So what is the aim of education?
According to Dictionary.com, education is "the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life."
Education in Singapore seems to be focused on preparing people for life in Singapore, providing them with a foundation that they can use to find a job and work to feed themselves. It is geared towards producing workers, people who can leave the education system and straightaway contribute to society as part of the workforce.
However, is that all that education should be? Should it not be more? Should not education be about providing our people with the foundation for them to be able to make their own choices in life? Education that provides society with a ready workforce may enjoy a certain peak performance in the short run, but an education that teaches people to make choices broadens the learning-experience base, allowing that society to achieve a higher performance peak in the long run. So should we be looking at short-term gains, or do we aim for sustainable success in the long run?
According to Dictionary.com, education is "the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life."
Education in Singapore seems to be focused on preparing people for life in Singapore, providing them with a foundation that they can use to find a job and work to feed themselves. It is geared towards producing workers, people who can leave the education system and straightaway contribute to society as part of the workforce.
However, is that all that education should be? Should it not be more? Should not education be about providing our people with the foundation for them to be able to make their own choices in life? Education that provides society with a ready workforce may enjoy a certain peak performance in the short run, but an education that teaches people to make choices broadens the learning-experience base, allowing that society to achieve a higher performance peak in the long run. So should we be looking at short-term gains, or do we aim for sustainable success in the long run?
No comments:
Post a Comment