The education system need to teach virtues

Forward Note: this article can be found on my personal website here .

The education system does not necessarily open up minds or enlarge the spirit. The system is more like mass training and therefore there are many missing links in it.

It takes more than a degree to make one a person of education. It’s well known that the high-educated people are those who are “self-made,” or a lifetime “self-educated” because they possess Extra Knowledge.

In this article there are five virtues I talk about: Confidence, Patience, Resilience, Enthusiasm and Will. Qualities which make us craft life situations and make us live by the spirit.

Imagine if all schools actually helped to identify our natural abilities and build up strengths. Strengths which perhaps we don’t even know are rooted inside. What if the education system would focus our natural energy and confidence to build a Life with Purpose?

Imagine if all teachers are also mentors, capable of inspiring, motivating, and guiding students. What if all teachers are specialized on both teaching the knowledge but also on the real use and true purpose of the knowledge?

Why I wrote this article

I started teaching digital arts in 2012. I’m a self-taught artist by the way with an engineering degree. In my early years, I believed that all teachers have a Passion for the craft they teach. At the same time, I believed that all students have the Desire to learn the craft.

In my mind it made sense, everyone has a common purpose which is growth and self-expression.

Years passed and up to this point, I taught, managed courses and programs with 5 different universities from 4 different countries. I realized that my belief is not common after all, but rather it’s that Extra Knowledge I mentioned in my intro.

I worked very closely with so many brilliant artists but they were struggling with anxieties and worries, low self esteem, depression, impostor syndrome and questioning their abilities all the time.

Then, I worked with quite a few teachers dealing with burnout, with very little interest left for the class well-being, with the habit of blaming students for the weak results. They were passive observers who followed the system and not active creators or innovators.

Unfortunately, I also worked with a management that had very little patience, lacked the long-term vision and failed to shape plans and to put them into action.

So then, I wrote this article because I’ve seen the discouragement, the disappointment and the lack of initiative under the education system.

Standard education gives you knowledge

The value of academic education is unquestionable, no doubt about this! But … standard education does not help understand the big picture of life. That’s self-education and it’s a hard work .

Any education system represents a system designed for the masses.

The system puts all students in the same mold, with little or no regard to their individuality, their inclination, their needs or their degree of energy which are all different.

At the same time, the education system also puts in the same mold all teachers with little or no regard to those who are true mentors like myself – with the magnetism, with the ability to motivate, with the ability to transform an entire class.

The education system is based on study programs or maps which help to navigate through a certain field. We receive the lessons first, then we are tested and we receive a validation of that knowledge through a grading system. Where is all this going?

If you follow the system for just a couple of years, you’ll apparently be set-up for a good lifetime – you get a diploma, you become realistic, start a career, make an income, then start a credit for a house and have your own family.

The standard education is apparently straight forward, choose your field of interest and go for it:

• Want to be an artist? Go to the art school.
• Want to be an accountant? Go to the accounting and business school.
• Want to be an engineer? Go to the science and engineering school, and so on.

But then, what if?

• The graduated artist has no courage to go ahead with own individuality.
• The graduated accountant has no confidence that can actually make money.
• The graduated engineer starts with the conviction that can never reach the top industries.

Life education builds your virtues

There are so many virtues that the education system is not good at teaching. These virtues make the whole difference in developing our creative spirit and character and will help us rise in the world.

Think about it … You cannot see your mind, but you know you have a mind. You can not see your spirit but you know you have one. How? Through the evidence of your personal characteristics, through the quality of your thoughts and actions.

There’s one job that nobody is teaching us about and we go blindly into it, without any kind of training, without any idea about the challenges and goals, just rooted with unwatched perceptions.

This is the most difficult job and it’s called Life Journey. We don’t even know what life is all about … but it is definitely not about struggling in getting a job, making an income or having a credit for a house.

Personal characteristics which gives extra knowledge

The education system need to teach virtues like: confidence, enthusiasm, patience, true imagination, commitment, kindness, authenticity, resilience, curiosity, intuition, self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy, openness, initiative, joy of living, iron will, self-discovery, do it to a finish, success nuggets opportunities, service, how to make hard choices, health and vitality, emotional intelligence, dealing with stress.

• Where in the curriculum can you gain that Extra Knowledge?
• Who teaches the wisdom that transforms fear into growth?
• Who teaches you to dream and to act bold?

