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The Failure of Education

Guest post by: David Kynan

Article Overview: Was there something missing from our education? Were we really prepared for life?

The Failure of Education

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.– Albert Einstein

Beginning at age five, almost every child goes to school. Nearly everyone will go to school for over a decade – school is not an option, it’s requirement. Why? Because each and every one of us needs an education. We need to be prepared for life and the world so later we can function effectively in society.

But are we really getting an education in school?

“It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated,” said Alec Bourne in A Doctor’s Creed. Indeed, there are a number of fundamental questions about education that few seem to be asking:

• What is education?

• What is it’s purpose?

• How do we know it is effective? What criteria enable us to be sure

it is working?

What do we learn in 12 or 13 years of school? I can still recite the definition of osmosis by heart (the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane). I remember learning the history of Russia, quadratic equations and yes, I remember dissecting that piglet.

We learn the basics of math and then onto algebra and calculus. We learn how to read and write and then onward to Shakespeare. We learn French or English or Spanish. We learn the history of Canada. We learn the periodic table of elements and need I mention that piglet again?

In short, what we learn is information. The system is designed for the acquisition of knowledge.



Is information what we need to be prepared for life in the real world?

Our school system is based on a fundamental assumption: that knowledge is what is required to function in life.

Is that all?

What don’t we learn in school? We don’t learn:

• How to communicate (communication and social skills).

• How to handle and solve problems (the one’s we face every day).

• How to deal with our emotions.

• How to make changes in ourselves or end self-defeating behaviours.

• How to manage money.

Who decided that we didn’t need any of these skills to function in life? Shouldn’t these be learned first?

What is the result of our “education”?

• 20% of Canadians suffer from a form of mental illness.

• Depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and other forms of mental illness plague millions of Canadians affecting their career, relationships and social life.

• Drug and alcohol addictions are on the rise.

• There are thousands of suicides a year.

• Most people suffer failed relationships, failed businesses or failed careers.

• An average household debt of $96,000… and rising.

Our education fails miserably at preparing us for the challenges of life.

In school we are not taught, we are conditioned- conditioned to conform, to fit in, to do as we are told. We are conditioned to not challenge authority and just follow along. If we follow along and conform we are rewarded. If we don’t we are punished.

Then what?

Does school set us up for failure?

Many would agree that they were ill-prepared for the real challenges of life. When we leave school, we lack the real tools and knowledge it takes to live and succeed. We are stunned and surprised when our marriage ends in divorce, when our business crumbles, when our debts becomes so overwhelming we can’t keep up. We are dazed and confused when we find ourselves struggling with the same problems again and again, when nothing we do works, and when we find that our dreams have led us down a path of hopelessness.

Then what?

• We rummage around aimlessly with all those facts we have learned. Who cares what year Louis Riel led the Red River Revolution when your marriage is on the rocks and your business is going under?

• We turn to medication as if “getting rid” of those feelings with a drug is the real solution. “I’m not happy so it must be chemical…” (But it doesn’t fix the relationship or get rid of the debt.)

• We turn to drugs, alcohol or food because we feel like there is nothing else we can do.

• We end up in therapy rehashing the past, blaming our parents, wishing we had different ones… or bouncing from method to method looking for relief and spending thousands just to be “OK.”

• We become addicted to self-help books, seminars and coaches to help us get that next thing we need to have a decent life.

We are taught that life is about happiness and success… but not given any of the tools we need to get there. Then we are told that our unhappiness is a medical condition requiring “treatment.”

What if our education actually provided us with the knowledge, insight and tools we needed for living?

The foundation of a society is the education of its members. Its future depends upon that education. Where is ours leading?

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Article Tags: coach, coaching, montreal, neuro linguistic programming, nlp



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