Education makes people easy to lead difficult to drive

Outline;
· Different genres of education, manipulated and misused.
· Civilized man against 'a dumb, driven cattle'.
· A really educated man is glad to follow but he would certainly resent being forced to follow.
· Education mandatory in every country yet, the goals differ.
· Fault lines; \ tells how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.
· Gulf between what is taught and what is professed.
· bookish knowledge from the practical life.
· Parents as teacher, impact of their negligence.
· Orators play upon the immature minds of such young people who lack analytical power.
· Educators disrespected by the students.
· Historic Muslim educational system in contrast to modern dogmatic mullahs.
· Molana Modoodi’s analysis of the eastern education system.
· Macaulay’s ‘Minutes on Indian education’ and the idea behind WOGs which still supervises the countries.
· Imperative to inculcate the virtues from the early childhood.
· Role of Prophets and messengers.
· a teacher as an architect of future generations.
· The stale syllabi and teaching methods.
· Aristotle and Plato’s endeavor.
· Ibne khaldun and Al- Ghazali
· The pseudo knowledge and its adverse impacts.
· Innumerable fruits of proper education.
· Parents should keep an eye on public education
· Some people view education just from the utilitarian eyes.
· Bertrand Russell and teaching of contempt.
· Why is it easy to govern really educated people.
· Teaching for democracy and contribution from students.
· Teaching a life long process




Be it the formal education or the informal one such as parent’s didactic role, the duty entrusted upon the pedagogues,, theological upbringing in shrines, monasteries, Christian schools or the madrass, education serves its purpose when it frees the mind form dogmatism, inculcates ability to observe, judge and then take a decision, opens the mind and breeds acceptance and tolerance. Though, education’s ulterior motif aims for the utopian society. Truth is, students that are the building blocks of a nation are played upon by external factors as political economical agendas, then there are religious pundits who take the reign of students in their hands and divert them for their own beliefs and purposes. Its significance in any developing or successful society is undeniable, as this is the foundation upon which a nation succeeds and democracy prevails.

Education helps people realize their responsibilities while they appreciate their rights. They become able to weigh their opinions before jumping into conclusions, enables them to know how to respect the opinion of others while they may stick to their own. They learn there is always another side to a question when they differ. They have a right to say 'I beg to differ'. That is a sign of a civilized man. At the same time he will never allow himself to be treated as 'a dumb, driven cattle'. He does not like being driven. In whatever station he finds himself, the educated man can easily fit in. Real sign of education is that when he reaches an exalted position in life he never loses his head, when he is in a humble position he never breaks his head either. Thus an educated man shows equanimity. He will sail in fair weather or foul.

An educated person would follow, without being driven. He knows his limits as well as that of others, so if he senses that he is being driven he revolts. No force of government or the shackles of law can break his back. Physically he may be paralyzed but his spirit would be strong. Since democracy is a government by consent, the people should be well educated so that leadership among them may become possible. A really educated man is glad to follow but he would certainly resent being forced to follow, One of the reason America lost war in Vietnam was because it lost it’s people’s back. Though Bush has waged war on Iraq by guile, yet as people are becoming aware of the injustice, people have made Obama to declare withdrawal of American troops by 2013.

In every enlightened modem government, emphasis is laid on the education of its citizens. Up to a certain age education is made compulsory so that boys and girls get the benefit of it. They get enlightened and they are willing to obey and, given the chance, are ready to rule. Since, almost every government in the world is governed by the representatives of the people, these representatives and the people who choose them must be educated enough to shoulder the responsibility that falls upon them. The contrast, evident in the democratic and the autocratic countries.

Fatal fault lines in an education system are not that difficult to detect. Though teaching methods in a school and the curricula are the ever changing things yet the standards it has to achieve remains more or less the same. ‘An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life’. A good life, any society following any religion creed values or customs agrees should end up in elevating the of moral characters of its pupil devoid of deceit, criminal activities with a good understand of what rights and duties are, with realization of the intangible yet very significant ideas like truth, tolerance, acceptance, patience.

