Getting a qualification, or getting an education?

[old man emu]

During the drift in the thread "Hospital waiting times" we got to questioning the abilities of professionals with qualifications obtained overseas. Then we drifted into the area of the way ethnicity is a motivator for children to strive to be THE BEST of all children in the Higher School Certificate so they could compete for a place in a professional degree course at university. In my opinion, these high achiever kids are only getting qualifications, not an education. So can we rightly call them High Achievers?

 

School and university curricula are designed to meet the requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The AQF is the national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training. It incorporates the qualifications from each education and training sector into a single comprehensive national qualifications framework. The AQF was introduced in 1995 to underpin the national system of qualifications in Australia encompassing higher education, vocational education and training and schools. The framework sets the qualifications for everything that is taught formally in Australia from pre-school to post-doctorate. While this system is good for ensuring that in whichever State of Territory a person studies for and gains the knowledge and skills to meet the competencies of the qualification, that qualification will be accepted in every other State of Territory.

 

But are the people who are the product of this policy educated people? People might be extremely good at what they have been taught, but have they the breadth of knowledge to be labelled "polymath"? A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much"] is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of subject areas, to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths include the great thinkers of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment who excelled at several fields in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts. They also include the Ancients, such as Aristotle, and the Contemporaries such as Betrand Russell.

 

Three types of literate persons have been identified - the polymath; the specialist, and the dilettante. The specialist demonstrates depth but not breadth of knowledge The dilettante demonstrates breadth but without depth ( a passing knowledge). But both of them lack the active engagement in multiple domains and the melding of vocations and intellectual diversions found in polymaths.Curricula based solely on meeting the requirements of a system like the AQF will produce specialists, people who specialize in developing one major talent early in life and successfully exploit that talent exclusively for the rest of their lives. What we want to progress our civilization are polymaths who manage to juggle multiple fields of knowledge simultaneously so that their creativity pattern is constantly varied.

 

Can every person be an intellectual polymath? Yes, but why so? Look amongst your friends and acquaintances. Most of them will have, or had, careers requiring specialist knowledge. But when the whistle blows at the end of the day, they forget about their specialty and devote themselves to other things. These people are showing the traits of polymathy. They are the ones who can 'think outside the box' and come up with novel solutions to problems, or produce philosophies, art works, or things unimaginable to the rest of us.

 

Our children's minds are malleable things. We should be educating them as polymaths, not restricting them to getting a qualification.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

The quest for a qualification comes first, as a means to employment, income and security.

 

Education is life-long and includes using sites like this- which is of some assistance in "the getting of wisdom".

 

 

[spacesailor]

DEFINITELY,

 

I need Qualification, to fly my hummelBird, NO education will allow me to takeoff from any airfield, without that bit of paper. Not even the wifes Brain (Neuro) surgeon. can fly without a certificate/license.

 

PS were to BUY from ?.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

You need the piece of paper to LEGALLY fly your plane. Your skillsbase enables you to fly competently, understanding why you do certain things a certain way and therefore safely. IF you aren't safe you shouldn't be flying regardless of what boxes have been ticked.. Some people spend their whole flying lives doing it by numbers and beliefs and are none the wiser IF they get away with it. The real testing comes at any time without advanced notice, then the one you have been fooling is YOU, IF you have been fudging the system..Study to get the right essential info and the exams should take care of themselves if they are set properly. Nev.

 

 

[spacesailor]

It,s just all bureaucracy.

If my nephew came over he still couldent fly my HummleBird.

AND he is an EasyJet pilot, with a university education.

Back to school for him.

Imagine a heavy vehicle truckie having to sit a CAR licence, !

A ships radio operator, sitting a sitting a VHF air radio licence test.

Just BLUDI BUREAUCRASY. To rake in the dollars.

spnacesailor

[Yenn]

I have seen many people with good qualifications that were absolutely useless at their qualified jobs. I have also seen many with no qualifications that are very good.

The problem is not helped by the fact that a lot of the educators have no common sense.

[old man emu]

If I'm in a hospital, recovering from an illness or procedure, I always ask the RN what works best. They are much more experienced than the doctors working in the wards of public hospitals. It's too bad that a RN can't tell an inexperienced doctor that they've got things all wrong. Everyone must kowtow to the doctor. Doctors think that completing a degree in Medicine entitles them to the Order of GCMG.

 

(Yes Minister. Episode Two: Doing the Honours)

[Yenn]

Doctors seem to never stop to think. When one told my wife he wanted a faecal sample, I asked why, as it seemed irrelevant.

he replied that he wanted to check for worms. I asked what type and he said ringworm or tape worm.

Didn't even put brains into gear and think that ringworm is a fungus, which infects the skin.

[pmccarthy]

So what do you call a worm in your ring?

[facthunter]

You can get threadworms as well. Is this info part of an education or a required qualification.? Anyhow knowledge sets the mind free and many things eventually come together the more you find out... Rote learning is more transient. If you learn JUST to pass an exam your knowledge will be somewhat limited. It's crazy when you can actually know too much to pass an exam well because you will be looking for more meaning in a DUMB question that isn't there. A badly set multi choice exam is a horror story. Nev

[old man emu]

It's crazy when you can actually know too much to pass an exam well because you will be looking for more meaning in a DUMB question that isn't there. /QUOTE]

 

Too true. The harder you study a subject and get to know it, the more you see into the question. Is the sky blue? Yes. If you understand the reason the sky is blue, then you can launch into explanations of why some days in Summer the sky looks greyish, and in mid-winter it looks sapphire blue.

[spacesailor]

"Too true. The harder you study a subject and get to know it, the more you see into the question. "

 

When that question " what causes icing " comes up, its nothing to do with aeroplanes or flying.

The answer I got was:

"Moisture in the air "

Nothing about Temperature ?.

which means Darwin is very bad for Icing.

AND

McMurdo Valley in Antartica is a good place to fly !. ( no Icing).

spacesailor