A genuine and lifelong quest for learning is what marks a civilised community, says Amenakin.
Whether you’re aged one or 100, it’s best to keep those pencils sharp! (Image: Stockvault)
In England, compulsory full-time education spans the ages of four to 16. After this, students have the option of continuing into further education at college or sixth form, and thereafter they may choose to pursue higher education at university.
Attaining an education in primary years is recognised as a human right in all major human rights conventions. In the UK, the option to continue one’s education beyond the age of 16 is a privilege, since most people in the world are denied this due to poverty or social barriers.
Of course a formal education within an academic institution does not appeal to everyone, so it is no wonder that many students choose not to continue their studies beyond the compulsory years. This is purely an individual’s decision, and rightly so.
But who says learning has to stop when one leaves a formal education system?
The trouble is that from an early age – arguably even before children understand the concept of grading – students are led to believe that education equates to exams, assessments, grading and ranking. Employment within a desired profession becomes the sole aim and all emphasis is placed on short-term quantitative goals. This culminates in an end result that largely determines the direction the student’s career will take. For many, it is not even a case of a career but of life itself.
That is a lot of pressure for any individual. When children are forced to do something under scrutiny and pressure, many will resent that activity and the potential joy of learning is sucked out. Unsurprisingly, many develop a need to “finish” or “be done with” education, psychologically shutting out the desire to obtain academic knowledge beyond the age of 16.
Knowledge has the ability to free the mind of the shackles of this world and our own base impulses
Personally, I am not against assessment or grading. After all, these are great ways to measure one’s progress and understanding of a subject. But what bothers me is that education has been hijacked by constant assessment. Children are constantly under pressure when it comes to learning and being in school.
Rather, encouraging lifelong learning should be a societal norm, as should building a genuine desire within children to obtain knowledge wherever they may be. Assessment has its place within academic institutions, but they too have a responsibility to encourage a love of learning. This goes hand-in-hand with the child’s home life, where a book should be valued more highly than a PlayStation. Playing has its place, but lulling children into hours upon hours of television or video games stunts the potential of their enquiring minds.
Acquisition of knowledge is one of the main aspirations of a civilised community. Messengers like Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are not the only ones who have spoken about its importance; modern-day figures such as Nelson Mandela have also stressed the need for empowerment through knowledge.
When Malcom X was jailed in his early life, he spent time reading books and educating himself in prison. His thirst for knowledge was so great that he would read after “lights out”; his eagerness to read and learn thus affected his eyesight, and he had to get reading glasses. Such is the power of knowledge: it has the ability to spark a fire of passion, to empower, to broaden the mind and, most importantly, to free the mind of the shackles of this world and our own base impulses.
Learning is a lifelong process: through it we get a bigger picture of the world around us, but also – and perhaps more importantly – knowledge enables us to know our rights. One of the most intimidating realities to face an oppressive system (whether it be anti-woman or anti-anything) is an informed, knowledgeable society in which individuals know their rights. Until we instil in ourselves and our homes the love of knowledge, we cannot possibly expect the problems in societies to be resolved.
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