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.