Two polarities of education
Education is, always has been, and always will be extremely important. According to Nelson Mandela, it is “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” According to Plato, “the direction in which a person’s education goes will determine their future in life.” Although the concept of education is universal and has likely been practiced since the beginning of humanity (simply by passing on skills and experiences to the next generation), our view of education has always been subject to major changes and has often been a subject of great disagreement. The education we provide to young people is definitely a reflection of our values and perspectives and is closely intertwined with our worldview.
I recently learned that the word education is actually derived from two different Latin verbs: educere and educare. And then I realized that, like everything in this manifested world, education has two different genders that complement and need each other, and it would be wrong to highlight only one.
Right now, educere has the advantage. This means “bringing out” or “bringing forth” and it is about “unleashing” the inherent potential in a human being. Education based on the concept of educere will strive to provide love, inspiration, and encouragement, and it will aim to be completely “non-judgmental” towards what “comes out” of the child. Everything is good, okay, acceptable, “wonderful”. It is a process of awakening, inner development, becoming.
Educare is currently problematic. So many people have only experienced it in its “shadow” aspect and felt the need to revolt against it, so now we have an almost allergic reaction to it. Educare means “to train” or “to mold”. It implies the idea that the educator acts upon the student to shape them into the form determined by the educator. It evokes memories of the worst type of education during the industrial era when schools were almost considered factories where children entered as raw material to be beaten, shaped, and molded, and from which they emerged as suitable forms for obtaining a job in the factory. the machinery of society.
We are still “recovering” from that dehumanizing type of education, and most of our educational reforms are still “reactions” to it. However, in our desire to get rid of the undesirable aspects, we may be making a mistake by eliminating something good and valuable. If educere and educare are truly two sides of the same coin, or in other words, a polarity or mutually dependent pair, then both must be valued and complement each other.
The positive aspect of educare is ensuring quality and high standards. We all want our doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, lawyers, electricians, builders, hairdressers, etc. to be well-qualified. However, through educere alone, we will not be able to achieve the necessary level of qualifications. If we remember that young people are often criticized today for “not knowing spelling, lacking certain written and mathematical skills, being rude, unreliable, lacking endurance,” etc., it seems that the reason is a lack of educare, not educere.
There is no doubt that we live in a very b In polarized and polarizing times, debates regarding the topic of education continue to be fierce. However, polarities are inevitable and cannot be solved by valuing only one side and condemning the other. The law of polarity states that both poles have their value and can be expressed in a beneficial way or through the aspect of “shadow”. C. G. Jung correctly observed that “there is no energy if there is no tension of opposites”. One thing we all probably need to learn is to transition from a mentality that excludes either one or the other to one that includes and embraces both in order to harness the power of synthesis.