EDUCATION: is it the key...?

Question

ignorance is bliss... do you really think that people can be more human if they/we understand what it is we really need... what it is we really want and can we really make a difference?

Answer 1

Yes. If people would open themselves up more, open their minds, and really look at issues, study everything (not just their point of view), instead of instantly judging, this would be a more understanding world.
The trick is to really study issues you are involved with: religion, politics, abortion, novels, history, war,whatever you feel passionate about.
People are so willing to judge, so willing to jump to conclusions even if they may be wrong, that they close themselves off to other possibilities.
We are first taught by our parents how to view many issues. We are them influenced by peers. We are influenced through the T.V., movies, friends, relatives, politicians. But, do we really study the issues we find uncomfortable or just make an uneducated decision. So many people just "follow along", become like lemmings or sheep, instead of really educating themselves.
I have spent a lifetime weighing each issue that bothers me or that I feel passionate about. Sometimes it involves admitting that you could be wrong, that you have made serious mistakes because of your ignorance, that you have said hurtful things through the unwavering "truth" in your life.
Is education the key? Definately, Yes!
Can we make a difference through education? Yes, but people need to be willing to be educated.

Answer 2

Watch a baby for a while. It doesn't take too long to observe that even babies WANT things. Their biggest difficulty is that they can do so little for themselves and they cannot communicate their desires to other people well. Those who have spent some time as a parent (or surrogate thereof) usually have happier babies for the simple reason that although the baby hasn't learned these things, the parent has learned enough about what babies want and how they try to communicate to bridge the gap.

I think there's an important lesson in there.

Ultimately, of course, most babies mature. They learn to do things for themselves, and their desires begin to become more sophisticated. But you'll note that it's hard even to phrase this process without the word 'learning' in there. People learn what they want, they learn what they can do, and they learn about things they can't do and can thus do more.

Ignorance is a kind of bliss, in that it frees you from worry and responsibility. Understanding, on the other hand, probably leads to greater satisfaction ultimately, even if it does put bliss farther and farther out of reach. Education will help with some of the above kinds of learning, but some have to be undertaken on your own.

Answer 3

Education would alleviate many world wide woes. Unfortunately, there are too many people who are interested only in personal problems to make much difference in a timely manner. They too need education but their self involvement is why people say that ignorance is bliss. Third world problems must be cured before education will affect many nations, including our own. ie: we have so many people living below the poverty level and they are necessarily interested in obtaining food, medical care and a roof over their heads. Most would have a better chance if they had a better education.

Answer 4

Teachers, before you give me several thumbs down, please read my whole answer, because this system was created to be teacher-proof. This system was created so that the best, brightest, most dedicated to true education, dialectic, and true learning teachers could not derail the system from imparting the lessons that it was created to. You guys, however, may be the key to challenging the system and subverting it. Please check out John Taylor Gatto's work for more information on how the system is using you and how you can subvert it.

Education as distinct from schooling is a necessary part of the human condition. Kids want and need education that applies to their lives, the spiritual and existential questions which come up for them, and a blueprint for making sense of experience and their lives.

Schooling, however, exists to make them good workers who wait for authorities (beginning, of course, with teacher) to tell them what they can work on, when they can work on it, what they should think and feel about what they work on, and how to be a good secretary. They also prepare students, not to live fulfilling lives with meaningful work and lives of meaningful discovery, but to become insensitive to working in dark, airless, ugly, and noisy places.

Ignorance is certainly not bliss. Yes. People are a lot more human if they understand what they need, how they can fill those needs (in more ways than simply going out and buying something in a vain attempt to fullfill needs that they don't understand), same goes for wants. Yes, true education can really make a difference.

Schools however, won't change a thing, and it is a rare child indeed who comes out of them completely unscathed.

Answer 5

For some people education is the key to understanding what they want and need in life. For others, the simple act of living their lives in a productive way, with a balance of relationships is enough. The smartest man I ever met was a boat builder with very little education (elementary school). He raised a wonderful family, had great friends and was so very wise about life. He was one of my greatest friends.

Answer 6

Yes education is the key, not only will it afford you a better life materially, it will cultivate you as a person and classes like psychology, sociology help you see others in a different light and see others as well. It can help you appreciate what you have and strive for what you want. That is what getting an education is doing for me.

Answer 7

Education is key when you want to find a decent job and join the grind, however Knowledge is Power. With knowledge you can gain respect of others providing you don't lie about your facts.

Answer 8

I was raised in ignorance and later bought myself an education. Believe me when I tell you, education is 1000X better than ignornace.

Answer 9

we learn for the process of learning
without that, life would be meaning less and boring
could you imagin knowing everything and never inproving
the suicide rate would go up without any deaths

thats what makes us human, the ability to learn and make mistakes...take that away and we might as well be robots

(which would be cool)
lol

Answer 10

without education i believe we are nonthing.imagine life without schools,it be a disaster.we each make our own decisions in being educated or not,at the end is our life.we can make a huge difference in having education or not,nobody is gonna do it for us,were on our own with this one.