The progressive person has a definite purpose and a proper line of action for him. The 'definite purpose' is to move forward, beyond the boundary limits of already existing theories and the 'line of action' is to make expansions and improvements in his overall knowledge with particular emphasis on the main subject of interest, first by identifying new outstanding issues/ problems/ questions relating to main subject of interest and then by continuously acquiring of more and more, relevant or irrelevant information, and finally by doing analysis of the information so acquired, as well as of those new ideas that shall be conceived by him during all these processes. 'To move forward' also have another sense and this is continuous 'upward shift' in the 'overall understanding' and 'level of abilities'. Up-grades in the 'overall understanding', under progressive approach is relatively a routine matter because progressive approach is a continuous learning process and the process of learning involves up-grades in the overall understanding.
Under this static education system if a student remains unable, even in some case - due to certain un-avoidable reasons, to get passing marks in the examinations, he would not be allowed to take admission in the next class even in case where courses offered for study in the next class happen to be relatively easier and more interesting for him than to that of the previous class. In this way that student would be considered, by this static education system, to be not able to do such a task which actually is at much below the level of his maximum abilities. The actual problem with this static education system is that this system cannot identify the levels of students' abilities and so cannot take any effective steps for the improvements in those levels. This system only can do whatever is more convenient to do. It is quite easy to devise a rigid syllabus, then to teach only the syllabus subjects to all the students, then to force all the students to get themselves familiar (only) with the contents of those subjects and then making 'assessments' about the levels of students' abilities on the basis of such types of examinations which are quite easy to conduct and whose purpose is only to check the compliance of students' understanding with those syllabus contents. In this way if the 'level of abilities' in case of a student is found to be 'in compliance with' the syllabus requirements, then he would be considered to be able to go to next class. Being 'able' to go to next class would be considered to be equivalent to the 'upward shift in the level of abilities' of that student, under this static education system. In this way the answer to the question that whether a person can go beyond his own maximum abilities or not would be positively answered by this education system itself.
Whether, a person can go beyond his own maximum abilities or not, would be yes but not in that sense in which this question is 'positively' answered by the education system. A person can really go beyond his own maximum abilities if he actually achieves his own maximum level. To become able to go beyond his own maximum abilities, by a person, may not make proper sense at first instance. But to become able to achieve own maximum level by that person does make proper sense. A person can achieve his own maximum level if he successfully performs that task/ activity etc. such that to perform that task/ activity was possible only if he would have applied his maximum effort and ability. Once this maximum level is achieved, now onward it is no more the 'level of maximum ability' of that person. Now onward, the 'level of maximum ability' of that person would be located somewhere at a higher level than before. That person, as a result of this 'upward shift' in his 'level of maximum ability', becomes able to perform such a task/ activity which was impossible to be performed by him previously when his relatively lower level of 'maximum ability' could not let him perform 'higher level' tasks or activities. Now when he is at a 'higher level of maximum ability', some of those 'higher level' tasks/ activities are no more at 'higher level' for him. And obviously there shall still be infinite number and kinds of those tasks/ activities which would still be beyond the scope of this new and improved level of abilities. Now again when this person shall 'achieve' his new 'maximum level', he would become able to perform still 'higher level' tasks/ activities and this cycle shall continue in this way.
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