Outrageous statement? I don’t think so.
Formal education starts early in life when we first attend primary school. These schools now are very different to when I was there. I believe primary schools are failing our children these days by failing to adequately teach them the basics. And due to the fact that the curriculum taught in the schools varies depending upon which state you live in. The number of young adults I meet in business who cannot spell or add up or even write a simple clear report is frightening!
The Federal Government here in Australia is trying to address this situation by having introduced a testing regimen that allows for the measurement and following of progress of each child through school on the basics by testing in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 of their schooling. This is a great idea because not only does it help the child by providing him or her with a performance yardstick against their peers across the country, it also identifies where problems are in the education system, be they teaching issues, location issues, school facilities issues, environmental issues, social issues, or whatever, so action can be taken to address them and turn them around.
Once collected, the Government then posts summary results by school up on a website for all to see. This enlightens and involves the users of the education system in the decision making in regard to addressing any issues. But we have people who just do not get it. And of greatest concern is that some of those are within the education system itself. For example, a local Teachers Federation it seems does not disagree with the merit of this testing regimen, nor it seems does it disagree with how it is done, however it criticises the publishing of the results and grading of schools because it argues that doing so will force schools to teach the basics at the expense of art, drama, etc, to achieve good results for the website. I contend that our future artists and actors will be no good to themselves or society if they cannot add, spell and express themselves properly verbally and in writing.
The basics are so important. And yes, in my opinion more important than an extra hour of art or drama in the school week. A quality primary school education in the basics is fundamental and sets up a person for life. Then the formal secondary education that follows builds on that firm foundation of basics.
Evidence suggests that tertiary education is not so important. There are thousands of extremely successful people in our world that do not have degrees. Self education on top of the great formal basic education has held them in good stead.
Obviously if your desire is to become some sort of professional like a doctor, accountant, or nuclear physicist, then you need to go and obtain a formal higher education. However know that you will gain a lot of useless and irrelevant knowledge as well in the classroom during those years. Further, your formal education is just part of what you will need to be successful. When you finally get a job, you figure out that the knowledge you really need is learned on the job through taking action. You learn much more on the job than you ever learn in the formal higher education classroom, where you are supposed to be thoroughly prepared for that job.
However, that is sizable subject and one for another post.
What is your experience with the formal education system? Leave me a comment below. And if you found this post of value, please pass it on to your followers on Facebook or retweet it to your Twitter followers.
To Your Self Education.
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June 29th, 2010 at 2:49 am
I agree that the basics are important, but truly, just as important is the huge piece that is missing from nearly every 21st century school system––education in self-awareness and self-definition. If we could help children know who they are, value their strengths, and honor their uniqueness, they would naturally become life-long learners in the things that matter most to them. Combine that with solid grounding in the basics and you have vibrant contributors to society whether they be professionals, artists, or entrepreneurs.
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July 18th, 2010 at 7:16 am
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
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July 20th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I liked it. So much useful material. I read with great interest.
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July 28th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Shayla. You are spot on!. I agree 100%. It is the job of our schools to not only provide traditional subject learning, but also to provide our children education in their development of self, the formation of their identity and true self belief and self confidence. To often our children are told to sit down and be quiet. They need to be encouraged to have a voice because they have so much to offer. Thanks for expanding on this post.
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July 29th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
So very true. I do agree that education is important..but skillsets are more important. And in this day and age, you really need to work for yourself. Having a Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems, having gotten laid off in 2009; I realized that there is NO turning back for me. This is the most viable business I can be in and live the lifetsytle that I require!! Great Post!
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August 8th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I couldn’t agree with you more Ian.
I am a massive believer that a “Formal Education will make you a living, while self education is how you get rich”. Jim Rohn.
Thanks.
Chris
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September 14th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I became disillusioned with formal education very quickly after I started and shut down my first small business. I learned more in one year of personal education and experiential learning through stepping out of ‘the box’ and trying new things than I did in formal theory in the college setting.
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Ian Brown Reply:
September 15th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Cory, you and spot on. Many people have told me something similar. Nothing like hands on to effectively and efficiently teach us what we need to know.
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February 8th, 2011 at 2:37 am
I’m a bit late finding this site, but I’ll give my opinion.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said. During my formal education I felt very restricted and was unable to work to my full potential. I live in the UK and the schools just teach pupils subjects; they don’t teach them how to learn. The only exception to this was ICT. I had used computers before I started studying them formally and was therefore naturally curious about what they could do. I think it was this curiosity that helped me the most; not the formal teaching.
My university years were enjoyable, but weren’t brilliant. After university I spent six months unemployed (with the occasional odd job on the side), during which time I went on a journey of self-discovery and began to teach myself what I wanted to learn. I think I learnt more about myself and the world around me in them six months than I did during university.
Excellent article. I really enjoyed reading it.
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