What is Education?
Education is a life-long process. From learning a language to teaching, it is all a component of education. People often get confused between education and knowledge. Education involves things such as going to school or college, learning from experiences, learning something such as our mother-tongue, or learning based on our interests.
However, knowledge involves our perception, reasoning, and various judgmental elements. Education exposes us to a lot of information and our perceptions. Knowledge refers to how we perceive that information and its understanding.
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Different Types of Education
There are different ways through which we can get educated but education is mainly classified into three types namely formal, informal and non-formal.
1- Formal Education
It is a well-structured and organized type of learning delivered by a specific institution or department. Basically, this type involves getting an education from a school/college whether online or offline. This type of education is well known since most of the individuals start their school from a very early age and are very much familiar to it.
Many of the colleges provide online programs for those individuals who have a busy schedule like working people or people with family. For example, you can look for the online colleges in Michigan, if you want to pursue online education from there.
Online learning is gaining momentum because it is convenient and easily accessible. Some of the countries leading the way in online education are United States, China, South Korea, India, and Malaysia.
The significance of Formal Education :
Formal education is very important for an individual to have a good career. It certifies our skills and knowledge in a specific area or subject. Since the pattern of formal education is very organized, most of us understand how it is to work systematically which later helps us in our respective careers. It helps us in paving our way towards success.
2- Informal Education
It is a type of education that takes place outside of a structured syllabus. It can be learning out of interests or even basic things like teaching child alphabets. It is not delivered by an institution, unlike formal education.
The learning takes place basically through whatever we learn through our communication with friends, family, society or any personal medium.
We are getting informally educated when we are reading a book, watching a tutorial or a movie.
An example that can be taken is, the first time a person goes to a hospital, he/she may not know the procedures to get a person admitted but then the person somehow enquires about it and understands the procedures. Informal education is spontaneous and not pre-planned or well structured.
The Significance of Informal Education :
This type of education is necessary for our survival in this world. Book-led knowledge is good and very much needed but to deal with people and situations, we need to have an understanding of other things as well.
A child below five doesn’t go to school and learn. The first kind of education is acquired by his/her parents or guardian. Sometimes it just happens without us realizing the fact that we have learned something. It is a type of education which is unavoidable as well as has a big importance in our lives.
3- Non- Formal Education
We all have our hobbies and we wish to master those. Some love learning dance, singing, sports, yoga and or activities. Various educational programs and activities are conducted and they have a specific timeline and structure. The organized programs or activities which take place outside of the formal education system forms the non-formal education system. This type gives the people life skills and does not have a targeted audience.
The Significance of Non-Formal Education :
This type of education not only gives theoretical knowledge but practical knowledge as well. We tend to learn certain life skills. Most of the times these skills add to our personality and give us a career based approach and adds it to our resume.
For example, the individuals who are professionals in athletics are given scholarships in enrolling in educational institutions and also have quotas for government jobs. It is important for our physical and mental self. It makes us equipped with skills and also adds fun to our lives.
Is Education important in career building?
We now know that education is much more than what happens inside the four walls of a classroom. Each day makes us educated in one thing or another. We may not realize it at that moment but it surely helps us in the longer run. Earlier, not everyone was educated nor it was given much importance. But now the situation has changed. People have become goal-oriented and many of the companies give preference to an individual who is well educated than an individual who is not in their respective fields.
It is not necessary that a person’s skill is not considered. Of course, their skills and expertise are considered but without basic education, it would be very difficult and time consuming for you to succeed and reach your goal. But what if your time is really good and everything just falls into place? You never know. One thing we must never forget is that our hard work will pay off one way or another.
Is it worth our valuable time?
Of course, it’s worth it. This is the question asked by most of the students in school. It’s later in our lives that we realize the value of education. One thing we should remind ourselves is that we are never too old to get educated. Now, we have the blessing of online education. We can be anywhere in the world and study in the university we prefer. Some of the preferred online colleges in the United States are University of Idaho, Boise State University, Liberty University, and Chatham University. Institutions like Chatham University provide various programs and financial aids for the convenience of the students.
Chatham University tuition can be paid with the help of the financial aid provided by the university itself. Everything is available to us on our fingertips. What matters is our will and perseverance to achieve what we wish to achieve.
Is Education important in building our character?
People do judge us by our looks but at the end of the day, it’s our character that matters. Education gives us a platform to build our character, learn from our mistakes, and create our own value systems. Our good deeds never go wasted and one should always remember that.
The teachers who teach us in our schools and colleges guide us and paves the path to our success. We become aware because of the education we receive. That’s why it’s told that an individual becomes wise as he gets older and older. First, you build your character and then your character builds you.