What no one can teach us

This article was originally published in Italian in the October edition of operaincerta

When I think of Greece, my mind immediately fills with images of the sea and the sun shining on the white and blue islands. But even more than the landscape, it makes me think of philosophy. It is in fact to the ancient Greeks that we owe the origin of questioning, of seeking to understand ourselves and the world.

Being very passionate about education — particularly more authentic education — I often find inspiration in the teachings of Socrates and Plato. And it is precisely with this attitude of questioning every belief that I would now like to do an exercise with you, the reader. Before continuing to read, stop for a moment to reflect on the following question. Try not to settle for the first answer that comes to mind. Try to challenge common habits and knowledge. Here is the question...

What is education for you?

Do you associate it with school? With teaching? With raising a child? With how to behave towards others? And why do we educate?

I have asked myself this question in the past and thought about it a lot, questioning every thought, even the most contrary ones, genuinely trying to find my own answer.

In my personal research, I looked at the etymological meaning of the word education, which derives from the Latin words Educare, Educere and Educatum, meaning “to bring out, to grow”. Wait a minute... “to bring out”?

This linguistic origin left me very perplexed. I guess because in the traditional education normally received at school, “knowledge” is something acquired externally. It is taught to us by teachers or parents. We are like a tabula rasa, an empty container to be filled with knowledge and information.

So, does education have to do with “filling” or “drawing out”? What do you think?

Well, in my research, the teachings of Plato and his great teacher Socrates began to make more sense. They believed in the importance of developing the body, mind and soul, and established the purpose of education as “extracting” the knowledge latent in the soul of each individual. In other words, it is as if we all have a small seed inside us that needs to be cultivated in order to grow into what is already inherent in the seed itself.

So true knowledge is already within us in a somewhat “dormant” form. The educator, as an “assistant to the soul”, simply helps to bring out what is already there.

This is a radically different idea from that of a school that fills the mind with content.

It means believing that every individual possesses inner knowledge, potential, a spark of truth that is just waiting to be brought to light.

This awareness gave rise to my personal approach to understanding and imparting education, as well as my working method — “Cultivating Life Skills”. This is a project I developed on a farm in Taplow (Buckinghamshire, UK) and I run with the owner of the land - Matthew Grant, a woodsman, craftsman and wonderful mentor. In the programme children learn by doing and following their intuition, interests and curiosity with discipline and respect. You can find out more about the programme here.

For me, curiosity is the engine of learning. It is what ignites and stimulates the mind and soul. When a child is curious, they don't need someone to tell them what to learn: they just need someone to give them the space to do so.

So, what is the role of the parent or educator? I see it as the role of someone who takes care of a seed.

Returning to that idea, for me it is as if each of us is born with a small seed inside us — unique, unrepeatable. The task of the educator is not to decide what kind of plant it should become, but to create the right environment for that specific seed to develop. Like a gardener, the educator provides water, light, fertile soil and protection. And only with time, when that seed sprouts, do we discover whether it becomes a pear tree, a sunflower or an oak tree. Each of us blossoms according to our own nature and uniqueness.

When we learn to respect the nature of the seed, then education is no longer imposition, but shared growth. The more a person follows their deep and unique inclination, the more they feel fulfilled, alive, in harmony with themselves and with the world, and consequently contribute to the growth of society.

For me, being an educator means just that: accompanying and facilitating; guiding people — children, teenagers or adults — to develop the ability to listen to themselves, to follow their intuition and curiosity. To get to know themselves.

It means offering freedom, but also responsibility. Freedom to explore, to make mistakes, to discover. But with discipline as a form of respect for oneself and others.

If you think about who invented the aeroplane, no one told them how to do it. There was no manual. It was intuition, curiosity, the freedom to imagine something that did not yet exist. And this applies to every great discovery, artistic or scientific: it always stems from an act of inner freedom.

Perhaps today, schools and society still tend too much to “fill in’ rather than “bring out”.

But if we truly believe that every individual has unique potential, then education should change direction: it should become a journey of discovery and expression.

And now I return to the initial question: What is education for you?

Perhaps there is no single answer. Perhaps, as Socrates said, the answer is already within you — you just need someone to help you bring it out.