What Is Education?

Education is the learning of knowledge or skills, and it is said that we learn something new every day. I don't think many people will disagree with this. Life is a continuing education for us all. It begins while in the womb, a baby learns to kick and move, fights its way out of the womb after nine months, usually, and then the learning becomes even more intense, as the newborn learns to cope with a new world. The baby has to learn how to feed, how to hold it's head, how to roll over, walk, how to get its needs met, through crying etc. This education continues all through our life as we continue to learn the things that help us to have a better life.

Even when we are seniors, we are generally still learning, but by this time it is often about illnesses, their causes, and the treatment for them! If we are not learning new facts and skills, then we are learning how to get along with people, or how to cope with employment, or a family crisis, or... There is always something new to learn, whether we think so or not! And so education is a continuing process.

Now formal education is the training we receive through the education system of schools, then maybe college or university. This education begins with elementary school, or primary school as it is called in some countries, from the age of 4 or 5, continuing for 5 or 6 years. Many students go from here to secondary school, or high school, from age 11 or twelve, to 16 or 17. In the US this is called Grade school, with the final grade being 12th Grade. In Canada it is called Grade 12, minor differences, but differences nevertheless.

There are some education districts that offer middle schools from age 8 - 12, as this is considered more beneficial for the student, but dispute over this continues. Education is compulsory in many countries, with optional education continuing at university, college or technical school. Education generally continues with employment teaching us a lot more practical applications than school does, and even when we are seniors, we are still learning, often about medical terms and diseases!

At the end of school life, high school, or post secondary school, our more formal education is over, but we then have to learn about employment, the needs of a job, and the needs of life as an adult. We may have to take training for our job, either a one-off, or ongoing as new technology appears. From here we may go on to have our own family, which is an education all by itself! We have to learn all about raising children, and as an adult we often get more respect for the things our parents have been through, as we see for ourselves, the hardships endured by others.

At this age too, we may learn more about the aging process, and how it affects our parents. There are often difficult decisions to be made about a seniors living accommodation, and how they are coping with life, an education we probably wish we never had to have. As seniors, we may have more time to educate ourselves on things we have been to busy to learn in the past. As movement may become more limiting, nature programs on the television may become the means of education. And at different stages in our lives, we learn about death and the grieving process.

Yes, life is certainly an education, and how we deal with that knowledge can affect the rest of our lives. Take this knowledge, and use it wisely, for the benefit and good of all concerned.