Essay on Let Children Earn Knowledge Not money
"The
truth is that money doesn't make you rich; Knowledge does"
--Robert Kiyosaki
Globalization
has lead to the rise of money, which has decreased the overall value of
knowledge in many ways. People now prefer money over knowledge in their life.
The rationale behind education is acquiring knowledge that lays the ground work
to face hurdles of the life and helps build character. If the only purpose of
knowledge acquisition is to earn money, then education is narrowed down to the
knowledge required for only a low level of subsistence. Broader and deeper
knowledge has several advantages over material wealth. Knowledge can be a
source to make money, however it cannot really be purchased with money; it is
acquired by individual effort.
But,
traditional education is focused on teaching, not learning. It incorrectly
assumes that for every ounce of teaching there is an ounce of learning by those
who are taught. A child learns fundamental things such as how to walk, talk,
eat, and dress, and so on without being taught these things. Adults learn most
of what they use at work or at leisure while at work or leisure. Most of what
is taught in classroom settings is forgotten, and much or what is remembered is
irrelevant. Furthermore, even young children are told the importance of money
making right from their childhood. They are unconsciously conditioned to
achieve better marks and grade so that they can get to a good college, good job
and in turn earn good money. The primary objective of learning gets lost here.
Worldly
wealth is finite; knowledge is infinite. Knowledge cannot be lost or taken away
or snatched, it is not burdensome to carry and it causes no anxiety. One might
fret over safeguarding their costly worldly possessions, but knowledge needs no
defense. Wealth could diminish but knowledge increases when shared. A man of
wealth is respected only till he possesses it; an erudite person is respected
even long after he is no more. It is said that "A fool and his money are
soon parted". One may have the money, but without wisdom, he may not keep
that money with him for long.
People
have lost their fortunes because of silly actions, and people have made
fortunes with their astute knowledge. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jack Ma and Mark
Zuckerberg are some of the eminent personalities who have set an example that
with knowledge one can truly build a fortune. With evolving knowledge, you can
put more ideas in your head to generate more cash in your hands. Those with
more information are always on top. Without information and knowledge one can’t
get ahead in life.
Francis
Bacon said "Knowledge is power.” It is a true power which always remains
with the person in all good and bad times. A knowledgeable person will be able
to better control Circumstances in life accordingly. When you educate yourself,
we learn new things that we were previously unaware of. This gives us the
ability to make better decisions, come up with more evolved and intelligent
thoughts, improve our lives and of the people around us, thus making us more
valuable people overall.
Once
a giant ship's engine failed and the owners tried one expert after another, but
none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they called an old
man who was an expert in fixing ships since he was a boy. The man carried a
large tool bag with him and immediately started inspecting the engine very
carefully. The old man then pulled out a small hammer and gently tapped
something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. A week later, the owners
received a bill from the old man for $10,000. They were startled and said
"He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please
send us an itemized bill." The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a
hammer: $2.00; Knowing where to tap: $9,998.00. So, it was knowledge that saved
the day.
One
such person with undeniable knowledge and wide public endorsement was Dr A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam, who is known as the missile man and served as India's 11th
President. He was born in a small district in Tamil Nadu to poor parents. As a
young boy, he used to sell newspapers in order to supplement his family's
income. Kalam had average grades in school but was described as a bright and hardworking
student who had a strong desire to learn. It was this hunger for learning that
he became an inspiring teacher, a narrative author and a great scientist. He
received several honors and awards including Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and
Bharat Ratna, Doctor of Science from Edinburgh University in the UK, Von Braun
Award among others. His story truly sets an example that with great knowledge
one can achieve great heights.
Parents
these days are concerned about making sure that their children have meaningful
lives, lives of significance, without their financial fortunes to hurt that.
Self-made billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates along with other
super-rich individuals, say that their children aren't inheriting much of their
fortunes. They are giving their kids "a minuscule portion" of their
wealth, which means they will have to find their own way. In 2010, Buffett
along with Gate created the Giving Pledge to encourage more of the super-rich
to leave the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. As of 2016, 154
ultra-Wealthy people and families from 16 countries have joined the effort,
including Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Rockefeller. These
parents are of the opinion that as soon as their children's education gets over
they will have to move out of their house. This will prepare the children for
starting their own lives and if the parents don't do so, the kids will fail to
face the stresses of the real world.
So
how can we instill knowledge among children? It can be done partly by making
education very enjoyable rather than just a dreary exercise in rote learning.
In the race to make the children cram their lessons (and sometimes useless
knowledge), we have lost the art of teaching moral science and ethics to them.
Society is putting more focus on money, consumerism, and consumption of goods
and this is naturally reflected in the behavior of our children. Discussions on
what is right or wrong and ethics are rarely conducted. As a result, children
pick up undesirable manners from their peers or the people around them.
Nonetheless,
if children are taught ethics and morality as a part of all their courses, then
the five six hours they spend in school each day could help in changing their
character for the better. If we engage the children thoroughly with interesting
hands-on work and experiments, they will have less time to think about
materialistic things. After all, “an empty mind is a devil's workshop".
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