostly children are motivated to get good job, good salary, and accumulation of wealth, through education. Yes, we need money and a secured job to lead a happy life, but are we really enlightened through education? Is our life is really enlightened through education? Is our freedom and happiness enlightened through education?
The Value of Necessity of education can’t be denied at any stake. “Education, the greatest investment … for the quick development of economic, political, sociological and human resources” says a well-known educationalist. The goal of children is to acquire real skills and thinking ability as it increases the productivity on their career later.
Let us think over it, to make next generation as Enlightened Citizens, let us begin the education from parents. So, let us start educate our children through finding their interest and skills that leads to a “New Real Enlightened Generation and Existent of Freedom”.