Changing Education in a Changing Era

Not long ago, just 20 to 30 years ago, information was an argument pursued with great effort; today it has become a readily accessible fact. When I say it was an argument pursued with great effort, what do I mean? Back then, roughly 30 years ago, to obtain a piece of information we desired, we had to endure hours-long bus rides to the city public library, followed by hours of research. If we were lucky enough to find the information we sought, we considered ourselves fortunate.

In this environment, people’s level of knowledge was limited to what was taught by the media or schools. Access to anything beyond that was impossible. School curricula contained precisely the amount of knowledge deemed necessary for future generations, neither less nor more, and education proceeded accordingly. That is, the teacher, Ahmet, conveyed to Ali — the diligent student expected to have a successful life — only as much knowledge as Ahmet himself possessed. By the end of the day, Ali was expected to outperform his teacher. Yet a contradiction existed: if knowledge cannot be multiplied from knowledge, how could Ali possibly achieve this?

In short, the knowledge we could possess was confined solely to what was taught to us and deliberately included in curricula by specific individuals, because we had no access to more. We knew Germany was a country, but we did not know about the revolution Christianity experienced under the Germans — the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. We learned that our so-called ally, the United States, supported us under the Marshall Plan, but we did not know this was a move aimed at countering the growth of the Soviet Union. Our knowledge was restricted to what we were taught.

While we remained within this system, our European and American allies had long since invented the mobile phone and expanded their communication networks. We, however, were still content with what we were taught, yet still expected to succeed. If we assume all individuals possess similar potential, it is clear that this comparison was not fair.

Today, thanks to the global accessibility of the internet, Ali is no longer confined to the curriculum; he can quickly research questions that interest him and develop himself accordingly. As a result, the number of people who believe he can have a bright future has grown.

In conclusion, in this era when access to information has never been easier, the greatest need of our youth is not merely to accept what is taught, but to learn how to investigate and question. Those who will shape the future will not be those who consume information in its ready-made form, but those who research and transform it. If children like Ali learn to investigate, they will not only change the course of their own lives but also the destiny of society.