What Does Education Mean to You? Reflective Piece

Education, in my opinion, is something that has an enormous scope. It does not only covers academics, but also every aspect of a person’s character and mentality. For instance, a man, with moral integrity, even without education academically wise, may be someone yearned for in the society but a man, equipped with just academic excellence may become a pest in the society.

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Those who think of education narrowly would presume that all of it is just about studying and achieving good academic results. Education is wide and to me, it is the thing that makes me “alive”. Since young, my parents mould my character and attitude. In school, teachers educate me academically and aid me in my character development. Stepping into the outside world, my experiences educate me every moment.
In my point of view, Singapore’s education is generally fine However, in early stages of academic education, it seems to focus way too much on books and examinations. This sets the mentality of academic education slightly haywire in the young minds. They may think that cooping themselves up in a room studying is the only way to be first in academics. To me, education is way much more than simply just sitting in a classroom and reading textbooks. It is about experiencing the world, discovering and learning through different ways.
Education in academics should not be based on conformity. For instance, learning mathematics is one which does not stimulate creativity in student’s mind. The steps needed to solve a question are actually similar throughout every other questions of its same topic. This may result in students having apathy towards such subjects as it is nearly all repetitive. Prior to this, I think that a new subject could be introduced into secondary school curriculum to help students develop much better academically and that is “critical and creative thinking skills.” This subject would get students to think unconventionally and look at questions from different perspective, allowing them to reach a new level of innovativeness, problem-solving and mind philosophy.
A university degree will give people a competitive edge in the workforce and it is only achievable by education. However, in this fast-changing world of ours, even with a degree, one may still be losing out to others. This is because these degree-holders may be held onto their conventional way of thinking while others, even those with lower academic qualifications, have proceed far ahead with their creativity.
“Increasingly, employers want employees who are creative problem-solvers. Problems creep up in the workplace everyday, particularly regarding customer service. Employees need to be able to think on their feet and must be willing to try fresh approaches to solving problems.” Cited from a website, this is something that I absolutely agree with. This aspect of employee is extreme important to an employer as it will prevent their business from stagnating. Hence, the demand for creative talents has escalated immensely.
Despite that, it is important to have good attitude and moral integrity in order to be wanted by employers. This is something that academic education by a teacher is unable to achieve. In educating one in his attitude and character, the teacher is himself. Often, it is extremely difficult for someone else to drill in these characteristics into him though they still do play a small part in aiding his character development.
In this day, our academic education system has become an instrument for one to earn a livelihood and climb the corporate ladder. The objective has shifted drastically from all-rounded education to making the student more viable in the job market at the shortest time possible. It is more emphasized on mere textbook knowledge rather than overall development of student. Thus, creativity, veracity and social values have been lost in this transformation.
In conclusion, complete education is something that helps one in utilizing one’s senses confidently and innovatively. Good education would be one that aids the learner in differentiating right from wrong, making the accurate choice and transcending the boundary of conformity. Self-discipline is a trait that only complete education can impart and it is of upmost importance to anyone who wants to become someone great one day.