Education occupies a big part of everyone’s live. People are learning new information almost every day. It is very important to make sure that this educational process is effective and useful. Discovering what “the best education” means is still an issue despite the fact that education systems were created long time ago. Moreover, they are constantly developing as well as people who are interacting with them.
Education is a complete set of activities and actors involved such as educational institutions, family and surrounding. They are teaching person and provide with certain characteristics which are accomplishing picture of good education. In my opinion well-educated person should has range of different qualities. This range includes knowledge about general topics, as politics, science, environment, etc. It is also important to be educated in subject related to profession. Moreover, I believe that good education requires balance of mental and physical health. In this work we will discuss what does concept of good education implies and how it can be seen and revealed in individual.
We will describe general knowledge given by educational institutions, necessity of practical skills and role of person in self-education. With the help of these components and their linkage we will try to build an image of “well-educated” individual. In every part examples with real qualities and goals for achievement of individual will be provided.
General Education
Good education requires critical thinking, understanding of the process as well as practical implementation, actual doing. Well-educated person certainly needs to posses school teaching program because it gives start point for future growing and development. Here people are reading, knowing how to count, paint, create, etc. During school and college years individual is receiving amount of knowledge required for so called basic education.
Being a well-educated for me is when person is capable not only to memorize date or formula, but to understand how it can be applied. Of course, understanding of all concepts proposed by school program is hard and sometimes not necessary for everyone. Well-educated person acts logically and links information with actual living. Creativity must be a part of it, because in this case individual is able to create something new.
Critical thinking is also very important feature, it allows person to filter incoming information, question its origins and necessity and than accept it partially. Good education is when someone is conscious about everything around but is living in a balance with it.
In order to achieve this balance, wise person must be well-read, because books are teaching how to behave and react in different situations, develop imagination and profoundness. This helps to go further, understand more and all in all just be interesting to speak with.
Depending on person’s activities, interests and work occupation of course these knowledge would vary. There would be topics where person is weaker or stronger, but there are still some eternal subjects as classic literature or art, which need to be acquainted with.
Practical skills
Second most important range of skills for well-educated person is practical. Nowadays our being requires high level of know-how knowledge. Mentioned previously abilities connected with reading and analyzing is not useful when they cannot be implied in real life.
In my opinion there are different dimensions of practical skills such as daily routine problem solving, creation of something related to art and physical abilities. All are equally important to know and be able to fulfill, luckily, range of variations is huge.
Educated person is someone who is able to live independently and this means that he or she is capable of solving everyday basic situations. For example, knowing how to change a light bulb, clean the house and pay bills sounds like easy tasks, however not all people are knowing how to manage them. Cooking is even more complicated skill to develop, because here certain level if experience and practice is required and not everyone are easy to learn it. Being well-read and able to criticize ancient philosophers is impressive but is not an excuse to ignore simple things that are needed for living.
Other point of view on practical skills is regarding creativity as necessary attribute. Here we are speaking about drawing paintings, knitting, making clay pots or constructing table from details. There is definitely something special for every person and it is necessary to discover what and to develop it.
The last but not the least is necessity of being well-trained. Sport is an activity which is helping person to relax, distract and gain good shape in order to be able to perceive new information. Moreover, sport develops other important qualities as team spirit or tactical thinking.
Good manners and self-education
One of the most important things for being well-educated is to be well-mannered. It requires range of characteristics which are making us humans. By this I mean tolerance, absence of prejudices, comprehension and compassion. I believe that these qualities are vital not only to be educated, but to live. In nowadays world there are still a lot of issues which could have been solved if people possessed these basic human merits.
Well-educated individual also be independent and understand his or her needs, interests and abilities because this is what formulates person uniqueness. For example, when someone is realizing the willingness to become a writer, he or she needs to work on it. It means be selective in things to learn, read more, and develop vocabulary. Moreover, implement this on practice and write, try to share written with others in order to evaluate. The same can be applied for any other profession. On the other hand, it does not mean that person should be closed for other activities. As for me, it is very important while developing strong and desirable sides not to abandon completely those which are weak.
It is probably very doubtful thought, but I believe that well-educated person is not perfect. He or she definitely had their falls and mistakes and this is what will bring them to higher level of comprehension. Good sportsmen are educated and trained when they are having not only the whole wall of diplomas and medals, but also feeling of defeat, physical pain. It makes them to achieve more and learn them both sides of medal.
The last but not the least is self-positioning and willingness to learn. Of course, it depends a lot on factors mentioned before, but only when person is opened to accept knowledge, criticizes it and makes own conclusions it can be regarded as good education. Person who is self-educating is already on a half-way to be well-educated, because only by making personal efforts we can achieve something.
Conclusion
As we can see from all aspects mentioned above, good education is a complicated process of work which gives person the whole range of different characteristics. There is no definite list for these qualities, because everyone is unique, however, some of them are still general.
All in all I am agree that complex and good education imply understanding, practical skills and formulated positive attitude. I would also add that well-educated person will be not simply satisfied with received but strive for more. There is no level until which person can reach, stop and be convinced that he or she is “well-educated”, because it is a constant process of self-development and adaptation to something new.
Well-educated person is a combination of characteristics both mental and physical. Individual should be independent, responsible and experienced in order to adapt and react with surroundings and different institutions. It is required to be attentive, caring, respectful and loving to be able to interact with others. Good education also means being strong, healthy and good looking in terms of feeling comfortable, because this is what makes person ready to move further.
Depending on passage person is choosing for his or her life, career or goals, different parts of knowledge are progressing differently. However, truly well-educated person is many-side: good at main directions considered as the most important and also able to do cope with other domains. It is hard to build general requirements of good education just as a list of qualities because it is personal process of development. “Good education” is rather subjective concept. Depending on life choices people are growing and educating differently, but in any way they are trying to do it well.
Reference
Stevens Shupe, Sabrina. "What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated?" Huff Post Education, 2014: 1-3.
