How do you ever expect to amount to anything without an education I'd like to know.-- Merlin, The Sword in The Stone
This hot-headed morsel comes to us when Merlin is trying to convince Arthur to join him for his schooling while Arthur is trying to convince Merlin he is getting taught how to be a squire.
Education is quite the interesting term. Nowadays, and in Merlin's eyes, it means going to school, learning to read, write, and do math. and graduating collage. Education in its most basic form means you're either learning something new or you're teaching someone something new. Arthur's squire education wasn't entirely wrong. It was normal back then for young boys to want to become knights because that was one of the most respectable jobs any man could have. In order for him to do so, he had to start as a page, then get promoted to squire then one final promotion to a knight. Very few people knew how to read or write back then. It was a luxury few could afford. After all the printing press would take around another 1000 years or so to be invented, which made it easier for people to learn to read and write.
How do you define education? Is it how education is defined now or is it a word that encompasses much more than the standard definition? For me I define education as both how Merlin sees it and how Arthur sees it. Nowadays you need to learn how to read, write and do basic math. I also know how important it is to learn a trade, such as being a mechanic, a lawyer or even being an actress. Though there is such a focus on STEM in the schools, an education in The Arts also is something needed because it helps teach people how to appreciate Art and give them the skills to go far in whichever medium they desire, like collage or trade school do for lawyers, doctors or mechanics. Do you feel The Arts should be reintroduced into schools so it is STEAM not STEM like it is now?
To be honest I know what it's like to not to want to go to school or get a "higher" education. I had no desire to learn how to read when I was around 4 because my thinking was I would have my mommy always be there and read to me. My desire was to stay home and make cookies and sew pretty dresses like my mom and Grammie did. So, my Grammie was a retired school teacher and made a deal with little 4 year old me: if I learned how to read and sew by hand, she would teach me how to use the big "grownup" sewing machine. when I was 7. I struggled to read but eventually got the hang of it for the most part. I won't lie, I still have trouble with comprehension, especially when it comes to big collage-type words when I take a collage class. I'm not that great at sewing still, but it's a skill that's come in handy a time or two (especially with pants buttons and Halloween costumes). I am eternally grateful she taught me both skills, and I still love to look at my PUG book she used to teach me how to read with all those years ago. Home Ec was one of my favorite classes thanks to both Mom and her because of everything they taught me. Though I struggle immensely with collage, I am determined to graduate no matter how long it takes me. Slow and steady wins the race! It's always better to learn something slowly and get a full grasp on it than to learn something quickly and not understand it when it counts.
So until next time, all forms of education is just as valuable as the next and Keep Cooking with Character!
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