When and Where Education Starts

One may wonder when and where education starts. The answer depends on how one defines education. This blog will use the term “education” in its general and truest sense – the process of imparting knowledge and/or skills.

As far as most people in the society are concerned, education starts in schools. In the United Kingdom, the law says education must start when a child reaches five years of age. Parents, however, could enrol their children to a pre-school learning center to prepare their child for formal education. Many countries set a certain age when children could enter formal education. Primary and secondary schools, alternative schools, sixth-form institutions, universities and colleges – these are the primary learning centers that offer formal education. The curriculum of these formal education institutions are often set by respective national authorities governing education. In the UK, law states that children from five to 16 years of age must attend formal secular education. The UK government has established a number of public schools for that purpose.

On the other hand, there is called informal education. It is often said that informal education starts at home. True, since home is the first and basic learning center wherein parents impart not only knowledge but also love and aspirations to their children. Some say that children start to learn after they were born, while others say that even unborn babies have the capacity to absorb inform. The former means education starts at home at a very early age, while the latter means knowledge could be imparted even before the baby could confirm his existence in this world.

No matter what age or where learning center education starts, all of us have the duty and responsibility to impart knowledge to other people, especially our own children. Both home and schools are learning centers.