Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free

The above statement that formal education tends to restrain our mind and spirit deserves measured support. Agreed, that formal education, in its most modern and updated format, still suffers from a number of flaws, but we cannot repudiate its necessity in the modern world.

Formal education is a controlled and moderated method of learning, used for educating masses through a common instruction set, which enables a vast group of people to obtain the same knowledge and skills, all over the world. It remains as the most effective method of judging the abilities of the teeming masses inhabiting the planet, and selecting the very best out of them. But the most basic flaw of formal education remains in its definition itself. Such a competitive mode of judging the capabilities of humans is erroneous, as each and every human is different from one other, and grading them on the basis of a restricted field of study is fallacious.

Today’s world is replete with a host of predefined courses and standardized tests, used to judge individuals, and the performance of pupils in such examinations has an enormous impact upon their future. Consider the example of a student aspiring to become a computer engineer. Through his prevalent interest in that subject, he may have become an expert in certain aspects of that field. Thus his sense of curiosity has led him to belligerently pursue his interests, but the qualifying examination, in which he has to excel in order to pursue his dream, will not reserve any judgment on the knowledge that he has amassed from his sense of curiosity, but would rather stress on his ability to grasp a pre- specified curriculum, which may not fall under the domain of his interests. Thus, ultimately, the student has to acclimate himself to a very particular and constricted field of study which discourages his zeal of creativity and transforms him to something akin to an automaton- as one whose scope of thinking is bounded.

But then again, we must understand that the technique of imparting formal education in still in its nascent stage, and is under the process of undergoing a rapid evolution. Newer tools like visual aids have been specifically designed and introduced in learning institutions for the express purpose of nurturing the sense of creativity which every individual possess, and aid them to materialize their creative thinking. Such improvements aim to blur the boundaries of formal education and encourage students to take up courses which fall under his field of interests.

In conclusion, it can be said that formal education, in its current form prevents the creative development of our minds and may be, in fact detrimental to our growth, since it discourages pupils to follow their individual interests. But it remains as the only viable mean of testing our aptitude and knowledge, and is under the process of constant evolution, so that it may encourage the different, specific inclinations that one might possess and help them to excel in their own goals and dreams.