Posted September 23rd, 2008
by admin
“Education means bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of everyman”.
–Socrates–
In every civilized society men and women believe that education is comprehensive, compulsory and necessary for every individual. Education is an important human activity. The very concept if education is like a diamond which appears to be of a different colour when seen from different angles.
Etymological Definition:
The word ‘Education’ had its origin in the Latin word ‘Educatum’, itself composed of two words, ‘E’ and ‘Duco’, means developing and progressing. Hence, in its literal scenario, education means becoming develop or progressing from inside to outside. In other words, education implies some of the change for the better and greater in a person.
Different educational theorists has given different derivations of the concept ‘Education’.
1. According to Forebel, “Education is a process through which child makes its internal external”.
2. According to Eddisoan, “When education works on noble mind it draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection.
3. According to Pestalozzi, “Education is defined as natural, harmonious and progressive development of men’s innate powers”.
4. According to M. K. Gandhi, “I mean an all around drawing out of the best in child and man body, mind and spirit”.
Education is aggregate of all the processes by which a person develops ability, attitudes and behaviour of practical values in the society in which he lives.
Narrow Sense of Education: In large majority of people use the concept of education to mean the training undertaken for some years in some educational institutions. This is the narrow meaning of the concept of education. In other words, it implies education provided according to a fixed curriculum by a particular set of people in a specific place.
Wider Sense of Education: The very betterment of an adjusted pattern of life is the product of that educational system. The very educative system is going on every moment in the life of a person. Here, each day’s activities has an effect upon him. The educant may perceive or not perceive that effect.
Liberal Sense of Education: When the word ‘Education’ is accepted in its more literal meaning it is granted that all the times and places and individuals is imbibing some of its areas. Here, it is not limited merrily to the classroom. It can be obtained all kinds of social organizations, associations, individuals, nature, etc. It is mention may be made that a child gets his education not only from his teacher, but also from the entire environment of his life.
A Sense of Individual Development: Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child. According to some thinkers and philosophers, education is nothing but a process which a child can have free, spontaneous and individual betterment. Basically, the main achievement of ‘education’ lies in ability to arouse interest towards the subject of inspiring him.
As a Product: Education is the product of learning process. It implies growth and development. Education is a process or system through which date, experience, information is achieved of course it is a continuous and comprehensive process of training and guidance.
A bi-polar System: Education of course is a bi-polar system. Here it involves the interplay of the educator and the educant. In this process of education the teacher and the taught are the active participants. So education is nothing but bi-polar process by which the natural spontaneous and progressive betterment of the child is justified.
A tri-polar System: Education is also a tri-polar system. It involves the interaction of the personality of the educator and the educant in a social setting. In other words it effects the modification of the behaviour of the educant.
Education in the West: Educational training like every other branch of knowledge started in the philosophical deliberation of the ancient Greek philosophers. Here, it is mention may be made of Plato’s name. He termed education as a “Life long process starting from the first years of childhood and lasting to the very end of the life”.
Education in India: In Indian approach, it becomes necessary to cover the spiritual area. Here, it is accepted as a part of betterment by education. In other words, Indian philosophers have placed special importance upon this. According to Shankaracharya, “Education is that which leads salvation”. Yajuavalkya said that, only that is education which gives a sterling character to an individual and renders him useful for the world.
A modern developed society cannot survive without education. It is an old as humanity. It helps people adjust to change. Succinctly, it is only education which can help a person understand to all the Social changes and provide the skills and technology for adjusting to them.
Posted in Education
Posted September 14th, 2008
by admin
While many very capable people have had very little schooling, and some individuals who have advanced degrees can be stupid in some areas of their lives, formal schooling does have several important advantages.
In regard to social status, family and money are critical, but people with education tend to have a higher standing that those without it. In some cases, the higher the education, the higher the social standing.
With a formal education, individuals have a better chance to obtain job opportunities that result in higher income. While it may be true that some blue-collar jobs pay more than college professorships, overall, more education means a higher income level. Many professions, including medicine and law, are closed to individuals without special training. In the current job market, those without special training are at a real disadvantage.
