Workshop D: Education
By Jason Ross, Schiller Institute, USA
After half a century of colonial rule and warfare, Afghanistan is free to decide its own future. This is a great opportunity! The historical traditions of Afghanistan and its broader region — of innovation in science and health care (Ibn Sina), of a love of wisdom and a dedication to truth — this can guide the path of education to further the creative potential of students.
Educational improvements can be made at all levels: of primary schooling, of vocational training, and of higher education. We need a curriculum that advances the creativity of the students, their efforts to work hard, and the beauty of his or her character.
Where Are We?
The world is on the brink of a change in paradigm, with new centers of power and influence growing, while the nations of NATO are declining due to their bad choices. Although the US and UK are willing to escalate to global, world war — if we don’t have such a war, we have good reason to be extremely optimistic about the coming generations.
The basis for optimism about the human species lies in the unique characteristic of human life, compared to all other life on Earth. Unlike animals, we can learn beyond our senses, to discover causes, principles, scientific discoveries. Unlike animals, we can change our relationship to the physical world around us. Unlike animals, we can increase our numbers and increase the number of people who can live well within a certain area of land. Unlike animals, we can cooperate socially and harmoniously in new ways. There are some animals that use tools, or very basic technology, but they do it the same way now as a thousand years ago. But we are different.
Where does this difference arise?
Quran 15:29 God tells the angels, when creating man, when creating Adam: “When I have shaped him, and breathed My spirit in him, fall you down, bowing before him!”
We are made unique by God!
What is Education?
How can we tap into that uniqueness in our students? How can we help them to have the personal experience of creativity?
How do we help them re-create great discoveries of the past, to learn not facts, not formulas, but the origin of discovery. Students get to meet themselves in their ability to face a challenge and develop, for themselves, the solution.
It’s important that this be collaborative, to some degree. Students can help each other, which gives them the very good experience of being teachers. Every great teacher is also a learned during their work. And with the guidance of their teachers, students can also teach. They can’t just go through school memorizing answers to tests! For this, a class of around 15-20 students is best.
This helps create in the minds of the students, a confidence in their ability to recreate great discoveries of the past, to work on them collaboratively, and perhaps to be a great new genius themself.
Education for Discovery
But right now the goal of education is usually to prepare people for a job, for a position in life. Knowledge from the past is committed to memory, and used in the present like a tool, often a tool for answering test questions, not working in the real world.
But you cannot memorize something that is not yet known! You cannot search the internet for the answer to a problem that nobody has yet solved.
Imagine if education is a time of recreating discoveries, of working through how the great ideas of the past were created!
This centers education on the most important mental act: the ability to act in a way no animal can, to discover something entirely new.
Even if the students do not all go on to become great scientists, government leaders, writers, musicians, or poets, they will all have come to know that aspect that we all have in common as human beings — that ability to discover, which is the fundamental root of economic progress.
I give an example, taken from the discussion of Socrates written down by Plato and known to use as Meno. The example is a discussion about geometry that Socrates has with a poor slave boy, with no education. Socrates believes that knowledge is potentially in everyone, and needs only to be brought out. He draws in the sand a square [image] and asks the boy to make another square twice as big. What do you think is first guess is?
Education for Discovery
But right now the goal of education is usually to prepare people for a job, for a position in life. Knowledge from the past is committed to memory, and used in the present like a tool, often a tool for answering test questions, not working in the real world.
But you cannot memorize something that is not yet known! You cannot search the internet for the answer to a problem that nobody has yet solved.
Imagine if education is a time of recreating discoveries, of working through how the great ideas of the past were created!
This centers education on the most important mental act: the ability to act in a way no animal can, to discover something entirely new.
Even if the students do not all go on to become great scientists, government leaders, writers, musicians, or poets, they will all have come to know that aspect that we all have in common as human beings — that ability to discover, which is the fundamental root of economic progress.
