They say that knowledge is the greatest wealth; there is no limit to what one can learn, teaching is the noblest profession and that one never stops being a student. But these are the quotes or philosophies that we’ve been learning since the time children used to study under trees.
Now, in my opinion, each philosophy or quote has been altered to an extent. Today, corruption is the greatest wealth; streams of each field have become the limit, teachers now rely on EduComp to teach us and after college or graduation each one feels that they’re their own bosses. But that’s just my opinion.
Our education system today has evolved greatly from the ancient times but still doesn’t cover the term ‘education’ entirely. Our country is still a developing nation, which is still in the process of opening up to streams other than commerce and science. Even if we leave aside the education that starts from eleventh grade or junior college and focus on the education till the tenth grade, we haven’t got much to offer.
Let’s not focus on the faculty or the studies, but the race. The race to come first; to beat every one of your classmates; to study in the best of universities; to get full marks. In the midst of this race, most of the students get lost and can’t find their way to the finish line. Our system doesn’t provide multiple paths but only one. But what if that student is interested in laying down his own path? There is no way to because before he or she even starts to, they get crushed. Crushed by the system, society, peers, parents and most of all by their own self-esteem. There is always discrimination against the one who wants to create a new path.
Most schools only provide the basic subjects but lose focus on the other, more important ones. Sure, the basic subjects will teach us how to calculate, why the earth has night and day or why was the World War 2 fought but why don’t I gather any values from these that might help me actually build a life?
In today’s world, we judge every student on the basis of their marks in basic subjects. Marks cannot be a measure of intelligence. If you look at a child who probably got 60/90 in Math or Science, your first reaction would be, “This child doesn’t have any capability.” But you forget to see the other side of the coin, where the child excels in fields like dancing, writing, music, art, inventions, creativity and so much more. Just like we can’t determine a country’s progress by looking at its Per Capita Income or GDP, we can’t determine a child’s capability just by looking at marks or interest.
Let me give you an example of the whole extravaganza, chaotic mess around getting a 10 CGPA. Today, there is so much pressure of getting 10 out of 10 that so many students succumb to the pressure. With the amount of pressure from school, peers, society and parents, the child many a times stumbles upon the wrong and dangerous path.
When did we stop teaching our children how to live life and sent them off to school and universities like one who sends their kids to war? When did schools become more of a money making business than an institution meant to pass on knowledge to each child? Knowledge doesn’t mean grilling numbers and equations into a child’s mind but, in fact, giving them the confidence to believe in themselves and the strength to face any challenge life throws at them.
I, personally, went through so much pressure, comparison and because of the weight of expectations just piling on my back, I broke and lost my way. Students need to understand that it’s okay to be different, to not want to compete, to have different interests and to be unique.
This is a picture, I’m sure, many people have seen and understood. Yet, we do not implement this. Look at each child differently, observe children’s interest and don’t plan out a future for them in advance. Teach them how to create their own future. Each fish has its own gills through which it breathes; similarly each person has a passion or a talent(s) through which they create a place for themselves in this world. There is no end to education. You don’t just get done with it by passing an examination or graduating, it goes on till you breathe your very last breath. If it were up to me, I’d repair or replace our education system with something that actually works!
SpeakEducation 
So true Meghna……I completely agree that there is so much pressure from the school as well as parents to get a 10 CGPA but for what ? These grades don’t even matter because the schools already start class 11 even before the results are out because they need to make their money. I don’t think if anyone gets a grade of 5 or 6 , the schools will demote them or reject them. I wonder where these grades are of use. When you grow up no one even asks you …..what was your CGPA in class 10 ?
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