Education means a better understanding of life and the world. Those who have no training lack the basic tools needed for effective living. Intelligence and awareness can compensate for a lack of education to a degree, but the wisdom of those who have only limited experience is insufficient for taking part in the world as it exists today.
Higher education levels mean a greater chance for success in marriage. Research has shown that high school graduates have lower rates of divorce than those with less schooling. And college graduates remain married longer and have happier marriages that those without a college degree. When it comes to education in marriage, it is best if both partners have about the same level of education.
While less-educated individuals may be proud of their more educated partners initially, troubles can develop later on. They may start to feel inferior or uncomfortable around the educated partner and his or her friends. And the more educated individual may start feeling isolated and hurt. The marriage partners cannot relax or be themselves, and the marriage is no longer enjoyable.
Since women are sometimes in a less favorable bargaining position in regard to marriage, she may have to take whatever man she can get, even he is not an educational equal. Men have more choices and are better off with partners who are more like them.
Nearly anyone who wants an education in the United States can get as much as they want. If people do not want advanced schooling, it is not a disgrace either. Some people should not go to college, but they will be as good as those who graduate.
These individuals should marry within their educational level, however. And no one should use a promise to get more education after marriage to convince a partner to marry him or her.
The right choice is always for a good character and personality, and these traits can usually be found in someone at your own educational level.
Posted in Education And Marriage, Tips
Posted September 5th, 2008
by admin
Have you considered the many benefits of online education? Most people understand that a good education is necessary for nearly any type of professional career, but there are a lot of roadblocks that people face when they actually consider furthering their education.
Jobs, financial problems, time, and family responsibility are frequently the reason why many find that they simply cannot return to school to further their education. Fortunately, with today’s technology anyone can take advantage of the benefits of online education.
One of the main benefits of online education is that it gives everyone access to a higher education. For those who live in a major metropolitan area, access to universities and colleges may not be a problem, but those who live in rural areas often find this to be the biggest roadblock to attending school.
Perhaps you live in an area that does not have a college campus close by, but it may not offer the education program that you need for the career you would like to pursue. Both of these are great reasons to consider the benefits of online education.
Going to school online also offers flexibility. This is one of the most important benefits of online education for adult students. When you choose to continue your education online, you have the advantage of having access to your lessons at anytime, day or night. It isn’t necessary to have to quit your current job to enable you to go to school, nor will you have to neglect your family responsibilities.
As long as you have a computer and access to the Internet, you can continue your education, and do it when it’s most convenient for you.
Another of the benefits of online education is the fact that it can actually provide more interaction with the instructor, as well as the rest of the class. It is really a misconception that going to school online takes away from interaction.
When going to school in a traditional classroom setting, you may have only a few moments before class, or after in which you can talk with your instructor. Even then, there will likely be many other students vying for the instructor’s attention. It can be difficult for an instructor to give adequate attention to every student under these circumstances, but one of the benefits of online education is that the instructor can give every student personal attention.
Additionally, fewer people tend to participate in classroom discussions in the traditional education setting, but online there is less inhibition when it comes to getting involved with discussions.
Another of the benefits of online education is the increased ability to focus on your assignments. Though there is more interaction with the instructor and others in your class, you can save that interaction for when it’s convenient, and focus on your assignments when that’s what you need to be doing.
When you examine the many differences between the benefits of online education as apposed to a traditional education, you’ll see why it has become a popular option.
Posted in Online Education
Posted September 2nd, 2008
by admin
Vocational Education and Training (VET) is also called Vocational training and Career and Technical Education (CTE)). It gets learners ready for careers based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic and those related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation; hence the term, in which the learner participates.
Oftentimes, it is called technical education, since the learner directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques or technology. Vocation and career are usually used interchangeably. Vocational education may be compared to education in a typically broader scientific field. This may focus on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge, characteristic or tertiary education. Vocational education is usually at the secondary or post-secondary level. It, normally, interacts with the apprenticeship system of skills enhancement.
