Education

Mark Twain, the great American writer famed for his wry sense of humor had once jestingly remarked that never let school interfere with your education. The verity of the statement is quite palpable in the modern society.

Education can be defined as a whole which encapsulates teaching and learning specific skills. The boundaries of education are so wide and its definitions so varied that it is hard to sum them up together. It is something profound and intangible. It deals not only with the development of knowledge but also the development of one’s inner self and capabilities. Some of the peripheries of education are development of a positive judgment and outlook of life and also a well-advanced sense of wisdom and prudence.

The education of an individual human being begins at birth and continues throughout life. Some ardently adhere to the traditional side of imparting education within the four walls of the school while others are far broader in their outlook when they say that the struggles and triumphs of daily life provide far more instruction than the formal training provided by the school. The two schools of thought go loggerheads at each other when voting for the theoretical and practical part of education. Family members have a profound educational effect on the young and impressionable mind of their offspring and often more profound than they deem it possible, though family teaching usually functions on an informal level.

It is a sort of personal enrichment that stretches beyond the confines of a textbook. A great philosopher, Swami Vivekananda had once said that “education is the manifestation of the perfection already present in man”. The seed of improving one’s present self and striving for a new order is innately present within all Homo sapiens; it is just a matter of realization of this innate goodness which is brought about by the lifelong process of education.