We Need An Educational System That Addresses Both Aspects Of The Brain

Educated to be Ignorant

Our modern system of education, which is mostly left-brain oriented, often stifles the student's spirit of love, creativity, spontaneity and intuition. This current approach of learning may have greatly contributed to the unrest, disorientation and confusion experienced among so many young people today.Knowledge is structured in the consciousness. Without developing consciousness, the benefits that arise from the acquisition of knowledge are trivial. Instead of teaching young people to unfold their infinite creative potential, they are stuffed with information that has little or no relevance to their lives. By the time they have reached adulthood and are ready to find a job, most of the learnt information has slipped from their minds and will never be used again.

The purely academic approach to learning judges a student's intelligence by his ability to memorize information. This turns the student into a machine, although sometimes a very efficient one. Kids who have 'played' with computers for a year or so have often mastered complex programs and created new ones simply by using their intuition, imagination and resourcefulness. By contrast, those who are forced to learn the same programs are likely to have great difficulties with them and rarely become efficient programmers.

The more a student is encouraged to use his left-brain, which supports the analytical, rational, logical mind, the less he is able to enliven his right brain, which could unfold his creative, artistic and intuitive faculties. An educational system that addresses both aspects of the brain could turn any student into a truly resourceful, self-sufficient, and responsible human being who knows from within himself what is right or wrong. The modern standard system of education makes the students conform to a restrictive social system that is governed by 'cold' figures, rules and money, with only little or no room for human values. Yet life is all about human values.

Consciousness - The Missing Link

Education, as it is presented by today's schools, colleges and universities, causes a division within the student, separating his heart from his mind. Intellectual abilities are favored over those that develop his heart or the creative spirit within him. A purely academic approach to education turns economics into a battlefield where career-oriented people fight for superiority over others. Modern competitiveness has led to the current loss of humanness in society. The consequences of such an education are immeasurable.

All problems of life, whether they are individual, social, national or international are directly linked to one crucial flaw in our educational system - the lack of development of the student's consciousness. This missing link could make modern education complete and fulfilling. Instead of expanding the student's mind through meditation, visualization, intuitive training or other techniques of self-development, it is overloaded with a lot of information that has little or no relevance to his life. This suffocates a young person's creative spirit and stresses him to the point of depression, anxiety and even severe mental and physical disturbances that can propel them to take such 'emergency exits' as recreational drugs, alcohol and violence.

Young people are released from school with a paper in their hands that can determine the rest of their lives. The dependency of a person's destiny on his ability to pass exams is a frightening prospect, particularly when learning by heart has nothing to do with a person's intelligence. I personally never did well at school. Being forced to repeat a grade and just barely making it through the others, I experienced the 14 years of my German school education as a living 'nightmare', both during the day and the night. My fear of failing exams never left me, even during the eight weeks of summer vacation. Apart from the basic skills of writing, reading and counting, I cannot remember anything else that I had learnt. Yet today I believe I am at the height of my creative skills, covering many more fields than I had been presented with during those 14 years of education.

The great minds and successful people of our historic past like Plato, Einstein, Michelangelo, etc. received their insights, skills, and creative power from within themselves and not through an acquired ability to repeat what others had said or created before. Today's system of education prevents the student from using his own infinite potential by emphasizing mainly mechanical approaches of repetitive thinking and learning. Such approaches ignore the important issues of life. For one thing, they may give us the (false) impression that we cannot fulfill our desires other than through struggle of some kind. Most people in the world seem to have made the collective agreement that in order to earn a reasonable living, one has to work hard. The strong competitiveness among people and businesses in our modern societies reinforce this belief system.

Many claim that suffering is necessary or that once you have reached a certain age you are no longer fit enough to earn a living. Ignorance about ourselves and the nature of reality is so ingrained in our collective consciousness that we no longer object to such actually quite nonsensical statements as: "Sickness is a natural part of life", "To err is human" or "Everyone must age and grow old." We even seem to have gathered enough proof to substantiate our beliefs. Wars, famines, statistics on old age, heart disease, cancer and AIDS leave no doubt in our minds that this is how life is supposed to be and there is not much we can do to change that. All these experiences support the validity of our original belief systems, which are based on the old paradigm of understanding human life. However, the time has come to surrender our past and let go of these limitations, because they do not really exist, except in our mind.

Educational Learning Toys On The Market

Are you interested in educational learning toys that you can find for your child that will enable them to learn as they play? There are many different types of toys you can buy for your child that will help them learn while they are having fun. Preschool is an important time of life because children are soaking up tons of information and they love to play. They learn through play and it is important to allow your child the time to play, as well as learn discipline, nurture and rest.

The best way to find educational learning toys your child will enjoy is by going online to educational toy stores as well as looking at your local toy stores. You want to choose , a Preschool Educational Toys that will have some basis for helping your child enhance the use of their mind and five senses. Blocks, puzzles, imaginary play, lacing toys, memory games, arts and crafts, and letter games will help prepare them to read and do the school tasks that will be required of them.

When buying a Preschool Educational Toys choose a variety of toys that use different parts of the brain as well as different senses. You want to help them expand their learning abilities even if they are already school age. If you have questions about the best toys to buy you can always speak with a teacher about your child's development. Other ,Preschool Educational Toys that can be helpful are coloring books that teach them about different animals, characters, people, history, and clocks. There are toy clocks you can buy to help your child to read the time.

The idea behind educational learning toys whether you create them or buy them is to help your child be prepared for school and learn while having fun. It is a blessing to have a child in school who enjoys learning. Why not start that early, by showing them that we can learn all the time. It is fun to watch our children learn and grow. Be deliberate in the Preschool Educational Toys you place in front of them and you will be amazed at what their brains will soak up!