Till the end of the 20th century, vocational education concentrated on specific trades such as, for instance, an automobile mechanic or welder. Hence, it was related to the activities of lower social classes. As a result, it was associated with a sort of stigma and vocational education got linked to the traditional and conventional apprenticeship routine of learning. But as the labor market got more focused and economies started to stipulate higher levels of skill, governments and businesses started increasingly investing in the future of vocational education.
This is done through publicly funded training organizations and financially supported apprenticeship or trainee schemes for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is normally provided by institutes of technology, or by local community colleges. In the 20th century Vocational education got extremely diversified. It now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries.
Online Education
There are several terms for online education. A few of them are: virtual education, online education, distance education, Internet education, web-based education, and education via computer-mediated communication. Essentially, online education is characterized by:
1. The separation of teachers and learners that differentiates it from one on one education
2. The impact of an educational organization that differentiates it from self-study and private tutoring
3. The use of a computer networks to provide or dispense educational content
4. The offer of two-way communication through a computer network so that students may profit from communication with each other, teachers, and staff
E-learning
E-learning is classified as interactive learning. In this type of learning the content is made available online and gives automatic feedback to a students learning activities. Online communication with real people might or might not be included. However, the aim of e-learning is normally more on the learning content than on communication between tutors and students.
Posted in Vocational Education
Posted September 2nd, 2008
by admin
Before we can say what is wrong with our educational system, we should define the term.The purpose of the educational system is to:
Pass on Knowledge
Relate relevant issues to each other
Prepare individuals and groups for future situations
The passing on of knowledge is one of the oldest civilized functions. The passing on of knowledge was originally done in the form of stories told when people got together. Once languages were written, then came libraries which were repositories for knowledge.
The passion to record and relate all knowledge has remained a goal of scholars since the invention of libraries.There is no better example of that than the World Wide Web. It’s original intended purpose was provide a central access site where all knowledge could be retained and for related items to be linked to each other.
The need for cross transfer of information has long been recognized as a needed but thorny issue.The issue is thorny because of the difficulty in execution of a noble idea.
As was mentioned earlier, large well organized enterprises have developed systems, involving SMEs (subject matter experts), which are specifically designed to enhance cross transfer of new ideas and concepts within and without their organizations. As in all such situations, this is not a perfect solution, but it is practical.
The preparation of individuals and groups for future situations is the single most extensive function of our educational system This is as it should be. This preparation process has three components. The first is the educational system as a whole. The second component is technical education/training. The third component is vocational education/training.
The functions identified as numbers two and three can arguably be included in the first category. Because their more specialized characteristics, they have differences which need to be identified. The above classification was chosen as the way to do that.
Our Educational System also has three distinct components. They are University Educational Systems,
High School Educational Systems and Grade School
Educational Systems.
The University Educational System has several components. These are Graduate School, Undergraduate School and two year Associate Degree Programs.
Graduate Schools are responsible for the preparation of scholars who will perpetuate the present customs. They are responsible for basic research in both general and technical areas. They are responsible for technical qualification and training and for general managerial training and qualifications.
Undergraduate Schools are responsible for entry level technical and general training. This includes managerial training. Let us not forget the original reason for the establishment of Universities which is to spread the knowledge of social and philosophical disciplines.These are the “liberal arts”.
The “Junior” Colleges serve two purposes. The first is prepare students to enter Undergraduate Schools. The second purpose is to provide training for entry level positions in our enterprise system. This often includes vocational training.
High Schools are responsible to complete the basic educational training skills of math, reading, writing, science and history. They are responsible to make their graduates employable in the enterprise system.
Grade Schools are responsible for to teach the basic knowledge skills and to prepare its graduates for High School.
