iThink Education…

By Abdul-Rahman Baban Saibo

babansaibo@gmail.com

Prologue;

It is indeed baffling how when mention of the word ‘Education’ is made (these days), the first thing that runs the minds-is “School”. Modern minds, right? Sure, the conventional-orthodox process of Education nowadays is a periodic-momentary institutional procession. One needs undergo a-some prescribed, supervised sequential assessments (by some say; qualified individuals –acting as authorities) for some time, and yet, scale through, before becoming branded an “Educated” fellow. Those whom dwelt in the medieval would agree that their grandfathers would see this procedure as somewhat a ‘strange’ means; for it was rather less sophisticated, (yet –more qualitative) during their (grandfathers’) exuberance.

History entails that most Great minds were products of either a continues practice of their passionate curiosities or by mastering the observation of their immediate natural settings; –arts/craftsmen, thinkers/philosophers, alike. Lessons from those (medieval) days convey that schools were developed only to give the people scopes for learning their enthused passions –but ‘never’ to assign them to limits/boundaries.

Education has become, by all the diverse rationale intellects and callings, a misconceived means of earning knowledge; for the purpose of satisfying the leisure wants/desires, instead of rendering in advancement a more integrated and evaluated erudition –for the progression of humanity. In these (modern) days (of technological innovations, digitalization, and graphical expressions) true education is (per say) not practiced. Quiet distorting I dare say. Often, fellows I stumble into inline of educational processions, usually in the crux of discuss would whole heartedly confess that “I am only on this path to secure a lofty job… in life” –just so after securing that ‘lofty job’ they would dwell the rest of their lives wasting their hard acquired knowledge which helped secured them that living they enjoy; thereby abolishing ‘Education’ (in its true meaning).

Need one tell? That the Earth as we know it is expanding whilst shrinking; developing, yet, contracting; transforming-reforming and still remaining unformed. The planet although rotating on its axis and revolving in its crusts, is still standing –transfixed, for the world is like the mind; when happiness and sadness together envelope’s it, it pauses. Same happens to the world. Today we see scientific and technological discoveries that are supposed to improve our great potentials and explore further the growth of our still-nascent Earth turn into the very elements/tools of its own destruction. Perhaps, it is as Herbert George Wells says it is, “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” Here one could assert that the world is in its “age of trance”!

Changing the Tides;

Since first grade, we have been learning all sorts of definitions; we have been taught multitudes of processes of doing all sorts of things, but, not the very immediate imperative things. They tell us to “go to school, study hard and pass your exams” which we have been doing –but towards what ends? I would suppose to making the certificates.

Here the famous Oxford’s advanced learner dictionary tells us that education is “a process of teaching, training, and learning especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills.” Like I said earlier, the modern mind would project this (exact) picture at the hearing of the word ‘education’. But human beings are the doctrines of curiosity, yet still, a preponderance of us almost never gets to ask the very necessary immediate questions; why do we need schools to learn? Must we possess university/college certificates of qualifications before we’ll be pronounced ‘educated’?

I see every day, people going to school, to achieve all kinds of educational qualifications; BTech/BSc, PGD/MSc, PhD, to which at the ends, it only remains to be a title to them –instead of an identity. To me it is research worthy for people to find out “how?” the world has elevated to this extent; having mostly used the very knowledge transmitted to us from the past, a past since whence schools were still inexistent.

“The human brain is a miraculous organ”, said the famous neurologist, Ben Carson. But must we have waited till we are told that our brains are “miraculous organs” before we did nothing? Evidently man keeps growing more lazy, dependent, and reluctant by the day. The coming of Google, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia, Encarta and all the website information archives has demeaned mankind to the shames of plagiarism. Hardly now would one find a graduating university student endeavoring to complete a project without immensely depending on the works of others’; thus, one sees the reason behind Siva Vaidhyanathan’s book “The Googlization of everything”. Unfortunately, research shows that 98 percent of humans go to their dying beds without ever realizing what their God-given talents are. What a waste of the human resource!

