What Role Does Modern Education Have In Self-actualization? Why Is Everyone So Selfish?

[Lorcan]

As a 15 year old student trying to self-actualize, school is proving a major barrier in the way. What is being taught is un-practical , the stuff we are doing is ludicrous and ridiculous. If you boil it down to the very core of whats being taught, Maths, English, History, Wood Work, Metal Work, Relgion, Geography, Classical Studies etc, it all very interesting stuff. The problem is its presented in the most unpractical, systematic, exam centered and boring way.

Everything is focused around a fixed examination.  If you study History in modern schooling, it basically means you are studying a fixed set of time periods the government has chosen you to study. Because of the pressure from parents AND the state to do well in these examinations they have set out, it highly discourages many students to study History thats not in the fixed history course set up by the government. Same with all the other subjects.

How many a time have I seen a teacher tell a student off and reduce the morale of a student for not doing the homework or getting bad marks. The teachers seem to beleive it too, that these grades actually matter. 

If I do not study what the state has set specific things for me to study, I will get bad results, with bad results come lectures and anger from parents that discourage learning of anything outside of what the government has chosen for me to study. Same if I do not do the home work.  I myself am not discouraged from learning outside of what the government has set out because I see the true value of the point in learning various topics but a HUGE amount of people dont. 

 

Here is an extract of what I wrote down in my hardback copy book I use for writing my private meditations.

In Regards to modern education I said

"How bland modern schooling is, so dry and systematic, un-practical and shallow. You must sit and listen to much instruction thats only concern is to pass exams.Real learning is not awarded by the state"

 

I refuse to jump through the governments hoops like a well trained poodle, leo metioned something of the like in a reply to an earlier post from me where I ask Whether exam results matter or not. What is being taught in the school system in as wide as on ocean but has the depth of a puddle, its SO shallow. But all the adults teach you that it very important and priotise the learning of it over whatever your interested in. This is corrupt.

In leo's advice for highschool and college students, I feel like it has this sort of

"Since you are forced by the state to attend school, Use your time in School, dont let it use. So use your time to develop a studying habit for your future ventures" 

sort of feel to it, which I can admire, but ultimately am not satisfied with because the problem is not being dealt with.

 

It seems everyone here in this field of advanced personal self-devlopment has got this approach where instead of changing the world , they change themselves to become immune to a certain problem.Don Miguel Ruiz in his book The Four Agreements describes this very well. I dont remember exactly the quote but I will paraphrase it, he says something like this

If the earth is painful to walk on, it is much easier to wear sandals then cover the entirety of it in leather

This I feel sums up the attitude nearly every has here. Even Leo, in his signature above all his posts he has the socrates quote

"Let him that would move the world, first move himself"

A lot of people seem to be "moving themselves" here, most defintely, but I dont see many people "moving the world" or even trying to, 

There is something selfish about this, where one works to get his sandals, and once he has achieved his sandals, continues to maintain them and improve them. In the meanwhile, everyone who does NOT have sandals (aka Everyone single person on earth he does not engage in advanced personal devlopment) will go through life enduring large amount of suffering that could of been avoided or overcome and/or die without having "smelt the roses" of their life.

Is not high time we take off our sandals and take to the leatherolls to cover this earth in leather so everyone who does not know the ways to become immune to the bullshit in todays society will not have to endure the unnesccary suffering, and after the world is covered, people will have MUCH more time to really educate themselves and better themselves via advanced personal self devlopment. 

Am I just supposed to keep my sandals and watch everyone else suffer? This seems like what everyone else is doing. No one seems to want to take up the task of covering the world is leather. Personally, I think my life purpose is to highly reduce or end 1st world government corruption as it causing a large amount of suffering in this world, and I dont see anything being done about it unlike 3rd world corruption where at least I can see people trying and occasionally making a substaincial difference,

Edited April 13, 2017 by Lorcan

[MsNobody]

You see what you have inside yourself, its clichê but true

 

[Lorcan]

13 minutes ago, MsNobody said:

You see what you have inside yourself, its clichê but true

 

But what about the people who have never discovered the field of self help or engage in it? Changing my self saves myself from suffering, but there is a large amount of people who are damned.

[Leo Gura]

Ahem...

Life purpose!

[MsNobody]

Who said they are suffering? Who said you need to save them? 

If your life purpose is helping people, so do it, study.. otherwise first help yourself, it's like the oxygen chambers in airplanes, first you save you, once you are fine, then you help others

 

[Guest username]

Your frustrations with modern education are understandable, but it's not like you're the only one with misgivings about the system. It's a highly debated topic.

This guy is well-known for his critiques:

 

While you may be frustrated, be careful not to use this an excuse. All too often people demonize the system as a way of avoiding doing hard work and making the best of their current circumstances. You can still use the information taught to you in schools to help you on your journey. There is a lot of valuable stuff being taught there. If you find it shallow and insufficient, there is nothing stopping you from doing the extra work to self-educate in addition to your state sanctioned curriculum. 

