Why is our school system trash?

Disclaimer: Studying in India, I can only tell about the system in India. But I believe other systems are not too far off. This post is not to target any student or teacher and not to critisize any of the profession. It is just my thoughts and the realistic situation of most of the global education system.

  The problem of education being boring and disengaging goes way back. It is the only reason why 4 out of 10 students experience depression and stress in a very early age. Well let's see exactly why our schooling system is trash, how can we make this education system fun and is their some hope for this in future? Let's see...

  As you know, the fish can't be judged by its ability to climb a tree, why should a student be? That's what a school does- high very high emphasis on grades or marks. While all students become a part of the rat race where every one sets off to chase good grades. In this race, many ace, but those who don't keep thinking it's whole life that they are stupid! Just like a fish would judge itself by its ability to climb a tree. 

  The schooling system has not changed a lot since the industrial age. Is outdated and boring. At school you are rewarded for what you are told to do. Just like in factories. Students memorize the material and try to get soaring ranks. However, they forget most of the material after the annual test and the fact that 90% of what you learn in school is useless. And that's something you will never use in the real world.

Image credit: 9gag.com

  In real life, you manage your own time. But in schools, you are put in such a tight schedule, and every student is subjected to learn the same stuff and is graded for the same.

  Aside from being extremely rigid, our school system gives students advanced level subjects that they have hard time understanding. While some are capable, not everyone can do math just for fun. So it creates a level of corruption where students cheat and beg for grades just to get by. Our country doesn’t have a single factory you will actually need to make complicated equations, yet students are forced to memorize such stuff. Being pressured and forced rarely makes someone want to do that.

  Corruption is a major issue. Where some students become nerd for the whole year and study, many enjoy the year and cheat at the end. This makes hard working students feeling stabbed. This discourages the hard working kids. The same goes with bias. Bias also makes hard working students feel discouraged. And I was definitely one of them. While boys couldn't argue with the teacher for a counting mistake in the unit test, girls can with just some buttering!

  Another important thing: waste of time. Each year we study the same thing with a little advancement. These 10 years of study can surely be done in 5 years. As everything else is just memorizing for a test. Unlike in Germany where kids do apprenticeships in school, and actually learn productive lessons, our education system doesn’t even bother with it. 12 years is too long of a time for someone to spend time just to memorize and pass tests.

  Lack of good teachers who deeply understand the subject is a lot in developing nations like India. I mean, how the hell the same teacher who teaches English grammar to fifth grade can teach sanskrit to tenth grade. And why does the history and geography teacher has to be the same when both the subjects are too different. Another con of not having good teacher is killing the thinking power of students. If a student wonders about the Kepler's laws and asks the teacher about it, the teacher will refuse to answer arrogantly just because he or she doesn't know about it as it is not given in the textbook!

Image credit: thinkibility.com

  Due to all these factors schooling seems to be trash. Our parents teach more than the teachers about the world. While new education policies coming up seem promising, I am sure it's going to take a decade or more to implement that.

  Well, we can't change the education system, but then, what should we do? No. Today all the world's information is available at our fingertips. What the school doesn't teach us, we can try to learn that from the internet. How to write an email? Or other creative things you always wondered. 

  We should play sports. They not only teach us lessons of teamwork, but also how to face challenges and how to confront failures. And how to deal with pressure. Football can teach physics and same goes with cricket and table tennis. Chess sharpens the brain and improves thought process.

  A survey proves that 98% of the children are intelligent and have the capacity and ability to think differently. But schools do what the are meant to do, killing creativity! But we should not be a victim of it. Keep learning about what you have interest in. And don't make this trash school system infect your life! I am not telling you to not study, it's currently inevitable. You should study subjects but feed you brain with knowledge that you want to know from other sources than school.

  And remember, life is a game, not a race. And you are a player, not a runner!

Image Credit: diygenius.com

Posts before October 2021 have been marked as "Old Posts". Less likely, but they might have out dated or incorrect information, ugly looking bits of code, no labels, etc. Don't get me wrong, many of these posts are top-notch and interesting too.

I thought it would be better not to delete or revamp these posts, even if they suck. The bitter truth is that old works always suck, but I take that as a positive tool to convey that I am growing. Besides there's no better way to showcase my journey without these old, messy, poorly written posts!

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