Education Must Be the Key to Creating a Better World

Recently, I’ve been writing essays and speaking about this question: What is education for?. I’ve just read an essay, published almost two years ago, by British educator Susan Bassnett. It seems Britain, like the U.S., faces the same current challenges in schooling, and at least some are questioning the direction and approach of reform.

Bassnett writes:

"Education is about teaching children to grow up into adults who will take some responsibility for the world they inhabit, and who therefore will understand why they cast their votes in elections; why concern about climate change is essential; why preventive healthcare matters; why history remains relevant in modern society; why it is important to learn about how other cultures operate in a globalised, computer-driven, but also divided world.

"Perhaps above all, education is about teaching people how to think and how to question what they see and hear. The Burmese monks willing to risk death to challenge a repressive government are educated enough to understand that collective action combined with courage can bring about change. The Taliban hardliners who throw acid on women teachers in Afghanistan because women should not have the right to be educated are the antithesis of those Burmese martyrs.

"Children in British schools need to hear about both those worldviews, need to be able to weigh them up, understand how they came to exist, debate the rights and wrongs of each and so discover the value of freedom of speech and the right of human beings of all sexes, races, religions and classes to dignity and to education. In short, they need to be educated to live fully in the world, not merely trained to perform a set of limited and limiting tasks."

The debate is on. What should education be for? We must all participate in this conversation, as it holds the key to creating a better world for all. If we are neither parents nor students, we may not concern ourselves with this question, tackling instead what we consider to be more pressing issues. But education is perhaps the most pressing issue, as it offers a path toward creatively addressing everything else. It may not be sexy; it may not seem like the most important debate to have, but if we fail to address the purpose of schooling, we may fail at averting the mounting catastrophes that loom across the globe.

~ Zoe