The huge gulf between what is taught to the young souls and what is professed in the practical life creates confused minds. Moiz Amjad in his essays, ‘Role Of A Teacher’ established a thesis that, ’Every society has an established set of virtues and vices and it takes conscious and unconscious measures at various levels to promote the virtues and eliminate the vices. Sometimes a society may face a crisis of values in which the values are at odds with one another or the values suffer from double standards.In Islamic societies, the crisis of Musharaferian democracy in Pakistan and kamal Ataturk’s liberation in Turkey inspired by western secularization is one such examples where taught and imposed values result in a disaster, the notion of four marriages or for that matter women taking divorce is taught to be part of muslim religious education and yet in practical life they are fought with zeal and zest. Result is that ‘the people reflect*contradictions in their actions and in the morality they profess’ This form of baffling education system that breeds unsure minds breeds followers, never leaders.

An atmosphere which bifurcates the bookish knowledge from the practical life is hazardous for the immature and sensitive young people. Result, people react and suffer from mental confusion and are led to believe that there are certain values to be paid lip service only, whereas the practical needs of life demand an altogether different set of values.*Aggression betrayal adjustment problems are some of the very common outcomes of such erroneous education system.

*In the past, parents and teachers used to make the best of their efforts to provide an atmosphere to their children congenial to the development of higher virtues and morals. But the gross social change over the last few decades, large scale urbanization, ruthless competition for financial gains, and heavy preoccupation in everyday* life deplete all time and energy from the parents, leaving behind little time or energy for their children. Whatever time they have at their disposal is consumed by newspapers, television and other recreations. As a result, the younger generation hardly gets any opportunity to share ideas with their elders or to enter into a meaningful discussion. Labeled as generation gap, youngsters formulate their own standard and morals according to their ease.

Parents busy and religions education either dissociated form the formal education, or played upon by the ecclesiasts, the socialists, the moralists, their antagonism, elucidates only one fact that countries are teaching to mentally enslave the students. With a few exceptions, education is chaining the people in dogmatism, absolutism tutoring them to become herds.

In such circumstances, it’s always easy to trap the young minds. The demagogues, tyrants enjoy acceptability because of the same reason that there is no one to challenge, people unable to evaluate and judge fall for the rhetoric of any good orator that can trap them into their web with a few twisted words.

On the other hand, this idea is gaining ground that education is not meant to build up better human beings, but only to get better jobs. Consequently, the students' minds are obsessed with better jobs and dreams for higher social status. Obviously, the moral and religious training of the child has gradually been ousted from the preview of education. Be it the obsessed western institutes or the eastern, student’s aim is to get job, in West when they get jobs after going through the compulsory education till high school and after getting the free education elsewhere they don’t bother for higher studies.

Now the students tend to consider their teacher as their servant, rather than their mentor or reformer. The net result of all this deterioration is that the value system has fallen into oblivion.* It is again a contribution of the modern age that character building has been totally dissociated from education. That is why the educational system is producing an educated but characterless generation.

In Muslim history, teachers have not only distinguished themselves by their profundity in knowledge and research, but also because of their character, piety and abstinence from immoral acts to the character, nobility and conformity of belief and action. Throughout their history, Muslims have refused to accept the authority of any debauch as a religious scholar and teacher but only the ones with the moral status. Something which has been degraded due to the madrassas in the hands of the dogmatic mullahs . In the Islamic view of education, instruction of every day studies cannot be divorced from moral and ethical training. Because of this kind of education, students are to be made fully aware of the temporal as well as celestial world, a knowledge without which it is not possible to be ‘Free’ in the true ense.
Keeping in mind the third world countries Maulana Maudoodi observed in* Ta`leemaat ‘Devoid of any divine element and Islamic morality, our education system even fails to inculcate those basic human morals in our students, without which a nation cannot hope for an honourable survival, what to speak of any possibility of its development. The generations being produced by it are unfortunately equipped with all the decadence of the West but do not have even an inkling of Western virtues. They are neither dutiful, hardworking and devoted, punctual, nor do they have any claim on perseverance, determination, discipline or self-control. They do not have any ideals beyond their self-interest. They are just like wild bushes, and do not demonstrate any national character’.

