By I know that I know nothing – ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat
He himself thinks that he knows one thing, that he knows nothing (Socrates).
Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know
The word “education” comes from the Latin term “Educatum” which means the act of learning, learning or leading. However, in a broader context, it permeates and affects almost every aspect of our lives, from birth. Education influences the kind of people we and our families become.
Education is everywhere and it should be accessible to everyone. We can read, hear and see education and its diverse multicultural and multi-media implications and incarnations in books, theatre, films and advertisements, as well as in kindergartens, schools and universities, at work, across the Internet and in all aspects of everyday life. All over the world, the media is saturated with a variety of educational information, research reports and teaching methods.
Our need for education is growing rapidly. Basic needs are greatly enhanced by the development of science and technology.
Education systems around the world are changing to meet this demand with the support of governments and private providers.
Satisfying the growing demand for education requires new methods, and sometimes innovative approaches to transferring knowledge to the next generation.
The most significant changes in education systems have taken place during the last century, although the changes have been continuous since the earliest times.
Education, religion and morality are the most important components of human society. In this work, the term “religion” refers to all religions, as we will not be discussing the differences between Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or any other religions; nor will we discuss the influence of particular religions and their association with particular ethnic groups.
The discussion here focuses on the influence of religion and morality on education and the relationship between them.
Throughout human history, religion has had a significant impact on our way of life, and societies around the world have benefited from education and knowledge.
Religious leaders are concerned about the rise of secular science education, as they believe it could have a negative impact on religious faith. This concern is confirmed by sociologists, who argue that educational and scientific progress can lead to a decrease or even loss of religious faith.
My observations show that there is a clear asymmetry between biblical literalism and secular education. A biblically literate person will not be as open to conducting or accepting the results of secular scientific research as his or her counterpart. In other words, a scientifically literate person will be more open and accepting of biblical research than a biblically literate person with regard to scientific knowledge and research.
This asymmetry is evident in many mixed societies such as Israel. This observation also suggests that a secularly educated person is more likely to absorb biblical influences than a biblically literate person is to absorb secular influences.
We run into a number of problems when we examine religion and morality, especially when dealing with claims of conflict between them. It is sometimes argued that morality is built into religion, or that religion is moral, but moral education need not be religious.
Of course, there are obvious differences between religion and morality, especially with regard to their goals and objectives. The purpose of moral education in schools is to cultivate virtue and start a cultural conversation about certain moral issues that are part of our traditions.
In our time, education has become dependent on economic and technological development.
However, the essence and meaning of life come from morality and religion, and not from materialism.
Religious leaders argue that without a religious component of education, we may lose the ability to discuss virtue, love, self-sacrifice, social duty, and justice. The absence of religion in the curriculum breeds hostility among religious groups and can lead to community divisions and unnecessary culture wars.
Atheism claims that there is no connection between morality and religious behavior, and therefore we should teach morality without reference to religion. Religious groups, by their practice, demonstrate the falsity of the claim that morality is independent of religion and therefore there is no need to distinguish between them. The practice of religious beliefs has a lot of psychological impact on the moral arena. In other words, the support of religious beliefs entails a special view of morality.
After my family immigrated to Israel from Hungary, I attended a religious school in the orthodox Hasidic quarter of Bnei Brak called Vishnitz. It was a small village named after the city of Vyshnitsa in Ukraine. The teacher, who was also a rabbi, complained to my father that I was disturbing the peace by constantly asking questions. I could not accept the rabbi quoting the Bible, “Naase W’Nishma”, which means “first we will do, and then we will hear and understand”, or, in simple terms,
“Just do what I tell you, an explanation will follow”… At first I wanted an explanation…
History clearly shows that there is a compulsion to bring religion and morality, or lack thereof, into politics, and that this creates a dangerous combination. One of the reasons for involving God in fights, conflicts and wars is the desire to unite as many active and inactive believers as possible around their cause, whatever it may be.
Let’s illustrate this with a small example. Suppose that somewhere in a small village people have blond, black, red or white hair. The four hair colors are evenly distributed among the villagers. Blondes don’t like blacks. Blacks don’t like whites and no one likes reds, so there’s complete harmony…
The only thing that blacks, reds and whites have in common is their religion; they believe in the EGO of Almighty God, while blondes believe in the AGO as God.
All villagers have small farms on the same plot of land, getting water from the same source. Blonde men are more creative and put their knowledge, money and energy into their farms, working day and night with their spouses in the fields.
One day, two neighbors, a blond and a black, are arguing over garden pests.
This is nothing serious and should be resolved quickly and amicably, but it escalates into a big fight involving some of the protagonists’ neighbors.
Reds and whites only smile, because they do not participate in the conflict and do not like either blacks or blondes.
Ultimately, the case goes to court and a jury is chosen, consisting of an equal number of blonds, blacks, whites, and reds. During the trial, a blond farmer claims snakes, scorpions, and other pests from his black neighbor’s farm are destroying his garden, entering his home, and endangering his children. He says that several times he asked the black neighbor to solve this problem, but he simply ignored him. In order not to aggravate the problem, the blond farmer built a fence. Now his black neighbor is suing and asking to be ordered to take down the fence, as it interferes with the neighbor’s view and prevents the neighbor from walking in his yard, which he did not want to do.
It becomes apparent that the judge and jury are going to support the blond farmer’s case, and so the black farmer plays his last card. He claims that he cannot worship EGO because of the fence. He also claims that the blond farmer not only doesn’t believe in EGO, but curses the almighty God, and that if all the blonds built fences, it would make EGO worship difficult. Religion unites the majority of the jury against the blond and he loses the case.
Because the case was a local dispute between neighbors over responsible farming, it could be resolved by the parties directly involved. However, when it became a religious issue, it involved and united the villagers around their respective religions. They were willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals, especially if their actions were supported by their religious leaders.
