On Education - A Personal Statement
My personal philosophy of education is rooted in the conviction that:
(i) education is a cornerstone of personal and community development;
(ii) education has the power to transform people, circumstances and destinies;
(iii) access to knowledge is the inalienable right of all humanity;
(iv) responsibility for educational advancement is as much an individual as a collective challenge.
The age old Biblical principles of the Book of Proverbs highlight the value of three indispensable pillars of human development:
(i) knowledge, as the first phase of acquisition of information;
(ii) understanding, as the next phase of critical analysis and appreciation of the meaning and value of that information;
(iii) wisdom as the third phase of enlightened application of such information, and the comprehension of it, to daily life.
If we perceive education as emerging out of this framework as an ongoing process of awareness of self, discovery and enhancement of capabilities, and exploration of latent potentialities, it becomes an authentic and exciting pathway to personal growth, development and fulfillment. In that sense it proves itself to be an instrument of liberation, humanization and enrichment.
To accomplish this, it must be viewed as an experience that transcends the vanity of empty titles, shallow formalism, academicism and conventionality which cast people in predetermined ivory tower molds, and isolate them from their roots, their environs and from reality.
The first objective of quality education should be the development of the whole person in the spiritual, intellectual, moral, ethical and physical dimensions by means of discipline and the mastery of ideas and skills. Ingenuity and excellence of achievement require sound discipline even when they thrive on flexibility, individuality and freedom of expression.
This concept caters for the educational process to capture the dreams and visions of the individual, focus and channel his/her ambitions and aspirations, and give form and direction to his/her hopes and ideas. This is the philosophical and programmatic context that constitutes a culture of creativity, productivity, responsibility, accountability and service which together represent the foundational links that lead to success for both the individual and the community.
The second objective should be the engagement of the entire community in some form of effective continuing education with special emphasis on social consciousness, the cultivation of a collective and cooperative spirit, and impulse for sustainability. Both the individual and the community then become viscerally bonded in the pursuit of transcendence, aiming, as a matter of course, to rise to the other level, above the bar of ordinariness, mediocrity, complacency and self-indulgence. In that way, the individual is not set apart from his surroundings, but becomes a committed agent of change, and a protagonist of high achievement.
Meaningful education produces radicals – men and women who think deeply, and methodically go to the root of issues in search of answers and solutions. Superficial thinkers and opportunists posing as activists cannot be radicals; instigators or subversive change agents perhaps, or even iconoclasts in some extreme cases, but never radical innovators dedicated to the equality, well being, advancement and empowerment of all humanity.
There faces humanity an inescapable moral obligation to spare no efforts to remove all the barriers of discrimination, classism, racism, bigotry, poverty and the digital divide that exclude vast numbers of poor, disadvantaged, marginalized peoples of the world from the highest quality of education. It is not enough to embrace a policy of universal education without making adequate budgetary provisions for its effective implementation. The principle of excellence for all must be enshrined not only in the conceptualization, but also in praxis, in policies and programs alike. The nature of the world in which we live in this new millennium urges us to respond purposefully to the demand for the delivery of an interdisciplinary, multicultural, multilingual and technology appropriate curriculum and corresponding pedagogy that take into consideration the diversity of ethnicities, cultures and learning styles of the world’s heterogeneous population.
Education must not only liberate the spirit and the creative imagination from intellectual malaise, but must lift both individual and community out of all forms of mental bondage and its dependency syndrome, and out of the placid acceptance of prejudicial hierarchical structures and their pre-determined statuses and roles, on to a plane of exciting adventure, exploration and creativity in all areas of life. Working in such a setting, teachers do not have to burn out, students do not die of boredom, and administrators do not crumble under the weight of frustration, because education then becomes a shared experience of a mutually satisfying journey.
We owe it to our children, fellowmen and our countries to open up opportunities for investigation, critical analysis, open discussion, individual reflection, freedom of thought and shared intellectual enrichment. The government/citizenry, parent/child, or teacher/student relationship that is founded on such principles, rather than producing robots, creates gateways for creative expression, intellectual fulfillment and mutual respect.
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