Acquisition of skills is overemphasized in education to the detriment of accumulating knowledge. A brand new computer with a fast processor is certainly nice, but without data to work with , the computer is still not useful . How an individual performs in a society not only depends on what this person knows what to do, but what important is , on what this person knows. Excellent physicians, for example, are those who could correctly diagnose an illness and provide the appropriate prescription or treatment. This ability does not come out of a vacuum of know-how alone, but as crucial, from a vast array of experience and knowledge. There is certainly a huge amount of facts out there and obviously , one human mind cannot absorb all of it. Thus, it is tempting to think that basic education simply has to equip the learner with the capacity to learn, often neglecting to teach the student something. It is a grave error to assume that skills are apart from knowledge. Basic Education must strive to impart knowledge to the students and the fact that this is a gigantic task only means that such attempt must be coherent and not fragmented.
Overemphasizing skills and neglecting knowledge truly denies how a child learns. Cognitive skills are not acquired without context. Even with entertainment, one does not cycle through different movies. Instead, one watches a movie from beginning to end, with numerous cable channels, the best way to get nothing at all is to keep surfing through channels. Yet , this wasteful exercise is likewise being applied to basic education.
When a child enters kindergarten for the first time, it is only expected that children will have different starting skills, background and experiences. There are gap right at the beginning of the schooling. These gaps will only further widen if schools do not pay attention to its major purpose of imparting knowledge. . Children go through a smorgasbord of lessons outside school. Having a similar approach in school hence denies a child systematic, structured and coherent education.
By: CHARINA C. DIZON | T-I | Mariveles NHS Poblacion Mariveles, Bataan
