The meaning of Education

How is education related to the themes that I have been sharing in this blog?

For many there will not be a relationship. One thing is “spirituality” or even “religion” and another is “Education,” which currently means “how to teach/train youngsters to be successful in society.” The root word of Education is “Educare” which in Latin means to “bring forth” or “lead out.”

In Western society the crux of Education begins with Aristotle; although before him we had Plato and Socrates. Aristotle believed that the State should provide one school which should be the same for all. That goes along with the revered concept of “Democracy” which is viewed in different ways by the World today.

It was Aristotle the one who gave special importance to “virtue” in Education. That word comes from the Latin, “Vir” meaning “man,” meaning “valor” or “manliness,” but “virtue” is usually recognized as “excellence,” that is “living with excellence.” Isn’t that also part of “spirituality”?

If we go further, Aristotle thought there were 2 kinds of virtue: Intellectual which could be taught and here is where our Educational system mostly concentrates; but the other side was moral virtue, which grows out of habits. Those 2 kinds of virtue comprise a “man of excellence.”

In Aristotle times, intellectual virtue had a value by itself meaning that learning had an intrinsic value. Learning is an inner desire that man naturally has. In contrast, Education today is meant to obtain a job, prestige, money, etc. It has an utilitarian value.

Under that vision of engaging into something for the sake of gaining something else, is when the other side of excellence was no longer necessary. That is the crisis of Educational identity.

I remember in one of my talks with my friend Mathias, he asked me: “ What moves you?” In other words, what is your motivation, your inner engine… My response was “Beauty.” I was surprised to say that.

That has been my pursuit in Life. The other was “Truth.” It was interesting to find out that Beauty and Truth were part of the teaching of Aristotle and Plato along with “Goodness.” In other words, for them human beings are consciously or unconsciously in pursuit of those 3 values, which have changed over time, misinterpreted and abused.

While a core question in Education today is “how do we teach?” I could answer that any theory trying to manipulate young people to only care about the acquisition of information to earn a living; is truly misguided. Intellectual virtue is only one side of the equation which needs to be balanced by moral virtue. In fact, it is moral virtue the one that creates sensibility in one individual. Emotional sensibility creates this desire to learn without outside motivators. Ultimately; truth, beauty and goodness are our own human nature. We want to be one with those, express those.

What is the purpose of Life?  Someone who is not “ripe enough” will not ask that question. If we ask that, then “how badly do I want to know?” That answer will make the path for our search. In turn, that exploration will lead us into sensibility. Isn’t that “leading out, to bring forth,” that is Education? Yes. It is the path to open the forgotten heart, in a world where intellectual imbalance has created havoc.

“Mens sana in corpore sana” means “healthy mind in a healthy body.” This phrase has been used to sell sports and fitness equipment (utilitarian value) but it has been taken totally out of context: That phrase comes from the Roman poet Juvenal in his “Satire X.” That poem is about virtue, character; the embodiment of where Education should start.

You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death,
and deems length of days the least of Nature’s gifts
that can endure any kind of toil,
that knows neither wrath nor desire and thinks
the woes and hard labors of Hercules better than
the loves and banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapolus
What I commend to you, you can give to yourself;
For assuredly, the only road to a life of peace is virtue.