As is evident from the above description of the responsibilities of the various levels of education,its mission is both diverse and complex. Compounding the diversity issue, is the fact that both Graduate Schools and Undergraduate Schools are curriculum driven to train the next generation. These schools often do not look at all of their functional responsibilities in a balanced manner. Commonly, the matter of qualifying graduates for employment in our enterprise system is not given sufficient emphasis.
Certain disciplines are not covered in sufficient breadth and depth. For example courses in Production Management do not explain that all systems, production and administrative, are best modeled as an analog hydraulic system.This fact is of great impact for those entering the enterprise system. Because they would know that in hydraulic systems constraints limit throughput and that their elimination improves the flow. This then prepares the graduate to make improvements on the ways in which things are done within the organization for which they work.
A similar situation exists with the discipline of work measurement standards. The discipline was developed in the early part of the 20th century yet wide spread knowledge of its benefits do not exist. This is a problem of both the enterprise system and the educational system.
Simply stated, productivity improvement is key to our future economic growth. Increased productivity is achieved only by improved methods and procedures (better ways of doing things).The majority of enterprises have opportunities for systems and procedural improvements within their own organizations. Employees who have the proper knowledge can find and recommend improvements for those systems.
Knowing how to accomplish these programs makes an employee more valuable to the enterprise. The addition of the production facts and work measurement to a broader audience can be of great importance to our enterprise system in general.
At four levels of the educational system, the function of preparing graduates for employment was mentioned as existing. These levels are Graduate School, Undergraduate School, Junior College and High School.
Graduate schools often need to be more proactive with the members of the enterprise system to learn what employee requirements are for a Phd or a Masters Degree candidate.
They can also determine the blend of skills needed.
Undergraduate Schools can also benefit from being more proactive with members of the enterprise system.In this way, they can also determine the blend of skills most wanted by the enterprise system.
Because Junior Colleges often provide vocational training, they are often more aware of the realities of the work place than are other educational groupings. One of the needs of the Junior Colleges is to find out such information as how literate is computer literate? Does every one need to know how to use spread sheets? The source of this type of information is of course, the enterprise community.
High Schools are last educational institution which most students ever see. This makes their role in our educational process a critical one. More students will have the need to know how to get a job and keep a job than will go to another higher educational level. If retention levels increase, the above will be even more the case. High Schools need to provide students with training which employers want to be present in their employees.In order to know what these requirements are, contacts with the enterprise system are needed.
Here are some thoughts about the drop out situation. Many of those out do so because they see no reason to continue school. Their belief is that school provides them with no skills which can get them a job. Further they have little knowledge of the importance of keeping a job. This says that it is super important for the High School to know what is expected of an enterprise system job applicant and teach those skills. This requires both the school board and the educators to become aware to the real student needs and to also know how the local enterprise system works.
Remember the Proactive approach taken by the large and well organized businesses. Similar systems need to be set up with in the academic community. The educational system needs to look at its responsibilities from a functional point of view. This includes taking the needs of the student into account as well as the needs of employers.
More emphasis has to be placed at all levels from High Schools on up to make graduates more employable. Such efforts at the High School level will tend to lower the dropout rates of the High Schools which participate.
The subject matter relating to improving productivity, is not presently being given enough emphasis in any part of the educational system. This is to the detriment of the potential employee.
Management in most enterprises is not aware of the productivity improvements which can and should be employed within the organization. The value and uses of the tools discussed here need to be brought to the attention of senior management at all levels of activity.
Posted in Educational System
Posted September 2nd, 2008
by admin
Nowadays, diverse education is getting to be extremely important and, in this respect, art should play a significant role. Nonetheless, art, being a constituent element of ethical education of students, are still not very successfully taught in schools. For instance, music education is nowadays practically in decline and there are various factors that deteriorates the current situation, including problems with professionalism, time management, teacher and student relations, preparation of young teachers, and implementation of new technologies and techniques in the teaching process.
