Education must nurture as well as teach

In an era that overemphasizes efficiency and promotes shortcuts to success, we have to acknowledge, to the dismay of many, that there may not be any universally applicable "key" to success in, or through, education.

The Chinese used to have a lofty term for teachers, "gardener", implying that teachers should care for each student as a gardener nurtures each plant with its own defining characteristics.

Some plants are strong and staunch, some are weak and elegant, but each shines to the delight of its owner's eyes. But in reality, what does education do?