In our modern society, ?get a good education? is something that we have heard for years from other people, directing us towards ?success?. You get the degree, you get the job, you get the money, you get all the stuff you?ve wanted. This is what has been fed to us all throughout our lives: The American Dream. The dream that an individual can rise above whatever current bad position he is stuck in, churning all of those lemons he?s been dealt into sweet lemonade. This is the dream of individual success and power, which all Americans are capable of living, if they simply ?put their minds to it?. This line of thinking has been beaten into our brains throughout our lives. This is the motivation that keeps us going.
If we are taught to believe that there is ?something? great out there to be found, only as a result of working hard for other people, then we are taught only to depend on a controlling society to bring about our own salvation. There are no ?individual freedoms? present in this system. This ?educational system? is inherently flawed, and only truly serves those who have designed it, and those who know how to break the rules without consequence. This system goes hand in hand with capitalism, and the whole American way of life, to better condition the individual?s place in society, while destroying the human spirit. It may be America?s dream, but it is our children?s worst nightmare.
The problems that are present in the formal educational system only exist because of our society, and because of the direction in which the collective people are moving. That is, we are trying to define concepts, people, and other things present in our lives, with theories, definitions, terms, or any method we can invent which can be used to explain something. We are always looking up for some greater authority to show us the way, when in fact, direct experience and understanding is the only method of ?education? which actually benefits a person in life. The more we try to simplify our lives by examining each and every little piece of the puzzle, the harder it is to put it back together once again to see the whole picture.
Society is inherently flawed and conflicted, as a result of individual desires transgressing the foundations of collective consciousness within our world. This sets us up in a tough position, where every person is ?right?, but everybody else is ?wrong?. This situation binds us to a world of laws, rules, and boundaries, all of which are very hard to see, and can be bent at will by those who can see above them. And this ?problem? is evident in all institutions within our society, including the educational system. But if the educational system can be ?fixed?, we can start to ever so slowly work our way towards a real dream, which can come true. This is the dream of living without boundaries, without laws or rules, without differences. But how can a system be ?fixed?, if everybody else is wrong? Well, that can only come about with the destruction of the ?system?, as a system only originates from the desire for control and structure, which destroys our true self. All we need do is to remember a more simple way of living and learning, which benefits everybody.
What we are trying to do in order to ?correct? the problem is to realize a world of equality, while allowing an individual to have everything they need. This is impossible to do when you live in a world where everybody has eyes bigger than their stomachs. And this leads us back to individual desire. This leads us to the quest for ?truth?, which can only be found in a perfect world. When people are constantly looking for more and more to please themselves, they are always living in their own imperfect world, and they can never realize truth.
By now you may be wondering what this has to do with the educational system at all, or else you may completely understand how it is directly related to almost anything else you know. Thomas Jefferson once said, ?Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.? Education for the masses is a very simple idea, which helped bring about the idea for our ?free? society. And while this basic idea can still be found, it has been corrupted throughout time in order to benefit the individuals in power. While we may think that we are in fact ?free?, and that we are in complete control, this is not the case. We are completely dependent on the system, and we are completely dependent on the ?forbidden knowledge? which we are all trying to find. If you throw a poisoned piece of meat into the air, a pack of dogs will devour itself completely before one dog ever takes a bite of that bad meat. And this is how those in control keep the masses at bay. Perhaps Jefferson could see the future unfolding when he remarked, ?Even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.? Or perhaps he just understands how things work.
Most people immediately feel threatened when any suggestion is made to abolish the ?system? which they depend upon so much. Education is certainly no different. When you threaten the control, you are threatening the people on top, who lose power. These people will do anything they can to maintain the ?facts?: that you are free, in control, and can have whatever you want. People will continue to work hard for those in control, dreaming of things which will never come to light for them. Only because of the false promise that this work will pay off sometime in the future.
When we try to educate someone, we try to control him or her. But when we allow a person to become educated, we allow them to be in control, and we allow free thought. This means adopting an understanding, rather than a system, which benefits everybody. We all have many things to learn from other people, and from things taking place in our surroundings. If you want to find true knowledge, you have to only look at what you have. All we have is a place in which there are many conscious minds all stuck in a similar situation. All we are trying to do is to understand our situation, or our existence. Therefore, one person?s conscious experience of being is no more or less valid than another person?s. The only reason people may believe otherwise is because they are under control, and because they can?t accept their own experiences over what has been ?taught? to them by authoritative figures.
