[002] What makes a person educated?

IB Graduation Speech 2019

Today I brought along a little cart with books. The cart that you see over there, contains all of the books and folders of an IB student over the past two years. I now confess to you that I did a little math. I counted all of the pages only of the literature books that you read and did a little calculation. I found out that these books contain about 2700 pages and 860 000 words. This does not include the books of all other subjects. So this means that in the last year alone you have read around one million words. So if you want to know, how much a million is, just think that this is apporximately the number of words that you have read in one year.

So you will now say that this is all knowledge that already existed before – somebody else wrote it. Well, here is the IB Internal Assessment of one student. It is 76 pages. I just want to tell you that my Master’s Thesis in Microbiology was 90 pages, and therefore it is not much thicker than this. So that is basically newly created knowledge that you have written in one year. Knowledge that did not exist before, I think that this is kind of remarkable.

And then I did some thinking. And then I discovered something slightly disturbing – because I read a quote. And this quote said the following:

“It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.” -Alec Bourne

And this quote disturbed me. Because you are knowledgable – but are you educated? So basically my Research Question is: “What is this essential component that you need, this component that sets apart an educated person from a merely knowledgable person?”
And then I did some research. And then I found out the following.
Some people say that education is important because it passes on civilization from one generation to the next. So when we pass away – when the older generaltion passes away – our knowledge will continue to live in your minds. We become immortal this way, because our values, our ideals continue to live on in the next generation.
Yet other people say that it is not the passing on of civilization. Education as a form of self-actualization – in German: “Selbstverwirklichung”. Education is there because it helps us find out who we are. It helps us find out what we like and what we dislike. So I say that the subjects that you disliked were as important as those that you liked. Because they helped you find out who you actually are and to grow as a person.
And yet other people say that education is a human right. So for the past 8 years, and including elementary school education and kindergarden 12 years or even more, you have been exercising your human right for education. A human right which is denied to so many people in this world.
I know what you are thinking: “Mr. Kim you are not answering the Research Question!” Because the research question is – “What is this essential component that makes you educated?”
And then I say – maybe, maybe it is the way that we use the knowledge that we have. So I am going to tell you the following:

Use your knowledge of your mother tongue language to better understand your roots and your own culture.
Use your knowledge in the foreign languages to better understand people of other cultures.
Use your knowledge in the humanities to better understand the society that we live in so that we do not repeat the mistakes of our own past.
Use your knowledge in the natural sciences to help solve the problems that we face as a human civlilization.
Use your knowledge in math to adopt a structured and systematic problem solving approach.
Use your knowledge of arts for creative self-expression, to find out who you are and to find a little peace of mind and soul.
Use your knowledge in sports to take care of your health.
Use your knowledge in CAS to push your own boundaries, to try out new things and to get out of your comfort zone.
Use your knowledge of TOK and Philosophy to question the very knowledge that you have obtained.
In summary, use your knowledge ethically and in agreement with you own religious principles.
And so maybe at last I have found a definition of what makes a person educated.
Use your knowledge ethically. Do not take advantage of those people who know less than you. Use your knowledge to bring people together and do not divide them apart.

And so I can say:

“Use your knowledge ethically and I shall call you educated.”
And it does not matter how much you know.

Dear graduates, the last 2 years – I know – have not always been easy for you. It is not always easy to obtain so much knowledge. I understand. So I want to thank you that you have chosen this school, I want to thank you that you have accepted me as your teacher, that you have accepted us as your teachers.
And I also want to say that it has been an honor to have taught you. Thank you.
By Oliver Kim

educated?