Hello Lovely Audience,
In today's blog I am going to talk about the India's prevailing education system, some of my experiences in growing up in a education system which discriminates on the basis of marks and how according to me, a revolution could be brought in this system resulting in a tremendous impact.
First of all let's talk about the etymology of the word 'education'.
Education is derived from the word 'educe' which means to develop or bring out something.'Real education' is meant to bring out the character , foster cultural values in a person. It is meant to nurture his/her potential ,etc. - these are the things you will find when you google. Education for me is to teach students how to invest on different marketing platforms, apply for loans, the banking procedures and formalities, how to negotiate ,development of communication skills and how to code (learn a programming language) in essence, making a student ready to face any difficulties in the future.
The next question that might pop-up in you minds is that-
Why learning a programming language is essential?
Learning a programming language is essential because it helps a person analyze any problem effectively helping him/her to develop critical thinking cause that's the essence of programming, first you analyze the problem,then break it into steps and give the instructions (in programming language) to the computer to get it solved. Learning how to program can make you rich? REALLY......the games which we play on computer, the app through which we shop online ,etc. are just the instructions given to the computer in some or the other programming language.Developing games and apps and selling them online can earn you a way lot more money than you can imagine.
MY FAVOURITE PART........
THE INVINCIBLE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
To my audience abroad, if you also hate the education system in your country then START APPRECIATING IT FROM TODAY ITSELF.......you will know why?
Speaking of me, my school days usually started at 6:45 with the morning prayer, then from 7:00 to 12:30 which included a recess time of 15 minutes, we used to cram enormous amounts of information (Hey, we need some material to vomit on the exam papers), then we proceeded for dispersal after completing the Six Cruel Hours Of Our Life, didn't guess it?(SCHOOL).
I studied 10 subjects(Physics,Chemistry,Biology,Mathematics,English Language,English Literature,History,Geography,Hindi,Computer).
We are required to learn a ton of definitions,Indian students are used to this statement-"This can come for the exam, LEARN BY HEART".Definitions should be learnt even if we do not understand it, by the way we are not even required to understand it,because "it may not come in the exams anyway....".We are portable dictionaries, ready to provide the information 'word-to-word' to the whole world.
In my case we had to request our teacher to take us to laboratories to apply our knowledge practically,BUT that would be only possible when the 'syllabus' for the current academic session was over,then we would go to laboratories to see our teacher perform the experiment and we had to perform the experiment in the same way, not allowed to experiment out of our curiosity.
I remember my class was taken to the Physics laboratory only twice in the 8-10 months of our study period in my 10th standard.
My teachers used to give us the markings of the points which were important (for developing a strong foundation for future? How could you even think about that ,it is for EXAMS!).
No one is more burdened than a Indian student-
10 subjects,20 textbooks,200 chapters,700 sub-chapters,infinite number of definitions,700 relatives to ask about marks,200 times more pressure of study than an average human, 20 times more study hours to invest than an average human and what we are left with is 10% of our time for maintaining fitness.
This is just a rough number.
We are not allowed select the number of subjects to study and choose the subjects of our interest.It is decided by the School for middle school kids and by the board for the high school kids.
There are three categories :-(except subject, everything is STEREOTYPICAL)
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION STUDENT NATURE TEACHER'S AFFECTION
'FOR GENIUSES' STUDIOUS,OBEDIENT 8,9,10 / 10
SCIENCE 'RESPECT' TEACHER'S PET
COMMERCE 'FOR THOSE WHO SCOUNDRELS,STUPID 1,2,3 / 10
THINK THAT STUDY ONLY FUN-SEEKERS
SUCKS'
ARTS N.A. N.A. N.A.
This is how students are discriminated on the basis of the subjects they choose.
The moment we choose Science,10 subjects are glued on us.And all subjects need to be studied with detail,and most of the people 'have' to opt for science even if the hate it,because it has a social status attached to it.
The moment you choose Commerce,you have to study 7 to 8 subjects on average plus tolerate all the taunting that will be fired on you for about the whole year which gradually declines until the year ends.
Arts is deemed as a subject for people who are 'good-for-nothing'.