Once colonized and suppressed nations, suffer the most. Strategies like Macaulay’s ‘Minutes on Indian education’ to produce WOGs(western organized gentlemen); people in the skin of the natives yet followers and mental slaves of their colonizers, illuminate this major block of a society can be manipulated. Decades after decades from a handful of WOGs whole generations are produced by such educational system who spread like endemic and deliberately or unintentionally become part of a scheme. Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq are the quintessence of such strategies. First they destruct the established pedagogical system and then swap with the one carrying the concealed agendas of the oppressor.

It is imperative to cultivate human virtues in students from the primary level of their education and training. For instance the promotion of punctuality, truth, hard work, honesty, simplicity, hygiene, etiquette, patriotism, mutual love and sincerity, social and civic sense, obedience to law, tolerance and other desirable virtues should be the hall mark of an education system.*Once t hey sweep to the roots of human mind, then education serves its true purpose.

When children learn to make decisions and consider the consequences of their actions, they make better choices - choices with fewer negative results. Children who learn problem-solving strategies, negotiation skills, peaceful play, and cooperation are more likely to analyze and make choices that are good for themselves and others. When children pick up after themselves, take turns, work out problems, share, or help someone, they are showing responsibility and thus benefiting themselves and the whole community. When children pour their own juice, decide about what toy they want to use, what activity they want to do, what they want to wear, or what they want to eat, they are showing responsibility. In a cooperative-interaction setting the emphasis is on everyone taking responsibility for their part of working together, so the group can accomplish mutual goals for the common good

Teacher being the human architect can bring positive social change in localism, nationalism and globalism. The reason Prophets Messengers were sent was actually to educate the people and convince them to give up the immoral debased characteristics and to raise humanity to the status they deserved, rather then being mere puppets worshipping idols and following the pharaohs, clan leaders for generations after generation. The Holy Prophet (sws) proudly declared education to be a prominent part of his personality and prophethood.

No other personality can have an influence more profound than that of a teacher. Students are deeply affected by the teacher's love and affection, his character, his competence, and his moral commitment. A popular teacher becomes a model for his students. The students try to follow their teacher in his manners, costumes, etiquette, style of conversation and his get up. He is their ideal. He can lead them anywhere. During their early education, the students tend to determine their aims in life and their future plans, in consultation with their teachers. Therefore, a corrupt and decadent class of teachers can harm a nation much more seriously than a class of corrupt and perverted judiciary, army, police, bureaucracy, politicians or technocrats.

The importance of a teacher as an architect of future generations also demands that only the best and the most intelligent and competent members of intelligentsia be allowed to qualify for this profession. It is unfortunate to find that generally the worst and the most incapable people of the society find their way to this profession ‘Most teachers have not received any formal preparation at the undergraduate or graduate level for their role as character educators.’. Then Pedagogic process is also hindered by work load, fatigue, negligence, shortage of funds and resources.

At the government level especially in Pakistan, the syllabuses have been finalized and the chapter for revision closed, as if they are divine scriptures, leaving no room for any alteration or revision in the light of new discoveries, research and progress. No room for inquisition, research with students unable to challenge or question.

Aristotle’s remarks are imperative when he said, ‘All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth’. The two Greek sages Plato and Aristotle’s discourse and pondering over education illuminates how important this aspect has always been. The stages suggested by both no doubt were an effort by both of them to embark the best possible virtues into the building blocks of the nation.

In the same manner Ibne Khaldun presented his version of theological Scholl system for the East. According to Al-Ghazali, "knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual." One of the elements Al-Ghazali insists upon is that a child should be taught the words of the Creed in his earliest days and be taught the meaning gradually as he grew older; corresponding to the three stages of memorising, understanding and conviction

The dilemma with the education of today is that a degree in hand does not guarantee the person to be the best at his morals or behaviour, the reason why J.B.Shaw was staunchly against formal education believing, ‘What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child’. The pseudo knowledge given to the masses rather then diverting them into constructive thinking beings turns them mentally dry pupil. Such low education does not cater for any reasonable job. Draw back of the modern education in agrarian societies, without any practical skills is not of much use. Likewise, Indonesian commune schools as ridiculed by V.S.Naipaul in Among The Believers are actually the necessity for the survival of Indonesians. Hence, just a degree or a western education as a set standard does not guarantee success.

