The Purpose of
Education The Rev. G. J.
Christo, President of the Northern regions, Seventh-day Adventist Church of
India, exposes the emptiness of present-day education and suggests alternatives MR. CHAIRMAN
and delegates: Only one who has an ostrich-like out-look on today’s law and
other situation will deny that something has gone wrong somewhere, and that the
picture of society and civilization in this generation is grim. Those born today will inherit as their legacy
an era in which crime has soared as on wings.
If we study statistics on all types of crimes we find the figures are
higher than ever and going higher. Is there
something wrong with our present educational system, or our home environment,
or perhaps in our social and political order? I would like to submit that the
predicament we find ourselves in today is a result of neglecting one of the
most important factors of life. Much
stress has been placed on the mental an physical development of our generation. To a lesser degree, scope has been provided
for certain social developments; but little has been done about the spiritual
or moral health of the individual.
This, I contend, results in the moral decadence, which is destroying the
foundation of everything we hold precious and dear. Mankind has been able to conquer outer space, but has failed to
find the meaning of his inner space.
When man began to understand the intricacies of the universe, he
considered himself to be the arbiter of his own destiny. The industrial revolution uprooted man from
his ancient traditions and propelled him into an atheistic mechanical
world. Men orbiting in outer space
justified their belief that there was no God out there, and a once-Christian
theologian decided that if there ever was a God, He should now be considered
dead, as mankind really had no need of Him any more. Some believe that God is a creation of the “haves” to lull the
masses into submission. Education
includes more than the formal three “R’s” taught in the classroom. True education includes the whole being and
covers the entire span of life given to an individual. I submit that the education offered to our
children and youth today is too narrow.
True education teaches the best use not only of one but all our
acquirements. Thus it covers the whole
circle of obligation—to ourselves, to the world, and to God. “Character
building is the most important work entrusted to human beings; and never before
was its diligent study so important as now.
Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momentous;
never before were young men and young women confronted by perils so great as
confront them today. “At such a
time as this, what is the trend of the education given? To what motive is
appeal mot often made? To self-seeking.
Much of the education given is a perversion of the name. In true education the selfish ambitions, the
greed for power, the disregard for the rights and needs of humanity, that are
the curse of our world, find a counter influence. God’s plan of life has a place for every human being, Each is to
improve his talents to the utmost; and faithfulness in doing this, be the gifts
few or many, entitles one to honor.” (E. G. White) The home is
the foundation of all growth and it must also be the place for spiritual
growth. Psychologists tell us that a
child’s learning process begins at birth.
It is therefore imperative for a child to have adequate moral and
spiritual influences during babyhood. With
so many broken homes, and working mothers, and fathers anxious to work more than
one shift a day to keep up with the Joneses, the child’s training is often
relegated to an occasional growl from papa. In our secular
society the safeguarding of the spiritual development has been left to the
parents and to the religious organization to which the parents subscribe. The schools supported by public funds
concentrate mainly on mental and physical development. Man is a four dimensional
personality—physical, mental, social, and spiritual—and inasmuch as true
education includes the development of all these faculties, schools also share a
responsibility in providing opportunities for all these faculties to
develop. Oscar Handlin, professor of
history at Harvard, recently concluded,
“that colleges are actually killing education. In the 1970’s we sentence more of our youth to more years in
school than ever before in history, so that never before have Americans been so
poorly educated as now.” This perhaps could also be said of education in India. It would be
well for us to consider the aims of education: 1. Foremost
is the formation of character. The
object of education should be to restore in man the likeness of his creator—bringing him back to
that perfection in which he was created. All true knowledge will tend to make
the being perfect. A sound character is
real in the sense that it deals with substance and not show. 2. Secondly
is the development of the intelligence.
A good moral education is not meant merely to take away our “simian”
characteristics or the tiger within us, but to strengthen minds weakened by
self-indulgence and lack of control.
The mind is to be activated and placed in contact with an
all-intelligent Creator. 3. Equipment
to earn one’s living. True education is
not primarily to help equip one with the ability to earn a living; that is
necessary, but too narrow. True
education is more than a preparation for the life that now is; it has to do
with the whole period of existence possible to man. This includes eternity. More
and more educators recognize that our present system of education has neglected
the important aspect of manual labor.
Jerry L. Pettis, a U. S. Congressman who recently visited China, made
this comment: “I
was keenly interested in the philosophy that prevails in China on this
subject. All students are required to
spend two years on a farm. After a
student finished the equivalent of the American high school, he is assigned to
a farm, or ‘commune.’ At the end of the two-year period, the other members of
the commune decide whether he is ‘college material’ and whether he should
obtain further education. In such a
vast country, it is impossible to provide advance education for everyone;
therefore, a student must, in the opinion of his peers, have a reasonable chance
of success plus the motivation to succeed, or he will not be given the
opportunity. . . As the peasants and youth work side by side, helpful
philosophies are communicated, and the young maintain a solid contact with
reality.” 4. Finally
the advancement of knowledge must result in the pursuit of truth. This should be the end of all
education. Truth is acquiring a
knowledge of God and finding out His plans for our lives. |