Children Need Both Kinds of Education: Material and Spiritual

Years of involvement with educational systems, and even starting an overseas school years ago, have led me to this question: does our education system serve every aspect of our children’s lives

Education isn’t simply about memorizing facts — it’s about discovering the hidden talents and potential of children and youth, teaching them to think for themselves, and giving them what they need to choose the right path. 

In other words, education means awakening students to their potential so that they can take charge of their lives.

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This quotation from Baha’u’llah has been my guiding light in navigating the tricky and complicated educational system: “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” If, as Baha’u’llah said, we can unearth those gems from within our students’ minds and hearts, we’ve done our job as educators.

In the past and even now, in some places in the world, children were traditionally sent to a master or guru to learn. They were taught the basic facts of being human by emphasizing moral and spiritual values, and once that was achieved, then the master would proceed to teach them mathematics and sciences — because human and spiritual values were considered the foundation for building a life. 

Sadly, in many educational systems, we now teach without consideration for such a foundation and its ongoing maintenance.

In many places, education no longer satisfies both sides of our being, the material and the human — because we’ve adopted one-sided systems that put great stress on material success. The whole education system is geared to create skills that allow us to succeed in the material world, and little or no effort is put in place to encourage achieving the higher goal of becoming a better human being, creating a healthy balance between the material and the spiritual.

The whole goal of education — to develop human potential — requires a balanced outlook. Some of that education, of course, must first take place at home, as the Baha’i teachings point out:

Every child is potentially the light of the world — and at the same time its darkness; wherefore must the question of education be accounted as of primary importance. From his infancy, the child must be nursed at the breast of God’s love, and nurtured in the embrace of His knowledge, that he may radiate light, grow in spirituality, be filled with wisdom and learning, and take on the characteristics of the angelic host.

When children do begin to attend school, however, the development of human and moral potential is not part of the education system’s focus, and it is not even the focus for most parents when the goal set for their children involves succeeding materially. The concept of planning for a prosperous and balanced economic and moral life is almost unheard of and is ignored.

I understand the need for and importance of material success, but the question is, at what cost? In most cases, the price is neglecting the importance of developing the potential of our souls.

In our worldly, materially-centered way of living, our goals have shifted from developing human and spiritual potential to creating individuals skilled in navigating the competitive world of the job market and landing jobs with high salaries and good benefits. But even the education system’s success in teaching essential facts of management of the material side is questionable. One of my ex-students told me that she was robbed of 12 years of her life spent in school because she did not learn the basics of how to manage her finances.

There is nothing wrong with being financially successful: having a profession, degrees, skills, and wealth, as long as we remember that our degrees, work, and wealth do not define who we are. In our materialistic world, who you are spiritually and morally is secondary to what you have, whether a degree, a big bank balance, or the number of cars and houses you own, which have become superficial indicators or yardsticks for measuring life’s success.

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Our life’s priorities have become one-sided. They cover the physical aspect of our lives, but they do not deal with the human and spiritual sides of our existence. The Baha’i teachings urge us to look at life differently — to see it not only through a material lens, but with a spiritual vision as well. Abdu’l-Baha, in a speech he gave in Paris, said:

It is indeed a good and praiseworthy thing to progress materially, but in so doing, let us not neglect the more important spiritual progress, and close our eyes to the Divine light shining in our midst.

Only by improving spiritually as well as materially can we make any real progress, and become perfect beings.

Various religions in the world have offered religious schools. Still, sadly, some of them emphasize the supposed supremacy of one religion over others, presenting their religion as the only way to God or salvation, which leads to fanaticism, alienation, and division, destroying the potential of their students.

However, lately, more awareness of the need for change has risen among educators, and some educational and religious institutions have made attempts to incorporate morality and spirituality in their curricula.

Every child is full of gifts from the Creator, and education’s role involves developing those gifts and allowing them to shine, discovering the real meaning of a prosperous and balanced life — of progressing materially and also progressing in the acquisition of human and spiritual values. 

After all, many people who gain vast wealth in this physical realm are bound to realize at the end of their lives that they must leave all possessions behind when they die. On the other hand, the spiritual and moral growth made during a lifetime does not disappear when our human souls transcend this realm, creating great satisfaction that life spent on acquiring the deeper human and spiritual virtues prepared us for the next stage of our existence.