Authority is not bad in itself. There are always going to be higher and higher levels of understanding to be reached, which of course means that there are people out there who have reached these understandings. There is much to be learned from any one person, and much to be learned from the behavior of groups of people. A problem occurs when this authoritative figure or institution begins to preach its own experiences as truth, which is not the case. This results in the people developing a dependence on this form of control, causing the authority to control more and more things.
A true form of authority is that which recognizes its level of higher understanding, and uses this understanding for collective benefit instead of satisfying egotistical desires. This is far from the ?preaching? of those authoritative figures that gain power and control only because people give it to them out of fear. This is a level of understanding which people have been too afraid to realize, because it means that they have to find their own path, one which has no direction on any other person?s compass. We devote so much time and energy to understanding the symptoms of our ailment, but we still haven?t identified the source.
The educational system must be reformed, and will be reformed, just as the society in which it functions. It will only take a length of time for people to realize that their fear is invalid, and that love and compassion will only benefit all people, including the individual. A system powered by true love and empathy is the only system with enough authority to steer people in the right direction. This is the direction we all need to find, which exists inside of us all.
How would a system such as this function within the scope of a typical classroom? Well, it really cannot. What we need to do is to hear everybody?s thoughts and opinions about everything. We need to create an environment in which knowledge is true, easy, and readily available to everyone. The individual must be heard for the group to be successful. And most importantly, there should be no forms of control, or ego-based forms of authority in this environment. This means no curriculum, standardized tests or judgments made on any one person of any kind, which would facilitate a free learning environment. There would be no one person recognized as a ?teacher?, as each person in the classroom could learn many things simply from discussing topics in a group environment, with no pressure being put on any of the conversations. This does not mean that authority will cease to exist, as there are obviously people in the world who are more learned in certain things, and who can help us to find them for ourselves. The only authority worth listening to is the one who starts off his or her lessons by making sure you know that his or her lessons are only his or her own interpretations of truth. This authority figure?s ultimate lesson would be that truth is found directly, and not from the words of a textbook. The authority figure would be driven to provide this knowledge to people, while letting his or her own ego down, simply because of the enjoyment they take in actually educating, and helping people to find their own path. Students in this classroom would not be present in class due to fear, but due to their insatiable desire to actually educate themselves about life. There should be no physical punishments or rewards brought to the surface of a learning environment, because true, free learning will benefit everybody who attends, as all people in the classroom will want to be there. Papers would be entirely based on free thought, and not based on whoever could cite the most sources of concurring ideas from throughout history. And so this ?school? would not be mandatory, or even forced upon people in their lives. This school recruits its students with the love of understanding, and not the fear of ignorance.
When everybody knows everything, we all find peace in knowing only one thing which matters, which is the truth of unity and love in the world. This unity will be the basis of any system or institution, which hopes to truly educate, and not to control the minds of others. Abstract ideas should be encouraged and realized, because they are all of our ideas. The truest form of human expression is through art, and this should be encouraged in schools, not detracted from. It should be encouraged in a way that causes free thought and expression, but should not be ?taught?. ?Teachers? should be known simply as guides, trying to help us all to find our way home. And this is how most ?good? teachers really are already, although they themselves can?t allow freedom of thought in a classroom, because they are still bound by curriculum and higher forms of control.
I believe it is easy for anyone to see many of the things I have said, if they would only start to really think about things, instead of constantly occupying themselves, trying to forget what is going on. The present state of our educational system is, on the whole, a system of control, and ultimately is only geared towards forcing a person to fit into society, instead of allowing them to find their own place. We all have the desire to find personal freedom, and we all know that we will do whatever it takes to find this freedom. We just need to realize that the very essence of our existence is simply being. All people have the same valid experience, and we are all sharing this same experience of life. It is all up to the individual to overcome their fears and walk down their true path, although those in control have shrouded this path in fear and uncertainty for many years. It is just about time for the human spirit to break free once again, for the corruption to be revealed to everyone. We can start with the very way we are ?educating? the people we say that we love. Love, peace, and democracy do not come from control.
"Reach out your hand if your cup be empty If your cup is full may it be again Let it be known there is a fountain That was not made by the hands of men
There is a road, no simple highway Between the dawn and the dark of night And if you go no one may follow That path is for your steps alone
You who choose to lead must follow But if you fall you fall alone If you should stand then who's to guide you? If I knew the way I would take you home"
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