Education Switch.....

 

Education Switch...

We all are in the new era of education. Social media has brought the whole world so close that getting education online has become much easier. If one decides, one can learn anything from anywhere in the world with the available connections. But here, one important question is, what is good or bad education or learning for us? God has made us unique and given each one of us individual potential so that we can exchange learning and help each other build a better community. But now, with the availability of social media and all the information around us, everyone wants to achieve all the skills by looking at each other. Whether it is learning in schools or colleges, pursuing higher studies, learning cooking, or other vocational training courses, everyone wants to achieve everything. I was just thinking, if everybody can achieve all the skills to fulfil the demands of society, then why do we need 8.3 billion people in this world? And even if everybody achieves all the skills, then how powerful will the world become?

Today, with the changing world, we in India have shifted from SSC to ICSE to CBSE to IGCSE and IB curriculums. In school, we were learning about our ancient history and feeling proud of it. We were learning the depth of our Indian culture, festivals and values through our Indian school curriculums. With other curriculums coming in, we have shifted towards learning history written by and for foreign countries. Across India, we are also shifting from vernacular languages spoken at home to the English language in most schools, as we want to become a part of the world which has now become accessible to everyone. But does that mean we need to forget our own languages and learn only the universal language?

When it comes to following religion, we are still living in the ancient world. To be fashionable or to gain modern education, we are trying to match ourselves with other countries, but when it comes to following myths and misconceptions, we do not want to help specially challenged or underprivileged people. We want to create a ruckus on political platforms, prove our power or blame each other, but we do not want to concentrate on cleanliness, clarity of thought or supporting the growth of our country.

We speak about one world and one peace, so we deny many so-called religious rules, but we do not want to work towards making our roads better or improving the education system of our own country. We want to remain in the rat race, following the superficial world of social media, but we do not want to improve ourselves from within and create inner peace. We want to go against every possible value of education that has existed since the time of our ancestors, but we do not improve the environment around us by supporting people who genuinely want to make a change in the world.

We recently met a boy who came to our clinic for support with his speech. He felt that he had speech issues with certain sounds. We tried to analyse everything for him, be it hearing, speech or voice. The only difference we felt, compared to other people, was that his rate of speech was fast. We guided him for an hour to understand how this habit, which he had unconsciously developed, needs to change, as it is more about his psychology towards his speech than his speech itself. But he was just not ready to accept it. After the one-hour session, he said, "You have not done anything for me, you have not given me any exercises, and I am not ready to believe what you are saying."

Now our youngsters are so confused, and peer pressure has made them think so much that even when, as professionals, we tell them that they do not have any issue and only need polishing of their speech, instead of feeling happy, they keep insisting that they have a problem. Comparison and competition in education have reached such a level that either they do not have confidence in themselves or they become overconfident. Another boy came with his parents, who were doctors. His parents felt that their child needed attention for his speech. He came to us and said, "I know everything and I am doing good. There is no need to teach me anything."

I asked him, "Okay, I will not teach you anything, but answer one question. If you answer that, I will not guide you any further." He agreed. I asked, "Both your parents are doctors. If both of them fall sick and there is no one else to help at home, where will you go to buy medicines? Which nearby medical store do you have?" He promptly answered, "Why do I need to go? I have help and a driver at home. They will go. I do not need to know the name of the store." I said, "I asked you a specific question, but you did not answer it. So now you have to listen to me."

With time, we need to make a switch in education. As parents, we have to decide what is good and what is bad for our children. Along with modern education, we need to create such an environment where the values rooted in our Indian culture are also taught. If you cannot teach them, then at least follow them yourself, because your children will observe you and learn someday. Education and exposure should be given to a child in the right balance, and that is what we need to nurture. Psychology says that only 20% of education comes from schools and colleges, while the remaining 80% is learnt from the environment. That 80%, filled with values, kindness, humility and discipline, is what we all need to teach. The time has come for all of us to switch towards a better and healthier education system.