Education Is A Necessary Part Of Education Essay

Many today think of education only as a traditional classroom with students sitting in rows of desks under the instruction of a teacher. However, this is only one small part of the educational process. The word “education” is derived from the Latin educatio, meaning “rearing” or “upbringing” (OED). Rousseau declares that just as “[p]lants are shaped by cultivation,” so men are shaped by education (38). Certainly, the educational process is much more than the imparting of knowledge from a teacher to his or her students. If education is to form people and society, it must be available to every member of that society. Indeed, Wollstonecraft asserts, “[T]ruth must be common to all” (4). Education is a necessary part of society; not many would …show more content…
As James states, the student “must make the first step himself” (3). Education, however, is sometimes difficult to initiate. Indeed, Milton describes “the right path of a vertuous and noble Education” as “laborious indeed at the first ascent” (4). However, once this is overcome (more easily early at home than in a child’s first classroom), the rest is “so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospect,” according to Milton (5). A teacher or parent should attain this initial interest not by “fear” or “beating,” but rather, Ascham prefers, by “love” and “gentleness” (7). A teacher must form connections between himself or herself and the student; a strong relationship is perhaps the best way to encourage a student’s respect for the teacher, and a respect for what he or she is learning.
Once a student is willing to learn, a teacher must retain his or her attention. Locke encourages doing this by “[making] the child comprehend…the usefulness of what he teaches him” (125). If a student understands the importance of his or her education, he or she will certainly pay closer attention; a teacher, however, may find this to be a difficult understanding to convey. In addition, Erasmus advises utilizing “variety” in order for a teacher to maintain his or her students’ interest. Although difficult, teachers must find a way to entice their students to want to continue …show more content…
It must create in the student a love for the acquisition of knowledge. Education must encourage students to use their acquired knowledge to create their own personal beliefs and opinions. It must be experiential and in the world. Education must be focused not on training for how to do a job, but on training for how to live a fulfilling life. If liberal education such as this is successful, Roth concludes, we have “learn[ed] how to learn,” and “learning has become part of who we are” (5). We wish to remain students forever once we learn that we actually can “reshape” both our societies and ourselves (Roth