Education has failed to make people educated. Do you agree that this is true for the people in your country.

Education as we all see it has been placed forth for us to supply us with the various types of information that one requires, not only in his education lifestyle but also for this future. In doing so, it not only educates a person academically, but also in a social manner where it helps to build a better person for the future ahead. Therefore, by looking at this point on whether education has failed to make people educated, I will be focusing mainly on whether it has educated one socially rather than academically. Hence, this statement is apparent for the people of my country and I can agree on the point that education has failed in his proper duties.

Crimes, vices and other socially undesirable activities are some examples to show how education has failed in his duties clearly. Through the process of gaining knowledge via education, each person naturally begins to become more confident of himself, determined, socially and morally upright and becomes a better person than he already is. However, due to the presence of such heinous activities, it has shown that education has failed to educate some of these people involved in such activities.

Through the days, various incidents have taken place which showcases certain adolescents who take up certain bad habits such as drugs, smoking or even to join a gang. Many people immediately pinpoint their parents to be the cause of their negative outcomes. However, has any one actually put a thought to whether the child’s education also played a part in his behavior? No. Hence, when dwelling deeper into this issue, it can be seen that education has failed in educating these people, not to choose the wrong paths in their lives. Subjects like “Civics and Moral education” have been implemented in the new curriculum in schools for a reason. Why then do we still see students are not morally upright? Education, in this case, has yet again failed to educate these youngsters.

Therefore, I reiterate my point that education has indeed failed in educating people and these specific groups of people can be seen around in my country. Education is a commodity that everyone can and must use to their fullest potential, It’s an opportunity for people to have a fresh start in their lives, or it can also help to change their lives for the better.

Is Formal Education over valued?

Formal education is necessary, but the over-emphasis on it by society today has resulted in my believing that formal education is indeed over valued. This problem is observed most clearly in Asian counties. There is so much emphasis placed on formal education that the students who undergo it are seen as a second priority. The students are seen as "dustbins" where knowledge can be dumped, as put in the second article. There is a severe lack of emphasis and society under values the importance of social skills. Formal education only gives students a set of things to know, not how to use them or when to use which one. Some of the unfortunate ones cannot even absorb this knowledge! The importance, and value that society has placed on this type of knowledge, on formal education is clearly beyond the socially optimal level. This is showing by the rising number of drop-outs and suicides caused by the rigid formal education system that society forces the students to undergo.

As said in the articles, although Asian students show a deeper understanding of Arithmetic and Science, they do not retain the knowledge they have gained on these topics after they leave the examination hall. The students do not have the "spark" in their eyes, "the eye of the tiger!" They are now simply going through the system because they have to, not because they enjoy it. The students who actually like a subject, or the rare student who has an affinity and liking for two subjects, are forced to make themselves more like others in the system, forcing them to focus on subjects they are not interested in. This is, as highlighted in the second article, one of the fatal flaws of the formal, mass education system. The system that we so love, has cut down the number of young, creative minds and created a nation of "worker bees," those who do "the rest of the jobs." By restricting a child, and causing him or her to become like the rest, we are destroying the potential of the child and those he is trying to become like. Since they all want to become educated to the same level, they are all the same, and have no value essentially. By not recognizing the loss it has brought to us, and still thinking it is the best way to get a good job, we have effectively over valued a flawed system, the formal education system.

“The main function of education should be to enable people to gain employment” Do you agree?

I do not agree that the main function of education should be to enable people to gain employment. Education teaches the students the general knowledge and skills such as social skills to enable them to survive in society when they graduate from their respective institutions. The students are also expected to learn moral values such as respect for the elders, which includes teachers and parents. To enable the people to gain employment should not be seen as the main function of education.
“The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure."- Grayson Kirk
As seen from this quote, the main function of education is to develop one’s personality and his significance. It is not simply to aid one in finding employment. However, education degrees has been used by several companies and employers as a basic guideline to gauge a person’s competence, hence the common misconception that education serves to help people gain employment. As such, I cannot deny that there are indeed quite a lot of students who pursue education just to increase their chances of finding employment.
Another function of education may be seen as political, by the government to instil certain forms of thinking or knowledge into the younger generation of the population. An example is the case of education in Nazi Germany, where education was used by the Nazi’s to ensure control over the people’s minds. For example, students were instilled the concepts of blood purity, and discrimination against non-Aryans. In this case, the main function of education was surely not to enable people to gain employment, but rather for political uses by the government in population control.

EDUCATION DOES NOT DEVELOP INDUVIDUALITY BUT CONFORMITY

Education today develops conformity rather than individuality in most cases.

Most of our formal education period is spent on what to learn and in what standard format to learn. There is often a specific syllabus that encompasses what we have to learn during a specified period of time and standard steps to how what is to be covered is learned and this includes even teaching methods. Examples include subjects such as mathematics which where students have to learn a certain number of topics, have to learn standard problem solving methods and teachers have specific teaching methods in most cases.

Our formal education system also includes standards that require us to pass common examinations in order to proceed to a higher level in education. Many schools even have certain compulsory subjects which students are forced to take up regardless of their interest in the subject.
All these clearly exemplify the conformity that education emphasizes. By setting such standard procedures and methods in education, a student is hindered from developing his own thinking, creativity and individuality. Every student that is subject to such an education system is molded to think in a particular manner with hardly any room for varying perspectives. Thus most of these students grow up more to be followers of existing systems and do not try to revolutionalize and think of more creative and better methods.

However, in certain cases, education develops individuality. The educational system nowadays is increasingly incorporating features such as leadership development of students through various methods such as co-curricular activities and leadership camps and workshop. All these help to teach students how to think as leaders and develop their individual leadership potentials. For instance, in co-curricular activities such as uniform groups, leaders are appointed and these leaders learn how to deal with different issues such as conflicts among members and learning to make full use of what you have.

Thus, to a large extent education does develop conformity.