|
Of course, research lends itself to much trial and error, but the end result allows learning to occur. Learning is not an easy task. It requires discipline of thought and a deep commitment to the subject under investigation. Education occurs when the mind is open and receptive to the many ways in which we can be taught. Likewise, indoctrination is committed to teaching but with a more focused intent. Its purpose is to sell and promote rather than discover. It teaches with a bias toward some particular pattern of thought. It does not allow its students the freedom to explore other possibilities. While indoctrinators are convinced of the truthfulness of that which they teach, they can sometimes stray from the truth in their zeal to advance their cause. For example, communism in its attempt to indoctrinate sought to rewrite history. In so doing, it violated the basic principles of education. Indoctrination tends to stifle the democratic process where truth and freedom can serve each other. It can happen in the classroom as well as in a country. Indoctrinators are sometimes fearful of education because they are unwilling to allow their opinions to be scrutinized by all the facts. Religion is terribly vulnerable to rigid indoctrinators who wish to coerce and manipulate people's minds. Even in theological thought there must be a way to turn the other cheek and to go the second mile. Education is never a completed process. As we are being educated, we grow and change and rethink those things which give value to life. Christian education allows learning to happen after the pattern of our Lord Jesus who Himself was the greatest teacher. |
There is a subtle, yet sometimes devious, difference between
education and indoctrination. In our haste to teach, we can
easily confuse the two. Education is an attempt to discover all
the facts. It pursues truth wherever it leads. At its
best, education exposes people with a learning disposition to all
bodies of thought. It does not dictate what one should think
but creates a framework of facts from which to draw personal
conclusions. Education is the free and unhindered opportunity
to discover the truth that sets us free.
[Click Here] for an index of all available article clippings.