Bahá'í Outline of Education

In today’s current society education is most often mistaken with instruction. The purpose of instruction is to transfer knowledge from one person to another, much like children and their teachers at school. When one is properly educated this individual will truly understand himself and the world around him. The lesson being taught to the child will also have a profound effect on the child, and make him or her more useful to mankind. The Bahai view upon the purpose of education is that every individual should be considered as a treasure house in which God has deposited jewels that should be manifested through the process of education, thereby benefiting mankind.

Unfortunately, numerous universities do not delve within a child’s mind and attempt to discover the potential within. The most frequent thing done is that if a child cannot learn the material it is presented then he or she will be left behind. The children who eventually are left behind become neglected and therefore left in a wilderness of ignorance. Numerous types of these children will eventually participate in unscrupulous actions and other various wrongdoings due to their lack of true education.

However, each child has a true potential to be manifested through proper education. For example, there was once a king of India who had four sons and wished for his sons to have private tutoring in subjects such as philosophy, mythology, and other subjects for that time period. The teacher had given them a sentence to memorize and write one hundred times for the first lesson and the sentence was “Don’t ever grow impatient, no matter the circumstances, and keep smiling.” After the first lesson one of the four boys reported to the teacher that he had not yet learned the phrase, but the teacher did not wait and continued to teach the other students.

After some months had passed, the king and some ministers had attended class with the four boys. The teacher first explained and said that, “These three boys have advanced very much. They have memorized so many books and homework, but alas, your majesty, this one has not yet learned the first sentence I have given him.” The kind and one of his ministers had rebuked him for his ignorance and lack of success. However, the child had kept on smiling and patiently listening while they yelled at him. His teacher had then discovered that this child was the one who had truly learned and had said, “Your majesty, he is the one who has learned. The others only have memorized.” Thereby, exemplifying the importance of proper education and not instruction in today’s society.

Although the path to true education may not be a viable option currently. The difference between instruction and education must be known for humanity to truly prosper. The children of this century each have numerous qualities waiting to be manifested, but only through the proper education process and not pure memorization. Hopefully, the world will recognize each child’s potential and properly educate each child so that they may be beneficial to the prosperity of humanity.