The fruits of a real education comprises of the essential elements. Creating a safe environment helps children build trust and enables them to think and act independently. Knowing that they are loved and they belong, children can learn and try out the behaviors of their role models as well as experiment with other behaviors. Developing rules with their family, class, or other community group helps children develop trust. Assisting children to learn about and to understand their rights and the rights of others through turn taking, sharing and promoting empathy helps children learn to see other points of view. Responsibility is an empowering word. Taking responsibility empowers people to have a say in their own lives. Helping children recognize their capability to choose what they want to do fosters a sense of mastery and competence, which, in turn, makes them feel worthy of participating in community life.

Few people would argue with the importance of educating children. But they also need to ask for what purpose they are educating children, and towards what ends? What is the "public" in public education? Why should people and governments as a society invest in public education? And who should educate children; parents, government, business, faith-based institutions? Even if one agrees that education is a priority, it does not help them answer these questions. Education is, however, a means to the answers.

Viewing children and education from a utilitarian perspective is not new. As Daniels Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1791 of making young children "more early useful’. He believed Public schools have a larger purpose. Writing about the relationship between education and democracy nearly a century ago, John Dewey concluded that "It is, of course, arbitrary to separate industrial competency from capacity in good citizenship." For Dewey, in a democratic society education serves to provide individuals with economic competencies and the capacity to act as a citizen.

What a democratically liberal society must want for its people to learn throght education is;Liberty, which includes freedom, choice, access, autonomy, mobility, openness, transparency, individual rights, voluntary, opportunity, individuality, exemptions, privacy, due process, independence, personal responsibility, self-determination, and self-sufficiency.Prosperity, which includes economy, efficiency, growth, productivity, profit, cost reduction, development, incentives, competition, consolidation, centralization, privatization, standardization, specialization, performance measurement, benchmarking, return on investment, using market rules to make decisions, and quantity of life. Equality, which includes fairness, justice, tolerance, acceptance, diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, equal rights, equal opportunity, equal treatment, equal results, grandfathering, and a level playing field. Community, which includes safety, security, a sense of connection and belonging to the people and places where we live and work, a sense of place and identity, health, aesthetics, preservation, restoration, conservation, tradition, customs, the sacred, uniformity, social and moral order, and quality of life

Flourishing national development and a society truly prosperous with knowledge all begins from its teachers. While the role of knowledge and a skilled society with visions and aspirations in the success of a nation cannot be stressed enough, it should also be remembered that knowledge cannot be acquired if it is not sought and received through the help of the teacher. This is why everyone should put efforts into seeking as much knowledge as possible, and appreciate the teacher's importance in guiding us and the generations to come, to become knowledgeable and morally upright people.

The worst possible part an education system can play is the one denounced by Betrand Russel where formal education is used as a policy tool both to indoctrinate ethnocentricism and anti-group enmity and to wage a cold war called as ‘The teaching of contempt’. India Pakistan social studies books portraying same events with totally opposite results aims and purposes to gain favour of their public is an eloquent example of it.
It is easy to govern an educated group of people for they know the need for such governments for the smooth functioning of the society. They know the value of give and take. They know the value of the rule of the law. They know there must be somebody to govern, even though the authority comes from the people. They will never allow themselves to be enslaved. Their rights are sacrosanct and anybody encroaching it is not tolerated. Still there are some societies where in spite of education, they allow themselves to be enslaved.

To educate for democracy, to educate for citizenship in that democracy, to teach children problem solving, negotiation, critical thinking and sharing skills, is to promote human dignity. As Malcolm Forbes put it, "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." When teaching about human dignity in the form of rights and responsibilities, they are taking active steps against crime and violence. In a democratic society, each citizen is important for making decisions, for providing for the good of all, and for ensuring the rights we all enjoy. When one person is not contributing, not only are his or her ideas and insights lost, but he or she may experience a disenfranchisement that can seem to justify actions that hurt the whole.

Children are not born with the skills for active involvement in a democratic society. Teachers parents as adult citizens along with the help of the media, must carefully consider what they and others do to convey healthy values that support and preserve precious democratic values. : Educating for democracy is a lifelong process. At every developmental stage this type of education takes a different shape in order to fit the needs of the learner, and yet twisting it for some agenda or goal can be disastrous.