What does education mean?

There is also a difference between learning and understanding. You can learn something and just repeat it but still not understand it.

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“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad”

Curiosity --about the world around you, the people you observe or meet, and curiosity about ideas -is necessary for learning anything at all, even the best way to sweep a floor is worth being curious about.

Yes education and learning is about more than books in my opinion. It’s about options, life skills, learning to socialise from an early age. Opening your eyes to what’s out there.

When my kids went to university and lived away from home I emphasised to them it wasn’t just about getting their degree it was about learning to cope and be independent albeit with us as a backup.

love0c and woodenspoon Good points too.

Offering choices underpins the current school system. Children have their eyes opened to worlds they might not have known existed, if they had only ever experienced their own close family.

keepingquiet

To be educated is a passive verb, to learn is active. One thing is done for you, the other you do for yourself...

That's a good point.

You could be sitting somewhere on a hillside and notice all the sights, sounds and smells which aren't part of your usual life. You might notice that you feel more relaxed than usual. That's learning.

What you might want to do is find out the names of the trees and the birds you see or the geology of the hillside you've been sitting on, which might lead on to finding out about the lives of the people who've shaped the landscape in the past. You're going to need to do some research - that's being educated.

PS. I was just thinking about a weekend I had in Derbyshire a couple of months ago.

Yes that’s true. It gives you choices but also the confidence to explore those choices.

Education gives you choices.

Not sure, you can make a definite decision to educate yourself.

To be educated is a passive verb, to learn is active. One thing is done for you, the other you do for yourself...

Education is a lifelong process of learning, questioning and analyzing. I'd also add it's about being open to new information and changes, but this is probably the result of education and not the process itself. It's also about acquiring new skills not just by necessity but simply out of curiosity. You like taking photos and you learn Photoworks, you like music and you learn to play the guitar. Just the tiny pieces of new information here and there, not because you want to be a professional but because you're genuinely interested in how things work.

The word 'educate' has roots in Latin, specifically from the verb "educere" meaning "to draw out," "to lead forth," or "to bring out".

As I was told by a teacher at school, the purpose of education was to make us think and use what we are taught to lead on and bring out ideas and knowledge, not to ram in lots of rote learning.

Without going off on a tangent, education means to learn and be able to think for yourself. Watching my little grandson tell me about how many bones are in his feet, what the organs of the body are, that is learning and he has learned that, amongst many other things, at his daycare facility. Certainly mum and dad haven’t taught him this, in-depth as it is.

So learning is what education is about. Whether it be maths, English or life skills. It sets you up for the future.

AJKW

Learning something new is what keeps our brains healthy, but as I’ve aged I do question what I’ve been taught and is it the truth.
I enjoy history but I often hear the saying ‘history is written by the victor’ and therefore the truth could in fact be a lie.

I don't think the truth is a lie, but I do think that truths have half lives, inasmuch as they stay true until someone proves otherwise.

I also think that what we believe to be historically true is based on what was written at the time, which means that it is the view of those who could read and write, and whose words were considered valuable enough to record. That is something we should, IMO bear in mind when accepting things as 'fact'.

Learning something new is what keeps our brains healthy, but as I’ve aged I do question what I’ve been taught and is it the truth.
I enjoy history but I often hear the saying ‘history is written by the victor’ and therefore the truth could in fact be a lie.

Escaped, I agree not all fee paying schools groom pupils to be political leaders, however the few very expensive ones tend to do so.

As long as there are schools that are not available free at point of use to the general public it stands to reason these schools will indoctrinate a biased world view; sometimes biased towards a religious belief system :sometimes leaning towards a particular moneyed class .

Top quality state education for all is the only classless system possible.

Caleo

Doodledog, I think we must be realistic and admit that high culture costs a lot of money to consume. Football matches and Glastonbury are also too expensive for many people.

Social class is defined mostly by income . Some people who went to Eton are educated to be leaders but I guess are also cultural ignoramuses as far as high culture is concerned.

Popular culture is mostly commercialised and aims to be merely sensational entertainment , so there is no truth in it.

Education therefore should be for all ,lifelong ,especially the SureStart type initiatives. And by education I mean learning what is worth consuming and what is nothing but entertainment, and commercialised entertainment at that.

That's not really what I'm saying, which is that unless culture is included in the curriculum and there are university courses other than at Oxbridge (ie ones that are accessible to all) then the only points of view we read or watch will be from those able to access an education in 'elite' institutions. It is very important that this does not happen, and that talent is nurtured at all 'levels' of society, so that the books we read and films we watch are properly representative of us all (or at least that we can all see ourselves reflected if we choose to).

Caleo

Oh yes, and if I ruled the world I'd get rid of all fee paying so-called 'public schools' . We don't need a class of people who are indoctrinated and trained to be politicians.

Just to correct this perception of all independent schools. They don't ALL indoctrinate pupils and train them to be politicians.
The type of education offered varies from school to school because they are independent and can choose to do things pretty much their own way.

Morris dancing is having a revival. When DS took up Morris dancing in his late 30s, he was the nly memberunder 50. Now he is in his 50s, the side is full of younger men and women.

Now Morris dancing, now is folk culture, but it started as popular culture.

Oh yes, and if I ruled the world I'd get rid of all fee paying so-called 'public schools' . We don't need a class of people who are indoctrinated and trained to be politicians.

Doodledog, I think we must be realistic and admit that high culture costs a lot of money to consume. Football matches and Glastonbury are also too expensive for many people.

Social class is defined mostly by income . Some people who went to Eton are educated to be leaders but I guess are also cultural ignoramuses as far as high culture is concerned.

Popular culture is mostly commercialised and aims to be merely sensational entertainment , so there is no truth in it.

Education therefore should be for all ,lifelong ,especially the SureStart type initiatives. And by education I mean learning what is worth consuming and what is nothing but entertainment, and commercialised entertainment at that.

Caleo

Popular culture is however more than books and music. It's also affordable holiday destinations like Blackpool was in its heyday. It's unselfconscious neighbourliness and moderating of unsocial behaviour from inside the group.

There isn't an old -style working class any more to make a natural camaraderie. Some who would benefit from a functioning popular culture are quite well off compared with the old days.

My post mentioned pop music, but I didn't mean to suggest that education should be so that people learn to perpetuate or appreciate popular culture to fill their time after work. Far from it.

I enjoy popular culture, and firmly believe it has its place as entertainment and as a means to 'switch off' from more intellectually challenging areas of life. All the same, I think that people should all be able to enjoy 'high culture' (if that's the right term), and crucially that people of all backgrounds should be able to contribute to that, by having their work read/viewed/heard (as opposed to their simply being capable of enjoying or consuming it) so that all sorts of voices are heard.

The last thing I want is to have class-based access to any form of culture, and I very much fear that cuts to Arts courses and the mentality that education is about preparation for work will take us there.

Silverbrooks, you wrote "marginalised communities", a rich heuristic IMO.

It set me thinking that popular culture is genuine, not ersatz, only if and when a community is marginalised by poverty, overwork, hunger, oppression, racism, sexism, and so forth.

Education opens doors to a world of possibilities. It empowers us to think critically, solve problems, and chase our dreams. Think of learning like mastering Drift Boss; each new skill is a challenging level. With dedication, you navigate complex curves and ultimately reach your goals. Education is the ultimate high score in the game of life, leading to personal and professional fulfillment.
driftboss.lol