Paraphrasing an essay

Dr. J. Parla Palumbo

Essay three – Definition

Education

Education is the instructive process geared towards facilitating an individual to acquire knowledge (Smith). According to Smith, education is different from schooling in the approach that each takes towards the learners. In schooling, the leaners are objects for the teacher to work on, while in education, the learners are considered as human beings with whom the teachers should interact. Individuals can also acquire a belief system or develop constructive habits through the process of education. The essential nature of these benefits has led international communities to promote the agenda of education as a necessity and even recognize it as a fundamental human right under the World Health Organisation (WHO). Education takes many forms, but it is primarily any instruction that is geared towards the betterment of the human condition through the development of the learning capacity of man.

Education is an instructive process. This definition implies that there is an object and a subject in the education process. The subject is a more knowledgeable, or skilled individual while the object is the person that is being trained on how to acquire the values, knowledge or skill. Hence, the subject is generally acknowledged as the teacher or instructor while the object of the educational process is always the student. Education affects the thought process and the manner in which one acts and also how one feels. It is a molding process for the learner, with specific objectives. Several methods can be used by the instructor to educate. Some of these include encouraging discussion amongst the learners, actively teaching the learner in the pedagogical approach, or even in providing guidance during directed research.

According to Smith, education has three core characteristics that are human-centric. The first characteristic is that education should include the element of being a deliberate act. The deliberate nature of education recognizes its core goal, which is to impart knowledge and understanding to the student. Without clear objectives, education disintegrates to schooling that is the same as "throwing deposits" in the child's brain (Smith). The second core nature of education is that it is informed and respectful. The second trait acknowledges that education comprises a mutual respect between the learner and the instructor, and also between both of them and the truth. The fact that it is informed means that the instructor has to be very knowledgeable about the practice so that he can inform the student. The final principle is that education is rooted in the belief that it has the purpose of leveling society by creating a level platform from which everyone should stand (Smith). These three dictates by Smith underscore the centrality of humanity in education.

By nature, education is both an outcome and a process (Smith). As a process, education is a representation of how we live our daily lives. However, as an outcome, education embodies the collective knowledge that one gathers through instruction, and which later defines individual habits and value system. As such, education evolves with the advancement of human society. In the history of education, the informal type was the earliest. The goal of such education was simply to promote functioning in society. Often, such education was done through education, and as such, there was no need for specified learning sites and education continued in the form of human interactions. This form of education conveys language, culture, norms, manners, and values. Also, it is Incidental. On the other hand, formal education evolved much later to address the inadequacies of the informal educational systems. Such systems were appropriate for complex societies with wide knowledge bases and which could not be transmitted to the apprentice informally. Formal education has seen renewal several times in history, including the Renaissance period, with the content of the material continually expanding. Through the functions of transmission and translation, formal education has become mainstream and almost uniform world over.

The two types of education differ markedly and serve different purposes in the world today. Informal education is important in the acquisition of basic skills of functioning in society. This education is often conducted orally in human interactions, through media such as stories, and observation in apprenticeship. However, formal education is institutionalized. In this education, students go to school and follow a curriculum that is designed to realize the third principle of education by providing a clear guide about the goals of the process. Formal education is organized in stages including the preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The preschool is an introductory phase that conditions the young minds in preparation for receiving the knowledge in the years ahead. The primary level is the next one and involves the first seven years of formal education. Higher levels than this allow for increased specialization. The secondary level spans the adolescent period for most students, while the tertiary education has, even more, freedom and offers many different options. For instance, undergraduate, post graduate and vocational training are all part of higher learning education

The utility of education lies in its capacity to improve man’s position. For instance, Smith says that the informal education that is passed between people serves as a conduit for values, norms, and cultural dependencies. These aspects of human existence are passed between generations across different cultures and all over the globe. Hence, even with formal education, some things are best taught through informal education. Also, the reason we acquire knowledge is so that man can learn to come up with solutions to our problems and those which may affect us indirectly, such as environmental concerns. Hence, education serves a survival function for man. Still, in some cases, what may seem like education for its own sake, is a source of self-development and self-fulfillment for some individuals. More importantly, education contributes to the collective knowledge and technology that direct the functioning of human society. Technological advancement is pegged on education and the research processes.

In conclusion, any instruction that contributes to the betterment of the human condition through a specific target of improving the learning capacity is education. Most commonly, it is an instructive process that involves both a teacher and a learner and has three core characteristics; deliberateness, respect and information, and dedication to the improvement of the human condition. As a process, it is essentially a representation of our own lives, while as an outcome, it mirrors the intelligence of an individual. Of the two types of education, formal education is the most important in acquiring basic life skills for social functioning while informal is best suited for the technical knowledge due to the institutionalized structure. Both forms of education provide man with the advantage of survival, self-improvement and technological advancement.

Works Cited Smith, Mark K. "What is education? A definition and discussion." 2015. The encyclopedia of informal education. 6 November 2017. <http://infed.org/mobi/what-is-education-a-definition-and-discussion/>.