Could there be any difference between education and schooling?
The truth is that schooling does not equal to education neither can we deny the fact that schooling is needed for one to have an improved life.
Let’s take a deep look into the main difference between education and schooling, this is the only post you need to learn more about schooling vs education.
To draw a line between the two words “Schooling vs Education” has been a daunting thing to many people that is why almost everyone sort to know if there exists a difference and what are these differences like?
There was a very point in time I never thought a difference exists between education and schooling until I came across some philosophical books on how man began to question things in his environment starting from the ancient Greek city and how he was able to learn outside the four walls of the classroom. And then, what brought about schooling. After reading this article, you will believe with me that schooling is not education. They are very separate, keep reading to find out…
A book by Napoleon Hill titled “Think and grow rich” also helped me to think deeply about this.
The book-shaped my thoughts about what education and schooling are all about and the one every person needs the most. Want to find out? Then read on.
If you have been wondering what difference exists between schooling and education, trust me this post will clear your doubts.
What is meaning of schooling?
The concept of schooling is believed by many scholars to involve the activities often carried out within the four walls of a classroom.
This method of learning often requires the attention or services of a skilled person in a particular area of study who assumes the role of a teacher or a lecturer where people who sit to learn can be referred to as pupils or students depending on their academic level in the schooling system.
In other words, whatsoever knowledge you acquire in school, they are all geared towards the quality and scheme on which that particular school chooses to operate on, and in the end, candidates are expected to write and pass tests/exams.
What is education?
A lot of problems could arise, trying to explain the word education as many people have a different opinion as regards what education is and as such, it leaves the true meaning of education to be what people take it to be.
Education has different meanings according to different authors and philosophical materials. But here’s what we have to say, (Education in simple words):
Education includes but is not limited to growing the ability to think, learn, understand, perform, take action, etc.
According to Britannica, as written by Joseph Albert Lauwery et al, Education is:
The transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In this sense, it is equivalent to what social scientists term socialization or enculturation.
Education is designed to guide them in learning a culture, molding their behavior in the ways of adulthood, and directing them toward their eventual role in society. In the most primitive cultures, there is often little formal learning—little of what one would ordinarily call school or classes or teachers.
Instead, the entire environment and all activities are frequently viewed as school and classes, and many or all adults act as teachers. As societies grow more complex, however, the quantity of knowledge to be passed on from one generation to the next becomes more than any one person can know, and, hence, there must evolve more selective and efficient means of cultural transmission. The outcome is formal education—the school and the specialist called the teacher.
Primarily in so many countries, parents are always saddled with the responsibilities of teaching their offspring how to do a lot of things starting from basic domestic chores like; washing of plates, cooking and fetching of water from the stream including how to respect and greet elders. This is a traditional way of educating a child even before the advent of schooling.
- The above is often referred to as education because it involves the process that inculcates in a child to learn how his people interact with things in their society.
- This type of learning begins at home and requires little or no schooling to acquire.
- On the other hand, education is much more than schooling because it can happen anywhere, and at any time.
- Education is broader and deeper than schooling because it is dynamic.
- Education involves the identification of problems, application of problem-solving procedures to achieve an objective.
- If what schooling offers cannot be applied to solve real-life problems, then, education has not taken place.
- If what schooling offers cannot instigate change in the behavior of a person, then education has not occurred.
Furthermore…
Whereas schooling teaches you what you need to know, education teaches you how to ask questions like, “why do I need to know this?” “How does this fit in with the other things I know?” “How does it fit in with what I see in the world around me.“
It’s not just what we do but why we do it and whether we should be doing it that way.
Schooling makes you a functional person. Education makes you a well-rounded, analytical, active participant in the world around you.
Schooling Vs Education (Schooling Is Not Education)
Most times, people get confused about the relationship between education and schooling.