I have special interest in subjects like Physics,Mathematics,Geography,Economics,Computer Science BUT...
Wait.....wait......wait....
I AM NOT ALLOWED THIS PRIVILEGE.....after taking Science,I need to study Chemistry and Biology.Some International boards in India give students the freedom to choose any subject they might want to study.But boards like ICSE and CBSE are lacking a lot in this concern.
Well anyways......
Sorry Chemistry and Biology lovers for being so rude.I like human anatomy but plant biology has made Biology the most hated subject for me.
MY EXPERIENCES
I once had a doubt during Physics lecture.My Physics teacher told me to meet her after school in the staff room,I went hastily with my textbook ready and asked her the doubt.She told me,"Why do you need to study this might not come in exams?".But I insisted her to clear my doubt,She said,"From exam point of view........mark this.....mark this......and MOST IMPORTANTLY study this,you can fetch GOOD MARKS".I thought that GOOD MARKS was all that our education system needed,no need to build a foundation, no need to explore the topic, no need to discover or invent anything new from that knowledge,just study what is required and you are DONE.I was infuriated after asking her four times the same doubt and getting the same answer which included the words,'EXAM POINT OF VIEW'.I said to her very calmly,"Thank you miss,I won't ever have a doubt in Physics now".
Another incident from Physics subject ,me and my friend ,we both needed to study the Physics chapter "Household electricity" all over so we sat after school for one hour ONLY. I was unable to attend the lecture for this chapter so I was very excited before studying this chapter. We reached Art Room where our teacher sat,we were now ready with our textbooks open. Now he said,"You need not study the first page,only learn the points which I am giving you'll".Now,my CURIOSITY to learn something new was over.I thought that I would get to know new concepts and I will apply it in real life.I knew now that he would only explain the concepts which were IMPORTANT for exams,he would now give some cancellations and would drive us out in just one hour, and this really happened.Now you know why did I use the word 'ONLY' above.He was also correct in some way because we had exams next day,but still,I believe that if all concepts and doubts are cleared and all the content is explained no matter how much time it takes,it would help the student excel in exams as well as making students more curious and observant. But that's just a dream because marks are given more weightage than knowledge. Please COMMENT if you'll agree with me.
My English Literature teacher used to tell,"Even when someone wakes you up and ask you any Act and Scene from Merchant Of Venice, you should speak readily".Merchant of Venice and Shakespeare's other plays were made for people to rejoice.Why I are we taught Shakespeare's plays in the first place? Everybody after eighth grade has this same complain.I say we can be taught Shakespeare's plays when :-
1) Our school has proper theatre facilities,these are PLAYS!!
2) They are taught in modern English,we were taught Shakespeare in 400 year old English ! It should be taught in Old English when you have Theatres and Drama,this is how we can feel it.
3) Highly qualified and experienced teachers in teaching Shakespearean plays.
MY SUGGESTIONS
Our Education system can be revolutionized by moving from theoretical to a more practical way of teaching thus forcing schools,universities to develop more laboratories helping students to experiment with greater freedom and research centres to develop research facilities which are at par with international standards.Thus,it could boost the economy of India in some years ahead by minimizing brain drain henceforth reducing unemployment and improving India's ranking in Global Innovation Index increasing the number of patents held by India.
We should make sports and fitness sessions compulsory every day at every school for every student.A student should be given an option to choose a sport which he/she enjoys among 5 to 6 other options,schools should start everyday with a 30 minute workout session separate for boys and girls which can include stretching ,strength ,cardio and other types of exercises.We should have a meditation session for another 15 minutes and then we should give 15 minutes for them to freshen up and start with study session for another 4 hours where before recess,they would have a 45 minute training and playing of the sport they chose .We can give student a choice between indoor and outdoor sports with fitness compulsory for all,he/she should be given all possible knowledge in that field and should be pushed to excellence,given the choice to opt out and join another sport in any category (indoor and outdoor) every 3 months or continue that sport for a whole year.India should host school games in all categories 4 times a year.Increased sports exposure in schools will lead to a cut-throat competition where only the best could win.The top 20 individual winners in all individual sports and top 5 teams in team sports should be sent for advance international training for Olympics.
