Importance of an Education
The history of education is one that is rich with culture and a longstanding tradition; passed on from each generation to the next, through the evolution of humanity. From the inception of the written word and the spoken language, each culture has sought to pass down their knowledge of cultural values, traditions, skills and religion to the next generation. Through this type of education, our human history begins to evolve. Our ancient ancestors had begun to shape education as we know it today.
In the times before the written word, an education would be provided to the youngest members of the household, usually by older members of the household through imitation and observation. An education would include learning to assist in tasks about the home, as well as learning the social values within their time. This type of informal education would be passed down from the parents or grandparents until the child was old enough to learn more concrete subjects. As the child reach the age of formal education, they would receive an education taught by individuals who were not related. These providers in education would teach subjects related to religion, initiations and ritual.
As the civilizations would progress, so would their skills. This would continue to enrich the education that was being passed down. An education now included trades, instead of mostly abstract concepts. An education usually entailed lessons in animal husbandry, fishing, agriculture, preparation and preservation of food and hunting, construction, boat building, stone and metal work, the creation of weapons, and military skills. This was not an exclusive list of their areas of education, but rather, a general overview of what an education might have been like.
When the development of writing evolved, it completely reshaped what an education had been like up until then. This enabled stories, poetry, knowledge and customs that had previously been passed down orally, to be written down and recorded. A written history of education had begun. Although literacy had been slow to catch on, education was now a possibility for those who had never been offered a formal education. An education had only been available to a small population, those in religious institutions and the wealthy, but now a book that is passed down is an adequate substitute to teach those who did not have access to formal teachers.
Most of us on this planet are literate through the education that had developed and passed from our humble ancestors. However, there are still those who are not afforded an education and thus, are not literate. With all the work that our ancestors had put into passing down centuries of their education to our generation, it is our duty to continue helping those who are less fortunate. With the combined efforts of humanity, it is possible to spread the rich history of education to all those who share this planet with us, so that we could all be touched by our ancestors’ gift of education.
