Well, I’m hearing this question from a while now, especially in India. I heard a simple yet effective definition of ‘education’ somewhere around the web (twitter?). It goes likes this:
Education is whatever that remains with you when you’ve forgotten what you’ve learnt in school.
Quite simple eh? Yeah it is. Well, education, when created was to make the children more aware of the world they live in. It was something powerful. Students chose their favorite subjects, studied them, and their parents didn’t ask them to go to their choice’s university.
Well in my words, I would define education as:
Making children aware of their surroundings and themselves, without forcing them to learn anything.
Now you will ask me why I am saying why I am saying not to force them to learn. WTF? If we’ll not ask them to learn then how the heck will the learn? My answer will be, there is a big difference between asking and forcing. When you ask something, you are just suggesting, to obey that is the decision to whom you are asking. And for forcing you all know.
The point I’m making here is that, today’s world is soaked so much into “bookish” knowledge that, a field trip is considered harmful for the studies of a child. Seriously, I observed one parent giving the same reason she didn’t send her child to the field trip. When I heard that I was shocked! Like, it was torturing your own birth! Another thing which I observed was when during swine flu was at its peak in India. All schools were shut for around 10 days. But, in spite of that, some parents forced their children, as well as the school authorities to reopen the schools just because their children’s study was at loss. They don’t care that if that deadly disease ceased their precious children whom they want to study, they will be killed, that’s for sure.
This is the Indian Education System. Considered the best in the world for primary, secondary, and senior secondary curriculum all over the world. Seriously, I sometimes feel ashamed in front of some of my friends who study in international schools with international boards.
But the reforms introduced by the HRD minister of The Government of India, gives me some hopes. Scraping of board exams, scraping marks and introducing grades instead is a great idea. Well, there are people who are also against it, but they don’t matter.
Education system and people’s mentality, of India, needs a lot of more improvements like this. Till then, be happy that, we are on the right path!
What are your view on the education system? Share’em with me through comments!
Photo credits: Boy with dog, studying on a mountain by mattlinden, on Flickr.
Mr. Sibal has done a good job by introducing grades instead of marks. I hate the system of judging a student by his marks. It does not mean that if someone gets 5 or 10 marks more than me than he is better than me and vice versa.
Nice definition of Education. Every teacher and parent should see this. Indian schools force children to learn. That’s really a nice point you have raised.
PS: I think that this has been your best post so far. Yes, all of them are good. But this is the best.
Hey Anik! Yeah Mr Sibal has done a great job. Yeah seriously, and not only 5 to 10 marks, but I have seen students crying because they got only 1 mark less than their so-called “competitor”. I just can’t control my laughter at such times!
Hey thanks for that really nice comment… I also do feel that this is my best post!
Hey manav,
I agree with you.
forcing can never create a good confident humans, it can just create some successful robots.
Even i thought of writing on this topic earlier.
Hey Sweta! Welcome to my blog! Yeah forcing can nver create confident human beings, it just creates successful robots. Our society still needs some more improvements.
Thanks for commenting! Hope to see you around!
Listen brother, you are still not 18. Stop giving too much damn about these serious things in life. Have some fun. As Joker always said, “Why so serious?”
Education has been a fuckup in our country, and will remain to be. No matter whatever happens. Trust me.
Why start talking about this when we are 18, while we can do it now? Is it some kind of a law? I don’t think so. Well, if all the 1.5 billion population of India will think that nothing can be done, I’m sure nothing can be. But if only a small amount of people think that IT IS possible, so why change their mentality?
When the Britishers were ruling India, there were people who though that we can NEVER achieve independence. But there were also some people who BELIEVED that it is possible. Though they were lesser in number, but they had a much greater impact. And what happened then? India achieved independence. And there were guys like me during that period who gave their lives for the nation, and believe me, I can do that as well.
And for the fun part, I enjoy my life to the fullest. I write stuff like this because I like to talk about it to the people. And what other better way than blogging?
By the way, thanks for visiting my blog and commenting! Hope to see you around!
I think the whole merit and marks system which was existing few days back was harmful..i don;t think putting so much stress and tension on student’s life is a good thing. I really do not rememebr the history lessons i have learn in my school or the theory of computers i read during college.. I think our education system should include the syllabus which can be used in practical life..otherwise overall higher education system is exceptional in India.
Hey there again! Well, yeah, the merit and marks system sucked. Seriously, what’s the point to study things which are of no use to us. Like you said history. Those who have interest in one topic can take that, and the other one can choose another. Why study math if I fail in it and top in English? Just nonsense.
Thanks for commenting!
Just now I sent my son to write his exams and he looked so tired and exhausted that I felt I should take him out of college and give him a small shop to run …. seriously.
Hey Farila! Welcome to my blog!
That’s why exams should be abolished. And the running of a shop? I think he can do more better things, don’t you think so?
Thanks for commrnting!
OOPS!! I should have read this post before I comment in your “American Dream!”!
Today, people considers your marks as a measurement of success but, you should never trust it! You may know a lot of definitions (defined by many specialists) in your school days but, what you have to use in your life will be your own definition! It makes a lot of difference! India’s educational concept is really strict and more over it makes no sense in many ways!
Sincerely,
Raghu
Hey Raghu!
Yes i agree with you that there are a lot of definitions I will get in my school life, but the definition I give to life will be the best one. Thanks a lot for commenting, and sharing your thoughts!