When it is said in medicine: «The operation was successful» and then it is added: «and the patient died», we are facing a painful paradox that sums up the danger of being satisfied with form over substance. This phrase, despite its harshness, is suitable today to serve as an educational metaphor that invites us to quietly reflect on our education, not to accuse, but to search for the true meaning of success.
We often hear about curriculum development, modernization of tools, and expansion of digital education. Important and appreciated steps. But the question that must not be forgotten is: What happens to the student inside the classroom? Are they learning to live knowledge, or just to pass the exam?
Educational success is not measured by the number of pages completed or by marks alone. It is measured by what remains in the student's mind after the exam, and by what appears in their behavior when they go out into life. The student is not a number. Nor a slot in a grade report. Rather, they are a human being who is developing day by day.
From our experience in the educational field, we sometimes see a student excelling in credentials, but hesitant in conversation, weak in initiative, afraid of making mistakes. Here a silent question emerges: Where did the impact of the school in building personality go?
Education is a participatory process where curriculum, school environment, family, and culture of society are integrated. And any development requires balance: a balance between knowledge and skills, between organization and spirit, between content and human.
Knowledge without meaning turns into rote memorization, success without awareness turns into a number, and a certificate without personality becomes a burden instead of a tool for empowerment.
The student today lives in a fast-paced, open, changing world. And the role of the school is to give them the compass before giving them the information. To teach them how to think, before telling them what to memorize.
And when we celebrate our educational achievements, it's beautiful to quietly ask ourselves:
Is the student more capable of questioning?
More confident in themselves?
More prepared for life?
If the answer is yes, then the operation has indeed been successful.
But if success remains confined to paper, we are not looking for a culprit, but for a deeper meaning of education.
In the end, education is not a project of results, but a human project. And when we save the human, we have truly saved the patient… not just applauded the operation.
