Krishnamurti talks to students, parents and teachers
The function of education

I wonder if we have ever asked ourselves what education means. Why do we go to school, why do we learn various subjects, why do we pass examinations and compete with each other for better grades? What does this so-called education mean, and what is it all about? This is really a very important question, not only for the students, but also for the parents, for the teachers, and for everyone who loves this earth. Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? It is merely in order to pass some examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are young to understand the whole process of life? Having a job and earning one´s livelihood is necessary but is that all? Are we being educated only for that ? Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation; life is something extraordinarily wide and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings. If we merely prepare ourselves to earn a livelihood, we shall miss the hole point of life; and to understand life is much more important than merely to prepare for examinations and become very proficient in mathematics , physics, or what you will.
So, whether we are teachers or students, is it not important to ask ourselves why we are educating or being educated? And what does life mean? Is not life an extraordinary thing? The birds, the flowers, the flourishing trees, the heavens, the stars, the rivers ande the fish therein all this life. Life is the poor and the rich; life is the constant battle between groups, races and nations; life is meditation, life is what we call religion, and it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind the envies, the ambitions, the passions, the fears, fulfilments and anxieties. All this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ourselves to understand only one small corner of it. We pass certain examinations, find a job, get married, have children, and then become more and more like machines. We remain fearful, anxious, firghtened of life.
So, is it the function of education to help us understand the whole process of life, or is it merely to prepare us for a vocation, for the best job we can get?
What is going to happen to all of us when we grow te be men and women? Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in wich you will gradually wither away. Is that all that your life is going to be? Have you ever asked yourselves this question? Should you not ask it?
Surely, education has no meaning unless it helps you to understand the vaste expanse of life with all its subtleties, with its extraordinary beauty, its sorrows and joys. You may earn degrees, you may have a series of letters after your name and land a very good job; but then what? What is the point of it all if in the process your mind becomes dull, weary, stupid? So, while you are young, must you not seek to find out what life is all about?
And is it not the true function of education to cultivate in you the intelligence which will try to find the answer to all these problems?

*The function of education - page 11 - Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.