Education- A Dehumanizing System

Across the academics there are two kinds of people, those who want to learn and those who don’t want to learn (dropouts), they dropout because of several reasons and main reason is the system is not developed according to their interests or they don’t enjoy formal education. It’s not that state is not spending money, our governments are spending lots of resources to improve education system but the problem is that it is going in wrong direction. I want to share my views came from “bad” experiences of this academic year at Central University of Gujarat.  Wisely, I want blame none but the system who didn’t allowed me to have proper (expected) learning in given period of time.

For me, human by nature are diverse, curiosity and creative. Our education system is hindering our learning by distorting this basic nature of being human. No children of same parents are similar, how can our educators assume that whole batch is common for them? Education system of today is not acknowledging diversity but it is supporting conformity. As students, we are forced to set targets and achieve it. These targets are often set by our teachers and narrow downs the focus of students.  I came across the word attention deficit disorder where students are not able to pay attention. The answer to such psychological disorders are; If you make students to seat in class for about 4-5 hours and make them to do low grade clerical work whose going enjoy it?  Students enjoy best when their curriculum is wider which addresses their interests (or at least allow to things of their interests).

Coming to curiosity, if teachers can ignite of spark of curiosity among students, student life can flourish like anything and can lead to achievements. For this teaching must be “de-professionalized”. Teaching is not mechanical system of delivering lectures and fulfilling the class hours. Great teachers in true sense don’t only take class but also mentor, stimulate and provoke their students to do so (unfortunately this year, none of teacher could do that).

People are now days are discussing education too much without talking about learning. There exists difference between task and achievement for instance dieting (is task to lose weight) not necessarily achieved by all.  In same sense, teaching in class may be good task but if nobody is learning anything what the use of wasting resources, of students, of teacher, of state and of society ?

Role of teacher is simple; facilitating learning that’s it!!! But in my university (and whole education system) the focus is shifted from teaching to testing. Of course, standardized test is needed in system, but it should be diagnostic. It should be student centered and should try to find out barriers against learning not of ranking students (not going to discuss more on this, kindly watch 3 idiots).  Another problem hindering curiosity in education system is culture of compliance where students and teachers are compiled to follow routine algorithms like taking class, taking note, giving and doing assignments etc.  

Our education is brutally “murdering” our human creativity. Why do we have different resume? Because we create and recreate our own life as we experience and think about it. Assignment, submissions and deadlines do not allow students to think beyond their subject matter. Human beings are highly imaginative and expressive. Instead of enhancing imagination and expressiveness our education system has culture of standardization. For example, if one report is made is like this (what teachers thinks is good), everyone has to follow same format.

Some countries in world is considered as good for education because they: 1. Respect and create an environment for students which do not hinders their individuality, curiosity and creativity. 2. They attribute high status to teaching profession (only motivated teacher can motivate students). 3. Invests lots of resources in professional development of teachers. 4. Attribute less command and control over education institutions.

Education does not take place in committee room or in administrative buildings. It takes place in class rooms, in canteen, in lawn, in parking, in sports complex. It takes place where a true learned and true learner meets. Education is not a mechanical system, it is human system. It is system of those who want to learn and those who don’t want to learn. Every non interested person (in learning) has subjective reasons and varies accordingly, all these reasons challenges the system itself for not creating proper climate of learning.

As Benjamin Franklin said – there are three kinds of people in this world those are immoveable (who do not want to do anything), movable (those who do something) and those who move (who bring changes in society). If the system can encourage more people to move, that will be termed as movement and if the movement is strong enough, that can become revolution and that’s what we need.

Courtesy- Sir Ken Robinson