Out of this Extra Knowledge list, I picked up the following virtues: Confidence, Patience, Resilience, Enthusiasm and Will. Five virtues which will shape the spirit in becoming engaged with life, to embrace each moment. And to grow, to learn, to create and to be at service.

Virtue 1. Confidence – gives the freedom of action

Every magnet has two sides: a north pole and a south pole which are the two states and it can be magnetized and demagnetized. Similarly, there are two types of individuals in the world. When a challenge comes forth one says “I’m going with it” and the other one says “I might fail”.

“Confidence is the very basis of all achievement, there is a tremendous power in the conviction that we can do a thing. The man who has a great faith in himself is relieved from a great many uncertainties as to whether he is in his right place from doubts as to his ability and from fears regarding his futures.” – Orison Swett Marden

Confidence has always been the foundation in all areas of endeavor. Is the invisible power within us that makes us believe in ourselves and we say “I Know I can do it!” or “I learn from this now and I’m gonna master it tomorrow”.

• The magnetized individual – will be full of self-confidence and faith. He knows that he is born to win and to succeed.
• Then, the demagnetized individual – will be full of fears and doubts. He generally expressed his envy or criticism over those who are successful.

When we believe we can do the hard things then we are free. Free from what? Free from worry, anxiety, uncertainty, fear of failure. A confident mind gives strength to our spirit and makes us go forward in life, it makes us aim higher.

In other words, confidence will always give us freedom of action and the necessary power to change. To change the job we don’t like, to change the relationships that no longer benefit, to change our entire lives and to start fresh.

Virtue 2. Patience – master it to make it consistent and certainly

Patience is often confused with “doing nothing” or non-activity but is like stillness. In patience we take the time to think, to reflect, to examine, to look at both weakness and strength and adjust to necessary conditions. Patience has the power to keep our reactions correct and sound.

• The patient individual – knows without any doubt that with consistent work and trust everything will work out.
• Then the inpatient individual – is often tired, stressed or when the work becomes unpleasant that individual jumps into haste.

Patience will always bring us back to right where we are in the Moment. And if anything looks like a problem we’ll handle that with a wise patience too.

“Patience is to make power slowly and certainly. The grandest artists have never hurried through their creations. And you are a great creation indeed, worthy of meticulous reshaping.The mind that reaches a certain stage of maturity is really no longer concerned with time, projection, panic and attack in fact, begins to enjoy the process. – Jeshua

Patience is also associated with time management. When we have truly learn to master patience, it is like mastering the time – time stops for the steady individual while others will still be stressing in it. And when time pressure is no longer coming against us, the journey becomes filled with joy.

Virtue 3. Resilience – transforms adversity into growth

Every human has struggles and obstacles in life and we can’t really count the times when we felt sour or disappointed. We all have life storms in all areas, professionally, financially, physically and emotionally.

However, when we have the ability to go through the life storms we create a new perspective in our minds and hearts. A perspective of incredible resilience and persistence.

“Key to our ability to manage stress is what’s known as resilience, which HMI defines as “the capacity to prepare for, recover from, and adapt in the face of stress, adversity, trauma, or challenge. Resilience and the management of emotions are both integral to many important physiological processes involved in energy regulation, how fast the body bounces back after the stress response, and our ability to maintain health and homeostasis.” – Joe Dispensa

• The individual with resilience – will manifest the power to recover, heal and rebuild. The life storms will be like new experiences that create deeper wisdom and a more profound connection with your spiritual journey.
• But then, the individual who lacks resilience – will feel stuck and overwhelmed. Feeling stuck often leads to increased stress and anxiety.

True resilience is power and is not about surviving in a hard point. Resilience it’s about growing in adversity, transforming challenges into stepping stones towards a higher purpose. Some say that this resilience is a gift from God, is the divine strength which overcomes all challenges that will knock down the majority.

Virtue 4. Enthusiasm – reach a higher expression

The word “enthusiasm” comes from the early Greek “en theos” meaning “in God”.

In the beautiful words of Florence Scovel Shinn, she describes enthusiasm as “to be inspired or possessed by a God.”

Think about it, kids have a natural enthusiasm and joyful attitude towards everyday activities. They don’t even get discouraged if they fall-down while playing or running. They just start all over again.

But how many times have you seen a mature man intoxicated with joy in everyday life activities? without any specific reason? Have you ever heard about anyone going to therapy because life is hard with so much enthusiasm?? An enthusiastic attitude generates different kinds of actions which skeptics might say … You are just lucky!