Understanding and Unleashing the Transformative Powers of Education

As a child, my parents always impressed upon me the importance of getting a good education. My father in particular, always told my siblings and I that we should strive to be number one in our studies. Because of the strict nature of my father, getting good grades was the rule, while getting low grades resulted in punishment. Needless to say, my siblings and I achieved honor role status throughout our K through middle school years. However, as I hit high school things began to change for me. I was no longer that little boy that followed my father's every wish out of fear. By now, I had been hardened by the tough streets of Brooklyn and questioned whether getting a good (formal) education could take me out of this environment.

You see, in my community, I knew of few high school graduates, much less college graduates. My parents had limited education and struggled to provide for my siblings and I. Like many that grew up in poor communities, I experienced my fair share of pain and struggles. Like many of today's youth that are dropping out of high school in record numbers, I too doubted the transformative powers of formal education touted by my parents and teachers. I did not believe that formal education alone could transform my socio-economic situation. As a result, I began to devalue formal education and withdrew (cutting classes regularly). Luckily, I began to realize the error in my thinking brought about by the intervention of a high school guidance counselor. I struggled to graduate high school, needing to attend summer school two years in a row in addition to night school. Nevertheless, I did graduate-But what next!?

Today, we hear news reports about the high dropout rates for inner city high school kids across America. I believe that this high dropout rate stems from the inability of the youth to understand and witness the transformative power of education within their communities. As a 34 year old man with a PhD, I can now attest to the transformative powers of getting a good education, but not just one that is formal. I have seen examples of education's transformative powers in the lives of my colleagues, as well as in my own life. However, most people wont get a PhD, or even a college degree. Does this mean that they are doomed to a life of suffering and pain because of their socio-economic situation? Well not necessarily, as a significant percentage of millionaires in America did not graduate from college.

Still, statistics do show that one's level of formal education directly correlates to one's income (the higher the degree, the higher the income) and employability (the higher the degree, the higher the level of employability). So, it is safe to say that formal education does have transformative power in regards to one's socio-economic situation. But, is simply graduating from high school and getting a college degree the answer to unlocking education's transformative powers?

Let us take a look at the essence of education. Education is all about learning basic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, and then building on these skills with more complex fields of study such as science, history, and economics. What you are doing as you master and broaden your intellectual skills is teaching your brain how to learn.

What ways do I learn best?
What topics interest me most?
What topics do I find easiest to learn?
What topics will help me transform my life?
What topics will help me realize my life's vision?

These are questions that you should be asking yourself as you learn how to learn (education). The truth is that formal education is beneficial to a point, but after that point it is not necessary for everyone. The reason for this is that once you learn the basics as previously described, you can take the initiative to go to libraries, museums, art galleries, plays, as well as surf the Internet to learn about anything you deem useful. Many successful people such as former President Abraham Lincoln were self-taught. But do keep in mind that because many of us do not have the discipline or desire to learn just for the sake of learning, K-12, trade schools, colleges, and universities put together formal curriculums designed to legitimize our educational experiences with a diploma, certificate of completion, or degree. The degree in particular, became popular with American employers in the 1960s, as America moved out of the Industrial Age to the Information Age. Prior to this shift, one could graduate high school and get a good middle class job at the same factory your father worked in. However, as industrial jobs disappear by the thousands because of outsourcing and globalization, a college degree has become essential for anyone looking to ascend in today's new work world (the corporate world).

But, is the opportunity to transform one's socio-economic situation utilizing formal education truly available to all? While formal education (K-12) is now available to all in America, getting a good formal education still comes at a premium. For example, inner city (K-12) public schools have historically underperformed when compared to their suburban public or private school counterparts. Therefore, socio-economics seems to be a factor in who has access to quality formal education. Another example of this is in the higher education arena, where the cost of attending a four-year institution is outpacing inflation, making attending college a dream for some and a burden for others finding it difficult to repay huge student loans after they graduate. What is someone who wants to transform his/her life utilizing formal education to do?

Well first, one has to assess his/her future goals.

What are you interested in doing with your life?

Reach out to guidance counselors, teachers/faculty in your schools. Maybe they can find outside educational programs that you can participate in that will increase your learning if your school is not providing you with enough rigor.

Seek out educational programs within as well as outside of your community.

Ask yourself questions such as-Do I need to go to an expensive college and be burdened with huge student loans when I graduate in order to achieve my goals?

Or could I attend a less expensive school and learn how to learn what I need to know to get where I want to go?

Parents, participate in your child's education. Get involved with the faculty and other parents.

Keep abreast of political matters and then vote in the best interest of your child. And of greatest importance, seek out and provide examples of the transformative powers of education for your child. Be sure that they understand that the essence of education is not about getting a prestigious diploma or degree and saying "now pay me" to some employer.

The essence of education is about learning how to learn so that you can learn what you deem necessary for transforming your life.

Dropping out of high school does not help your cause.

Going to a prestigious school just to be burdened with huge student loan debt that you will have difficulty repaying does not help your cause.

Obtaining a particular degree that is not in alignment with your life's vision, simply because it is easier to acquire then the degree you really need does not help your cause.

There is no doubt that education (learning how to learn) has transformative power, but in order to unleash that transformative power one has to understand the essence of education and then use it strategically.

Dr. Barrett has an earned PhD in applied management and decision sciences, with a specialization in leadership and organizational change. He also holds a MS in organizational leadership and a BS in organizational management. In addition to these degrees, Dr. Barrett has completed several executive certificates focusing on various areas of management and leadership development.