Education can be described as the imparting and acquiring of knowledge via teaching and learning, respectively, especially at a school or similar institution.
In the words of G. K. Chesterton ‘Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.’ No wonder every sane and rational society treats it as the fundamental factor required toward any meaningful development.
The earliest educational processes involved sharing information about gathering food and providing shelter; making weapons and other tools; learning language; and acquiring the values, behaviour, as well as religious rites or practices of a given culture.
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Prior to the invention of writing and reading, people lived in an environment in which they struggled to survive against natural forces, animals, and other humans. At the time, to survive, preliterate individuals developed skills that grew into cultural and educational patterns.
Education, therefore, emanated from the human struggle for survival and enlightenment. It may be formal or informal. The latter refers to the general social process by which human beings acquire the knowledge and skills needed to function in their culture. Whilst, formal education refers to the process through which teachers instruct pupils or students, as might be the case, in subjects of study within institutions.
Modern day education makes one feel proud that s/he is truly educated, though formally or informally, everyone is educated. Real education, which is the overall development of mind, body and soul, can be acquired via any means. According to Carter Woodson, education means to ‘inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.’
It’s noteworthy that modern education is aided with a variety of technology comprising computers, projectors, internet, and calculators, among others. This fact forms the basis of this discussion, hence shall take time to do justice to it.
Everything that can be simplified has been made simpler by the introduction of the aforementioned gadgets into modern day education. Science has obviously explored every aspect of human life. It suffices to say that there is now much to learn as well as more to assimilate. The Internet alone provides abysmal knowledge, meaning literally that there’s no end to it.
Skill development and vocational education has added a new feather to the modern system of learning. Everyone has something to learn. Even an infant these days goes to a kindergarten; and a little grown, mentally and physically, is promoted to a nursery.
The most fascinating part is that everything is being categorized ranging from kindergarten, nursery, primary, secondary, to tertiary; and each of these stages has a certain set of technical acquaintances.
The truth is, the modern pattern of education is a never-ending process. Aristotle Nicomachus, in his usual way, stated that education is an ‘ornament in prosperity and a refugee in adversity.’ This is exactly what modern education represents.
However, it’s pertinent to acknowledge that the existing technical intricacy of modern education has caused colossal harm to the present days’ children, thereby posing threat in their respective ambitions and future endeavours.
For instance, before now, devices such as abacus were used during Mathematics classes. Such an approach helped tremendously to educate the kids – ranging from ages 6 to 14 – on mental arithmetic, a knowledge that enables them to face any form of Mathematics problem in the future.
But now, except in nations such as India, Russia, China, Ghana, and what have you, that still use counting frames or abacus, calculators have suddenly overtaken its use in countries like Nigeria. Worse still, even primary school pupils are now exposed to scientific calculators.
Modern education has deprived most learners the opportunity of seeing the real events or scenes. Engineering students, for example, only see pictures of what is being taught, or what is expected to be produced by them.
Final year undergraduates, and perhaps postgraduate students, presently do their projects or theses by merely downloading the required materials from the net. Most students don’t even know where the fabric they are wearing came from. The word ‘how’ is currently missing in our world, which causes severe ignorance.
Modern education has succeeded in spreading more ignorance than knowledge. It has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. Learners do more of cramming rather than memorizing, which can only be achieved by getting close to facts or the actual pictures. Albert Einstein once said education is ‘that which remains if one has forgotten everything learned in school.’
For the technical intricacies involved in modern education to be advantageous to the learners, they must serve as supplements. In other words, they ought to be used for reference purposes, and not as fundamental devices as they are presently utilized in various institutions of learning.
The pupils or students must get used to the real pictures or sites before introducing the use of tech gadgets to them. Their brains shouldn’t be complicated with those things at an early stage. Those brains are still fragile, thus ought not to be juxtaposed with tech intricacies. More so, endeavour to let the practical segment be preceded by theory.
We must note that every invention was made for a purpose, and to be applied at a particular time. So, if we end up misusing them, it becomes a problem when they are meant to serve as blessings.