UNDERSTANDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

-
UNDERSTANDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

BY OLAKUNLE PAUL 
A writer and a prospective author 
Email: olakunleorimaye@gmail.com

"A teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself."

Stated above was the content of the WhatsApp status of a friend of mine, which i came across. These words, having subjected them to rigorous thoughtfulness, and viewed them in the light of today's modern philosophy of education, really contains some truths (which I like to share) that might help to enhance the modern day student's orientation of education. 

For us, however to really understand the revelation  communicated by those words, there is need for us to briefly look at what education is essentially about. From my own perspective, which I believe is worthy of consideration, education is more than just going to school to cram facts and figures, do series of assignments and undertake projects of all kinds. As good as these methodologies of pedagogy  are (I mean, giving of assignments, engaging in presentations, cramming facts and figures, unraveling mysteries of equations, etc), many students are however devoid of the proper understanding of their essences and what they aim to achieve as part of  formal education. 


Education is essentially meant to inform and transform our minds so that we can conceive working ideas that are of panacea relevance to the multifarious problems of the society. It is also meant to boost our resource in order to build our human productive capital so as to enhance our results and contribute meaningfully to the development of our society. The essence of we going to school to study and probably cram facts and figures is to equip us with adequate and relevant  knowledge out of which we can contribute to the overall growth and development of the society and the sustenance of the development for the betterment of our world. 

How I wish we, the students, of this contemporary world were properly oriented as to the original philosophy of education. This will go a long way in helping to make education an essential facility and tool that is indispensably needed, not only to overhaul our individual lives, but also to make significant contributions to development of the society. It is high time, students (formally and informally) began to operate at this level of thinking, as it will help to overhaul themselves and also to change the face of education. Education should not just be a means of enjoying good life; rather, it should be a means of contributing to the good life. 

My dear fellow students, I like you to have a change of orientation and understanding. Instead of just sitting in class all day long fighting for attendance or thinking of how you will cheat your way out of failure by engaging in unnecessary examination malpractice just to get good grades as if those so called "good grades" are what constitute your entire life. Why can't you sit down and start thinking of how you also can contribute, out of the knowledge you have acquired so far, to the development of your society. This is really what really makes your education meaningful and practical – making meaningful contributions to the society to which you belong. 

As a student of tourism, how can your knowledge of tourism help to greatly improve the face of the tourism industry in Nigeria. As an engineer, don't just get too busy with solving equations and cramming formulas. Yes, those formulas are very good and important, as they are needed to improve your technical understanding of your course of study. However, it goes beyond that! Of what essence is the knowledge you have which can make you find answers to equations where as, you can't proffer any meaningful solution to the problems of the society in respect to your field of study. 

The teacher will not give you all. He/she is not a giver of truth, as revealed in those words, he is only responsible for guiding you along the path of truth. You are solely responsible for searching and discovering the truth yourself. It is the truth you discover that be applied to solve practical problems in the society.

Again, "the teacher is not a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself"

© Olakunle Paul

God bless you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 Keys to becoming a person of value : The case study of the proverb 31 woman

-
Image
12 KEYS TO BECOMING A MAN/WOMAN OF VALUE: The Case Study of The Proverb 31 Woman.    BY OLAKUNLE PAUL A WRITER AND A PROSPECTIVE AUTHOR  EMAIL: OLAKUNLEORIMAYE@GMAIL.COM Becoming a person of value is very much pivotal to being successful in life. Your success in life and the fulfillment of your destiny depend so much on how valuable you are. Being valuable is what makes you relevant to your generation. To be valuable, according to the Oxford English learners dictionary, simply means to have the ability or to possess the quality of rendering something desirable. What makes you valuable is your ability is not only the ability to offer something which people so much desire to have, but also the ability to proffer solutions to problems. You need to understand that, in life, if you are not loaded, you are not needed. You can only be influential and successful in your chosen endeavor if only you are very much valuable. Your significance in life is tied to your value. And, s
Read more

21/21: understanding the key to relevance in this age and time.

-
Image
  21/21 Understanding the key to relevance in this age and time  Blessed be the Almighty God for granting us the privilege of being alive to see the new year, 2021. There is no doubt that the just concluded year was, on a general note, charactized by quite a lot of hitches. The debilitating effects of the pandemic cannot be overemphasized. It is indeed an act of God’s mercy that we are counted worthy to scale through into the new year.  However, as much as we are joyfully celebrating our successful cross over into the year, 2021, it is very important for us to understand what it takes to make the most of the year. We have just entered into the 21st year of the 21st century; this, we must take cognizance of not only for its informatory relevance, but also how long it will go in helping us to make the most of it.  A century, as we know, is a period that spans 100 years. I like us to realize that every century unfolds with certain realities in terms of development, civilization, social, t
Read more

WHO ARE YOU?

-
Image
WHO ARE YOU? Prominent among the things, I vehemently believe, that the average young man/woman struggles with is to know who he/she is. One may not want to readily accept this fact, but as much as you would want to disagree with it, its consequential implications on not only the individual but also on the society at large is irrefutable. The average young man/woman is being plagued by what is psychologically known as 'identity crisis'. He doesn’t know who he is. This crisis of identity, as we shall understand later, I believe very strongly, is what is responsible for the depravity and lawlessness that sadly characterizes our modern society. Quite a considerable number of young people have engaged — and are still engaging — in all kinds of stuff that are out-rightly bad, and of course, not responsible of them all in the name of youthful exuberance. The average young person silently cries to know who exactly he is because he knows intuitively that, tied to the
Read more