"Evolving Modern Education -" To make It Burden-Free & Value-Based

By Vinod Kantilal Shah

Education is simply a soul of society as it passes from one generation to another. Earlier preliterate people developed skills that grew into cultural & educational patterns.

Nowadays an average child carries physical load strapped to his back like a pack-mule, around 6 to 8 kgs of books and other paraphernalia of modern education, additionaly lunch-box, water-bottle etc.

Modern education is aided with variety of technology, computers, gadgets & many more. There is much to learn & more to assimilate. Internet provides abysmal knowledge, no end to it... Not only our planet but the whole universe has become accessible.

Trends in education are far more a baloney than boon. We are being fed with facts & knowledge. Cramming of facts & dates, hi-fi mathematical formulae, theories, doctrines should be at college levels where one has chosen his areas of interests. What will history pay a doctor, mathematician or medical terms to historian ?

Education is not self-education. Our schooling has got lot of loop-holes. They guide us through well catered pathway of homework, tutions etc. which finally leads to professionalism. Our schooling doesn’t leave us with time to get educated. Mark Twain once said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education !”

Our education is providing machines out of pupils. “They read books - They speak books - They do books !” Can our fallacious education system be made fair? The whole concept of modern education is far apart from what it was initially devised to be. It caters to our needs of education & career. But where is the happiness & satisfaction ? One has to do everything in life out of happiness and not for happiness !

Ever since childhood, kids are pressurised to outperform others of their age. A chain of foul play begins..... for Nursery admissions, pass number of tests to get best schools, coming under scanner getting evaluated on different parameters, facing rat-race of marks, grade, CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) Our education is test oriented, ignores all-round development.

A child which is usually a stress-burster and a source of happiness for everyone at home & around, himself becomes tense. Where lies child’s happiness? Even after schools, striving for best colleges, best job & so on..... Again the same vicious circle of competing, excelling for highest salary package....

Practically we need to act on employability & employable. We know that literacy rate is soaring high, but how many of us have that working knowledge ? Most of us have piled up number of certificates only, lacking practical know-how & approach.

The education is more focussed on ‘earning’ and not on ‘learning’ !

Now-days sole aim is information, not knowledge. In stead of broadening one’s mindset it's narrowing down one's perspective towards things. Inbuilt intellegence goes in-vain. Power to withstand others is reducing & therby splitting apart social arena...

Here I suggest - 'Top 10 Basic values’ to inculcate on children.

1) Action plan to learn = Observe - Question - Experiment - Conclude - Decide - Act.

2) Don’t educate your child to be rich. Educate them to be happy so that when they grow, they will know value of things, not price.

3) There is lot of difference in human being and being human, few understand it.

4) You should be character oriented, not reputation oriented.

5) You should understand, to live life in totality, is to live every moment intensely.

6) You should first listen to understand and then communicate to be understood.

7) You understand there is no shortcut to quality of life.

8) You understand if you are tough on yourself, life will be infinitely easy on you.

9) You should understand, what you get by achieving your goal, is insignificant compared to, what you become in achieving your goal.

10) You should operate from ‘You win - I win’ frame of mind & heart, in all human interactions.

Children are naturally inquisitive, creative, aware of world around. Play is important development tool. Learning science through play shows children that science is useful & enjoyable and is significant aspect of real world. Play pedagogy is context for learning, through which children organise & make sense of their social world as they engage actively with people, objects, representations. They converse fluently. Good communication will ‘ serve’ relationship where as improper communication will ‘severe’ relationship.

Education system needs fundamental changes. Reforms should start with basics of education system, entrance examinations, ways of evaluating students.

Education in it’s general sense, is form of learning in which knowledge, skills, habits of group of people are transformed from generations to next, through teachings, trainings, research or simply through auto didacticism.

Modern education is devided by quotas, corruption affecting admissions of brilliant students. Hence we should make it a change - change in socialistic views, in age of backwardness, in belief, in trust, in system for better future. Education should be life oriented, not money oriented instead ! System needs to undergo changes so that it won’t be burden but opportunity every individual takes.

Education system should try to develop freedom and creativity among studetns. It is only this way, students can contribute maximally to future society. Freedom should be trademark...

Real education is that which frees from ignorence, gives freedom of thoughts...

People should have freedom to be whatever they wish, without worrying about negative consequences. Only this system is in congruence with the trademark. Children can learn effectively only when they are allowed to explore freely with their ideas, which makes them able to work, believing themselves. When they are forced to memorise, it will be forgotten shorly. On the other hand learning concepts by thinking their ways, will tend to remember longer and apply appropriately, being their own ideas. Alongwith freedom system fosters creativity. For developing creativity, system should neglect good academic performances that most of systems treasure and try to promote creativity, sports-sportsmanship, healthy atmosphere among students.

I strongly, feel that education in future, should be helping students to think - think out of box !

Although there are no overnight "Buddhu to Buddha", yet everyone of us can progressively mature from "Buddhu to Buddha" !

When no two individuals in this world are born-made alike, where this whole concept of comparing & competition comes from ? Why worry for what others will say ? Let everyone maintain individuality & uniqueness of self.

The overall development of mind, body, soul is real education equipping with knowledge.

What we are and what we have bean, has no bearing on what we can be ! We can be, what we choose to be !

It doesn't matter how much you have, but what matters is, what you do with what you have !

You should give your very best & a little more, in all actions !

In broader perspective quality education system and proper dissemination of educational values to students help in framing of intellectual minds for growth of the country. It's immensely important for a system to have good faculty - including psychologists, varied expertise - consultants, field workers and well maintained educational structure, so that students are instilled with knowledge required to outgrow & contribute in country's development.

We can not go back & make fresh start, but we can begin new & create a fresh end !

Pathfinders have to be path-breakers. You could challenge the old model, unlearn that which was holding you back and begin to open up enough to destroy old box & create new !

Transition is never easy; but without transition there is no evolution !

Sometimes you need to give-up to go-up ! .....

By Vinod Kantilal Shah