The present system seems to lead us nowhere. In an age of advanced technology, there seems to be a predefined template for every other activity. Be it fashion, technology or education everything new to be done seems to already have a frame into which new ideas simply have to fill in.
A few days back, I watched my kid nephews pour into their copies and memorize an essay “An autobiography of a one rupee coin”. I can distinctly remember certain lines of the essay (previously dictated by their class teacher). One went: I have an embossed image of two ears of corn and the figure 1 with the letters ‘government of India’ above the same. Although it is not completely unbelievable that a person of 5th standard can understand such a statement, but it is quite unlikely that a person of that age is really going to frame that statement until and unless he has mastered writing altogether. I approached my sister and suggested that she rather left the kids to write whatever came to their minds rather than forcing them to mug up a certain dictated material. The immediate reply was, “They have already tried what you said and came up with poorer scores until they wrote what the teacher thought was rather relevant”. Being remotely involved in their study process, I rather didn’t think it advisable to intrude in their methods further and bring them worse results, though I still believe that is not exactly what is ought to be done.
I kept pondering on the matter days later and was rather disturbed to think that we crush creativity and innovation at its very inception. Schools which are supposed to be alma-matters to growth and development of one’s skills rather curb their very freedom to think their own ways. How then are people supposed to think and act differently than the rest of the herd?
On a closer inspection I found that parents are more intensely troubled by tests and examinations than the participants of the test. They complained incessantly of the syllabus, the answers to be memorized (they are tough ones is a unanimous reply), the assignments to be done and the so called projects (because most of them are out of reach of the children’s minds and hence have to be done by the parents themselves). Quite contrary to the older customs, children spend lesser time cycling and bickering with each other on roads and streets and living rooms and more on making their way to important tuitions and pre and post preparations for the tuitions itself. It was sad enough to find that the new bicycles bought with such enthusiasm, looked rusty from disuse and lay in one corner of the garage with deflated tyres. I barged into the house and questioned all the inmates how they ever allowed such a state of events and again there was a template answer “exams this whole month”!!
The question that arises is that do examinations test the real ability of a student? Most of the studying is rather done by the parents than the children. So a child with more alert parents will score better, because anyways it does not depend upon his/her ability to answer the questions. (Every one is more or less equally spoon fed with the answers). Isn’t it the duty of the educating institutes to foster habits like thinking, analyzing and debating? Isn’t the primary objective of education to bring out better thinking individuals than a group of nerds?
Isn’t it important that a child inculcates the habit to frame his own answers for life?
A few days back, I watched my kid nephews pour into their copies and memorize an essay “An autobiography of a one rupee coin”. I can distinctly remember certain lines of the essay (previously dictated by their class teacher). One went: I have an embossed image of two ears of corn and the figure 1 with the letters ‘government of India’ above the same. Although it is not completely unbelievable that a person of 5th standard can understand such a statement, but it is quite unlikely that a person of that age is really going to frame that statement until and unless he has mastered writing altogether. I approached my sister and suggested that she rather left the kids to write whatever came to their minds rather than forcing them to mug up a certain dictated material. The immediate reply was, “They have already tried what you said and came up with poorer scores until they wrote what the teacher thought was rather relevant”. Being remotely involved in their study process, I rather didn’t think it advisable to intrude in their methods further and bring them worse results, though I still believe that is not exactly what is ought to be done.
I kept pondering on the matter days later and was rather disturbed to think that we crush creativity and innovation at its very inception. Schools which are supposed to be alma-matters to growth and development of one’s skills rather curb their very freedom to think their own ways. How then are people supposed to think and act differently than the rest of the herd?
On a closer inspection I found that parents are more intensely troubled by tests and examinations than the participants of the test. They complained incessantly of the syllabus, the answers to be memorized (they are tough ones is a unanimous reply), the assignments to be done and the so called projects (because most of them are out of reach of the children’s minds and hence have to be done by the parents themselves). Quite contrary to the older customs, children spend lesser time cycling and bickering with each other on roads and streets and living rooms and more on making their way to important tuitions and pre and post preparations for the tuitions itself. It was sad enough to find that the new bicycles bought with such enthusiasm, looked rusty from disuse and lay in one corner of the garage with deflated tyres. I barged into the house and questioned all the inmates how they ever allowed such a state of events and again there was a template answer “exams this whole month”!!
The question that arises is that do examinations test the real ability of a student? Most of the studying is rather done by the parents than the children. So a child with more alert parents will score better, because anyways it does not depend upon his/her ability to answer the questions. (Every one is more or less equally spoon fed with the answers). Isn’t it the duty of the educating institutes to foster habits like thinking, analyzing and debating? Isn’t the primary objective of education to bring out better thinking individuals than a group of nerds?
Isn’t it important that a child inculcates the habit to frame his own answers for life?
