EDUCATION FOR LIFE

My mum works as a teacher. She uses to say that when she was little, children were not allowed to do as many things as current young people do. She insists on the fact that they all had a better education, coming from school but also from their own home. In this aspect, they had to cope with life abruptly, in a single-handed manner with no much help, so they could develop themselves into accomplished human beings. The polemics about education have always been there; it is true that falling back on the old way of  education is not an accurate solution, but, in my opinion, there are several points which should be dealt with in order to improve our current educational system.

Firstly, talking in a school context, I would somehow change the way of teaching. For example, I would not guide students just to memorize the content to “throw it up” in the exam, because there is no retention of information, and the process turns to be so useless. It is scientifically evidenced that children work better if they interact with the teacher and elaborate their own information, thinking and understanding every single reason of the matter. Actually, Finland´s educational system is based in this idea, and that is why their students obtain such great results in PISA and other surveys.

Then, talking in a familiar context, children should be in a general way more controlled. The trouble-maker or disturbing pupils are usually those children who have not been imbued with some sort of essential values (such as respect to other people, prudence or empathy) at home. One of the most remarkable reasons is that current parents do not want their children to be sad or to be angry with them, so they spoilt them (buying them unnecessary whims, allowing them to do whatever they want...). Then, children who are able to enjoy these privileges do not usually value the effort of other people, and often act in a careless way with everything else which does not include them. 

To sum up, I would like to say that we must educate our children just in the way we would like to have been educated, thinking about the future of the children and about the importance of a proper way of thinking or acting in every aspect of life. As a clever man once said: “Education is the main pillar of society”

THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION

Platon, in his writings about education 2,400 years ago, used to say that “the whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows”. He insisted on the fact that the one who has not been educated is not able to see the light of the Sun, because remains in the dark depths of a cave. Regarding that today´s society system is partly based on the thoughts of this philosopher, he was not that misguided. However, I would go further with the final purpose of education, considering education to be extended to three levels (which are actually in permanent connection with each other): the cognitive, the practical and the personal one.

Firstly, talking about the cognitive field, we should remember that one of the main purposes of education consists of introducing new knowledges to humans, in order to make us understand how the world works (as a very general overview). This aspect of education is really important to make people develop into accomplished human beings, and to make the difference between a modern and up-to-date society and a paleolithic one. If we were not able to understand who we are, why things happen, why something is good or why not… then there would not be any room for any kind of improvement: we would rest just as another ordinary animal species. That is the reason why we could say that cognitive education is the basis of the whole social system nowadays.

However, education is not just a matter of theory, books and study. We could say that education also reaches a practical level, helping humans in the everyday reality, in plethora of situations to deal with… This could be another remarkable purpose of education. For example, if you want to get a job, it is essential that you have previously adquired some necessary skills. Focusing on professional scientifics, every single scientific or technologic breakthrough is the result of applying some knowledges  to the real life, to the practice. Thanks to practical education we can enjoy our current and well-off lifestyle (electricity, stored food, potable water, advanced technologies…).

Finally, there is another field in which education takes part: the field of personality. As far as I am concerned, the most important purpose of education has to do with this field. When humans become developed adults, our way of acting is determined by the education we have received previously. That is to say, education will help us to be aware of risks, to be polite, to think in advance and clearer, to be charitable and empathetic, to behave properly and coherently with a certain situation… In general terms, education will help to build a strong personality which will determine the distinctive features of every person.

To sum up, it is worthwhile to mention that although education must be used to introduce new knowledges to humans (and to make humans apply them in real life), education must go further with the aim of creating a balanced society, supported by some essential pillars, such as peace, goodness or common sense. As Nelson Mandela used to say: “Education is the strongest weapon you can use to change the world”.

TECHNOLOGY OR HUMANITY?

Unarguably, the advantages of technology are countless. With just pressing a button, you can go online and access lots of websites, send instant e-mails to whoever you want, buy products and also pay for them, download free pictures (as well as games,  videos, etc.), access to plethora of information about every single topic you could imagine, create texts, take pictures or record videos, and many other examples. Holding a face-to-face conversation from China to Spain is possible nowadays, and people can always be connected with their families, friends and almost the entire world, without the need of writing letters to long-distance communication. This amazing reality was unthinkable 50 years ago: it seemed impossible.

The new generations of young people (especially since 1990) are becoming more and more addicted to the current electronic technologies and all the devices involved. This fact has lead to the appearance of a new period in the history of the humanity, another step to evolution, a new real era: the Era of Technologies.

However, the disadvantages are also important. It is not only the addiction it creates in people (which is really hazardous though), but also some major problems. For example, the appearance of cyber-bullying is a result of the bad use of technological resources. Social isolation is also a typical problem in young people´s personality, because they trust too much social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Besides, the information stored in our electronic devices is usually enormous, and we are not aware of the fact that if the Data Cloud crashed, we would lose everything.

