Jean Jacques Rousseau once said, "Let them learn what they ought to do as
men, and not what they ought to forget."[1] In other words, education
provides the room for individuals to learn their own duty as men. It provides
options, though it is the individual's duty to be on guard for some of these
options can be detrimental to himself. It requires then an arduous, scrupulous,
meticulous, and critical outlook, if one aims at attaining good life through
education. As transformative by nature education plays a crucial role in the
development of one's life, family, and society.
Education by its very ground aims at the cultivation of one's interiority. It
desires a person's integration. Hence, humanistic psychology’s claim that education
must be a confluent education holds water. In brief, confluent education refers
to the flowing of intellect, and the body into a single educational experience [2]. The coalesce of mind and body in a
single educational experience results in dialectical creativity, wherein it
breeds creativity and gives birth to novelty. Every novelty is a manifestation
of cultivated interiority which in turn builds identity and character. It is
one's identity and character that builds immortality in the sense of being
remembered as influencing and affecting other people’s existential
dispositions. Most importantly, real learning affects the way people live their
lives. This learning is always self-discovered, self-appropriated learning,
learning which makes difference to who I am [3].
However, taking cognizance of the fact that a person is a social being, it
implies that education has a communal dimension. Thus, the question asserts
itself: what is the role of education in the development of the family?
Education is the nexus that upholds the ideals and moral values of a family. In
other words, education's role in the development of the family is more of an
avenue where preservation of values and morals are communicated. Since parents,
as Pope John Paul II resoundingly said, are the primary educators of their
children, "education in the family and at school can only provide you
(person) with certain number of elements for the work of self-education."[4] It is palpable that through
education in the family, self-cognition is attained. As such, it presupposes
that a family who have self-educated members are towards education’s
realization. However, it is also the task of education in the family to
introduce each family member to the world or society.
Education is one of the fundamental benefits of human civilization. It is
especially important to the young. Upon it also depends to a great extent the
future of the whole society.[5] Thus, the role of education in
society's development is safeguarding and furthering ethical norms and moral
values. Though education does not reject progress for it is through education
that society attains development, it is also its task to further the ethical
formation of man; otherwise education becomes a threat to man itself. Pope John
Paul II observed, "If technical progress is not matched by corresponding
progress in man's ethical formation, in man's inner growth, then it is not
progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world [6].
As far as Philippine educational system has its strong points, it must also be
admitted that it has deficiencies. Some of them are as follows:
1) It is too Westernize
2) It is emphasize as a ‘means to an end’
Education becomes meaningful and useful if it deals with the immediate resources that are ready-to-hand that can be experienced by students. This is to say that education must find its ground in one’s cultural background or geographical setting. Philippine education veered away from this. Most textbooks use foreign things as examples such as apple, tiger, zebra, and etc. It is really a problem, for a child from the barrios or even in the urban places who did not see these things, unless they have television sets where they have a glimpse.
Perhaps, government should focus more on the “philippinization” of our educational system. This is not to deprive ourselves from foreign facts, but often than not, a Filipino students know more of what is worldwide than mastering the art of their country.
Moreover, in the Philippines, education is viewed as a means to an end, such that if one did not finished schooling, he or she is considered lower in stature than the one who have a degree.
It is my
belief that education is an end in itself. Education by its very ground is
aimed at self-cultivation and self-integration. Therefore considering education
as a means of attaining a certain status is defeating its purpose.
It is my persistent claim that teachers and government agencies should instil in each student’s heart and mind that education is never a mean to an end. Education is life in itself; hence it must not be seen as a means of achieving hierarchy.
At the end of the day, one question remains: Are we ready then to change our position? Answering such question will change the face of Philippine education and even our personal lives. If we are ready then to accept the challenge that confronts us, here are some things to be considered.
- The mediums of instruction should be culturally or geographically based.
- Teachers must be given more responsibility in managing the classroom rather than following the commands that comes from his or her superiors, who are not directly in touch with the students and school’s situation.
- Students must be given more chances to enjoy academic freedom that is engaging into research and sharing the fruits of their research.
- Cognitive education must be balance with practical education.
- Cultivation of emotional intelligence must go hand in hand with the development of intellectual learning.
[1]
Rousseau. First and Second Discourse. New York : St. Martin ’s Press,
1964, p.57.
[2]
Rowan, John. Ordinary Ecstasy. New York : Brunner-Routledge, 2001,
p.132.
[3]
Ibid
[4]
John Paul II. To the Youth of the World: Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul
II on the Occasion of International Youth year, p.46.
[5]
Ibid
[6]
Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salve, p.36.
______________________________________________
@ San
Pablo Seminary on the Subject Philosophy of Education.
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