In his essay, What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated? (2003), Alfie Kohn suggests that society cannot agree on what it means to be well educated. Kohn suggests six points to consider when evaluating education: “(1) consider the purposes of education; (2) determine if there is a danger to comparing people to their education; (3) consider if it is possible to agree on a single standard each high school student should achieve; (4) consider attributes that do not make sense (i.e., seat time, job skills, test scores, memorization of facts); (5) whether one definition of the term ‘well-educated’ fits all scenarios; and (6) consider the quality of the schools.”
However, I believe it is best to define what education is, for the very definition itself lends support that if a person seeks to take responsibility for his or her own education, they will in fact be “well educated”. In Proverbs 1:7-9 in New American Standard Bible (NASB), we read, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.” While the writer of this Proverb seems to be speaking about a child (“Listen to your father and mother”), the words, “Only fools refuse to be taught” remind me of times where I thought I “had it all figured out” only to find that I would have been much better off had I listened to Godly advice. Father, forgive me for I do not want to be referred to as a fool.
According to dictionary.com, the first definition of education is, “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” I like this definition of mature: “ripe, as fruit, or fully aged.” I conclude from these definitions and through the filter of my Christian Worldview that education...