To sum up, I would like to say that we should not forget we are humans, natural living beings, and technology is there for our help, for making our lives easier. We must never let ourselves be influenced or dominated by these electronic resources. As Einstein used to say: “The day when technologies overcome humanity, then we´ll be completely idiot”. 

MY GRANDFATHER

I have a lot of blood relatives in my family, because my mum-side family is huge and my dad-side one is also very large. However, there is a special person for me. It is so special that I consider him to be my role model: my grandfather.

I can assure my grandfather is not a normal person. Well, physically, he is pretty much alike to his 80 years old friends (he is medium size tall, he is chubby, grey-haired, a bit forgetful due to his age...); but mentally, he is different from everyone else I know. He has had to overcome lots of misfortunes since he was a little child. For instance, his father died fighting in the Spanish Civil War when he was 7. He had 5 more brethren and his mother did not have enough resources to maintain them, so he had to work as an agricultor when he was 9. He could not attend school, and he could not receive any education. When he got married, he had 5 children, and one of them died at the age of 17. This was another hard blow for him. However, he has always tried to get over his problems and smile, in spite of the wounds which life had made him. This is exactly why I admire him so much. I would also like to be capable of being that modest, optimist, not moody and sensible.

While lots of people do not value the elderly, I love sitting next to my grandfather and listening to him and to his countless stories about past times, about lost traditions, about an unknown society for me.  I wish he could stay with me forever!

THE INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING

The influence of the media on the development of children and young people is hugely increasing. Research has shown that the young sector of the society is psychologically defenseless against advertising. That is to say, they do not appreciate the intent to sell in adverts, so they are not able to judge whether the product is worthwhile or not.

The advertising agencies do not seem to care about the possible influence they cause. The enormous budgets and incomes, provided by the companies interested in promote their products, give birth to lots of adverts full of positive and negative influences. However, in my opinion, there are much more negative than positive ones. For example, some adverts are so well-thought and cunning that many people feel the necessity to buy the product, regardless the price or the real utility of it. Young people seem to be much more affected by adverts and well-known brands, spending huge amounts of money in purchasing these products in order to be cool or to outstand amongst friends. Furthermore, there are a lot of techniques to influence the customers (who actually do not usually realize they are being influenced), as for example the use of powerful slogans (“Just do it”, “I´m lovin´ it”, “Think different”...) or the use of powerful images (a pretty girl or a handsome actor who invite you to buy the product).

As far as I am concerned, I think that there should be a stronger public organism with the ability of regulating the adverts which are published on the TV and other ways of media. This organism could be integrated by specialists (such as psychologists) who would determine whether the advert makes bad impact on the society or it is a factual way of communication. In this way, I think society could improve... But it is a pity that this solution is so unrealistic: the companies drive too much money to elaborate fair adverts.

OUTLINING

Studying music and playing an instrument should be essential subjects in every educational system.

1. Music makes children open their minds and be succesful in other aspects of life.

·       It improves their ability for concentration.

·       It raises their self-esteem and self-improvement when they are exposed to problems.

·       It involves creativity and imagination.

           2.      According to many scientists, there are several advantages in health.

·       As it requires the use of the two cerebral hemispheres at the same time, it delays or even avoids diseases such as Alzheimer or autism.

·       It allows to get rid of the daily stress, so it can prevent cardiovascular problems.

           3.      It is a nice experience.

·       An opportunity to make new friends, participating in bands, orchestras, choirs or any other group activity.

·       Another powerful language, another way of communication, so useful to express thing which can not be expressed with words.  

TEENAGERS AND ALCOHOL

Modern teenagers seem not to know how to hang out, especially at night, if they are not either drinking alcohol or smoking. The streets at the weekends are often crowded of young people, who are usually quite drunk. “Street drinking” is not only a problem which involves themselves and their families, but also the whole society. The moans to these teenagers about the noise they produce, the rubbish they throw or the public image they provide are constantly increasing.

But, why are drinking alcohol or smoking such generalized facts amongst young people? The main problem is that young people have not completely settled their personality yet, and ones copy what the others do, in order to be cool or to stand out. For instance, if a friend of yours smokes, he/she will try to get round you to smoke. And if you do not want to accept a cigarette, you will probably be the outcast of the group, and you will even fall out with him/her. So, in order to get out of this situation, you accept a cigarette, an alcoholic drink or almost everything they put forward. From my point of view, this is the cause of the existence of drunken young crowds.

Another remarkable aspect is that Spanish teenagers are more likely to practise street drinking or smoking than other European teenagers. Perhaps the Spanish law is not as regularized as it would have to be. For example, there is control enough over shops (which usually sell alcoholic products or tobacco to young people, without asking the age) and the punishment for drug traders is quite slight.

As far as I am concerned, there are many other ways of enjoying our spare time with friends. For example, going to the cinema, going out to have dinner, doing some sport, going to the mall, or even going to the pubs to drink. There is no point in not drinking alcohol. Not at all. But of course there is a point in being prudent and in thinking about the negative consequences that alcohol or other drugs involve.