Obama warns of education arms race with India and China was one of the headlines of today. The President of the USA spoke a few very important lines at the Rose Garden - "Cutting back on education will amount to unilateral disarmament" and "It's about who we are as people" are the two lines which I liked the most.
There is a hell lot of difference between education and graduation - the 2 words which are confused with each other often. Graduation signifies a written document/certificate the world today asks for from every individual while education is the core understanding, knowledge and the desire of excellence in every individual. They definitely imply the same in case of many individuals but it does not necessarily mean that a graduate is educated. The future of the nation is going to be decided by the quality of education imparted today to all of us.
We are well aware that a sizable amount of students are not clear with the concepts and yet go on to score much higher than those who do. Today such kind of acts are fanned by the education system and you and me are a part of it when we yield to this injustice and mold to it. This needs to be fought against and not surrendered to. Our primary schools have become manufacturing plants from where robots are dispatched into the world to be fine tuned into this competition filled, money seeking world. The goal of life is not making money but about living it to the fullest for others, for God and for the Nation. Just a few months back I happened to visit my grandparents. My cousin sister about 9 years old had just secured full marks in her maths test. I noticed a question - "List down the prime numbers from 1 to 50" ; Naturally she had got it right but when I asked her what a prime number is her reply was "A Number not present in any table except its own and 1." This is what the quick fix, shortcut methods of the system are doing. The correct answer in this case should have been "Number which is divisible by only 1 and itself." Now both the answers seem quite close and they do point to the same thing but the difference is in the approach. The former answer is the trick to solve or the trick to remember maybe and the latter answer gave the concept of a prime number. It seems trivial but has deep damaging effects. I feel sad that young minds are taught this in schools and classes.
There are few schools today which imbibe the culture and passion in students. Who we are as the people matters the most and that is not at all being helped by the kind of "teaching" in schools today. What President Obama has said holds true for all. He has spoken about education in schools and colleges but I feel that it is applicable to life beyond it as well. We need to invest these years of enthusiasm and maximum productivity in gaining knowledge and freedom. We need to know what this country is and what it can be tomorrow. The state of education is quite pathetic today and hence the need of a reform. This will not happen by just condemning it but will surely so if the awareness is created and spread. There is a need that we have to be a part of this system and yet go by what is right and not what is demanded. Some things are acceptable or rather tolerable but some are not and they need to be fought against. It is imperative to classify them and act accordingly.
Do schools teach freedom, passion, national patriotism, selfless sacrifice and unwavering faith on truth and principles? I don't believe they do. In such a case it is of utmost importance to prioritize and ask ourselves the importance of good education. If we are to stand up against the biggest and baddest of all foes and fight out for this nation's growth we need a strong foundation. This foundation is education, my friends. If the schools and colleges today refuse this education in its graduation programmes then on our own we must acquire it and keep growing and spreading it till it invades the education system and settles down to prepare future generations for the cultural and economic war for the title of super power.
As it is evident form the news report, countries around the world are not sleeping. They are awake and making their respective moves. When are we going to make ours? When are we going to stand up to live? When are we going to sow these plants in the fields of this nation? When are we going to shed away this slumber inducing laziness and run fast in this education arms race? When will graduation mean education? These questions need answers and actions following them; and after correctly finding the answers to the above questions when are we as the youth of the nation going to act and effect a change? President Obama is absolutely correct of his education-arms metaphor. Education is the sole weapon against ignorance and that what is we all must learn to wield. The time is upon us....
Jai Hind!
There is a hell lot of difference between education and graduation - the 2 words which are confused with each other often. Graduation signifies a written document/certificate the world today asks for from every individual while education is the core understanding, knowledge and the desire of excellence in every individual. They definitely imply the same in case of many individuals but it does not necessarily mean that a graduate is educated. The future of the nation is going to be decided by the quality of education imparted today to all of us.
We are well aware that a sizable amount of students are not clear with the concepts and yet go on to score much higher than those who do. Today such kind of acts are fanned by the education system and you and me are a part of it when we yield to this injustice and mold to it. This needs to be fought against and not surrendered to. Our primary schools have become manufacturing plants from where robots are dispatched into the world to be fine tuned into this competition filled, money seeking world. The goal of life is not making money but about living it to the fullest for others, for God and for the Nation. Just a few months back I happened to visit my grandparents. My cousin sister about 9 years old had just secured full marks in her maths test. I noticed a question - "List down the prime numbers from 1 to 50" ; Naturally she had got it right but when I asked her what a prime number is her reply was "A Number not present in any table except its own and 1." This is what the quick fix, shortcut methods of the system are doing. The correct answer in this case should have been "Number which is divisible by only 1 and itself." Now both the answers seem quite close and they do point to the same thing but the difference is in the approach. The former answer is the trick to solve or the trick to remember maybe and the latter answer gave the concept of a prime number. It seems trivial but has deep damaging effects. I feel sad that young minds are taught this in schools and classes.
There are few schools today which imbibe the culture and passion in students. Who we are as the people matters the most and that is not at all being helped by the kind of "teaching" in schools today. What President Obama has said holds true for all. He has spoken about education in schools and colleges but I feel that it is applicable to life beyond it as well. We need to invest these years of enthusiasm and maximum productivity in gaining knowledge and freedom. We need to know what this country is and what it can be tomorrow. The state of education is quite pathetic today and hence the need of a reform. This will not happen by just condemning it but will surely so if the awareness is created and spread. There is a need that we have to be a part of this system and yet go by what is right and not what is demanded. Some things are acceptable or rather tolerable but some are not and they need to be fought against. It is imperative to classify them and act accordingly.
Do schools teach freedom, passion, national patriotism, selfless sacrifice and unwavering faith on truth and principles? I don't believe they do. In such a case it is of utmost importance to prioritize and ask ourselves the importance of good education. If we are to stand up against the biggest and baddest of all foes and fight out for this nation's growth we need a strong foundation. This foundation is education, my friends. If the schools and colleges today refuse this education in its graduation programmes then on our own we must acquire it and keep growing and spreading it till it invades the education system and settles down to prepare future generations for the cultural and economic war for the title of super power.
As it is evident form the news report, countries around the world are not sleeping. They are awake and making their respective moves. When are we going to make ours? When are we going to stand up to live? When are we going to sow these plants in the fields of this nation? When are we going to shed away this slumber inducing laziness and run fast in this education arms race? When will graduation mean education? These questions need answers and actions following them; and after correctly finding the answers to the above questions when are we as the youth of the nation going to act and effect a change? President Obama is absolutely correct of his education-arms metaphor. Education is the sole weapon against ignorance and that what is we all must learn to wield. The time is upon us....
Jai Hind!
1 comment:
Dear Chaita,
You said it right in the most precise any concise way.
May the youth of today awaken to this fact and undertake upon them self to secure an value based education at home, school/college and life in general. The formal graduation will have to be gone through for no better option is presented by the nation today.
May the learned educationists and national well wishers unite and develop an immense courage to impress upon the ruling class to seriously stop the education tamasha, bazar and understand their solemn duty towards this great nation in creating a new generation of great people.
VANDE MATARAM.
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