An Educating thought

by | Aug 23, 2014 | Blog | 0 comments


I see all of these numbers flashing at me from everywhere in regards to Education, from nurseries, kindergarten, schools, colleges to universities, with investment figures hitting the 9 digits of dollars and numbers of people in millions that are being served by these institutions new and old; (http://gulfbusiness.com/2014/08/gulfs-international-schools-whip-6bn-fees/#.U-sxJ2huswU.email). This makes me wonder is there a real link between all of this to the ultimate goal of all parents? 

Someone is going to open his or her mouth and asks what is the ultimate goal of each parent? I would think it’s the career that their child will choose ultimately. So if these institutions care about the career of the child, we need to have some unification of the formula of education. Presently we have systems that are coming out of our noses, those that encourage rote learning, those that are in between and many that focus on experiential learning. We also have the British system, IB, Indian, Pakistani, Sabis, Edexel, IGCSE, Waldorf Astoria, Pilipino, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian system and so on.  Each of these types focus on specific pedagogical aspect of learning, and try to produce individual that are suitable for future jobs.  However how can the parents find out which of these are the best suited for their precious child? And would these systems also provide the broad range of skills that jobs of this century require? Communication skills, presentation skills, team work, research capability, ability to interact and mix between the various subjects, inventions, creations, instead of learning each subject in isolation and so on?
To me the career is so important for the future of our children, I for one had encourage my own children to do their own things instead of stick with a job, so I harnessed that ability and made them believe in the aspects of owning their own business and helping others to follow suit, other parents may prefer that their kids work in banks, hospitals, schools, colleges or universities, and so on of the various types of conglomerates open these days.  At the end of the day, knowledge is everything, and as parents we are responsible to know what is out there and try to equip our kids to receive the best education.  We have the ability to do this so we must focus and find out the best so they become the best.  And it’s only by providing them with the best options that they grow up to become the best employees or employers.  The circle will continue and hopefully they will do the same with their own kids.
If you ask me, I would go with the Waldorf Astoria system, as its very intuitive and can detect the abilities of the children from a young age. This is an excerpt from Wikipedia about this system:

“Waldorf pedagogy distinguishes three broad stages in child development. The early years education focuses on providing practical, hands-on activities and environments that encourage creative play. In the elementary school, the emphasis is on developing pupils’ artistic expression and social capacities, fostering both creative and analytical modes of understanding. Secondary education focuses on developing critical understanding and fostering idealism. Throughout, the approach stresses the role of the imagination in learning and places a strong value on integrating intellectual, practical, and artistic themes.

The educational philosophy’s overarching goal is to develop free, morally responsible, and integrated individuals equipped with a high degree of social competence. Teachers generally use formative (qualitative) rather than summative (quantitative) assessment methods, particularly in the pre-adolescent years. The schools have a high degree of autonomy to decide how best to construct their curricula and govern themselves.
The Waldorf method is a large independent alternative education movement, which has a worldwide following.[6][7]In central Europe, where most of the schools are located,[1]the Waldorf approach has achieved general acceptance as a model of alternative education.[8][9]Waldorf education has influenced mainstream education in Europe[10]and Waldorf schools and teacher training programs are funded through the state in many European countries. Public funding of Waldorf schools in some English speaking countries has been controversial, with questions being raised about the role of religious and spiritual content in or underlying the curriculum, and whether the science curriculum, which has achieved notable results,[11][12]also includes pseudoscience and/or promotes homeopathy. The Waldorf movement has said that concerns over its stance on these matters are unfounded.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education)

If I want to put my money into a school now, I would go with the Waldorf Astoria model instead of all the umpteen number of models that our children are being bombarded with these days.  One thing for sure here, please stop placing your children into a rote learning school as you will be doing them great injustice.

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