Education as a channel of translated values
It is up to us, to find our ways towards the future, experiencing life in all its aspects may they seem positive or negative, but always enriching our personal development. I believe that the future will be shaped by those who are willing to work jointly, hopefully, towards a better place to be. Our economic and political system delivers the framework in which we have to act. However, it is important to state that this system shapes us every day. It generates similes as well as differences shifting our values according to the current life conditions.
Egoism seems to be visible everywhere. I am not saying that egoism in general is bad. What I believe is that in recent time the natural and somehow important egoism we need in order to advance in our lives, has turned into a more competitive one. People seem to implement the economic idea of the homo oeconomicus, defined as a human being who acts for his utmost advantage, considering the maximisation of profits superior to other values, into their social lives. In schools and also at universities we are taught to be better than our comrades. We feel like we can only guard our position if the others are not reaching the same level. I have the impression that many of my colleges at the university create an artificial competition, pushing their friends down in order to conquer a higher position; instead of helping each other to reach something jointly and therewith increasing the importance of the result.
Isn’t it much more valuable to take ones hand and create jointly a greater good? Shouldn’t we appreciate collectively reached achievements most?
And how can we create and implement this understanding in the people’s mindsets? Which medium can translate these values into actions?
There are two main sources that increase our knowledge. The first one involves our environment, our close friends and family. These are the factors that shape our characters most and influence our behavior towards other human beings. The other source that augments our knowledge is the educational institutionand its people permitted to teach a range of open-minded persons. The first one is probably determining most our personality and behavior. It is nearly impossible to influence this source directly as it is very hard to control. The second source however, is governed by the state and therefore can be directly influenced in order to preserve the values needed to create creative and open mindsets instead of competitive character traits.To me, primary and secondary school are the places that influence us most and therefore must be carefully developed. Many educational systems are designed in a way that separates the students around the age of 10, sending them to different schools after the primary, according to their intelligence and capacity. This policy constitutes a very early separation. Additionally, the factors determining the ranking of pupils often lead to misclassification, as personal backgrounds are rarely taken into consideration. Education systems that follow this selection process create an understanding for classification that is dangerous, as it allows those, continuing eg. at a grammar school, to see themselves on a higher educational and mental level, underestimating the others capacity and intelligence. I believe that values, like tolerance, modesty and sensibility can be acquired through our surrounding. And the educational systems represent one medium through which this can be reached, when designed fairly and solidary.
Egoism seems to be visible everywhere. I am not saying that egoism in general is bad. What I believe is that in recent time the natural and somehow important egoism we need in order to advance in our lives, has turned into a more competitive one. People seem to implement the economic idea of the homo oeconomicus, defined as a human being who acts for his utmost advantage, considering the maximisation of profits superior to other values, into their social lives. In schools and also at universities we are taught to be better than our comrades. We feel like we can only guard our position if the others are not reaching the same level. I have the impression that many of my colleges at the university create an artificial competition, pushing their friends down in order to conquer a higher position; instead of helping each other to reach something jointly and therewith increasing the importance of the result.
Isn’t it much more valuable to take ones hand and create jointly a greater good? Shouldn’t we appreciate collectively reached achievements most?
And how can we create and implement this understanding in the people’s mindsets? Which medium can translate these values into actions?
There are two main sources that increase our knowledge. The first one involves our environment, our close friends and family. These are the factors that shape our characters most and influence our behavior towards other human beings. The other source that augments our knowledge is the educational institutionand its people permitted to teach a range of open-minded persons. The first one is probably determining most our personality and behavior. It is nearly impossible to influence this source directly as it is very hard to control. The second source however, is governed by the state and therefore can be directly influenced in order to preserve the values needed to create creative and open mindsets instead of competitive character traits.To me, primary and secondary school are the places that influence us most and therefore must be carefully developed. Many educational systems are designed in a way that separates the students around the age of 10, sending them to different schools after the primary, according to their intelligence and capacity. This policy constitutes a very early separation. Additionally, the factors determining the ranking of pupils often lead to misclassification, as personal backgrounds are rarely taken into consideration. Education systems that follow this selection process create an understanding for classification that is dangerous, as it allows those, continuing eg. at a grammar school, to see themselves on a higher educational and mental level, underestimating the others capacity and intelligence. I believe that values, like tolerance, modesty and sensibility can be acquired through our surrounding. And the educational systems represent one medium through which this can be reached, when designed fairly and solidary.