It is no more news that most people nowadays think education is unnecessary. This debate has been over the internet. Many students are complaining about schooling and education. Even though there are many people in this “education is not necessary” category, we have a lot of people in the “education is necessary” category too. Before we judge any of them, let’s see some definitions.

WHAT IS EDUCATION?

Definitions from a few dictionaries.

The action or process of educating or of being educated also : a stage of such a process

the knowledge and development resulting from the process of being educateda person of little education

 the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools

Merriam-Webster

the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.

a degree, level, or kind of schooling: a university education.

Dictionary.com

Now according to these definitions, we can see that education doesn’t necessarily mean schooling right.

So what is a SCHOOL?

an organization that provides instruction

a source of knowledge

a group of persons who hold a common doctrine or follow the same teacher (as in philosophy, theology, or medicine)

Merriam-Webster

an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age

an institution for instruction in a particular skill or field.

dicationary.com

According to these, it is obvious that there is a huge difference between education and school.

Going to school does not equal being educated. A lot of people went to school but were not able to get an education. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people who didn’t even attend school but are very educated.

If that is the case, why are people complaining?

Well, these debates came up when people especially the ones that worked so hard in school and graduated at the top of their class realized that people that didn’t even study hard at all are doing better than them in life. Also, the people that see education and school as essential are people who were able to make their way and become very successful with the course they studied in higher institutions.

So now who is right?

Looking at the fact that there are a lot of people who are successful in both categories, we can’t choose who is right or wrong. The only thing we should take note of is that education is very important! Education is a skill on its own. What makes it look hard and stressful is that the traditional schooling system is not being updated and a lot of people think it shouldn’t be so outdated.

But wait

How should we get an education?

The truth is that the traditional schooling system preaches education and people who like it support that notion. So we can say they should get an education the traditional way. What about the ones that are not comfortable with the traditional way of learning? There are other ways of getting educated like online schooling that has been designed for students to learn at their own pace. Some schools are designed for people who are interested in learning a particular course. An example of that kind of school is a technical school. They are mostly set up to give students vocational and professional skills. Statistics show that most students that attend this kind of school have a higher percentage of graduates, unlike the normal schooling system.

Well, both beliefs have advantages and disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES OF TRADITIONAL SCHOOLING SYSTEM

1. TEACHERS MONITOR STUDENTS: In a traditional school setting, there are a lot of authorities that set up rules and regulations for the students to set up discipline. This is one of the reasons some students don’t like normal schooling students as there are a lot of rules they feel are tying them down. Parents love this about traditional schools because their children are safe in the hands of the school authorities. Also, the teachers can monitor the progress of students and also advice their parents on how to help their kids improve.
2. SOCIAL INTERACTION: It increases social interaction between students which is very important. It also makes school fun. Most students missed school days because the social part of it makes it very interesting. Sport, cheerleading, quiz, etc. The traditional schooling system is nice too.
3. CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT: Schools provide a nice learning environment. It is also good for building a child’s character and personality. It is also good for socialization. Most students doing online schooling don’t have access to this and they are kind of uncomfortable with that.

DISADVANTAGES

1. LEARNING ABILITY: In the traditional school setting, 20-30 students are in the same class. They also follow the same curriculum and learn at the same pace. One teacher stands in front of 20-30 students teaching them the same topic in the same way. Meanwhile, not all students have the same learning ability so this affects their learning process. A lot of students have failed not because they can’t learn but because they learn slower than the others. Also, aside from learning speed, the way the teacher teaches is also a problem for some students. Some students can understand the teacher while others find it hard. Online schooling makes up for this tho as you get to learn at your own pace.
2. BULLYING: Yes! In the traditional school setting, even though they teach students to be nice to each other and make friends, bullying is a very big problem. Most less privileged students have experienced bullying from someone in the school more than once and a handful of them have reported to the school management. This is one of the reasons most people hate the traditional school setting. Homeschooling or online schooling solved the problem. But since most students facing this issue are less privileged, having a conducive online school and homeschooling can be very expensive too.
3. STRESS: Most students complained about stress. Some said school hours are too long and make students tired. Some complained about having too much homework after having a very stressful day at school. Some students also complained about having to wake up very early to get to school. Homeschooling and online schools are on their side when it comes to stress.
4. STANDARDIZED TEST: Schools measure brilliance and intelligence by giving everybody in a class the same test. The ones who score high marks are seen as intelligent while the ones that didn’t do really well are bound to fail that class.

Looking at all these disadvantages, the question most people will ask is “why isn’t there a solution yet?”. That is where learning centers come in. Learning centers are designed to help students. They help build and improve their learning ability. They provide a lot of learning resources. Learning centers like TAS learning (which is by far the best) help students with a lot of activities including test prep, after-school classes, STEM, summer classes, and a lot more. Meanwhile, you learn at your own pace, with tutors available to help solve problems and monitor your progress.

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Read also: TAS LEARNING CENTER

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Getting an education should be based on what we are really interested in. So parents should first discover their kids and see what is best for them. Some kids need home schooling, while can do well in the traditional school setting. At a stage in their lives, some students will have to attend technical schools because they can easily adapt to the settings of that kind of school.

In this debate in society, nobody is wrong or right. It just depends on the students that are learning. Education is very important and everybody has the right to education. We just need to find our learning ability and make sure we get educated. Education is key!