Our education does not prepare us for the world.
What is education? I define it as a process that moulds someone into a person able to face the world. Education is a means to train a person to fend for themselves in a highly competitive global environment. The million-dollar question is, is the modern education system competent enough to achieve this?
If we look at it critically, modern education has not undergone major changes for quite a long time. It is like a factory, manufacturing workers to satisfy overwhelming corporate needs.
The modern system is quite effective in training a student for the life of a worker. Arrive and depart at designated times, learn what we tell you to learn, the word of the superior will dictate your life. These are just some examples of how a student is turned into a voiceless worker.
A system like this works in the factor of the elite, as they receive already oppressed workers who are happy in just receiving a job.
One may argue that this system is necessary to create a workforce that is in demand, citing the USA’s immigration crisis as an example. One has to understand, that the major factor responsible for this crisis is not our education system (although higher education can certainly use a bit of “accessibility”), it is the capitalist’s hunger for money.
Instead of upgrading and investing in their native workforce, they decided to employ foreign labour. For one, it would be cheaper. And for another, they are more skilled. This is a bitter fact and deep down we know it. The vast array of Indo-Chinese entrepreneurs ruling over American companies is evidence enough.
We are the biggest economy in the world with a trillion-dollar defence budget, yet close to no money is spent on subsidising higher education. Because of this, we face intense competition from countries half a world away to get a job in our fricking companies. What can be sadder than that?
Our education today needs an upgrade. Bigtime. The system today forces a student into a box. A student is restricted from exploring and discovering their interests and pursuing them.
The solution to this is an environment of freedom. An environment where students have a choice from a wide range of subjects and are free to explore. A system should be created where students are not overpressurized and compared. Only then will we create a thriving population.
Even more so important is the need of providing higher education. Higher education enables mastery. Only with a workforce of highly educated citizens, America will be able to compete on the global scene.
Daniela
April 2022
