Educational standards, such as literacy levels, mathematical knowledge, and general knowledge and behavior, have been declining in the developed world. Millions of young people are not inclined towards school. Today, they do not see much value in formal education, despite the fact that previous generations fought hard to make it accessible, which was once a privilege only for the wealthy. In the United Kingdom, for example, the number of unjustified absences is increasing year by year, and the problem has grown to such an extent that the British government provides financial incentives to disinterested students to keep them in school, away from the streets.
Governments are under constant pressure from the public due to these issues, and in the last decade, there have been more changes in the European education system than ever before. However, no reform so far has reversed the aforementioned trend; teachers are becoming tired of constantly implementing new government regulations that only increase their responsibilities without achieving the expected improvements.
This does not mean that previous generations had better developed parenting skills, but they had a value system and general consensus on how to raise children. The fundamental cause of today’s crisis is the lack of a clear and coherent view of education, and widespread disagreement on almost every educational issue. This disagreement goes far beyond healthy competition of ideas that is necessary for creating a positive dynamic of continuous progress and improvement. It reflects a much deeper lack of unity and connection: it reflects a crisis of identity, purpose, and meaning of modern man. The crisis of the Western educational system is a reflection of the crisis of Western civilization.
The connection between education and culture
Encyclopedia The Britannica dictionary defines education as the “transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of society”. This process is equivalent to the anthropological concept of cultivation because only humans truly have culture among all living beings. Animals do not have it, nor do they have the ability to transmit it to future generations, except for what is genetically conditioned. But humans have the ability to transmit immaterial concepts in a non-genetic way. In this way, we can transmit knowledge, values, and ideas that not only help us survive but also enable us to master our environment at a higher technological level.
English cultural historian Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) wrote a prophetic book in 1961 called “The Crisis of Western Education,” in which he said: “Culture, as its name implies, is an artificial product. It is like a city that has been built through the hard work of generation after generation, and not a jungle that has grown spontaneously under the blind pressure of natural forces. The essence of culture is that it is transmitted and acquired, and although it “Cultural inheritance is passed down from one generation to another, and it is a social rather than biological inheritance. Hence, it is clear that culture is inseparable from upbringing and education, while upbringing and education, in the broadest sense, are what anthropologists refer to as cultivation, the process by which the community transmits culture to the individual who accepts it.”
“There is no culture without upbringing and education, nor upbringing and education without culture. How can we teach a foreign language without knowledge of our own? How can we teach music without referring to great musical works of our past? How can we teach science without knowledge of the great discoveries and achievements of our predecessors?”
“Some believe that culture is the imposition of a system of questionable beliefs on children who do not yet have developed awareness. It is true that every child is born without culture and that the process of cultivation will largely define their way of thinking, their values, their behavior, and their beliefs. However, without cultivation, a person would remain in their primitive state.” In a primitive state, a person would never develop the ability to read and write, art, science, music, etc., or a deep understanding and respect for the laws of the universe.
Culture is not the goal but the means
It is important to understand that from various points of view, culture is not an end in itself. Ultimately, the purpose of cultivation is not merely the transmission and extension of a particular culture. Culture accelerates human evolution.
Through the process of cultivation, we learn in just a few years what humanity took thousands of years to learn. Only through culture can a person develop their humanity, their human nature. It is often said that the purpose of education is to “draw out” (from Latin: educare) one’s inner potential. Without culture and education, we cannot develop that potential. Cave-dwellers had the same potential for reading and writing, science and art as their modern descendants, but the lack of appropriate environment generally prevented them from developing these skills. External guidance is always necessary. Influence on the development of inner potential. Just like a seed possesses the potential to grow into a tree, but cannot do so without a favorable environment and external stimuli of water and light, human beings also need a favorable environment (culture) and external stimuli (education and upbringing) to develop their potential. We do not develop speech without an external speech model that we imitate, we cannot develop love without the experience of love, and we would not even walk upright if we had grown up among animals.
Education and upbringing are more than the sum of their parts
It is necessary to accept the fact that education and upbringing will always be a subjective process. To some extent, this process inevitably means transmitting our own perspective to others, our way of thinking, our values, and our beliefs. Since no individual or civilization is perfect, this also means transmitting our own limitations, flawed ways of thinking, prejudices, and incorrect assumptions. the more we doubt our own values, the more we question our historical role, the more uncertain we are in transmitting our beliefs and convictions to children. After all, we do not want to perpetuate distorted norms and patterns.
However, while it is true that human beings will not only be immensely enriched but also limited by their “inherited worldview”, we need to understand another phenomenon: human potential can rise above internal and external constraints, adapt to new circumstances, and create new and better forms of civilization. If humans did not have this ability, there would never be any progress. The rich mosaic of human history is full of examples that show that we simply have not been satisfied with what we have inherited from our parents. On the contrary, we have a need to conquer new dimensions, discover new paradigms, and constantly improve our opportunities.
We want to evolve; we are not mere robots fed with specific information. We are alive and we want to grow. Therefore, what we teach and pass on. It is not the most important thing; what is much more important is what is awakened in each individual. Cultural elements are not digital data, but living elements with the power to awaken dormant life forces in the souls of human beings. Upbringing and education do not mean brainwashing and programming children to continue in the footsteps of their parents, but awakening their unique inner potential. Upbringing and education are more than the sum of their parts because their impact will always be more significant than their reason.