HEY ,IF YOU HAVE READ TILL HERE THEN CONGRATULATIONS.BELIEVE ME , I HAVE A FULL FLEDGED PLAN READY FOR THIS .PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU WANT A WHOLE BLOG DEDICATED TO THIS TOPIC.
This will surely increase India's medal tally in Olympics and other International sporting events,develop a healthy workforce which has it's own benefits and encourage everyone to stay fit and healthy.
This will force government to invest more money in developing Sports infrastructure,thus India would get the honour of hosting the biggest sporting events.
According to me, the schools should make military training compulsory,where every student is given a 1 hour training in military strategy, teamwork, cooperation and tactics and the next 1 hour there should be a session where students listen to patriotic army stories, sing patriotic songs etc. and rejoice themselves.And at the end,there should be flag hosting, flag hosting is not only meant to be observed on 15th August and 26th January.You must have already guessed the benefits of this routine.
Schools should also teach students about the rich culture and heritage of India, and they should take students on educational tours to uncountable historic places we have in India, and all schools should conduct International exchange programs for top students of their school, who are all-rounders and are worthy enough to represent school on an international platform.
Schools should at least teach Bhagavad Gita to students,Bhagavad Gita is included in the curriculum of top schools in Europe and top universities of the world like Harvard,Oxford etc.,and mind you this book is not only meant to be read by Hindus as Lord Krishna speaks about well-being of each and every human.Check out this video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHCRBLtmpBk
This blog was too long,I am sorry.Thank you for being with me for so long.I spoke with a perspective of a 10th grader and I mainly targeted ICSE and CBSE boards.
The information which I shared is out of my experience and my suggestions are maybe not relevant for a country like ours and it could take years to be implemented,we know our government's speed.
If anyone has been hurted and want to give some suggestions,please comment down below, I will surely 'implement' it as soon as possible........LOL.
THANK YOU.
In today's blog I am going to talk about the India's prevailing education system, some of my experiences in growing up in a education system which discriminates on the basis of marks and how according to me, a revolution could be brought in this system resulting in a tremendous impact.
First of all let's talk about the etymology of the word 'education'.
Education is derived from the word 'educe' which means to develop or bring out something.'Real education' is meant to bring out the character , foster cultural values in a person. It is meant to nurture his/her potential ,etc. - these are the things you will find when you google. Education for me is to teach students how to invest on different marketing platforms, apply for loans, the banking procedures and formalities, how to negotiate ,development of communication skills and how to code (learn a programming language) in essence, making a student ready to face any difficulties in the future.
The next question that might pop-up in you minds is that-
Why learning a programming language is essential?
Learning a programming language is essential because it helps a person analyze any problem effectively helping him/her to develop critical thinking cause that's the essence of programming, first you analyze the problem,then break it into steps and give the instructions (in programming language) to the computer to get it solved. Learning how to program can make you rich? REALLY......the games which we play on computer, the app through which we shop online ,etc. are just the instructions given to the computer in some or the other programming language.Developing games and apps and selling them online can earn you a way lot more money than you can imagine.
MY FAVOURITE PART........
THE INVINCIBLE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
To my audience abroad, if you also hate the education system in your country then START APPRECIATING IT FROM TODAY ITSELF.......you will know why?
Speaking of me, my school days usually started at 6:45 with the morning prayer, then from 7:00 to 12:30 which included a recess time of 15 minutes, we used to cram enormous amounts of information (Hey, we need some material to vomit on the exam papers), then we proceeded for dispersal after completing the Six Cruel Hours Of Our Life, didn't guess it?(SCHOOL).
I studied 10 subjects(Physics,Chemistry,Biology,Mathematics,English Language,English Literature,History,Geography,Hindi,Computer).
We are required to learn a ton of definitions,Indian students are used to this statement-"This can come for the exam, LEARN BY HEART".Definitions should be learnt even if we do not understand it, by the way we are not even required to understand it,because "it may not come in the exams anyway....".We are portable dictionaries, ready to provide the information 'word-to-word' to the whole world.
In my case we had to request our teacher to take us to laboratories to apply our knowledge practically,BUT that would be only possible when the 'syllabus' for the current academic session was over,then we would go to laboratories to see our teacher perform the experiment and we had to perform the experiment in the same way, not allowed to experiment out of our curiosity.