- Schooling is what people mean most of the time when they talk about “education.” It has been a relatively efficient way to provide large numbers of people with the basic skills of literacy and mathematics. It is not necessarily the best way to encourage learning beyond those basic skills.
- Schooling has become so popular that most of the time has little to do with learning — and sometimes actively works against it.
- Schooling is about buildings, buses, unions, administrators, teachers both good and bad, budgets, testing, dress codes, school rules, book orders, furniture, cafeterias and cafeteria workers, athletic teams, and (worst of all) politicians.
- We are at a point in the history of our society where we have the means to reform “education” to put the focus on learning rather than schooling.
- Learning (as opposed to schooling) is something that happens inside the mind of a person. It is not dependent on classrooms or teachers. It usually starts with curiosity and a search for information. Schooling rarely encourages this.
Do you have to pay to get an education?
Being schooled is not being educated. Many at times people are schooled on a particular thing and yet uneducated about it, yes you can be schooled in literature and yet lack education of it.
A majority are in the mistakes that they have to pay to get an education. This is not so because one can decide to ask questions about certain things and get the answer without enrolling in any school. You can be educated for free by reading books or even accessing free educational materials, just as you are doing now.
The most interesting thing is that education can happen anywhere, you can learn from family and friends, including your immediate and past environment.
Since different schools are strategized for business, some schools are not delivering the core aim of educating a child as everything becomes monetary (who has the money and who is willing to pay).
The amount of money spent on education could be considered little on individual calculations but when summed by hundreds to thousands of students in that very school, it will be nothing less than millions.
It is also alarming to notice that parents who are supposed to play a great role in educating a child now leave it for teachers to do both the schooling and educating of their child.
Why are some people against the school system?
Despite the fact that schooling can make one comfortable, be responsible, and exposed enough to interact very well with things in his environment, so many people still don’t buy the idea of schooling. That’s why there are several arguments against the schooling system.
I have seen a bunch of people who are totally against schooling, but not against education. I tried to find out their reasons only to learn the following:
- Most of the time people are forced to school
- The school is fashioned in a way to make one memorize topics in order to pass exams or tests with high grades only and not for application in real-life events.
- Many who are schooled aren’t educated and this could be a big waste of time and resources.
- Mediocre education is achieved just by schooling and proper education is needed as a person.
- The increased amount of money required for schooling
Challenges of schooling
Schooling despite all its importance, still have a lot of challenges…
There is much importance of schooling ranging from learning how to be disciplined, learning basic languages and how to solve mathematics and stay in harmony with people from different tribes.
The above benefits of schooling are often disturbed by the following challenges:
- Some parents in developing countries won’t send especially their female children to school as is believed to be a waste of money.
- A few parents who are interested in sending their children to school can only do so for the male ones. This, therefore, reduces the rate of female to male ratio in school for developing countries.
- Some parents believe that schooling should have a limit as their children can easily get spoiled if allowed to further their studies.
- Some children could find it difficult to learn in an overcrowded environment
Does one have to undergo schooling to be rich?
Schooling despite the fact that it is needed to help you enhance your business, it has less or nothing to do with you being rich.
This is evident from the number of great men and women we have today in our society who had little or no schooling but are very successful. This set of people has no plans of going back to school since they are making ends meet already.
Conclusion:
From all I have said above and what other authors have from their own very points of view, one can deduce that schooling is not compulsory for one to lead a better life, but it is important and dependent on the individual’s decisions as to whether to take part in schooling or not.
In the other hand, education could be seen as a compulsory thing that happens to everyone and can take place anywhere without requiring one to enroll into a particular school to learn as even when one refuses to learn, the environment will teach in a natural manner. And this is what everyone needs to live a better life.
Since education is paramount, which means learning. And in learning we live, one has to learn to ask questions in order to learn more…
Every person should take schooling to lead to education as otherwise is not worth it. Do not attend school to get a certificate, but to be educated, let every single thing you do be something that can educate you and add more to your knowledge.
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