The Wisdom of the Child

Before we are educated and taught how to think, there is a period of time when we see things in a different way. No bias, no fear of race or gender, no distractions and no falsehoods...only clarity and pure thoughts entail.

It is only later that we are corrupted by other's beliefs. Science, philosophy and religion descend upon the minds of the innocent...instructing them on how things are, instead of asking what the child thinks.

Of course, education is a necessary evil, without which a child will fail to live up to society's standards, and yet, some of the most brilliant minds the world has ever known failed dismally in the classroom. Yes, we need to be able to communicate through the written word, and being illiterate is not conducive to further learning, but it is not essential in order to think, feel or learn...to create.

A person's level of education...their academic achievements, are not necessarily an indication of high intelligence. Learning from a book...remembering facts (parroting) that others have discovered and proven, is only an indication of having a good memory. Even the standard IQ test has its limitations. Problem-solving, and inventing new devices or ways of doing and thinking about things is, in my opinion, more of a true indication of a person's intelligence.

In many cases, we can see intelligence in the eyes of a child. This is not a proven way to determine how smart a child (or for that matter an adult) is, but is most certainly an indication.

Take a case where a child is marooned on an island...for argument's sake let's say their nutritional needs are being met and perhaps there is an adult with them who can nurture the need for social bonding. Without a school to attend, and only the surrounding nature to learn from...a wild child...will a child who grows up with a private school education (on average) be any more intelligent than this child of the bush? Sure, the wild child may not know how to spell or do complex maths, but take the educated child out to that island, and who then becomes the smart one?

Society decrees we must have an education, because if we don't, no one will give a decent job to someone who has none. This is a judgement that someone who is educated to a higher level will do a better job than one who isn't, and yet, on day one of doing said job, neither candidate will have much of an idea of what the job's requirements are, and must learn to become proficient. I question...does having a higher level of education make a person more adept to undertake and learn the skills required in this new job?

Perhaps it goes beyond the actual learning of facts associated with gaining an education. Perhaps it has more to do with the commitment involved...the tenacity to take on pressure and thrive.

I'm not advocating we should place less importance on giving our children an education. I'm just saying that to discriminate against someone who may not have thrived in the rigid curriculum of an education system, may be to any prospective employer, or for that matter, in any setting, to our own detriment.

It might be a case of not judging a book by its cover, but also by the first few pages.