Practicality is the key to stability and survival for a student! Every year, thousands of students graduate from colleges with dreams and hope in their eyes for a secure future.
Once they leave college, most get a real life check. Most of them are in shock over the competition. Others realize that they truly aren’t even ready to face the competition. But if not through the education system, then how else are the students supposed to be prepared.
In fact, many opt for post-graduation courses in the quest to find out what they truly want. However, after they come out of the colleges that’s when reality blows the mind.
In order to increase their chances at a more promising future many do internships, take workshops or even do extra classes while they are still studying. But, they don’t get support from colleges or schools for that either. Hey, compulsory attendance!
Today, everything has gone digital. But the education system has not matched the pace of change. Students don’t get to choose what subjects they want to study. In fact, the education system decides what thousands of students are going to have to learn.
The education system has molded our minds in a way that it’s either black or white. But we are all different. We have different talents and desires. Then why are we taught the same things, the same way?
If we realty think about it, we aren’t really scaling neither as a society nor as individuals. To be honest we are nothing but stagnant. The process of educating a child right from kindergarten to the time they get a degree is somewhere broken. And it needs a fix.
It’s actually a tragedy. We are all grouped together and made to study on similar subjects from the same authors. But, what we study from the books are also only oe perception. Then why do we follow that blindly? We are made to memorize it and not really given a chance to apply the same and be creative at all.
What is the sole purpose of our education system anyway? Maybe it’s to mold and create the best versions of ourselves. But our education system hasn’t really been very successful at it.
The education system is about how good we are at remembering things and not really about understanding it. But, we are at fault too here. We never bother to ask why something is being taught to, or how it’s going to help us in the long run.
Is the education system broken? Or is it just a myth that needs to be avoided like it’s been for ages. The world has changed. But the education system is still outdated and dreaded by most of the students.
There exists this unspoken gap between where we want to be and where we are left by our education system.
History
So what exactly is stopping us from changing it?
Well, changing the entire education system isn’t all that easy. Our education system has been religiously followed for decades. But how did it all start? And who is to blame?
The education system that we are following in today’s date actually came into being during the British time. That was the era of the industrial revolution. At that time, they needed to effectively communicate with the locals for the industrial work.
So they educated the locals in a way that they would do as told. The British didn’t require the locals to be creative. So they structured the education segment that revolved around Supply and demand and not actual learning. But decades have passed by, yet we are following the same system.
Impact
What’s more effective – memorizing theories or practical learning?
Education system is like a factory mass producing students. Believe it or not this broken education system is ultimately impacting the overall economy of our country at large.
Many are not following their passion, and working at jobs purely for the sake of financially supporting themselves. However, doing something where your heart truly doesn’t belong is going to result in less productivity anyway. Many even settle for low packages just so that they don’t regret later.
In addition to this, if someone has failed in school or college exams major part of our society already thinks of them as a failure and even though there are a lot of job opportunities after failing in school, many students don’t do anything out of sheer ignorance.
Some are even denied jobs in the name of poor communication skills. And the education system doesn’t really help with this either. The Mental health is largely affected in all this. In fact, the overall lifestyle can get compromised.
Creativity needs to be on the top of the educational hierarchy, rather than rotting in the bottom.
In India, Doing what society tells you to do and then doing what you like after that is the traditional route most follow. Engineers! Do I have to say more?
Parents role
The role of a parent in the current educational scenario is quite a major one. A strong foundation in an individual can take them to places. And the role of a parent in building this foundation is very essential.
Parents need to see their children for who they are. The job of the parents in all this is not only to support and prepare their children for the unknown but also to stand by their side to make a change. Not all parents are keen on letting their children become artists. However today it’s possible to earn quite a lot as a yoga teacher as well.
Parents have to understand that if memorizing a theory isn’t something their children want. Then they should give their children a chance to let creativity fly high. In this entire scenario Parents’ mind state and their thinking process plays a very crucial role.
Corrective measures to take
We all know this gap between the education system and the practical world exists. But, what now?
If you are one of many, who are stuck between these gaps, there are still things you can do to make it all better. It might surprise you, but there are endless sources to earn passive income through the internet.
You can even research about the current booming sectors in the country and figure out if that’s something you are interested in.
Above all, you need to invest in yourself because nothing has better returns than this. Stay updated and be aware of everything that is trending. Learn different sets of skills. You never know what skill might come in handy.
It’s okay if you don’t follow the herd. Success is going to come when you truly learn. Remember, Test scores aren’t the scale to measure your intelligence.
We know we need a change in the education system. But we can’t really personalize the education system. Then what to do?
An innovative technique needs to be implemented to increase the overall productivity of the nation. And all this can be done by making more changes in the education system. It’s quite easy to say we need a change. But, what is that change exactly? Here are a few ways to improve the education system:
- Students should be allowed to choose subjects based on the skills of their interest
- There needs to be training programs or counselling for teachers to increase the standard of the education system
- Developing Soft skills should be taught at the beginning of school education itself
- Students should be encouraged to take up internship opportunities by colleges
- Schools and colleges should give more importance towards the betterment of the mental health of the students
- Basic financial education related to banking and other investment opportunities should be a part of the curriculum
These above mentioned steps are only a start though!
However, all this ranting might have made you pay a closer attention to the education system especially in India. But is there an education system that we can follow and change our lives for good? The real question here is if the education system around the world different?
Well, some are better than others but no education system is truly perfect. Creativity is something to be adhered to. It’s something to be enhanced and made better. But unfortunately that hasn’t been the case.
Even though mistakes aren’t really appreciated in the education system and more likely treated as a sin, don’t be frightened of being wrong. The solution to all this is not dumping or burning the education system to the grounds. But to make it better. Change is up to us. It is going to require a lot of efforts. It isn’t going to happen overnight either.
We need to transform the education system. That’s the goal anyway. Given the right tools to the education system, they can move mountains. In fact, addressing the core issues is the first step.
You need to ask yourself if the education system is holding you behind. Only then, you can make a change!
Disclaimer: The article is strictly an independent opinion of the writer, not of EdTechReview or its staff .
