Education

“Learning need to be fun”

That is what I wrote in my private journal. Learning supposed to be a fun experience like how we play a game. The game we play could be super hard level, we failed and lose, over and over again. But eventually we will soon succeed. Being fun does not being under rainbow all the time, in the hardship and pain is also a part of being fun. There is one moment during my military training, we were “punished” to side-roll circling the whole hill (our defensive base) under downpour with complete set marching drill including M16. It was harsh, but we end-up laughing behind our exhaustion. What a fun experience we had together. Like marriage life, it is fun but does not mean it is easy. There is up and down moment. Thus, you learn from it. Hence, marriage also a form of education.

But throughout the hassle we had experience from any form education we took. What are you looking for in education? Actually this is the trick question like asking what are you looking for in eating, eat to live or live to eat? Nevertheless, it was one of the question arise during my teenage year. Is it to gain knowledge? But having a knowledge more like a having a tool. And that is the purpose of schools and colleges — to provide them equipped with necessary tools demanded by the society and authority. But what is the purpose of tool? It help us to complete the task. What task? Failure to answer to this question made you likely to be exploited for the tools you have without realizing your true task.

Indeed knowledge is a nice thing to have, but it is not the true purpose of education. Are you wanting to get married to gain knowledge? No, but with little knowledge could help you to go through the your journey in marriage. Hence, what else it could be mean? Virtue.

However, I despise the formal education structured by the a certain society either it is socialist, communist or capitalist. Since, their true foundation of education is was not for virtue but for the resistance on death(and living), survivalism which also be called with different label which is economy. Because if the education was structured for man to explore and discover his virtue self, people are no longer can be controlled and manipulated by authority with the foundation of lies and tyranny. It easier to trick a baby and steal a candy.

The best first education I ever discovered during in my teenager years was by reading the Quran, not singing the verses but truly read them through verified translation and some further explanation by scholar on tafsir. You would notice, the best education medium you could do is through story-telling. Why? Because story is the word we give for an experience and experience is the key for wisdom. Experience is our true school. The fast-witted student might only need a short period time like those student in academic who takes fast-track courses and slow-witted student might need a most of their age to reach the same destination — The Man of Virtue.