Education...in the dictionary it’s explained as being “teaching (教える) and raising (育てる)”. It’s just as the term indicates. The teachers (adults) teach children the knowledge and raise them. Because children don’t know things at all (?), so the adults must teach them various things. However we believe that young children don’t know the things very well, but is it true…?
The origin of the word of “education” originally comes from Latin language of “educere”. This can be divided into “e” and “ducere” and the “e” means “outward” and the “ducere” means “bringing out”. When we put these two meanings together, it’s “bringing outward”. So, the “education” is “bringing out the children’s potentiality”. I'd rather say that it’s not teaching but taking a measure of their qualities and bringing out their characteristics.
It’s not unusual that young children show their interest for something particular, even if no one teaches them. But in the present society where we focus on only their marks and scores, how good they are academically (educational background) has been an important indicator and the other things besides studying seem not to be accepted. Everyone seems to be trying to have a similar personality. However, when looking at our body, one cell becomes different organs, such as our heart and lung and so on.
Imagine that if the cell can speak and…one which is supposed to construct your heart says “I don’t want to be a part of the heart this time, so I’m going to be a part of the liver instead, because I’m tired of working all the time, so I’d rather to be a part of liver and it’ll be easier”. Then you will have a big problem, won’t you? However they don’t say something like that because they understand their roles very well. So we don’t have to worry about it. The old cells die and new ones are created everyday….but they always become what they are supposed to be (cells and organs). They don’t complain about anything and they work hard to play their roles. Aren’t they hard workers?
The plants (nature) are the same as human cells. For example, cherry blossom always becomes cherry blossom, rice always grows into rice. This is a common sense that everyone knows but this is actually a miracle.
I wonder if each of us may have a different role which is like those cells in our body, and you may want to do something different from your present occupation (which, for example, your parents decided for you). Unfortunately, because the adults can’t find the children’s potentiality, they try putting them into a stereotype (a framework of standard in the society). If the adults can bring out the children’s potentialities which they originally have and if they can have the environment ready for their children, the meaning of “education” in present society may change to the one of “bringing outward” which is the original meaning of education.
However, before educating our children, we, adults, may need to change…We may have been born to do something different. Only human beings seem to become something special for money.
