Use the system to educate yourself, Do not let the system educate you: Knowledge is power, But power is not knowledge.

While laying in bed around one a.m. one night, pondering the ideas of Rage Against the Machine, I devised this little maxim based on the popular saying, "Knowledge is power" (I did come up with the "But power is not knowledge" part myself, but, honestly, I do not know if anyone else has said it first). These four little lines invoke, in me, a multitude of ideas on the education system, and, hopefully, will invoke more in the mind of anyone who reads this.

First of all, it says to me that we should learn to think for ourselves. We should not be dependant on the system to teach us to think. The system merely spews facts at us; and subjective facts at that. They tell you that "this is the way it is, so learn it." They do not teach you to think about what they are teaching you, and to determine for yourself what it means. The administrators of the education system may tell you what to learn, but that does not mean that they know what is best for you. Power is not knowledge.

Second, take the courses that intrest and challenge you. Do not take the simple courses with no effort required just to get a few free marks. The knowledge gained from interesting, challenging courses can benefit you for your entire life, while the simple courses with guaranteed excellent outcomes merely have a short-term benefit. Knowledge is power.

Finally, we should take education beyond the classroom and into our own hands. By relying on the system alone, we will not learn anything truly interesting. The system teaches you the "fundamentals," not extraneous knowledge which will actually help you in the real world. We should reasearch interesting topics ourselves so we gain knowledge of the world and do not remain in an ignorant stupor of what is really out there by accepting what we are told.

So do not accept the education system as it is. Educate yourself, think for yourself, and do not accept what you are told outright. The world is open for thought, so think.