Education is what knowledge becomes

'Education is what knowledge becomes' Human civilization started developing when knowledge started transforming into action, understanding and application. Human civilization started progressing not with the discovery of fire but by the utilization of that knowledge to cook, keep away predators etc. Medicine progressed with the application of the scientific knowledge of herbs. From this one can understand that knowledge is the mere accumulation of information and facts while education is the proper intelligence to use the knowledge. Knowledge is the gathering and accumulation of informations and facts without any idea of its application or skill to use it while education prioritizes skill understanding and questioning Two students may passout from the same college with the same grades yet one may go on to develop inventions that benefits the disabled while the other may develop websites that are fraudulent and used to scam people out of their money. The difference here is not their knowledge but their values.

When knowledge meets values, that is where real education begins. Knowledge as understanding of the concepts and theories. Lets take the story of a young boy who had the desire to learn archery but was rejected by the teacher yet he did not give up he gained the knowledge of archery through observation put it into practice, practice turned into integrity eventually he surpassed the student of the teacher who rejected him. He is none other than Ekalavya. He educated himself through observation and practice. Education kindles the curiosity of man leading to discovery of new and fascinating things. Sir. C. V. Raman's curiosity over the scattering of light lead to the discovery of Raman effect. He turned his knowledge of light into a discovery because of his curiousity Education teaches one to question things even if they are known facts. If man didn't question the idea that Earth is flat, we would still be living in a flat world fearing falling off a cliff during a sea voyage.

If Sir Isaac Newton didn't have the question why does the apple fall down to the Earth and not toward the sky we couldn't have enjoyed the knowledge of gravity. Knowledge is used for social empowerment. Lets take Savitri Bhai Phule who strived to educate young girls who were rejected education just because of their gender. Knowledge is useless if it couldn't empower the vulnerables of the society. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar himself struggled to gain the knowledge due to various social evils like poverty and caste system. Despite these struggles he used the knowledge he attained to empower the vulnerable groups democratically and constitutionally. While he could have found ways to make money out of the knowledge he gained he chose the morally principled path. Now, that is real education that he has gained. Education can encourage nation building. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam used his scientific knowledge to develop nuclear technology and space technology making India a nuclear power uplifting India's status and pride in the geo-political circle.

Education moves beyond standardized examination. A person may score high marks academically but may lack the skill to apply it in his daily life. A small grocery shop owner may be good at basic math than a mathematician as the shopkeeper would have had years of expertise at calculations than the mathematician. However, This doesn't mean no standardized examination is needed as a systemic academic system requires it to evaluate the basics of knowledge a person has. Knowledge without value may lead to destruction. Most of us would have heard about the famous person Oppenheimer, the one who was responsible for the development of nuclear weapon that was used by USA agains Japan during the world war II that lead to a devastating loss of thousands of lives. Page 6 This validates one of Gandhi's seven sin 'Science without humanity'. Knowledge about the spliting of atoms could have been used for a constructive purpose but the lack of empathy and compassion lead to a disaster. Education must combine knowledge with empathy. Equal knowledge doesn't mean equal opportunities. Two person with the same skill set went to a job interview at a corporate. They were from the same college, had the same degree and same education. There were two vacant spots but only one of them was hired while the remaining vacant spot was given to someone else. What do you think the reason would have been? It was simply because the person who was rejected was a women who was recently married.

Our society still needs gender equality to be educated among the students and peers. Knowledge can fill minds but only education can empower it. Now, we may start questioning then what is knowledge? What is education? Is mere knowledge enough for us? or does one need more than that? As we have seen in the beginning knowledge is our mind collecting facts while education is us using these facts understanding them by questioning them, putting them into action to develop skills, adding values to them to promote wisdom. Education has its pros and cons. Education can be morally and ethically good and also may lead to indoctrination by people religiously or socially. India is prominent for its ideas of non-violence and Gandhi's idea of ahimsa but we can see religious and caste indoctrination leading to protests in Jammu and Kashmir regions. Proper values of education are indispensable in developing a progressive and safe nation. With the development of digital technology and artificial intelligence it is not impossible to attain knowledge. To tell the truth, it is possible to overload ourselves with so much information that it blurs the line between truth and fake. In this growing and rapidly progressing world we must educate ourselves with the right knowledge that could uplift and promote our wellbeing rather than demote our mental and social status. Knowledge gives power, Education gives the right direction to it.

Is mere knowledge enough for us? or does one need more than that? As we have seen in the beginning knowledge is our mind collecting facts while education is us using these facts understanding them by questioning them, putting them into action to develop skills, adding values to them to promote wisdom. Education has its pros and cons. Education can be morally and ethically good and also may lead to indoctrination by people religiously or socially. India is prominent for its ideas of non-violence and Gandhi's idea of ahimsa but we can see religious and caste indoctrination leading to protests in Jammu and Kashmir regions.