Should Education Have a Soul?

At the AMICAL 2016 conference last month, I was inspired by Maha Bali and Jim Groom’s presentation titled “Should Ed-Tech have an ethos? Teaching technologies in a post-Snowden age“.

This title automatically reminded me of a famous triangle (modes of persuasion) of Aristotle, one of my brightest figures in the history of mankind, the founder of the Lyceum school in 335 BC. According to Aristotle, a good life is one that provides all the necessary conditions and opportunities for a person to fully fulfill their potential – and one in which the person has the character to do so.

I remember, when I was doing my studies at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (in the field of computer science and telecommunication), I was able to solve easily algorithms and multiple integrals. But, during that time, I was not aware how I could find a limiting belief which caused an emotional problem or how to cook a healthy food.

So, despite all the work and constant learning I was doing, I was not able to know myself to the point, where I could have paid attention to my welfare.

Education is a continuous process and as such it can no longer be seen only within the institutions (school, college). Education as a process should be analyzed in a multidimensional aspect. The biggest mistake that is made today in educational circles is one where education is based on the concept of separation, such as primary school, secondary school, higher education, professional school and so on. The higher the hierarchy of formal education the more “valuable ” and “knowing” is considered to be the person, and vice versa.

I belong to those people who cannot define themselves by formal education. That’s because the more valuable lessons I got outside banks school or formal education system. Although raised in Kosova, a country isolated from the world, I had the luck that technology and the Internet have been part of my life. I remember when I was doing a seminar in the field of technology, I was so deeply involved into online lessons of that topic so that when I delivered the paper, the professor at the beginning was fascinated with my passion, but in the end he gave me minimum points because my work was “outside the framework and the script of the professor”.

I am for education that comes naturally from love. Education that starts from knowing yourself first. That makes us curious, gives us passion and above everything gives us life. I’m for a substantial and fundamental education that makes us capable of enjoying a fulfilled and balanced life. And especially, I am for education that teaches us that education is not done with a degree or a good working position. Life is the best school and education is the life itself.

I know many people who have successfully achieved completing all levels of the “higher” formal education, but they still do not have a slightest awareness for themselves, or a change in personal level, let alone wisdom.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all ~ Aristotle

Harmonization of soul and mind leads us to the completion of our existence. Wisdom comes naturally when the mind becomes an ally of the soul. From the soul derives the inspiration, which is the true wisdom, independent form of any thought or form.

When formal education expands its range to the extent where it will include not only the mind but also the soul, we can say that we have reached a proper education. While education remains in the dimension of mind and critical thinking, we still have far more work to do.

I don’t know how hard it is to achieve this! What I know for sure is that this will require a higher level of consciousness than the one that the current collective human consciousness has.