Prompt: Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
______________________________________
Creativity is perhaps what differentiates humans from all the other animals. From the dawn of time, humans have used their brains to think freely and develop ideas to improve their chances of survival. Since the advent of schooling and formal education, more people have access to knowledge and the ideas of the thinkers of the past, like Aristotle or John Locke. However, formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.

Formal education does not introduce new ideas, Up until the graduate or post-graduate level, where students can attempt to contribute to research and expand the ideas in their field of study, most of what is taught in formal education is old, common, and even at times, outdated knowledge. Formal education is not necessary for learning; today’s students can find all the knowledge- perhaps even more knowledge than formal education could teach them- in textbooks, libraries or even simply on their phones.

Additionally, formal education restrains free thinking. The system demands its students to follow rules, instructions and deliver. Some compare formal education to preparing students for being workers in factories. Students repeat mundane tasks, teachers teach the same methods, and memorization is prized. There is no room for creativity and free thinking.

Finally, the knowledge taught by formal education does not always translate into real world applications. For example, one can attend the most prestigious business school, but would be a failure if asked to build their own $1 million business. Theory does not translate to application. It is often the case that those who have not attended formal education, those who have more real-world experience, that succeed the most in their careers. These people are often mavericks and think outside the box. Since they have not received formal education and have not learned the usual thinking paradigm, they approach problems uniquely, pave a new path and reach success.

In conclusion, formal education restrains free thinking and creativity. It does not create new ideas, limits free thinking, and is often not practical. Just think about some impactful innovators, men like Aristotle, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, who all have not completed their formal education, yet have impacted the most our way of life, by using their creativity and freedom of thought!