There's is a trap many people fall into by demonizing the school system of choosing not to participate and in turn, accomplishing nothing. It's good that you believe in learning things for yourself, but don't use these external problems as a canvas for projecting your frustrations. If it is a problem, you having anger towards it is not the way. You should not be perturbed.

Keep in mind that the school system is a bare minimum. You have all the resources to go beyond what is expected of you.

Edited April 13, 2017 by username

[SOUL]

You are 15?!?!?!?!?! That is amazing, those are a well thought out group of concepts you have. Keep awake and the enlightening process evolving inside you.

The insight you mentioned from the forum creator is some solid advice, use the system to sharpen your skills and be less concerned with the content. It's definitely biased and in many ways distorted but you will be able to change the subject matter in due time. I love your metaphor for it, as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. In many ways that's an apt commentary on most of anything institutionalized.

Now to address your other criticism about changing yourself and changing the world. Look at all the incredible innovations and inventions that have come through the history of man and even especially, the last 100 years. People will crow about "changing the world" with this one or that one but has anything really changed?

Our smart phones haven't made a smarter world with smarter people, an increase of information hasn't increased the world to be wise or increased the wisdom of people. Our quickening transportation hasn't changed what people are in a hurry to get, it's still selfish and our increased food production hasn't ended hunger but has contributed to widespread obesity.

There is an old phrase that has it's proof revealed with each passing day, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink". You cannot force onto the people of the world something it doesn't want for themselves, just because you want it for them. We can rationalize how can they not want it or they want it but don't know what it is though again, it's not hidden, this is a source of all contemplative expressions in the history of the world and they are still choosing not to drink.

I will offer a saying of my own, "When I was young and an idealist I wanted to change the world, in time I became a realist and found peace in not letting the world change me."

Do what you are inspired to do but realize that our own inner peace is ultimately the only thing we can ever really possess that can't be taken away so don't let the world convince us to give that away.

 

[alyra]

Regarding selfishness - well of course we are selfish. This is essential - without selfishness anything which lives will slowly perish. selfishness is a critical thing to have for all things which grow! 

Selfishness - it is a good thing, and really, it is actually the very root of selflessness. selflessness doesn't really exist - because in any thing which grows with a community, helping the community is helping the self. additionally, helping the self indirectly helps the community! for example - someone who works to grow enough food to sustain themselves, will have extra which would perish if not eaten - and so if they share it helps the community. So selfishness IS selflessness in a community setting. 

 

Furthermore the community itself could be seen as "one self" even if made up of many individuals - and so an individual could think about the community as an extension of themselves - and this will help them act "selfishly" for the benefit of the community's "self" 

[Lorcan]

Thank you all for the advice you have given to me here. I know what I must do now.

[Revolutionary Think]

@Lorcan I'm 28 years old turning 29 in September but, me and you are on the exact same page regarding the education system. Take a look at what I wrote in my self-actualization journal Yesterday. 

Your entire life with this stupid system that you are in that from the beginning you're told what you can do and what you can't do. In school everything is lined up for you and put together for you and all you have to do is follow orders and if you don't follow orders you suffer the consequences. Everything is done by threat and by force like if you don't do your homework and get good grades you'll be held back in school, go to detention, or the principals office etc. After you follow all the rules all these stupid brainless idiots give you is a piece of paper and coax you to go to college. Even after you're done with College you just get a piece of paper. Then after that there is no more detention, no my principals office either. If you mess up you end up penniless and on welfare but, now there is a caveat you're just expected to know what to do with out any guidance, help, or anybody who's going to make you do something. In addition to that the job market is a gamble that you've never exactly been prepared for. Then after that it's funny how many older people I talk to and how stupid they are that this goes way over their heads. A lot of people tend to agree with what I say and support the things I want to do. The problem is that I don't know how to get people and mobilize them to really do something about this disgusting travesty. The best I ever get is a bunch of people who agree with me then make me feel good in the moment but, in the end it doesn't mean shit. I could just imagine now a child who is in elementary school exactly the way I was putting his faith in this stupid evil system doing his best in school and then when he's done he's just going to get a dumb piece of paper while the rest of the world is just waiting to eat him or her alive because the idiot school didn't prepare them for life just a bunch of random trivia. The parents and the community at large are just as stupid, ignorant, and brain dead. The just repeat the same exact shit like parrots "get an education get an education". While this child can have some really good intrinsic talents and passions that's going to waste in a shit community, ignorant parents, and a stupid excuse for an education system. Those kids are the ones I want to be a hero to. 

 

[heisenburger]

@Lorcan Im in high school too, I just do enough to get by in school and spend the majority my education effort into teaching myself from self help books at home. Just enjoy the time at school with little responsibilities as a young adult. Try set our focus to a life purpose rather than good grades.

Edited April 15, 2017 by heisenburger