• The enthusiastic – will go to work or school in the morning in a superb condition, with a great love for the journey because it comes from the heart and every minute counts.
• But the non-enthusiastic – will go to work or school physically or mentally exhausted by the hard work, everything is like a struggle.

On the other hand, enthusiasm is the divine fire which also spreads into others’ hearts. And if something doesn’t go your way, just try one more time. This time with enthusiasm and you’ll see the result changing from the very ordinary, to the very extraordinary!

Virtue 5. Will Power – is your high personal power

There are no two words in the English language which are stronger than “I Will”. It signifies strength, confidence, determination, perseverance, purpose and individuality. Will power is not an exercise of optimism, is the spinal column of our character.

“The education of the will is the object of our existence.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

In fact, will power is associated with the body’s energy centers , also referred to as chakras. In Sanskrit, the word “chakra” means “disk” or “wheel” and refers to the energy centers in our body. These energy points are individual centers of information in the nervous system.

The third energy center, located in the upper abdomen, in the stomach is called Solar Plexus Chakra. It’s the chakra of our personal power.

• The individual with will power – possesses the spirit of boldness and has the confidence in his own ability to dare and to do. In fact that’s why it is probably called the iron-will.
• The individual who lacks will power – easily gets discouraged, is also without self-reliance. Unfortunately he is the puppet of the environment, the slave of bad luck and circumstances.

When the third center is in balance, we balance our strength, vitality, ego, willpower, stamina. Our inner power helps us to overcome the challenges in our life.

Takeaways

High-educated people have a deep self-awareness and self-motivation wrapped with an iron will for a life purpose. They have admirable virtues.

Virtues are like mental and emotional muscles which need to be consciously trained and developed. Every small habit, action and decision contributes to strengthening our character. But then it takes consistency and persistence.

I believe that the education system puts all effort into learning how to make a living and not understanding life in general … and there’s an irony in this. A job comes with its own key responsibilities but above all, all industries expect good personal qualities. Nobody wants to work with the so-called “scratchy” elements in your personality.

Some qualities that an employer looks at a young graduate: ability to work independently, good communication skills, flexibility in attitude and the drive and energy to achieve the targets and of course personal fitness.

Without the stamina for personal growth the education is not much. Schools need to teach the science of learning to learn, the journey of self development and above all the joy and attitude towards life.

Takeaways – education system need to teach virtues

We hear a great deal about talent, luck, opportunities, and how a good school plays an important part in one’s life. However, it doesn’t matter how smart a student is, whether he/she leads his class. That individual will never succeed if it lacks the essentials of a balanced character.

A character with a purpose is a great power. It generates confidence in oneself and life flows, ideas flows more easily.

The education system through its curriculum is not teaching you how to shape your character, life teaches you that. As Napoleon Hill so wisely said “The person who stops studying merely because he has finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”

Knowledge about what? About the development of personal characteristics such as enthusiastic attitude, persistence, self-awareness, authenticity, emotional intelligence, self-motivation and nevertheless, personal fitness.

Takeaways – educators need to assign the meaning for what they teach

When we learn new information, when we do a certain task but we assign a meaning to that action, whatever it is, we then create an intentional outcome. We create our best. This will make us keep on going forward, without keeping track of time, without focusing on problems but rather with joy.

In fact, according to neuroscience, Dr Joe Dispenza says that a meaning attached to a task, activates the Frontal Lobe.? When the Frontal Lobe is switched-on by a clear intention it will lower certain circuits in the brain in connection with the noise around. Noise coming from the environment, the body and the time. So there’s no thinking about the past or future. It’s just the present moment and our inner world becomes more real than the outer world.

The Frontal Lobe is the most evolved area of the neocortex also known as the awareness center of our creativity.

The majority of teachers, in my opinion, do not have the awareness. The common teacher does not have the ability to inspire students, or the ability to shape a purpose of what they teach. They just talk about it, over and over again …

Is not easy to change an entire large system but it’s? way easier if every teacher adapts his/her personal teaching methods. When a teacher has a high energy it becomes an example, will impact students in ways hard to imagine and students will be achieving goals once thought are out of reach. The teacher’s energy becomes an example, it becomes the catalyst for well-being in class.

Related articles

• Working hard on yourself. Become your own observer.?
• Teaching is a form of leadership
• The power of imagination

Recommended readings

• An Iron Will – by Orison Swett Marden (1901)
• Think and Grow Rich – by Napoleon Hill (1937)
• Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself – by Joe Dispenza (2012)