In many traditional classrooms, education has been defined as transfer of knowledge from a teacher to a learner. A teacher functions as a transmitter of knowledge.
In such classrooms, the most important person is a teacher. He/she is the reason for learning. This mind-set has entered into the veins of many learners. In class, they remain passive. They must only wait to receive what is transferred to them.
You have two phones. You are transferring files from the first one to the second. The second phone receiving the files will not change anything in the files. The files must come as saved. The status will remain the same. If the first phone doesn’t transfer, the second one doesn’t receive anything. The phone transferring is the most important one.
Should knowledge be transferred like files? If knowledge is transferred, it should go the way it is from the transferor (teacher). If the transferor says, “Kill,” the receiver has nothing to do than to kill. The receiver is vulnerable and can only work on the command of the transferor.
Human mind is not an empty storage. Traditionalists understood human mind as an empty pot that just needs water to be poured in. With the concept of human mind being an empty space which just needs things to be transferred to, many societies have suffered countless consequences. (South Sudan included)
There is this man from my friend’s society. He has gone to the traditional classroom where knowledge is transferred. He became a great medical doctor. He has the best knowledge of medical field. But these are registered on him. A man had another man he hated. The man was sick, admitted in the doctor’s hospital. He came to the doctor and bribed him to kill his enemy for him. The doctor accepted and instead of saving the sick man, he killed him. In addition to killing the man, the doctor had messed up with so many women. He had also been accused of aborting many children.
The doctor has the transferred knowledge of medical field. But is that really enough for life? You can be a very great doctor with a lot of expertise, but if you have not understood that knowledge, it will turn from saving lives to destroying lives. Knowledge is not non-transferrable.
For centuries, the emphasis put on education has been, “Get knowledge to get a good job.” We have been getting knowledge and good jobs. Parents encourage their children to choose the profession that must earn them enough money. People celebrate exam results than life results. We are graduated with degrees and certificates but not with life. A teacher always tells his/her learners to read hard otherwise they won’t pass well. After passing well and getting job, what is the next? What change do we bring into the society?
I have been sick with questions. I can see my nation with great men and women of knowledge. None can question anything about our knowledge. We have great doctors. We have great engineers. We have great entrepreneurs. We have great teachers. We have great accountants. We have the list of experts long and long. With all these experts, even devil can see things are out of hand. What should be the problem?
Maybe, we have all the transferred knowledge. We have knowledge that does not understand life. We have knowledge that does not challenge our cultures. We have knowledge that does not challenge our beliefs. It is the knowledge that focuses on what to gain than what to give.
Knowledge not understood is knowledge transferred. Ask learners some weeks after exams to tell you what they have learned. You will be disappointed. They have forgotten everything. They put things in the heads because they were pressured by the exams. Knowledge transferred can be deleted any time. A file transferred in a phone can be deleted even sometimes by mistake. Such a file is also vulnerable to virus. It is the same thing to transferred knowledge. It is affected by anything that comes to occupy the mind.
Knowledge should be understood. In the classroom of understanding knowledge, learners focus on life. They are moved from the narrow view of coming to school to get knowledge. They are moved to the view of going beyond classroom knowledge. Learners own their learning. Learning does not focus on examination. Learning focuses on life. Knowledge is discussed. Any information is not taken the way it is delivered. There is thorough questioning of the information.
In the classroom where learning is life, learners become life-long learners. They don’t end their learning with finishing exams. Learners continue to learn as long as they breathe. Their learning is not limited by age, time, space or any other thing. The limit to their learning is only grave.
Where learning is understood, a country harvests individuals who are productive. They will use the knowledge understood to produce. They will produce food in Agriculture sector. They will use what the country has at the moment to develop it.
Knowledge understood transforms. Transformation cannot come without changing the educational mind-set. Yes, we can all say we are not transformed despite being educated. The education we acquired from traditional classroom of transferring knowledge does not focus on transformation. It does not entirely focus on life. Its focus is head knowledge that gets you a good job. To transform our societies, we must educate for understanding.
Learning for understanding means learning to educate the “heart”. We should educate the head (knowledge), the heart (attitude) and the hand (skills). Traditional classroom gives you only the education of the head. You will have the knowledge. But can the head (knowledge) work without the heart (attitude).
Human heart functions to pump blood. When the blood is not supplied by the heart to the head, the head does not function and it dies. With our head knowledge, we cannot do anything authentic without our attitude. He/she is a doctor but a killer; the question of attitude. He/she is a minister but corrupt; knowledge without attitude. He/she is a pastor but incites divisions; knowledge without attitude. He/she is the finance officer but all the money is gone; knowledge of money without attitude of money. He/she leads the nation but citizens are perishing; no attitude.
It takes understanding to educate the heart. To a parent who is reading this article. Don’t send your child to school to educate the head. It is the heart that makes us live. When our heart dies, the whole body dies. When a child’s attitude is dead, his/her whole life is dead. Failure to educate the heart will only bring destruction to child’s life. Some parents are confused why their children who are very educated don’t live a better life. Most of them are drunkards but very educated. Most of them are prostitutes but very educated. Most of them are murderers but very educated. Most of them are corrupt but very educated. Most of them are very arrogant but very educated. Most of them are thieves and robbers but have the best education. Ah, you forgot one thing dear parent. Your child is missing the education of the heart (attitude).
For me to understand the education of the heart, I visited an office. I knocked. The big man inside said, “Welcome! So happy to have you! Please, have a sit. I am here for you. Have some water, please. Feel free. You deserve my service.”
I was shocked by that big man. I went home with a lot of questions. I learned the man is a South Sudanese, but speaks like an angel. I learned the man got his education in South Sudan but very different. I later learned the man’s uniqueness came from his education. He educated his heart (attitude).
True education does not focus on the head (knowledge) and the heart (attitude) alone without the hand (skills). Yes, we have the knowledge and attitude, but have they an impact in the society? It is until the understood knowledge is applied that it is pronounced knowledge. When the heart is not pumping blood, we don’t call it a heart. When an attitude isn’t impacting it isn’t called an attitude.
There was a man who was extremely a good man. Everyone respected him. He was the only referent of a good person in his community. But such a man kept his good life to himself. He couldn’t tell the secret to his success to anybody. His good life didn’t make anyone good. The time came. He died but that marked the end of good person in his community.
Our education is to change the nation. When the society is unstable, it means there are no educated individuals. When corruption is our philosophy, it tells we lack educated individuals. When we have civil war that can’t cease, it is communicating the high rate of illiteracy in the nation.
We are not educated in South Sudan. We went to school for food. We went to school to corrupt. We went to school to steal. We went to school to fight. We went to school to murder. We went to school to manipulate. We went to school to humiliate. We went to school to oppress. We didn’t go to school for life.
Education is knowledge (head), attitude (heart) and skills (hand). Be educated.