In
the historical timeline of Christianity, the 14th century is marked
as one of the important period. The 14th century is considered as
the slope of Christianity since there are many calamities which cause a big
destruction in the Christian civilization both internally and externally. The
five main events that took part in the 14th century calamity are the
Black Death or the pneumonic plague which wipe out a huge population of Europe,
the Hundred Years War between England and France, the Babylonian captivity of
the church where the church undergo its internal crisis, the Hanseatic League
where trade monopoly happens, and finally the scholasticism. In the case of
scholasticism, people are seeing education just as a requirement to have a good
social status such that they study only for the sake of having a good social
status which is a wrong concept of education. Initially, they have the purpose
to change the culture into an educated culture. With such wrong concept of
education however, the culture which is usually determined by the mass remain
uneducated since education back then is only for the wealthy people.
In the
modern world today, such wrong concept of education is still indirectly used.
Many students and learners now a days study just for the sake of passing the
test and getting a diploma or a certificate; however, they will soon forget
what they have studied after they pass the test. This way, we could infer that
the students remain uneducated since their knowledge barely increases.
In
contrast, the Bible presents education as a discipleship where there is a clear
change before and after the process of education. Rather than having a short
term goal, which is to pass the test, the process of education according to the
Bible should focus on the change of mindset which will also affect us in a long
term and even permanently. The Bible, moreover, tells us that the right heart
and motive is required to be able to go through the right process of education.
Unlike any other rabbi in the period of Jesus, as Jesus was choosing his
disciples, He does not see the outer appearances, social status, and even
education level. One of the examples could be Peter, who was chosen to be one
of the disciples although he was a fisherman having a low social status and
education level.
Personally,
I still view education in a wrong way such that I only study to pass my test
and to get a good grades on my report card. I should understand that what we
study now will most probably be required later on in my future life such as
university. My teachers and parents always tell me that I should not study for
the sake of only getting a good grade, but I should study for the sake of
having the knowledge so that we can use it in our future life in case we need
it. With this wrong concept of education, I realize that there is no difference
between me and those people who purchased their diploma since my knowledge was
only aimed for the grades and soon vanish form my brain after getting the
grades resulting in having the same level of knowledge as before. From now
onwards, I should keep the right purpose of education which is focused on the
knowledge rather than the grades so that I may preserve my knowledge and that I
will be able to use them in the future in case I need it rather than needing to
restudy again.
As a
conclusion, many people see the concept of education in the wrong way and miss
the true purpose of education. Most of the time, they only study for the sake
of passing the test or getting a good grade; however, the true purpose of
education is aimed much higher than just grades and diplomas. The true purpose
of education is to have an increase in knowledge that we could use them in the
future and could bring benefits to ourselves and other people. When people only
study for the sake of grades, they will soon forget what they have study and
remain with the same level of knowledge as before. The solution to having the
right purpose of education is simply to have the right heart and mindset that
is willing to gain more knowledge such that it could be beneficial in the
future life.