State of Education

My early education

My formal education, like many, began in a classroom. However, my real journey toward education started when I was in my college. During my college years, I saw many small children covered in mud sitting at construction sites accompanying their parents. Looking at these children made me feel uneasy. I wanted to help them.

So, I decided to #teach them. It wasn’t easy, many workers wouldn’t send their kids, however, it was great fun teaching when these kids showed up. I could see, how each child was unique and had a different view of looking at the world.

Since this is what I loved, I started teaching the unprivileged section of society. Initially, I taught them under a tree and later found a space in a temple. I started visiting many NGOs and teaching students English. I loved the whole process.?

This experience carved my understanding of education. I understood how education cannot be restricted to classrooms. All kids would come running looking at me even in scorching heat, they recognized the value I was giving them. This gesture would make my entire day joyful. I recognized how scarcity of resources leads to the understanding of opportunity.

Soon, life happened, I went on to do my Master and a job was offered. Like everyone, I began my corporate career. I completely forgot about my rich experience. But life had other plans, after 8 years in the corporate with no joy and fulfillment, I finally decided to pursue the education sector.

I had no idea how to do this, so I began studying to qualify for a professor role. After failing for five years, I was able to qualify. As I went to the college to teach, I could see a huge gap. Students did not want to learn.

However, they wanted to sit in the class for attendance, they wanted to pick up certain words and wanted some answers for the assignments. And some attended the class for grades in the examinations. I could see a very big loser in all this. It wasn’t just me, the students, or the #institute. It was education. #Education lost its essence. It was the biggest loser.?

Shouldn’t learning occur for the joy of it? Joy was sapped from the whole process. I could also see a stark difference between the privileged and unprivileged sections & how the privileged section lost more than the unprivileged.

I thought to myself that schools and universities are producing robots who aren’t learning anything for the joy of it but rather rote learning for attendance, assignment, grades, and degrees. I came back feeling exhausted, tired and sapped of my life force energy.?

Some difficult questions?

Where did we go so wrong? What can an #educator do in such a scenario, when the underlying goals are different? Why would education be important when a pot of gold (such as a job) is more important?

Are we seeing what’s happening? Can we recognize the state education is in? Some say the commercialization of education has made it so. That could be a factor, however, this is happening before commercialization started. Many generations have lost the battle to it. I read the new education #policy and it comes from some of the finest minds in the country. It will be implemented in phases. I do see a ray of hope. However, the state today scares me.?

Teaching & Learning

Teaching & #learning is the heart of education. Even if one component is missing then the heart bleeds. Radical changes in the education sector are needed. Especially a mindset shift. This is to be done at all levels of the society.

Joyful learning creates responsible citizens who are fearless. It creates leaders who raise others. Let's raise education. Not just it's standard.