Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Learning . . . or learning to play the game?

This semester I am taking a World Religions class.  Yesterday we were talking about Confucianism.  Confucianism came about in the 6th century BCE, because Confucius recognized the need for future government officials to be educated so that they could be effective, good leaders.  He is considered the first formal educator ever, because previously education had taken place in the home. 

Confucius had a powerful influence on the educational setting in many of the Asian countries.  Today China still has a highly rigorous education system. 

Yesterday, this discussion brought up the idea of education in the western world.  Some of the points we talked about were really important and I wanted to share them here. 

1. Effort vs. Quality of Work---which, if either, should you be graded on?

2. Excellence does not necessarily equal effort.

3. Education is becoming a game to many students.  How do you learn, rather than just learn to play and master the game?

4.  If your focus is on grades, you may or may not learn much. However, if your focus is on learning, your grades will probably work out. 

5. Do we seek an education for the sole purpose of gettting a job or are we trying to become something?

This relates back to this YouTube video we watched in class a little while ago.

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