Introduction
Education has always been my priority because I believe this is the fundamental requirement for living happily and more importantly, purposefully. Therefore, I am always motivated and determined at the beginning of every new semester to learn new things. For me, life is all about learning new things and teaching them once we get enough knowledge about them. The following paper further describes my thoughts about education.
The Purpose(s) of Education
The purpose of education can be described from various perspectives. However, the most prominent motive behind the establishment of an effective education system on a state level is to provide the masses with the necessary moral and technical skills which are required for the sustainability and development of the society and the state. I regard this as the fundamental function of education. There are a certain set of principles that govern our life and relationships with each other in a society in the form of values, morals, laws, etc. which no one can truly comprehend and practice without proper education. Moreover, when we look at it from a bigger perspective, it is clear that we all depend on many factors within a society to fulfill our basic needs and desires such as food, clothing, shelter, etc., and obviously, we cannot manage all these facilities by our own. Therefore, an education system in society ensures that people are educated and skilled enough to meet the needs of each other. For example, a doctor can provide medical assistance but cannot construct his own hospital because he needs an engineer to construct a hospital, etc.
However, the purpose of education is even bigger from an ethical perspective. As I mentioned earlier, apart from our physical needs of food, clothes, shelter, etc. we also have emotional and psychological needs which can only be met if society, in general, is cultured and disciplined according to the basic norms of the society. Thus, education develops individuals to become a valuable part of society who make their utmost efforts to improve the existing systems and lead the masses. But it is also important that the education system is constructed in such a way that it necessarily implants creative skills in the students so that they can become future leaders in their respective fields. According to Martin Luther King, Jr. “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education that stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” (Hubbard et al., 2001).
The Role of Teachers and Schools in the Learning Process
Teachers have a diverse role in the learning process of the students because they simultaneously behave as educators, motivators, trainers, coaches, advisors, and managers. Students tend to idealize them and adopt their personality traits. Therefore, this is the primary responsibility of teachers to perceive their important role in the overall effectiveness of education by meeting the basic needs of the students. For example, teachers must realize the different mental levels and skills of students and then try to formulate a teaching methodology that is beneficial for all students. Therefore, William Arthur Ward said that “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” (Fred, 2010).
Moreover, it is also his responsibility to provide all necessary tools and materials which is essential to achieve the learning objectives of a specific course. Although this is predominantly the duty of school administration, the teachers still play an important role in effectively utilizing the provided facilities to improve the learning process of their students.
In general, schools provide an environment that enhances the learning process of students where they can access many learning resources and complete guidelines regarding specific learning objectives. Thus, the administration of the school should keenly focus on the development and continuous improvement of the school’s environment and learning system.
The Importance of Developing Multiple Intelligences
The necessity of developing multiple intelligences has emerged in the recent decade in response to the ineffectiveness of traditional methods of teaching in analyzing the true potential of students. Multiple intelligences simply mean that all students learn and perceive things in a different way and therefore apply distinct intelligence in their learning process. The direct implication of this fact is that teachers and the education system should not rely on a single method of teaching and assessing students’ potential but should develop multiple intelligences to address the needs of students individually (Kidwell, 2005). In this regard, according to Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” (Quoteinvestigator, 2013). So, teachers can increase the productivity of students by exhibiting multiple intelligences
Conclusion
Finally based on all the discussion above, I am very determined to pursue my educational training in an effective way. However, I am now not only focused on formal education in the school environment but based on the understanding of the education which I have developed, I intend to learn from multiple sources including the community as well. In this way, I have plans to educate myself all over my life because the purpose of education is to make students good citizens as well as professionally equipped with required technical and interpersonal skills, and therefore, by utilizing different channels of education, I can achieve my future goals regarding personal development.
References
Fred, H. L. (2010). The True Teacher. Texas Heart Institute Journal, 37(3), 334–335. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879191/
Hubbard, D., Carson, C., & King, M. L. (2001). The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Vol. III: Birth of a New Age. African American Review, 35(2), 335. https://doi.org/10.2307/2903274
Kidwell, K. S. (2005). Understanding the College First-year Experience1. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 78(6), 253–256. https://doi.org/10.3200/tchs.78.6.253-256
Quoteinvestigator. (2013, April 6). Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Lives Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid – Quote Investigator. Quoteinvestigator.com. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/06/fish-climb/#:~:text=14-