I had a religious and conservative education, and then a scientific and secular education, and this led me to the idea that moral education must be separated from religious education if it is to be rational, independent and free.
Religion and morality must be taught in a coherent and appropriate way if we want societies to be healthy, strong and harmonious.
The signing of the Magna Carta (Great Charter) on 15 June 1215 was an important educational event. The charter was negotiated between King John of England and a group of rebellious barons as part of peace negotiations. He guaranteed that the rebellious barons would not face imprisonment, promised them justice and exemption from certain taxes and payments levied by the crown.
The parties failed to fulfill their obligations and the charter was later annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons’ War.
It is interesting to note that the mistrust between the parties was such that the barons insisted that the agreement be signed. They realized that verbal promises would not work.
The Magna Carta, which was a political agreement, has become an international symbol of freedom. Its effects can be seen in later English history, the history of the United States, and in the modern world. It has been researched, quoted and used by jurists and historians since it was written. The Magna Carta influenced the American colonists and the American Constitution, which was written in 1787 and became the supreme law of the United States.
An analysis of the foundations of American colonial education in the 17th century shows that the education system was significantly influenced by European teachers and intellectuals. This is not surprising since the early colonization of the Americas was mainly by Europeans. They believed that the main purpose of education was the salvation of souls, so much of the education was based on the scriptures. The first schools founded followed the Puritan tradition. Some groups of European immigrants tried to keep their religious beliefs, morals, and even their mother tongue.
Teaching was informal and conducted within the family circle, usually from books and publications with primary references to the Bible.
The transition from theoretical to practical and more modern education began during the industrialization of the nineteenth century.
Slave education was illegal, but although the law was more strictly enforced in the South, it was not universally enforced.
Most of the schools were for boys only, while girls were educated at home or in girls’ schools where they learned household skills such as sewing and cooking.
If a person could read, he could become a teacher. The teachers used the Old and New Testaments, and the students had to memorize as much as possible. Knowledge of the Bible was the measure of success.
The teachers were responsible for inflicting severe corporal punishment on all those who failed to follow their instructions.
Around the middle of the nineteenth century, education was improved through the use of dictionaries and limited maps of world geography. The curriculum was expanded to include some patriotic and moral subjects to unite students around American nationalism and instill in them a common set of virtues.
Two hundred years later, significant changes and revolutions took place in the US education systems.
Much has been done to improve education in the US, but much remains to be done. The graduation rate should be higher, especially among blacks and Hispanics. The dropout rate is too high and there are currently too many students who do not finish school on time. Teachers should be better qualified and should be paid more in order to attract and retain the best teachers in the profession.
This is very important, as the quality of teaching is one of the main factors determining the success of education.
In general, secondary schools should be responsible for teaching and preparing students for postgraduate studies. This stage of education is critical to the future of students and the future of the nation.
Civic education is essential for future generations to understand, know and cherish democratic values.
The last decade has witnessed the advent of the Internet, social media and other technological innovations and the decline of our morality. Materialism is the new religion, and the purpose of education has been to create financial wealth. This has led to some professions being neglected in favor of others. Subjects such as law and certain technologies are now favored over social and moral studies.
We cannot distinguish between money and education. Most of us strive to get an education in order to earn more money, which will allow us to live better. This is the logic that governs the basic and intermediate levels of education; however, access to higher education at well-known, wealthy universities and institutes requires a lot of money.
This is one reason for the polarization of society, a process by which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The rich and famous are heroes and role models to be followed and envied; At least that’s how it used to be, things are changing today.
Television, reality shows and advertising are shaping the minds of our young children. The distance between parents and children and parental control has also changed. The growing availability of previously censored material such as pornography is having a negative impact on the development of our children and their understanding of what is right and wrong.
The economic law that where there is demand, there will be supply, suggests that there will be an infinite number of young girls coming to work in the industry.
Legislation will not eliminate the industry, but with the help of parents and schools, it can reduce its size and power.
Most social studies place the blame and responsibility for the exploitation of these girls primarily on their parents. Involved parents, especially a strong father, are essential to keep these girls from leaving home. Parents must apply the appropriate rules and create an environment in which certain types of behavior are unacceptable. When raising the next generation, we as parents need to make rules to keep our beliefs and morals going.
It is acceptable and even predictable that we will have questions about everything that we encounter in our earthly life. The love of wisdom or philosophy encourages us to philosophize about our way of life, the many problems we face, our values, our existence, and our possible future.
The future is unpredictable; however, one can guess about the likely development of events in the educational sphere. The application of technology to educational processes and models has the potential to revolutionize existing teaching methods.
Implanted and wearable devices are another exciting application of the technology. In the future, at a higher level of scientific applications in education, we may see nanorobots acting as teachers in higher education.
Advances in genetic engineering may allow certain educational opportunities and perhaps even knowledge to be built in or engineered at the genetic level so that a person is guaranteed to be smart or intelligent.
At present, we can only imagine what such technological developments will do to global education systems and teaching methods.
I would say that the only way to reduce the threat posed by this “social bomb” is to educate people in order to reduce ignorance and self-deception.
I’m worried about the next generation. Society must fight extreme inequalities between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and the rise of racism.
Children from wealthy or upper middle class families lack the necessary and expected motivation to learn. They sometimes show reckless disregard for education, and also neglect their appearance and health. Increased consumption of unhealthy food and lack of exercise will lead to serious health problems in the future. We are already seeing an increase in obesity, alcohol and drug use and other health problems among young people. These and related consumption patterns will affect global warming and the extent to which the Earth is exposed to the greenhouse effect. We must educate the next generation to have the interdisciplinary understanding necessary to save our planet, the Earth, which is essential.
