Is the current education system working out?
There are so many things wrong with our education system but some of them are just too visible and out there to be able to ignore.
In this article, I am going to talk about some of these things:
1.Lack of interdisciplinary education:
If you are a teenager, a college student or a parent, this question is for you.
How many of you folks felt trapped while choosing between different subjects in high school or post-high school?
I did.
Not because I didn’t know what to choose but because I didn’t want to choose. I wanted to study both math and history. But I had to make a choice, and this was not the end. Then I had to choose which subject to take up for graduation and then what to specialize in post-graduation. We don’t choose what we want to do, we choose which subject we should study to land that ‘perfect job’. That seemed utterly bizarre to me back then and nothing seems to have changed for the kids today.
Education doesn’t come in pockets, it isn’t made of subjects, it comes as a whole.
History is the best way to learn to strategize.
Geography and physics are much more interconnected than you would think.
Economics and politics go hand in hand.
Yet, we are still bent upon teaching our kids in such discreet ways that it takes them 30 years to make these connections.
2. Marks being the sole parameter to judge brilliance:
The more marks a child gets, the more brilliant the child is. Isn’t this what we have listened to our entire childhood? But is it true? More importantly, is this most popular misconception being passed on to the children? Of course, marks are important, but only because they are the only current parameter to judge how much a student has learnt.
However, let me be clear - it is a POOR parameter to define ability or brilliance. It fails spectacularly at deciphering who our future leaders will be.
Marks are a poor indicator of success. All they do is score on the basis of what one has learnt and was able to put on paper. Is that the prime objective of education? No.
We want education to enable children to identify themselves, be confident in their skin and develop their abilities. The marks system of evaluation prevents a child from doing all of this. Every child is unique and they all can’t be expected to fit in one mold.
3. No focus on grooming young minds:
I recently spoke with a parent and his words stuck with me:
“If I want my child to become better at chess, I know which is the best chess school for him. If I want him to learn to dance, I know where to send him. If I want him to learn advanced math, I know where to send him. But, if I want to groom his mind, as a whole, I don't know what to do...”
Isn’t the whole purpose of education to groom one’s mind, help them become their best selves, and get them prepared for their life? And yet, this is where we fall short. We send children to different classes to learn everything they can, but we don’t send them anywhere to learn about themselves, who they are, what their style of learning is, what issues are they facing and why, what questions are they asking and why, and so on….
This is not a rant article. We have created a solution for these systemic issues.
School of Future has recently launched a program called SoF Edge. It is a global add-on online learning course for children aged 8 to 12. They get exposed to a plethora of topics and ways of thinking so that they can find their niche. We understand what sparks their attention and then help them build skills. They are able to start making connections between different things, very early on.
We will help children develop their minds by teaching them problem solving skills and a better understanding of themselves and the world around them, in global cohorts led by fabulous coaches and lots of 1-on-1 time.
Check us out at: www.schooloffuture.co/edge