Education and the brain

Education can be defined as the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school in terms of gaining knowledge. This is the most common definition of what education is according to an online dictionary an yet it fails to include the word, "learning" into its definition, which is essential for any person to grow into a functional and intelligent individual that would fit in into society. Though many of us clearly understand what education is and its purpose, we always tend to make the misconception that education and learning are one of the same things. This is only partially true, education is the process through which society passes knowledge, skills, and values to another while learning is the ongoing process of gaining firsthand knowledge from experience. The two words are often interchanged in today's society and we often misinterpret the two during our school years. This has a disastrous effect on children today especially those with learning disabilities or any other special needs.

The school system would have you believe that standardized teaching is the way for learning but this is, unfortunately, a terrible mistake and would prove to be consequential in the long run, since no two people are the same in the way they learn or think. This is true for those with learning disabilities from birth or acquired through an accident. A lot of times children who do badly in school from such disabilities may not know of their own condition and failing in school would only further discourage them and making them believe that they are not competent or worth nothing. Disabilities such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder are all pretty common in a lot of people and are often regarded by most teachers as being lazy or stupid. This same view is still used and applied by most schools. Today's education should be held accountable for the damage that they may have done to children with a learning disability.

In all honesty, schools and the standardized education institution, we have today prove to be more harmful than beneficial in the long run since it discourages children to be creative and to be their individual self or to learn at their own pace or in their own way for that matter. A good example would be someone who is a hands-on learner, a person who acquires knowledge from doing things instead of sitting in the classroom and listen to theories. putting hands-on learners to a classroom environment is time wasting and ineffective to stimulate learning. A lot of times, the things taught in school are highly irrelevant in the real world with no use at all. Therefore the learning process we experience today with most schools should best be altered to fit the needs of an ever-changing modern world and not to a redundant industrial age that has long ended in the late1920's and30's.

A recent scientific study has also proven that hands-on learning proves to be more beneficial in knowledge acquisition as it activates our hunter-gatherer instincts of survival to adapt to our changing environment and to quickly learn new skills that are mandatory for survival. Thus a combination of knowledge and skill is the key to success in both pursuing a career and healing the brain neuroplastically. Schools would often teach tons of things from textbooks and yet never taught them how to use this knowledge in the real world so that children acquire skills by applying them in real life. A knowledge that is not applied is just knowledge and would undoubtfully waste away like excess items we buy on our groceries that are stored in kitchen cupboards to collect dust and mold.                         

Thankfully the learning process of the average person doesn't end when we finish school or University, learning is still possible even when we're old. Recent scientific studies have proven that the brain remains plastic until we grow old an die, all we have to do s be willing to use it and improve our cognitive ability. So to those who are struggling mentally or having trouble comprehending something, I urge you all not to give up an keep on learning or improving whatever it is you're doing. Even if some parts of our brains that deal with certain functions are damaged, it is still capable of reorganizing itself and assigning other parts of the brain to take over the task. The more we engage our brains into earning and challenging it to do things that are complex, the more we form neural connections in our brains ad it will certainly enhance neuroplastic healing at a much higher rate.  Our neuroplastic capabilities and its contributions to increasing neural networks in the brain also enhances our longevity. Many of us assume that to live longer we have to eat healthily and keep on moving such as doing exercises t prolong our lifespan but recent studies have shown that living longer tends to be a result of a healthy brain that has more neural networks in its circuitry. Therefore to any stroke or brain injury patients who would like to improve their quality of life until old age, it's recommended that they constantly engage themselves in activities that make them think.