[Civil Servant x Labor and Social Security Attorney x Career Change?] Is education about "teaching"?

Hello everyone.
I am a father of two in my mid-30s, currently working as a local civil servant, having passed the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam through self-study, and currently contemplating a career change.

Thank you always for your "likes" and "comments"!!

<My Background>
2011: Started as a local civil servant
2024: Failed the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam due to the "Health Insurance" section cutoff
2025: Passed the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam ㊗️, currently contemplating a career change← Here now

I would like to share my thoughts on my life as a civil servant, the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam, and daily life.

Today, I have organized my thoughts on "education."
I hope you will join me.

Introduction

"Did you do your homework today?"
"Did you listen properly to what your teacher said?"

I imagine many households with children use these kinds of phrases.
Of course, it is the same in my own home.

"Follow the rules and regulations," "Listen to what adults say," "Don't fight with your friends."
To ensure children don't struggle in society and don't cause trouble for others, I feel that parents must teach them these things.

That is what I think.
However, is that really correct? I would like to ponder this a little.

The day I re-examined "What is education?"

The first time I felt doubt about "school education" was during my third year of university, from a comment made by my supervising teacher during a four-week teaching practicum.

Neither the teachers at the school nor my fellow students denied those words.
That was the day I keenly felt that "there is no future for school education."

I introduced the episode from that time in this article.

In the end, after graduating from university, I chose "public service" rather than "education," and over a decade has passed as a local civil servant.
Then one day, during a casual interaction with my child at home, an incident occurred that made me feel uneasy about "education."

The demon of "The teacher is always right"

I have a very analytical, science-oriented brain, and I have lived my life with "arithmetic and mathematics" as my strong subjects from elementary school through university. (Please forgive my lack of ability in humanities subjects! Haha)

One day, while I was grading my child's arithmetic homework, I discovered a way of solving a problem that was definitely based on a misunderstanding (even though the answer was somehow correct).
I had no choice but to study the method from scratch with them and have them solve the same problem again.

However, the child didn't seem convinced. I asked them, "Why?"

At this moment, I re-examined "what education is".

School teachers aren't perfect either. In fact, making mistakes is part of being human.
Yet, the child is convinced that "what the teacher says is correct."

Perhaps the child's "ability to think" is being lost.

Perhaps Japanese education has become about "(the teacher) teaching and raising".

From "teaching" to "learning"

Generally, the difference between "teaching" and "learning" lies in who the "subject" is.

When lined up like this, it is simply classified as adults "teaching" / children "learning".
However, as an important perspective,


adults also "learn" from children sometimes.

If adults try to control children for their own convenience, they will never learn from the children.

Instead of forcing learning onto children, adults should adopt an attitude of learning from children.
I believe that within that relationship lies the hint for children's spontaneous learning to grow, and for them to "learn and grow" (as children).

To that end, what can adults do?
I thought about it a little. (I haven't fully put it into practice yet...)

• Attitude of listening
  "Listen to the end" to the child's words, without evaluation or one-sided judgment.

• Sharing the question
  Instead of immediately answering a child's "Why?", create time to think about it together.

• Discovering growth
  Value the process of "noticing" and "thinking" rather than just what they can or cannot do.

In conclusion

It is not that "teaching and raising" is entirely bad.
It is necessary to "teach" children things they do not know, especially the rules and regulations they must acquire to live in society.

However, in today's world where society changes at a dizzying pace,
I feel that the era of "education" consisting only of "teaching" as we have known it, is no longer able to keep up with the speed of change.

We adults might also be able to broaden our own worlds by "learning from" the perspectives children have and the casual remarks they make.

I hope that the future goal of education will be
"not making them listen to what they are told, but believing in their ability to think for themselves."

That is what I am wishing for these days.

Today, the 13th, is "Sports Day."
Come on, why not move your body with your children this autumn and learn something "new"?