The 3 Idiots of the Education System

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sudhakar_Ram]Sudhakar Ram

"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think". ~ Anne Sullivan.

I was conducting a Discover Your True Calling workshop at IIM, Indore last week. I had the afternoon free and decided to see the much acclaimed, high-grossing Bollywood movie - "3 Idiots". I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, largely because it is a complete indictment of our education system. The message was strikingly similar to the theme of my workshop.

The film is about three students who do not really fit into the prestigious engineering college and are considered idiots by their professor. However, the movie clearly shows who the three real idiots are - the educational system, the teachers and the parents. Reflecting on the movie on the flight back to Mumbai, I realized that any real change in education is possible only by transforming these three constituencies.

Idiot #1 - The Education System:

Our current system is performance-oriented rather than mastery-oriented. The emphasis on examinations forces students to learn by rote. They focus on scoring high marks rather than investing the time and energy to understand the subject in depth. A system where true geniuses like Einstein and Ramanujan are considered poor students really needs its head examined. In the movie, this is brilliantly brought out by Aamir Khan playing Rancho - the truly outstanding engineer who goes beyond the book to gain mastery.

Idiot #2 - The Teachers:

Our current system of pedagogy is faculty-led and follows a fixed curriculum. The average teacher assumes that there is one right answer and that (s)he knows the answer. It is the rare teacher who has the ability to facilitate rather than teach, to nurture rather than preach and to support students who stray from the well-trodden path in search of creative ways to learn. Boman Irani as Viru Sahastrabuddhe does a superb job of bringing to life a dogmatic, highly competitive, over-confident college professor - the antithesis of an ideal teacher in every way.

Idiot #3 - The Parents:

When India's HRD Minister Kapil Sibal suggested scrapping of the 10th grade exams, parents were the first to stand up against the proposal. Parents want their children to be at the top of their classes, get admitted to the best colleges and follow traditional career options - engineering, medicine, management and the like.

Parents rarely encourage their children to discover their true passions and pursue mastery rather than mediocrity. The movie's middle class Quereshis, who want their son to be an engineer, and the poorer Rastogis, who see education as a way out of poverty, are typical of today's Indian parents. They would probably be the toughest nut to crack.

The 21st century calls for talented people who are masters in their chosen fields of work. It calls for collaboration among passionate individuals, from different disciplines, to address the truly challenging issues and opportunities that the world presents. The current assembly-line approach to education falls severely short. We are not equipping our children to succeed in their world. The appeal of the movie is universal and obvious.

But what will it take for all three of the constituencies above, as well as the student community to rally around to a new educational order? Please share your perspectives. We need to work together to bring about transformation in this vital area of our society.

Committed to transformation on all fronts, Sudhakar Ram has written articles on transforming India, corporate governance, financial markets and governments. He believes that we have the potential to create a sustainable world and live in harmony with our environment. However, this would require a fundamental shift in our mindsets - the "constructs" that drive our attitudes and actions. [http://www.thenewconstructs.com/]The New Constructs is his initiative to leverage Connected Intelligence in realizing the Connected Age. Please share. Stay active, stay engaged.

Sudhakar Ram is Chairman and Co-Founder of [http://www.mastek.com/]Mastek a leading IT solutions company specializing in providing IT platforms and applications for large and complex transformation programs like the London Congestion Charging Scheme, and the National Health Service in the UK.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-3-Idiots-of-the-Education-System&id=3627067] The 3 Idiots of the Education System

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Mass Education Vs True Calling

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sudhakar_Ram]Sudhakar Ram

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be" ~ Abraham Maslow

We were having an argument, but it was one of those arguments you can have with a l friend - polite, yet spirited. My friend is a great guy who has dedicated his life to teaching reading, math and science to government school children in Tamil Nadu. He has had a positive impact on thousands of kids over the last decade. But I was putting him on the spot.

"Why are you trying to make everyone an IIT aspirant" I asked him. "Are there not other careers which may be more in line with their natural talents?"

"Yes, there are other possible careers for many kids," he conceded. "But their parents and peer groups value math and science most. They are afraid their child is dumb if he or she doesn't score good marks in these subjects. I've got to concentrate on math and science to build self-worth in the child." I was still thinking about this later that day when my wife Girija and I visited my mother. We got chatting with the housekeeper, whose 12-year-old son is in 7th grade in a nearby government school.

The housekeeper complained that her son, although standing 4th in his class, got his highest marks in English and Math, which he liked, while barely achieving pass marks in the other subjects like science, social science and Tamil. She wanted him to go to college, but the boy did not seem very interested in academics; he was more interested in working with on carpentry and other crafts.

I recalled our conversation with Panchayat President Elango about the youth in Kuthambakkam village, and how so many of their parents view education as some kind of a passport to upward mobility. And, in some cases, it is. However, many villages are having problems with youths who fail 10th grade public exams - and then think themselves too good for farm work or other manual labor but cannot get better jobs. These youth tend to hang about as wastrels, living off their parents and falling prey to any corrupting influence in the village.

I am convinced that every human being on earth is born with innate gifts and talents. With effort and guidance, everyone can discover his or her own calling - we each have our own path to excel and make a mark in this world. Unfortunately, our education system interferes with this process with its "one size fits all" approach.

Further, society and economies create their own complications, especially in India, by glorifying and rewarding certain vocations more than others. It's sad: the further one is from producing something useful to the world, the more the person earns. Thus a person who produces goods and services is worth 'x". The person who markets and creates a business out of these goods and services earns '10x'. And the person who provides the financial inputs to this venture earns '100x'!

The question we need to ask ourselves - and argue, cordially, with our friends and family - is whether this distortion of value needs to persist in the Connected Age - with its reduced asymmetry of information and opportunities. Will the New Age bring new opportunities to pursue one's true calling and make a good living by doing so, rather than having to pursue specific professions purely for the money, but with no joy?

Will our education system be able to honor the individuality and uniqueness of every one of us, and nurture it rather than lock us to the lowest common denominator under the pretext of leaving no child behind? These are questions that I'd like us to discuss, politely and rationally, as a community.

Sudhakar Ram is Chairman and Co-Founder of [http://www.mastek.com/]Mastek, a leading IT solutions company specializing in providing IT platforms and applications for large and complex transformation programs like the London Congestion Charging Scheme, and the National Health Service in the UK. He believes that we have the potential to create a sustainable world and live in harmony with our environment. However, this would require a fundamental shift in our mindsets - the "constructs" that drive our attitudes and actions. [http://www.thenewconstructs.com/]The New Constructs is an initiative to promote independence in all facets of life in our journey to create an interdependent, connected world. How are you progressing through your life? What suggestions do you have for the rest of us in our lifetime journeys? Please share. Stay active, stay engaged.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Mass-Education-Vs-True-Calling&id=3888233] Mass Education Vs True Calling

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