Many will argue that without a course in miracles, the world would still be in the dark ages. Education is generally seen as the catalyst for development in any society. This argument fails to realize that the individuals that have advanced the world were persons that refused to conform to educational dictates. These individuals thought outside the box of conformity as presented by formal education. Formal education removes or greatly reduces a person’s creative ability. It simply teaches you to believe and accept something as a fact except someone, who dares to think outside the box proves the fact otherwise. For anyone who wishes to excel in life, the one must put aside formal education and reach out into the deep reserve of creative ability on the inside.
Through education, accumulated knowledge, skills or values are deliberately passed on to another individual. Education is a process that is designed to have a formative effect on individual from a tender age. A child is thought from a tender age some societal values that are preserved and passed from generation to generation. We are thought in schools, about the gravitational force and that the earth is spherical. Depending on a person’s choice of career, there are educational curriculums designed to impact knowledge towards achieving a career goal. A person is said to be formally educated after successfully completing the curriculum and passing the final examination.
To be educated therefore is to show an understanding of the subject area as put together by the teacher. Sometimes, it is a matter of ‘junk-in’ and ‘junk-out’. Education tries to impact knowledge that is generally accepted to be true or has morale.
Formal education constrains one to figure out what someone else has done on a particular subject. It gets one occupied trying to unravel equations or to simply memorize the equation. The focus is to pass the examination at the end of the course. It reduces an individual to a mere robot: performing a third party script. Formal education does not provide much of an opportunity to use one’s initiative. It destroys creativity and prevents one from utilizing this rich resource of the mind. It simply teaches to accept other persons’ view on a subject.
The world is full of persons who are formally educated only to end up in some form of routine job. These are not the persons the world needs. The world needs those who have the courage to put aside formal education and to think outside the box. These are the dreamers and the inventors. To think outside the box is to tap from the potential that lies within the mind of every individual. It means being creative and original. The world does not celebrate those who are formally educated. It only celebrates those who dare to be different and think outside the box. If you wish to be celebrated, then you must put aside formal education and think outside the box.
I have come to observe that some of the greatest men and women in the world were/are persons that put aside formal education. Most of them were not formally educated. These persons refused to conform but rather reached into the deep resource of their minds to produce creative ideas that are celebrated all over the world.
The world cannot forget Thomas Edison in a hurry. He is one of the greatest inventors the world ever produced. One of his legacies is the incandescent light. Thomas suffered from partial deafness and lacked formal education. He believed that he had something to live for and reached into the deep resources of his mind by thinking outside the box.
John D. Rockefeller is believed to be the richest man in history. He had hoped to go to college but had to drop out of high school in order to work and to support his family. By the age of twenty-five years, he already had a refinery. Without formal education, J D Rockefeller assessed the great wealth of his mind to establish his great empire and to employ the educated folks.
The story of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation is known to most people all over the world because of the revolution of the personal computer. Bill had special interest in programming and would like to try new things. Although he had admission in Harvard College, he had to drop out because of his attachment to programming machine. Today, Microsoft is a house-hold name because someone refused to conform.
Similar story goes for Steve Jobs who was the co-founder of Apple Inc. After graduating from high school, Steve Jobs enrolled in Reed College, Portland, Oregon but had to drop out after just one semester. The success story of his inventions that include iPod, iPhone, iPad is the testimony of a man who dared to be different.