I give an example, taken from the discussion of Socrates written down by Plato and known to use as Meno. The example is a discussion about geometry that Socrates has with a poor slave boy, with no education. Socrates believes that knowledge is potentially in everyone, and needs only to be brought out.
He draws in the sand a square [image] and asks the boy to make another square twice as big. What do you think his first guess is?
He doubles each side of the square [image]. This is double in length, but when we look at area, it is four times as large
He is asked to try again. He decides to make the side one and a half times as long [image]. But this also gives an area that is more than two: we have the original square, the two half squares, and a quarter square, giving 2 and 1/4. As the dialogue continues, Socrates, asking only questions of the boy, helps him to come to solve the problem and to know that he has solved it.
In every human being, Socrates shows, is the potential to better know the universe.
By Jason Ross, Schiller Institute, USA
A Curriculum for a Flourishing Future
Constructive geometry is extremely important. Playing with blocks of numbers to understand ratio and proportion is essential, not just numerals written on paper. Constructive geometry challenges the students to produce, to create solutions to their problems. To understand an outcome not as an appearance, but as the outcome of a process that generates it.
As a specific example, let’s look at an outcome of the work of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, who developed what is called algebra. (And whose name gives the English word algorithm.
He gave a general way of solving mathematical problems about squares and rectangles and areas. But we can use His discovery to ask a question that cannot be answered.
First, let’s try this one:
x + 1 = 5
x^2 + 1 = 5
x^2 + 1 = 0
The German scientist Carl Gauss (1777–1855) discovered the physical meaning of \sqrt{-1}, that it was not just a symbol on a piece of paper, but existed in a new physical domain, a complex domain that unifies the shadows of the reality that we experience, with the reality of the principles that create those shadows. Our senses do not lead us to truth — animals have senses too! It is the mind’s ability to go beyond the senses that is crucial.
The German scientist Carl Gauss (1777–1855) discovered the physical meaning of \sqrt{-1}, that it was not just a symbol on a piece of paper, but existed in a new physical domain, a complex domain that unifies the shadows of the reality that we experience, with the reality of the principles that create those shadows. Our senses do not lead us to truth — animals have senses too! It is the mind’s ability to go beyond the senses that is crucial.
Gauss’s proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra, in which the young 20-something genius shows what is wrong with those mathematicians who look only at number, not reality. This abstraction and formality takes the reality, the fun, out of geometry, and makes many students dislike the subject. Restoring the geometric basis and undoing a trend of more than a century towards formalism, will greatly improve education.
Catenary — the shape of this hanging chain. The shape is not made by mathematics, but by physics. We see how the shape can only be understood, not as a shape, not by matching to known curves, but only as a result of the process that generates it. Every advanced high school student or engineering university student should work through the catenary as part of their calculus education.
Light — the reason that light reflects at the same angle it strikes a mirror can be explained from the principle of least-distance.
The reason light’s path bends when it goes from air to water was solved by the French mathematician Pierre Fermat (1607–1665), with the principle of least-time.
That nature operates by cause, by intention is a powerful antidote to the modern Western idea that all large-scale ruths come from small ones, for example that the human soul is just the brain, that the brain is only biology, and that biology is only physics. Under this framework, there is no such thing as free will. Teaching Fermat shows that there is a unity between intention and physics.
Astronomy — birth of modern science
– The Germans Johannes Kepler and Nicolaus of Cusa: no circle is perfect, as absolute perfection exists only in God and not in the created world. A circle has every point the same distance from the center. We can have this idea, but true equality exists only in God, all else has imperfection, so the planets cannot move in perfect circles. – Kepler: But there is something exact that we can try to discover — a principle of motion, a physical concept that causes the resulting motions.
Language and metaphor
How do you say something for which there is no word? How do you create a new meaning? Language is a tool for communication, but words, while they have a history and historical meaning, and not the fundamental concepts of thought. Reading the great ideas of other cultures helps students be prepared for future interchange with people from other countries and backgrounds.
