Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Are the Three R's enough?

Are the R's enough? Once you know how to read, write and do arithmetic you can read the books of the world and get an education. Once you know how to write you can communicate with the world. Once you know arithmetic you can balance your bank account. What else is needed?

How about religion? Will you be truly successful if you you practice what the lyrics in this song tell you,
          Have faith, hope and charity,
          That's the way to live successfully.
          How do I know, the Bible tells me so.
          Do good to your enemies,
          And the Blessed Lord you'll surely please,
          How do I know, the Bible tells me so.

          Don't worry 'bout tomorrow,
          Just be real good today.
          The Lord is right beside you,
          He'll guide you all the way

          Have faith, hope and charity,
          That's the way to live successfully.
          How do I know, the Bible tells me so!
Or maybe you also need a college education or maybe better yet a university education. But as my daughter told me, better yet to have a masters, and better still to have a PhD.

But do any of these institutions teach you about life and how to be successful? I maintain that educational institutions only teach proficiency about a subject without discussing implications, ethics, morality and spirituality.
And of course that would take a huge amount of time and effort and most likely large amounts of money.

But I believe that we need to teach about life as well as academic subjects, such as the 3 R's.

We need a holistic approach in education that teaches the "Ways of the world"! 

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