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Reference Work Makes Education Easier

Education is the progression of an individual through learning. Although learning can be equated with education, these two are entirely different from each other. Education is given to the individual involving an active method from the teacher to the student while learning is how the individual internalizes the education given to him by the teacher. It is how he responds to the teaching and how he understands the teaching, thereby, acquiring more knowledge and skills. Education is, therefore, an active process from the teacher to the student for him to function better in society and be productive. Education can be subdivided into formal education and informal education. Formal education is given in school like math, English, science, etc. Informal education, on the other hand, is the day-to-day experiences that an individual goes through in his life. Through this daily interaction with his peers and the environment, he gains knowledge and skill also. In the end, both formal and informal education is a lifelong process that one undergoes through the course of his lifetime. He receives necessary educational skills and knowledge through formal education by means of schooling. Once he graduates school and enters the professional world, formal education continues through seminars that he participates in, etc.. Informal education is given by his family, peers, mass media, and books. And this type of education is said to be the most influential among the two because of daily and close interaction with his environment.

Education has four-fold goals. It should be for the good of social purposes, economic purposes, intellectual purposes, and political and civic purposes. These four goals are needed in order for the individual to gain knowledge and skill through learning things that are relevant for him to become a responsible part of society. Not only should education contain these objective purposes, but it should also be aimed at oneself. In education, man has to develop knowledge of himself and of others also as it creates a subjective interaction with the society. It is much more difficult that just knowing the world because this involves deep level of understanding of principles, morality, aesthetics, and how he relates with others and with society itself.

Various methods have been developed to make education a much easier and enjoyable learning process for individuals. Such method is the reference work. Reference work is defined as the summary of information. This summary of information is compiled according to a specific category or topic with the intention of finding and getting the information quicker and easier for the individual. The writing style for reference materials are informative and only contain facts. And in some cases, as more information piles up regarding a specific category, these reference works have to be updated continuously and published to keep individuals updated also. Two examples of reference works are almanac which is a compilation of astronomical and meteorological information and also contains practical and fascinating facts about countries, people, etc and encyclopedia which covers almost all topics and is arranged alphabetically.

With the advent of reference works, education is made easier, brighter and more enjoyable to internalize.