The Greek philosopher Socrates, about whose life we learn from Plato, demonstrated that real communication does not come from words and facts, but from a dialogue, from a process of interchange, of discovery. Does the student come to know that an idea is necessary? What question does it answer?
(Music is written using notes, but the musical idea does not lie in the notes.)
These are some lessons learned from my research, through collaboration with Lyndon LaRouche, and my experience as an educator.
The Goal of Education
When a mother is pregnant with a child, the baby is developing and preparing itself for its life in the world. Birth is a huge change! We spend our lives preparing for the immortality of our souls. What good do we do, that will live beyond us, and help create, for the next generations, a garden of this Earth?
- The morality of truth. When you are certain that you know things, then you know when you are being dishonest. Your conscience can speak more clearly
- When you know things, you have access to an eternal process of discovering — always imperfectly, never exactly, but less imperfectly — the universal principles of nature, the laws of God’s creation. Creating such a mission in the minds of a society is the greatest goal of government, and of education.
Language and metaphor
How do you say something for which there is no word? How do you create a new meaning? Language is a tool for communication, but words, while they have a history and historical meaning, and not the fundamental concepts of thought. Reading the great ideas of other cultures helps students be prepared for future interchange with people from other countries and backgrounds.
The Greek philosopher Socrates, about whose life we learn from Plato, demonstrated that real communication does not come from words and facts, but from a dialogue, from a process of interchange, of discovery. Does the student come to know that an idea is necessary? What question does it answer?
(Music is written using notes, but the musical idea does not lie in the notes.)
These are some lessons learned from my research, through collaboration with Lyndon LaRouche, and my experience as an educator.
The Goal of Education
When a mother is pregnant with a child, the baby is developing and preparing itself for its life in the world. Birth is a huge change! We spend our lives preparing for the immortality of our souls. What good do we do, that will live beyond us, and help create, for the next generations, a garden of this Earth?
- The morality of truth. When you are certain that you know things, then you know when you are being dishonest. Your conscience can speak more clearly.
- When you know things, you have access to an eternal process of discovering — always imperfectly, never exactly, but less imperfectly — the universal principles of nature, the laws of God’s creation. Creating such a mission in the minds of a society is the greatest goal of government, and of education.
Abstract
Dual education, also known as apprenticeship or vocational training, has long been recognized as an effective means of equipping individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter the workforce. This form of education combines classroom instruction with practical, on-the-job training, providing students with a well-rounded education that prepares them for employment. In war-affected countries, dual education can play a crucial role in rebuilding economies and fostering stability. However, it is also important to consider both the benefits and costs associated with this approach.
This study discusses the key economic benefits of dual education in war-affected Afghanistan and its potential to address high unemployment rates. It argues that Afghanistan, being affected by decades of conflicts, suffers from widespread destruction of infrastructure and disruption of traditional industries. As a result, many individuals, especially youths, find themselves without viable employment opportunities. Dual education programs can help bridge this gap by providing practical skills that are in demand within local economies. By aligning training programs with market needs, these initiatives can equip individuals with relevant skills that increase their employability.
However, it is important not to overlook the nuanced view when assessing the benefits and costs associated with dual education in war-affected countries. This study argues that developing a comprehensive dual education system necessitates financial resources, infrastructure, and qualified instructors. In countries struggling with post-war reconstruction and limited budgets, allocating funds for such initiatives may pose a challenge. It is also worth noting that the associated challenges, such as developing strong cognitive skills in learners, sufficient flexibility to adapt to different technologies, and the need for providing lifelong learning to ensure continued employability, result in further benefits.
This study concludes that dual education holds significant economic benefits for war-affected Afghanistan by addressing unemployment, fostering entrepreneurship, promoting innovation, and reducing income inequality. However, it is crucial to consider the nuanced view of its benefits and costs. By carefully navigating these complexities, the government and stakeholders can harness the power of dual education to drive economic growth and create sustainable future for Afghanistan.
Keywords: dual education, Afghanistan, economic empowerment, rebuilding war-affected Afghanistan