Whether or not you and I agree with the fact that the education system in India is appropriate for the present generation, we do ultimately agree that Education is a very valuable asset one can possess. It awards the person learning with intellect and the ability question the right and wrong. In India today, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is working relentlessly in order to make the student’s life harder than ever before. Okay, let me rephrase. Not harder per say, because how difficult is it to swallow textbooks to pass an exam, right? CBSE is no doubt a hardworking force, and hopefully working for the betterment of all students. Education in any child’s life is supposed to be a journey to be remembered and cherished. And hence it shouldn’t just be about acing an exam or being labeled as the topper of the class even though these facts surely are appreciated. It should be about learning, understanding and the overall holistic development of a child.
Children shouldn’t feel burdened or saddened or annoyed at the prospect of going to school every morning for at least five days a week. They should look forward to it. If you’re a student, ask yourself – Would you rather spend a day lounging at home or swallowing yet another page at school? To be honest, most of us now are not fond of waking up, getting dressed and catching the bus to school early morning. Whereas, on the other hand, we’re quite excited to do just the same if we have something we look forward to in the day. That’s it – we, as students, should look forward and be excited to learn something new every day, not dread it.
The teachers should have an interesting approach so that they catch the attention of the students. They should make their classes interactive and ensure that the students aren’t dozing off. Teachers who can connect with the students, rather than scare them. Teachers who are ready for innovative minds and not monotonous teaching. If the students want to question the textbook, then let them. We have curious minds and even though curiosity did kill the cat, it did answer its questions and let it die in peace. CBSE is very result oriented, in the sense that all that they include in our syllabus is only to get a good score as the outcome. Creative classes like Art, Music and Library shouldn’t come to a complete halt when students get promoted to higher classes. In fact, these classes act as a sort of stress reliever for the students under constant pressure.
Other classes such as Value Education, Life Skills or Adolescent Education Program (AEP) have been introduced, however, speaking from personal experience – it has no effect on our daily schedule. We have these classes twice, sometimes only once, a month and each class is spent in vain. Drafting questionnaires and putting us in challenging scenarios, we are expected to answer within a short span of time. Firstly, not only are we, ourselves, unsure of what we would have done
but giving an answer not matching with the expected one is obviously looked down upon. How exactly we to be graded are based on our responses to a certain situation? How can it possibly be justified for one student receiving an A+ for his positive reaction while the other being put down with a C for his vague and “wrong” response? As different individuals, we have different responses and different capacities for facing an abrupt situation put in front of us.
Many adults would say that – no matter what, learning whatever students are taught at school is important and that they should accept the fact and work hard to achieve good grades – and I agree, more or less. Learning what the teachers are teaching us, is, in fact, very important. But in exchange for knowledge, is getting good grades the only other thing necessary? This leads me to another aspect of student life – pressure. Pressure from parents, from teachers, tutors and sometimes even from siblings. The pressure to excel, to be one of the toppers of the class, to study 14 hours a day with all work and no play? The situation CBSE is currently following is wherein it focuses more on the knowledge of a child than the skill he or she possesses. We are the youth, the future of the world. Our aspirations and capabilities shouldn’t be in the hands of anyone else. We should work towards putting forward our opinions and the changes we’d like to see in our education system.
“When you take the free will out of education, that turns it into mere schooling.” – John Taylor Gatto
SUKRITI LAKHTAKIA(Student)
SpeakEducation 