It would seem in western societies that those societies are quite aware of the importance and the value of good education, which would then presuppose that our public educational facilities would thus be the very best in the word, in consideration that western societies are also the wealthiest nations, as well. Yet, when we look closely at our educational facilities, not all is well, and further to the point, it doesn’t seem that our lofty hopes of a good education for all, regardless of race, creed, or income, is actually succeeding in that mission.
When it comes to education, the most fundamental problem that we do so find in that education, is the proper understanding of what we should be educating our children about. That is to say, while there is certainly something to be said about learning, at a minimum, the fundamentals of the “three R’s”, which are reading, writing, and arithmetic, that in and of itself, is never going to be enough. In other words, part of the core of education, should be to impart to those that are being educated, the basics of what they so need to learn, so as to think for themselves in a way and manner, in which, there is a desire to search for the truth of our existence, and the meaning of such, thereof. Further, our education, needs to also consist of explaining why we have an obligation to be an integral part of the society that we are a partner in, and why it is so important for each one of us, to do something of substance, to support that same society.
Regrettably, especially in Higher education, we find that more and more, the concentration of studies, is almost never integrated with any real moral or ethical standards, and therefore the importance of having good character – but seems instead to be focused upon only those things in which the efforts of the students is in the study of that which will only be of immediate and direct usage for the career so envisioned, to the apparent exclusion of all else. While it certainly makes sense, that students should know how to competently perform the job functions that they are being trained for – it is also of fundamental importance, that they have sound moral character which therefore lets them know, the difference between those actions which are right and those that are wrong.
Whenever a civilization, pushes to the side its obligation to that society, by concentrating wholeheartedly upon doing only what so needs to be done in order to make profit, or to obtain material goods, or in accordance with general intellectual satisfaction, without taking into account, the whole picture, which includes the value of a sound moral structure, then the civilization that we create and develop is going to be one of selfishness as compare to service, and society, suffers therefore for that mindset.
The best education is that which builds from a solid foundation, of which that foundation has got to emphasize that we are moral agents, responsible to ourselves as well as to others, for the actions that we so undertake, of which, it is our primary duty and obligation to treat others with the same type of courtesy, respect, and consideration, that we would so wish for ourselves, and to also recognize that a collaborative society is going to be a far better society to live within, rather than a society that is always at loggerheads with one another.