Why Education Is No Less Important Than It Was 100 Years Ago

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

Unfortunately, many social influencers have a lot of negative things to say about education. Recently, I watched a video of an entrepreneur saying that school teaches you the exact opposite of how to succeed.

Their argument was that school is rigid and teaches that failing is a bad thing. They believed that success had everything to do with creativity, and schools did anything but promote that.

I wished that this was the only entrepreneur with this view, but they are one of many. You can not scroll through Instagram or Youtube without someone telling how they made millions and dropped out of school.

With the progression of the internet has come many good things. Young people now can create businesses online with hardly any upfront cost. And people like me have a place to voice their ideas and build an audience.

However, this has come with disadvantages. And one of the biggest disadvantages I am seeing is the lack of respect for knowledge. Thanks to Google and the advancements in technology, people can operate quite well with knowing little.

Financial advice is only a Youtube Video away, and you can now diagnose yourself through a quick google search. We now operate in a world where the young and inexperienced can voice their opinions as fact and deceive many.

However, in a world where people seem to operate fine without any education, students are beginning to ponder the point of it. After all, their friends are probably earning money on youtube, and it appears they are not using one bit of their education.

Nevertheless, education is no less important now than it was 100 years ago. And if you believe that it is, then read on to hear my case for why education will always be a pivotal part of society.

The Ever-Growing Need for Deep Knowledge

Much of the knowledge you can find on the internet only touches the surface. Although scraping the surface of a topic is enough to answer the majority of questions, it is not enough to progress society or yourself further.

There is no wonder why so many people are taking bad advice from people or losing tonnes of money investing in surface-level courses. If we are not careful, we will create a world that does not pursue anything deeply. And this is one of the worst things we could do.

Having surface-level opinions and thoughts do not help anyone. Surface level opinions are brought about due to not knowing enough about a topic. And surface-level ideas are generated when people do not take the time to understand complexity.

Education is at the heart of solving this issue, and it always will be. You progress through school not to simply go through exams. The progression should show you that there are always greater depths to the knowledge you found before.

Although the education system can improve, I do think the structure is wonderful. At each stage, you have the opportunity to appreciate the depths of knowledge that you are progressing through.

Deep knowledge is not only needed to spark our curiosity. It is also needed for better ideas and innovation. Things like YouTube are built on things like coding, electronics and psychological behaviour. At the surface, it is a bit of fun, but underneath it is a world of deep knowledge and ideas.

So, education is not a waste of time if you want a society that can progress through good innovation and curiosity.

The Humbling Effect

In the great words of Socrates:

“The more I learn, the less I realise I know.”

One of the problems in today’s society is that people believe they know more than they do. Social media is full of misinformed opinions and people telling you that their method of success works 100% of the time.

Although you would think social media would help connect us all, it has done the opposite in some sense. People are less willing to hear other people’s views, and we are becoming less curious as we seek to take any advice given to us.

Education is not just about learning things for the sake of it. People believe that many of the things they learn are pointless. Although that may be true for some people to a certain extent, education is always there to remind us that we can never know everything.

You can read 100 books and spend the rest of your life learning, and still never even get close to knowing much. And that is the beauty of education, and it is what Socrates found so amazing.

We can hold opinions and think of ideas, but we can always learn more. And our opinions can always be better informed and our ideas better shaped. Education humbles us. And it is through this humbling we can grow to understand each other better and listen to others around us.

Closing Thought

Fair enough, school is not for everyone. And yes, depending on how you define success, education may not be an essential part of your journey. However, we need to stop telling people that it is pointless.

For the most part, education is what has kept us together. It has created careers and allowed you to read this article. Without education, we would have a society that could not operate.

Therefore, whatever little education you have, value it with all you have. You may not be using algebra daily, and yes, you are not awaiting exam results.

However, education reminds you that there is still much to figure out. And there is also still many more ideas and innovations that are yet to become reality.

So, learn to value the education system and realise that without it, you would not be who you are today. And also, understand that without it, you will never amount to who you will become.

Education is more than just an exam and sitting in a classroom. It is a lifelong commitment. And it is one you should subscribe to if you seek to learn more about yourself, others and progress towards success.