First of all, it is necessary to point out that at the present moment the professional level of specialists teaching music in schools is widely discussed and criticized. In recent years the music coordinators have been viewed as a panacea from all problems modern schools and music education have. However, their role remains unclear and the effectiveness of their work is still quite low. Stuart Button and Allison Potter explain such a situation by a number of problems, main of which concern the coordination of work of music coordinator and head teachers as well as the current curriculum. To put it more precisely, often teachers are very skeptical about the pedagogic professionalism of music coordinators while the latter do not appreciate the professionalism of teachers in the field of art, namely music. It is obvious that the cooperation between them remains quite low and the role of curriculum is also very important since it is not coordinated by music coordinators and head teachers. As a result, the efforts of both parties remain ineffective.
However, the main problem probably is that “not all schools are fully exploiting the potential of the music coordinator” . Obviously, the use of their potential would contribute to more successful music education since they are real professionals in music. This is why it is only necessary to combine the pedagogic skills and experience of head teachers with music skills and experience of music coordinators. In this respect, the partnership teaching seems to be the most efficient strategy leading to the positive results.
Nonetheless, there is also the problem of the preparation of future professionals since it is necessary to constantly support the progress of music education that needs employment of new professionals, including young teachers. Naturally, this implies that the new professionals need special training and preparation to be qualified to teach music effectively. Not surprisingly, music professionals teaching music underline that “new music educators need and deserve our support” and they insist that mentoring should be widely applied as a means of professional growth of new music educators since “mentoring certainly holds promise… and mentoring programs that offer such support are growing across the country” . In such a situation, it is really important that more experienced professionals could help their younger colleagues to keep growing professionally that will guarantee the further progress of music education and high level of professional education.
In such a way, the professionalism and training of new professional educators of music are among the most important factors that can contribute to the better teaching of music and art at large. Nonetheless, it is also necessary to take into consideration the problem of teachers and students relations since teaching music as well as teaching in general is a two-sided process. Consequently, it implies that teachers and music coordinators managed to develop productive relations with students that can make education really effective.
Specialists recommend that teachers focused on their students need and interests and, at the same time, stimulate constantly their progress, develop their personality at all levels. To put it more precisely, Robert Duke recommends to teachers to build such relations with students and create such a curriculum that “every time your own students leave the studio, ask your self what physical, intellectual and artistic habits they’re developing in your presence every week” .
Unfortunately, often neither teachers nor students have enough time to improve their skills and abilities in music. In fact, students often turn in a very difficult position when they simply do not have time for rehearsal and the role of teachers in this problem should not be underestimated. For instance, Joseph Manfredo underlines that “the single greatest factor that affects rehearsal success is pacing – the teacher’s ability to effectively manage time during the teaching period” . Moreover, he even provides a typical rehearsal that may be used by teachers that includes: setup for teachers and students, tuning, warm-up, rehearsal of performance literature, sight-reading and other comprehensive musicianship activities, announcements, ending or teardown.
Finally, it should be said that the effect5ive time management, good teacher-students relations, and high professionalism are not sufficient nowadays since the technological progress creates new demands for teaching music. In this respect, the role of distance learning is constantly growing and forces teachers to use this way of teaching more and more often. In this respect, it is worthy of mention that specialists agree that “the rapid development, availability and marketing of online educational opportunities will almost certainly accelerate the development of distance learning in music education” . This is why this trend should into consideration and the established models of education should be modernized and adapted to the new conditions. Moreover, this also needs the development of new infrastructure and wide implementation of computers, IT and Internet in the educational process. However, it is necessary to remember that “educational values, excellence, and learning should always take precedence over visions of convenience and innovation for the sake of innovation” .
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that the current development of music education is insufficient for really effective learning. The latter should be based on highly professional approach and carefully planned and coordinated curriculum which would be characterized by highly effective time management. Obviously, the realization of such a strategy implies the necessity of employment of professionals such as music coordinators in the teaching process and their cooperation with head teachers. At the same time, it is also necessary to remember about technological progress which achievements should be possibly implemented into music teaching without harming the quality of education at large.
Posted in Education Essay