But, “God given talent”! Doesn’t that pull the hair? We oft watch the TV and listen to radios just to see or hear someone do something so unique and amazing; yet, we never dwell to asking ourselves “what is my true talent?” Quiet unfortunate indeed!

The big question is ‘how do we change the tides’? Quite frankly I cannot provide a substantially precise answer to this question. But, I have serendipitously stumbled into some like thinking(s) of which I wish to share with you. One day I was watching the TED videos on my computer where I stumbled into the clip that Sugata Mitra (an Indian computer scientist) tells the story of how he experimented on illiterate kids in the remote communities he dwells around. Mr. Mitra goes to a village and installs a computer device in a wall and mechanized it with solar electric power so it remains continuously on. Some months later he went to see what progress his innovation has made, and there he saw kids on a queue waiting for their turns to use the computer devise; some were playing games whilst others performing basic operations. When he told his colleague about the development made, the colleague denied the possibility of such an amazing development and said to him “it is very possible a passerby saw them and stopped to show them how it works”. Well, as this was not a so typically remote locality, Mr. Mitra headed to a more remote location to repeat the same experiment. Now here he journeyed far beyond the reach of passersby, where not even two-wheeled vehicles could reach. The same procedure and programming was repeated. Few months after, Mr. Mitra went back to register the progress made, astonished he was to see again little kids operating the devise as if they were taught by a professional. Now isn’t that amazing?

Perhaps you’ve come across the Sal Khan’s achievement –the “Khan Academy”. In my opinion, Khan is one of the greatest achievers of contemporary era. He began by teaching his little cousin to solve basic geometric problems; it was quite difficult for her understanding –of course. He then had an idea to video the process for her to watch and watch again until she gets it. The goal was later achieved and so the idea was also developed to becoming a global help. Today, anyone whom faces difficulties in solving arithmetic, geometry, calculus, even, physics, chemistry and economics problems can learn only by searching on Youtube easy solutions to his challenges from ‘Khan’s Academy’.

How often does it occur to us that people who went to school are more inclined to being haughty and arrogant than those who didn’t? where those whom didn’t go to school are likely to be found more humble and talented and even making a living out of it? As for those whom are claimed ‘educated’, you find them possessing superiority complexities when they speak; they care-less of what you know and presume they know it all –dashing isn’t it? Well these are victims of “single-story” perspectives as put by the Nigerian writer Chimamanda. The world today carries a single-story perspective of education (in a general sense of meaning), “go to school, and be superior to those whom did not”. Yet we see the most regarded great achievers are still of the foregone days; yet, they never even wore the uniform. Today, Da Vinci, Rembrandt and Michelangelo are still gods in the world of arts; without Galileo, Newton, Einstein, et al, whither Science?; Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are till this moment regarded as ‘fathers of philosophy’. Yet still, these people remain uneducated (of course; going by the modern definition of education) –but remain still to be the very reasons behind our finding academic lines to follow; just so we could secure our “lofty jobs” –yet never rendering our tiniest of favors to humanity (as they were so generous and kind to do).

Epilogue;

In my opinion? I would say, Education in simple terms means; exploring the true humanness in oneself; it is the ultimate strife to being the best parent, child, companion, colleague, leader/follower one is meant to be. Education is exercising the willpower and oomph of developing, elevating and substantiating the status of humanity. Education would be extending towards one’s human-kind, other living organisms, nature and environ all the moral virtues there is to extend –and all, regardless of any academic achievements one may qualify to earning.

Now here I am, a sailor, slashing through the surface of a massive endless liquid body, inspired and immersed by all this space and time that lies beyond, way beyond the wilderness in the horizon, and thinking, “what if there’s more to every man (a sailor perhaps) in life than just living; how do I relay my knowledge, experience and compassion for voyage unto the world?”

“All people are dead, save for those who know; and those who know are dead, save those who practice; and those who practice are all astray, save those who act with right intentions.” –Dhu ’I-Nuun