Yet Another Rant On Education

Here on this blog, we cannot stress enough how the right way to look at things is always by long-term. Though we don't seem to be narrowing down the ratio between those who listen and those who don't, we will continue writing, demonstrating, and proving this concept.

Andy has been teaching for more than half of his life by now and there's a growing sense of confusion in him that he may not be a teacher. How so? This comes from his constant self-reflection and observation of others.

When he was little, he looked up and saw two types of teachers, the one that inspired him and the ones that teach for a living. No matter which type, it was a time of respectable teachers, meaning even if you don't teach that well, people still respect your position as a teacher. It isn't so much so now. At least, from our point of view, respectable teachers are scarce and are scattered everywhere. They either fight solo against the current or they dry up and walk away. Of course, some turned crooked as well.

Let's take a look outside on the world wide web now... everyone's a teacher now. The standard for this position has gone from intrinsic to extrinsic in a dramatic way. Yes, good looking has always been helpful in terms of most jobs but we're in a new low, so low standards that it should be illegal. Some 16-year-olds would be looking for teaching positions with experience of passing exams and having joined some volunteer programs as long as there are a few cute and casual pictures.

If those are teachers, then Andy isn't.

How can we improve teaching? The answer is... we CAN'T. Don't believe us? What our system has been focusing on is exactly getting better equipment for teaching, having foreign teachers, and (maybe) giving more salary. 10, 20 years have gone by, and to be honest, our teachers are indeed better-equipped, some of them are from overseas, and they are (maybe) getting higher pay. Yet, students still suffer if not more, and fewer and fewer people want to be teachers given the descent of respect of the profession.

To save it, we must go back to its essence. There's no teaching without education. What is education and where does it begin? It may take a few seconds but the answer is simple. Our first teachers are our parents or guardians; that's where it begins. Education is pure and we don't allow a stain. It is the way of life, the way to live, and the way to love.

That seems very vague, isn't it? Yes, that's because Andy is not a great philosopher nor an educator like Confucius or the saints of the past. He is merely an enforcer who's trying to make a small difference.

So no hope on this topic then? Not quite. Fortunately, humanity has grown for thousands of years and we do have exceptional teachings in our history. We simply need to transform, adjust, and apply to our modern-day society. In the end, no matter how fast the internet is, we all want the same thing and the world will always go round and round.

It may be a bit strange to propose the teachings of Confucius from someone who's heavily influenced by the west. Confucianism may be very much like feudalism but if we could adjust it to our advantage, the concepts still stand a place 2500 years later.

#education