essay

what education should be

It is clear that an infant abandoned outdoors will not long survive, let along mature to a functioning adult.  The basic needs of a new human being must be provided by a family or equivalent for a decade and often more.  For significantly longer, the the new person needs to be taught by the community those ideas and skills discovered and developed by earlier people and thought of value for the next generation and the future of human kind.  Primary among these are

• the ability to communicate, both in spoken language, by reading, and precisely using mathematics, (and perhaps superior forms of communication when eventually found)
• the customs and traditions that earlier generations have found of value,
• the ability to study history and learn from past mistakes,
• the ability to observe, record and see patterns in the observations,
• the ability to envision relationships and to develop explanations for them,
• the ability to find critical tests and to experimentally determine which relationships and explanations are most likely,
• to have empathy for other beings, both human and other life forms,
• the ability to challenge past assumptions, debate their continuing value, and to replace when appropriate,
• to live ones life in accord with both ones own best interest and that of others,
• to find joy and satisfaction in living.

What is the value of knowledge and understanding?  We know that with understanding how aspects of the universe work, we can reduce illness, disease and suffering and prolong and improve the quality of our life and that of others.

But the universe is complex and expanding.  It will expand forever.  Information also expands at an exponential rate.  There is no way for a human being to know everything.  If understanding is of value, but an individual cannot know everything, what should be the selection of what is best to learn?  What should be taught?

• It is clear that for most people the twin skills of verbal and mathematical communication provide a core for both understanding and for providing benefit for others.  (During the authors life there was a time when many people assumed that since machines could be taught mathematics, most children need not practice those skills.  But as with most skills, missing a basic skill handicaps understanding and excelling at more advanced skills.)
  
  
• It has long been recognized that each person should understand their relationship to society.  This includes the history of the culture as well.  This has a dual role:  Traditions and culture contain many practices and values which over many generations have been found to assure the welfare of society as well as provide mechanisms for the function of relationships within the society.  In addition history provides guidance for future decisions.  It is less important to memorize famous names and dates; but those are useful for understanding the relationships and valuable lessons, including historic blunders.  Understanding the historical reasons for customs and traditions can also lead to cultural change when the original reasons are no longer valid.
  
  
• Everyone should find valuable a basic understand of the universe, its restrictive laws and the principles governing its operation.  This web site attempts to provide a portion of that understanding and related skills:

physical/environmental science
physics
chemistry

• Omitted above is the development of creativity!  Historically societies have often placed little value on creativity, and in many cases have tried to extinguish creativity by punishing individuals who flaunted traditions and customs.  However in a world culture where change is now a major component, promoting creativity is now crucial for the continued advancement and prosperity of individuals and societies.  Effective techniques for teaching creativity still are in their infancy.  And large bodies of laws and regulations which are designed to prevent changes in traditions and customs still need to be legislatively removed.  (That said, it should be noted that traditions and customs, like an individual's habits, serve a powerful function.  They free our minds so that we can devote our attentions to more important matters.  So it may be wise not to blindly ignore or abandon all traditions and customs except where there is possibility of benefit.)

learning mechanism

understanding synapse is done by growth

It appears all learning is done by newly associating an observation accompanied via the senses or a response action provided by muscles to prior learning.  This long term memory is accomplished by growing new synapse between neighboring brain or ganglion neurons that are stimulated in rough time proximity.

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