Analyze the educational systems of the U.S., China, and India.
Where do you see them in light of Plato’s cave?
Education according to Plato is meant to correct confusion and help students to discern between light and darkness. Education can only be achieved when it is able to free individuals from the bondages of their perceived thoughts into acknowledging, understanding and embracing truths as they are. The image from the cave offers an apt analogy of the human condition in terms of education or the lack of it. The prisoners in the cave are chained, unable to turn their heads and are only able to see shadows of objects behind them and hear sounds. His assessment explains that the only reality, these prisoners know are the shadows they see. They are yet to recognize the true nature of reality, a revelation which to Plato is of critical significance. Plato’s allegory of the cave efficiently and effectively demonstrates the implications of his thoughts on education and offers a justification of his assertion. Education should act as a tool for the fulfillment of the larger purpose of different individuals.
In light of Plato’s allegory of the cave, what are its implications of the different education systems United States, India, and China for instance? Students in the education system of China when analyzed in accordance to the cave allegory, spot a position of prisoners in the cave. The system prompts students into the art of memorizing textbooks from dawn to dusk.
It is perhaps a paradox based on the concept of the human nature as ignorant to change and reform. An educational system that does not want to take the risk for change, changes aimed at opening up students to new ideas, freedom and experiences. The pain may be subjective but Chinese teenagers have already adapted to the system, according to them it is predictable, safe and certain. Reforms may free the student’s to new experiences and emotions, but it may mean pain, confusion, struggle, agony and consequence of choices.
The education system in the United States on the other hand is based on a universal freedom of expression, thought and choice. It is a flexible system that refrains from subjecting students to strict curriculums and learning programs and materials. Curriculum dictation and subjection are less heard of scenarios in the United States’ system. It is this freedom that has probably contributed to the immense emancipation and diversification of individuals. According to Plato’s cave allegory, education in the U. S is symbolic of the prisoners who manage to escape the cave and are exposed to sunlight, the moon and the sky. They are consequently able to experience new environments and a new reality that frees them from the trapped and hushed ‘confusion’ back in the cave.
Education in India similarly has a certain amount of freedom in its implementation of school programs. The National Policy on Education and the Program of Action has created a free but compulsory education, which is of satisfactory quality. Students are enlightened and exposed to different sets of values and belief systems that allows for flexibility and freedom of expression. The real question from the three studies therefore stems on whether learning to think and make individual objective choices is easier than learning to memorize textbooks and stick to a curriculum.
The purpose of education is however the same, its ultimate goal is to move students out of the darkness of the cave into the light of knowledge and to move closer to the "truth".
