The object of education should be to teach skills, not values.

The object of education should be to teach skills, not values.

What would the world be like without education? Education comes in many forms, but its main objective is to inform and make people aware of the world surrounding them. It can be used to teach both skills and values that are necessary to keep any institution in order. Firstly, let’s consider the meaning of education in the modern era. Nowadays, education is viewed as a portal to obtain skills to succeed in a job or career of a person’s choosing. The success of a person in their career depends on the acquisition of skills and knowledge but it is worthless if certain values are not taught. Traditional education focuses on teaching, not learning and it incorrectly assumes that for every ounce of teaching there is an ounce of learning by those who are taught. However, most of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without it being taught to us. A child learns such fundamental things as how to walk, talk, eat, dress, and so on without being taught these things. Adults learn most of what they use at work or at leisure through repetition and memorization while at work or leisure. Most of what is taught in classroom settings is forgotten, and much or what is remembered is irrelevant. For instance, many classes such as history and art are often forgotten by college students because it is not necessary for their chosen career path. However, science classes are not forgotten because lab exercises are used to enforce the knowledge and gain skills.

On the other hand, an education or career without ethics and morals is worthless in school and the workplace.  For instance, honesty, commitment and civilized behavior are three big components for success in the workplace and school. As a result, many students are taught Value Science, Ethics/Moral, in addition to their course of study to be well rounded in the outside world especially in the workplace. Suppose a student or worker did not have a basic understanding of good and bad it will lead to many problems such as oppression and lack of unity in society. This dilemma can be illustrated by many school shootings and workplace bombings. The most notable shootings in recent memory are Virginia Tech University and Oklahoma City bombings by Timothy McVeigh. In both instances, the young killers had no concept of what murder was and its consequences. This was attributed by many media outlets as a lack of education and madness in these killers. Many innocent civilians fell victim to these killers because these students did not have a concept of ethics. Therefore, if ethics were taught and learnt by these students then these tragic incidents could be prevented.

To sum it up, education is necessary for citizens to obtain both skills and values. One can not exist without the other because having skill is useless unless one can use that skill in righteousness and vice versa. Therefore, education should have a fine balance between teaching skills and values as a way to prevent acts of violence and pandemonium in society.