Useless
I asked today A girl who aspires to clear the IAS exam, what time did
the World War II happen. To which she replied : " I think sometime
around 1980 "
No, I don't wish to make fun of her. I don't even intend to prove that
she was not upto the mark in her preparation. I just wish to ponder
how much of history has our generation missed learning while cramming
our way up to more 'creamy' careers like medicine or engineering ? Why
didn't our schools focus more on teaching us the past of our mankind
than giving us truckload of bull-shit on calculus and mandalian
inheritance which take us nowhere beyond the theory? Why does the
common youth cracking the JEE is ignorant of the difference between
'Vidhan-sabha' and 'Sansad' ?
Everyone can relate to the fact that in most Indian schools they're
giving more pressure on science and maths while sidelining other
subjects like history, literature, or civics. I have seen, when a
school was short of staff, special teachers were brought in for
Physics, Chemistry and Biology but the Social studies were to be done
on their own. The management thought that these were the subjects
which are more Important in the career of the child. In some private
schools, The science teacher gets more salary than the geography
teacher. The maths periods are more in a week than the civics,
economics and geography periods combined.
Not just the schools, the education system at higher levels is as
guilty. The syllabi of social studies are shorter, the books dour and
grumpier. Literature is thought as a part of language. Art is viewed
as an unimportant subject. Exams are taken to judge the amount of data
a child's brain can retain, instead of checking its applicability.
If we ask a college kid doing B. A. History, what he thought about the
opinion difference between Gandhi and Sardar regarding Pakistan,
you're likely to get a 'WHAT ?' in reply. But He'll be more quick and
confident in his answer if asked what was the exact date of the war of
Plassey; I myself have experienced that our geography teacher gave
more marks to the student who could write the exact percentage
distribution of 'Khareef' crops in maharashtra, even though he didn't
know that the 'seven-sisters' were a reference to the seven states in
North-east India.
With Civics and Economics the funda is the same. The exam papers are
more easy for those who know all the definitions word-to-word by
heart. But those unlucky souls don't get much foot-hold when they
enter the Real Economy. It really happened to a friend who is a B.Com
grad pursuing M. B. A , that when he went for voting this elections,
there was no mention of 'Narenera Modi' on the E.V.M. List. A helpful
worker enlightened him to the fact that Mr. Modi fought only from the
Maninagar seat. The list on the E.V.M. Contained names of the 'local'
leaders fighting in the Chandkheda constituency he was residing in.
With literature and art, I guess nursery teachers are more serious
than High-school principals. You will find 5year kids doing fine with
crayons and pencils but their hands grow clumsier as they enter
adolescence. Poetry is read only for the question paper, and
short-stories are read only from the 'Supplementary Reader'. Yes, some
young minds go a bit far in creating literature; doing Sher-Shayris,
writing fiction. The most frequent words of which are-- 'jaanam' ,
'pyaar' , 'miss you' and 'bewafaa' -- directed at the opposite sex.
Around 80% of students appearing for B.A. English exams have never
seen the novels which are prescribed as text-books by the university.
Guides and 'short-cut' Expected paper-sets are prefered for their easy
reproducibility.
***
I can go on writing on this subject for hours, filling pages and
pages, but suddenly I realised that however hard may I try, there is
no way The System is gonna change by my humble blog-posts. So I better
put this thing down and keep my nose on my own business.
the World War II happen. To which she replied : " I think sometime
around 1980 "
No, I don't wish to make fun of her. I don't even intend to prove that
she was not upto the mark in her preparation. I just wish to ponder
how much of history has our generation missed learning while cramming
our way up to more 'creamy' careers like medicine or engineering ? Why
didn't our schools focus more on teaching us the past of our mankind
than giving us truckload of bull-shit on calculus and mandalian
inheritance which take us nowhere beyond the theory? Why does the
common youth cracking the JEE is ignorant of the difference between
'Vidhan-sabha' and 'Sansad' ?
Everyone can relate to the fact that in most Indian schools they're
giving more pressure on science and maths while sidelining other
subjects like history, literature, or civics. I have seen, when a
school was short of staff, special teachers were brought in for
Physics, Chemistry and Biology but the Social studies were to be done
on their own. The management thought that these were the subjects
which are more Important in the career of the child. In some private
schools, The science teacher gets more salary than the geography
teacher. The maths periods are more in a week than the civics,
economics and geography periods combined.
Not just the schools, the education system at higher levels is as
guilty. The syllabi of social studies are shorter, the books dour and
grumpier. Literature is thought as a part of language. Art is viewed
as an unimportant subject. Exams are taken to judge the amount of data
a child's brain can retain, instead of checking its applicability.
If we ask a college kid doing B. A. History, what he thought about the
opinion difference between Gandhi and Sardar regarding Pakistan,
you're likely to get a 'WHAT ?' in reply. But He'll be more quick and
confident in his answer if asked what was the exact date of the war of
Plassey; I myself have experienced that our geography teacher gave
more marks to the student who could write the exact percentage
distribution of 'Khareef' crops in maharashtra, even though he didn't
know that the 'seven-sisters' were a reference to the seven states in
North-east India.
With Civics and Economics the funda is the same. The exam papers are
more easy for those who know all the definitions word-to-word by
heart. But those unlucky souls don't get much foot-hold when they
enter the Real Economy. It really happened to a friend who is a B.Com
grad pursuing M. B. A , that when he went for voting this elections,
there was no mention of 'Narenera Modi' on the E.V.M. List. A helpful
worker enlightened him to the fact that Mr. Modi fought only from the
Maninagar seat. The list on the E.V.M. Contained names of the 'local'
leaders fighting in the Chandkheda constituency he was residing in.
With literature and art, I guess nursery teachers are more serious
than High-school principals. You will find 5year kids doing fine with
crayons and pencils but their hands grow clumsier as they enter
adolescence. Poetry is read only for the question paper, and
short-stories are read only from the 'Supplementary Reader'. Yes, some
young minds go a bit far in creating literature; doing Sher-Shayris,
writing fiction. The most frequent words of which are-- 'jaanam' ,
'pyaar' , 'miss you' and 'bewafaa' -- directed at the opposite sex.
Around 80% of students appearing for B.A. English exams have never
seen the novels which are prescribed as text-books by the university.
Guides and 'short-cut' Expected paper-sets are prefered for their easy
reproducibility.
***
I can go on writing on this subject for hours, filling pages and
pages, but suddenly I realised that however hard may I try, there is
no way The System is gonna change by my humble blog-posts. So I better
put this thing down and keep my nose on my own business.
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