Learning; The Heart’s Way

Education… This word encompasses so many definitions…

For some it means a good degree…. for others it portrays attainment of knowledge…

In rural areas of our country education is nothing more than learning to read and write… where students as well as teachers live and study in the most pathetic conditions… and hardly any child  makes it to college… or to any city to start a job…

In the urban areas the facilities are much better and comparatively good education is available everywhere…. although the cost is higher is you move upward through the social barriers… but still an educated kid from the city looks a lot different in terms of an overall outlook as compared to a village boy or girl…

However…..i feel education in our country….. is still synonymous to a Rat Race… A race to attain good numbers…. percentages, grades and degrees… Later this race turns into a war against time to attain a good job and a stable life…..

But one question remains…

Are the Educated really Educated?

Have we only learnt to race? To do whatever it takes to be on top by fair means or foul? To cut corners and forge relationships just to pass a few exams?

Have we ever learnt anything in the real sense? Do we know what we are supposed to do? Have we discovered our hidden talents or are we just flowing with the tides?

…We are forcefully learning….. whatever profession is in demand in the market and is paying good…instead of creating a niche of our own.

I haven’t seen most people becoming good at what they Love to do…. Instead with time they turn good by doing whatever they Get to do.

There’s no passion. Some people blame it on social pressures, some on poverty and family problems but the thing remains…. What if the child had been put into some work he loved doing in the first place? At the very moment when he was exploring the world… Whose responsibility it is? The Government? His Parents, teachers or the child himself?

Instead of putting every child in the race for grades why can’t we show a child options in the early stages of life? Whether he/she wants to be doctor or an engineer or just want to paint or draw or perform? Would he instinctively choose the wrong thing? Or would he choose the path which We think is wrong and later would be right for him and make him excel?

Is the Western education system the real answer to our education problems or are we supposed to think from our own perspective?

The market is filled with examples of business graduates working in IT sector,  engineers working in banks, doctors teaching kindergarten kids and Phd qualified scientists  running their own businesses. Are they supposed to do what they are doing or did someone force them?

What would happen if we stop putting every child through the torture of the Race for Grades in the first place. We teach them what they want to learn. We guide them through the path they want to take and not force them to be good at what We want them to learn.

Abolishing all Written Tests and Attendance compulsions in schools and colleges after teaching the basic languages…..  in my opinion… is one of the best ways to encourage learning… as in this case…..  only those will strive to learn who will feel like learning….. and only those subjects would be taken by them which they would understand easily and willingly… …

…..and  instructors can show them different ways and teach them the necessary tools, secrets and techniques with which they can make a difference to the world and earn a good living in the process….  only if  they excel at what they love doing….

Instead of the 3 hour torture of sitting on a chair and forced Class Participation…. why not encourage more round table discussions… to come up with ideas  and challenges to the written material… without any fear of scoring points…but to learn and be the best in your own eyes….

….so that if anyone asks any child what he loves to do and can do best….the answer pops out instantly…. and the kid can talk for hours and hours on these favorite subjects of his……

Thats exactly what our industries…. as well as our Country… needs… Specialists… not a bunch of Wannabes who have studied everything but know nothing…… and succumb to quick reviews of the subjects they were forced to learn…..  to get the best answers to the interview questions they finally end up taking… and forcing themselves to portray their fake passions during the interviews just to be part of prestigious firms that guarantee Enchanting lives.

Break the Stereotypes!

After quite a long time i was travelling by a local minibus the other day….. when i witnessed some interesting incidents worth sharing.

At one bus stop, an elderly man boarded and stood beside me clinging on to the side-rails. A guy sitting right in front of him immediately stood up and offered him his seat…. for which the old man thanked him heartily and heaved a sigh of relief, as he was carrying some heavy parcels and bags.

The bus was crowded like hell and no-one seemed to be getting off  for a long time. Just then a guy stood up and left a vacant seat. The two guys eligible to sit at his place were totally opposite in attire and culture. One seemed like a religious madrasah student wearing a turban and a long beard and the other one was a hip college student with an mp3 player in his front pocket and plugs in his ears…. wearing spiked hair and a goatee. However i was amazed to see that instead of jumping on to the seat both tried to accommodate each other and finally the college kid took the seat reluctantly and asked to carry the books of the madrasah guy.

After a few more stops, the bus was nearly empty… Just then poor girl climbed on to it. She was  selling Pocket Tissue packs and  had only two packets left in her hand. She went to every passenger asking them to buy one.  An old man sitting right next to me called her and asked her the price.  10 was the price she quoted. The man then asked her the cost of each packet and she truthfully told him that she bought them for 5 each. The man gave her a pat on her head and gave her 15 rupees and asked for one packet only. The girl returned 5 but the man asked her to keep it and buy 3 more tissue packs to sell. Afterwards he told her how proud he was of her and then strictly told her not to beg and earn by selling only. It was such an amazing smile that appeared on the girl’s face as she disembarked the bus happily.

A few weeks earlier someone had asked me “How do you see Pakistan’s future?” ….In fact this is the same question lurking in the mind of almost citizen in this present state of uncertainty and distress.

The media has been playing the key role in propagating the stereotype image of our country…. Labeling the rich as liberals and atheists and the religious students as fanatics and extremists. Politics seems like a comedy theater where a single statement is discussed a zillion times on every TV channel without any positive conclusions and acts of violence in a few parts of the city make the whole metropolis seem like war-torn state of Afghanistan or Iraq.

As all 5 fingers are not equal… sometimes you need to be out there yourself in order to understand the Reality….  instead of believing whatever the Box says….As the media needs spice to increase its viewership and get sponsors… so much so that in the battle of providing the most timely News Alerts….  they won’t even refrain from tarnishing the image of the country and its dwellers abroad. And that too from the mouths of  anchors who are often seen involved in indecent acts of drinking, smoking and partying with foreigners as well as the local political filth.

After reading the above incidents i leave the answer to the stated question to you.