I remember my class was taken to the Physics laboratory only twice in the 8-10 months of our study period in my 10th standard.
My teachers used to give us the markings of the points which were important (for developing a strong foundation for future? How could you even think about that ,it is for EXAMS!).
No one is more burdened than a Indian student-
10 subjects,20 textbooks,200 chapters,700 sub-chapters,infinite number of definitions,700 relatives to ask about marks,200 times more pressure of study than an average human, 20 times more study hours to invest than an average human and what we are left with is 10% of our time for maintaining fitness.
This is just a rough number.
We are not allowed select the number of subjects to study and choose the subjects of our interest.It is decided by the School for middle school kids and by the board for the high school kids.
There are three categories :-(except subject, everything is STEREOTYPICAL)
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION STUDENT NATURE TEACHER'S AFFECTION
'FOR GENIUSES' STUDIOUS,OBEDIENT 8,9,10 / 10
SCIENCE 'RESPECT' TEACHER'S PET
COMMERCE 'FOR THOSE WHO SCOUNDRELS,STUPID 1,2,3 / 10
THINK THAT STUDY ONLY FUN-SEEKERS
SUCKS'
ARTS N.A. N.A. N.A.
This is how students are discriminated on the basis of the subjects they choose.
The moment we choose Science,10 subjects are glued on us.And all subjects need to be studied with detail,and most of the people 'have' to opt for science even if the hate it,because it has a social status attached to it.
The moment you choose Commerce,you have to study 7 to 8 subjects on average plus tolerate all the taunting that will be fired on you for about the whole year which gradually declines until the year ends.
Arts is deemed as a subject for people who are 'good-for-nothing'.
I have special interest in subjects like Physics,Mathematics,Geography,Economics,Computer Science BUT...
Wait.....wait......wait....
I AM NOT ALLOWED THIS PRIVILEGE.....after taking Science,I need to study Chemistry and Biology.Some International boards in India give students the freedom to choose any subject they might want to study.But boards like ICSE and CBSE are lacking a lot in this concern.
Well anyways......
Sorry Chemistry and Biology lovers for being so rude.I like human anatomy but plant biology has made Biology the most hated subject for me.
MY EXPERIENCES
I once had a doubt during Physics lecture.My Physics teacher told me to meet her after school in the staff room,I went hastily with my textbook ready and asked her the doubt.She told me,"Why do you need to study this might not come in exams?".But I insisted her to clear my doubt,She said,"From exam point of view........mark this.....mark this......and MOST IMPORTANTLY study this,you can fetch GOOD MARKS".I thought that GOOD MARKS was all that our education system needed,no need to build a foundation, no need to explore the topic, no need to discover or invent anything new from that knowledge,just study what is required and you are DONE.I was infuriated after asking her four times the same doubt and getting the same answer which included the words,'EXAM POINT OF VIEW'.I said to her very calmly,"Thank you miss,I won't ever have a doubt in Physics now".
Another incident from Physics subject ,me and my friend ,we both needed to study the Physics chapter "Household electricity" all over so we sat after school for one hour ONLY. I was unable to attend the lecture for this chapter so I was very excited before studying this chapter. We reached Art Room where our teacher sat,we were now ready with our textbooks open. Now he said,"You need not study the first page,only learn the points which I am giving you'll".Now,my CURIOSITY to learn something new was over.I thought that I would get to know new concepts and I will apply it in real life.I knew now that he would only explain the concepts which were IMPORTANT for exams,he would now give some cancellations and would drive us out in just one hour, and this really happened.Now you know why did I use the word 'ONLY' above.He was also correct in some way because we had exams next day,but still,I believe that if all concepts and doubts are cleared and all the content is explained no matter how much time it takes,it would help the student excel in exams as well as making students more curious and observant. But that's just a dream because marks are given more weightage than knowledge. Please COMMENT if you'll agree with me.
