Education High School - Article Example

In this respect, education is not imparted by the teacher but should be developed by giving activities which enables students to think. The article stresses that so often, students are given the materials containing the information which they should memorize robbing them of the time to really develop their mental abilities. In essence, the article emphasizes that the role of the teacher is to "elicit from the pupil what is latent" in every human being and this is the rule of reason. Instead of being sausages, it sees pupils as oysters and the teachers duty is for the finest pearls to develop from within.

With my current point of view, the article is an eye-opener for me. Having believed all my life that students are empty sausages where education is filled in throughout their lifetime, I must say that reading the article shows learning in a new light. To be honest, it came as a shock because I have always believed that teachers do really have to infuse knowledge that students should absorb. However, a deeper probe makes me realize that in learning, the student take a more active role than the teacher.

Thinking things through, I agree with the article that knowledge should not be stuffed but should be elicited from the pupils. As the article stresses, each of us has the latent ability to reason. Every born individual has a functioning mind when he is born and should be developed as he matures. When a child reaches three years old, I have observed from my experience that he can give reasons to defend himself when his behavior is questioned. Even though this behavior is repressed in some societies, the child still learns to reason and defend his actions even to elders.

This personal observation makes me realize that yes; each of us has the ability to reason which should be the most important tool in acquiring all the knowledge that through our interaction with the teachers. Eliciting knowledge from the student then calls for a unique way of teaching and learning. In the part of the teacher, eliciting knowledge then becomes much more complicated than just assigning readings and books for the students to read. I believe that Plato has modeled the classic way of bringing out and refining the reasoning skills of an individual through dialectic.

In this method, the teacher asks the students probing questions which makes them think and rethink. Having been in the time where Sophists are the influential teachers, this method has been repressed by the society. However, this type of knowledge cultivation produced two of the most influential thinkers that we know today, Socrates and Aristotle serving as a proof that this method works. And I believe that this teaching method can still be applied in today's world. However, I also have concerns with the advancement of technology which now provide more avenues for the students to learn.

If technological development can be utilized in such a way that it does not solely present the information that one needs but will nurture a pupil's ability to think and analyze, then it will be most efficient.