My English Literature teacher used to tell,"Even when someone wakes you up and ask you any Act and Scene from Merchant Of Venice, you should speak readily".Merchant of Venice and Shakespeare's other plays were made for people to rejoice.Why I are we taught Shakespeare's plays in the first place? Everybody after eighth grade has this same complain.I say we can be taught Shakespeare's plays when :-
1) Our school has proper theatre facilities,these are PLAYS!!
2) They are taught in modern English,we were taught Shakespeare in 400 year old English ! It should be taught in Old English when you have Theatres and Drama,this is how we can feel it.
3) Highly qualified and experienced teachers in teaching Shakespearean plays.
MY SUGGESTIONS
Our Education system can be revolutionized by moving from theoretical to a more practical way of teaching thus forcing schools,universities to develop more laboratories helping students to experiment with greater freedom and research centres to develop research facilities which are at par with international standards.Thus,it could boost the economy of India in some years ahead by minimizing brain drain henceforth reducing unemployment and improving India's ranking in Global Innovation Index increasing the number of patents held by India.
We should make sports and fitness sessions compulsory every day at every school for every student.A student should be given an option to choose a sport which he/she enjoys among 5 to 6 other options,schools should start everyday with a 30 minute workout session separate for boys and girls which can include stretching ,strength ,cardio and other types of exercises.We should have a meditation session for another 15 minutes and then we should give 15 minutes for them to freshen up and start with study session for another 4 hours where before recess,they would have a 45 minute training and playing of the sport they chose .We can give student a choice between indoor and outdoor sports with fitness compulsory for all,he/she should be given all possible knowledge in that field and should be pushed to excellence,given the choice to opt out and join another sport in any category (indoor and outdoor) every 3 months or continue that sport for a whole year.India should host school games in all categories 4 times a year.Increased sports exposure in schools will lead to a cut-throat competition where only the best could win.The top 20 individual winners in all individual sports and top 5 teams in team sports should be sent for advance international training for Olympics.
HEY ,IF YOU HAVE READ TILL HERE THEN CONGRATULATIONS.BELIEVE ME , I HAVE A FULL FLEDGED PLAN READY FOR THIS .PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU WANT A WHOLE BLOG DEDICATED TO THIS TOPIC.
This will surely increase India's medal tally in Olympics and other International sporting events,develop a healthy workforce which has it's own benefits and encourage everyone to stay fit and healthy.
This will force government to invest more money in developing Sports infrastructure,thus India would get the honour of hosting the biggest sporting events.
According to me, the schools should make military training compulsory,where every student is given a 1 hour training in military strategy, teamwork, cooperation and tactics and the next 1 hour there should be a session where students listen to patriotic army stories, sing patriotic songs etc. and rejoice themselves.And at the end,there should be flag hosting, flag hosting is not only meant to be observed on 15th August and 26th January.You must have already guessed the benefits of this routine.
Schools should also teach students about the rich culture and heritage of India, and they should take students on educational tours to uncountable historic places we have in India, and all schools should conduct International exchange programs for top students of their school, who are all-rounders and are worthy enough to represent school on an international platform.
Schools should at least teach Bhagavad Gita to students,Bhagavad Gita is included in the curriculum of top schools in Europe and top universities of the world like Harvard,Oxford etc.,and mind you this book is not only meant to be read by Hindus as Lord Krishna speaks about well-being of each and every human.Check out this video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHCRBLtmpBk
This blog was too long,I am sorry.Thank you for being with me for so long.I spoke with a perspective of a 10th grader and I mainly targeted ICSE and CBSE boards.
The information which I shared is out of my experience and my suggestions are maybe not relevant for a country like ours and it could take years to be implemented,we know our government's speed.
If anyone has been hurted and want to give some suggestions,please comment down below, I will surely 'implement' it as soon as possible........LOL.
THANK YOU.
Good one
ReplyDeleteThank you🙂
DeleteGood keshav
ReplyDeleteThank you🙂
ReplyDeleteNice one
ReplyDeleteSusan miss' part was best ;)
Thank you so much
DeleteI would keep writing such blogs
A really interesting blog focusing on the stereotypical education system our country has. We definitely need to break this tradition of ' learn what will come in the exam' and prepare ourselves not with the examination point of view but with keeping life as our point of view. Keep up the good work!!!!!!
ReplyDelete