The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King, Jr.
My simple question is, Do you think our current education serves the above purpose?
On the contrary, It not only defies the purpose but work against it. It's teaching students not to use their creativity and tell them to mug up the same essay on Gandhiji and write down in exams.
If student is given to use internet for only 5 mins after 45 mins lecture, I'm 100% sure that student is going to have 10 times more information than a teacher standing and speaking there. Let's agree to this fact.
Today, it has been very easy to access information compared to earlier days when you needed refer hundreds of books and newspaper articles to gather concentrated information.
Internet has disrupted all the fields which were slow or stagnant due to slow speed of information transporation and that has made a wide impact on a society in last decade. As the businesses around the internet are scaling up, we are realizing it.
I believe, the biggest direct impact of the internet is on the human strata, the way a human consumes the information. You can check back your daily schedule in 2005 and compare it with 2015. There is atleast 10000% increase in the information you get on your eyes on daily basis. Rest assured that, 80% of this information is noise. 😀 It's a completely different matter how to avoid this noise and think properly. Some other day!
The point I am trying to make is, in today's time, there is no importance of information.
I generally classify the talks or conversation, hereby lectures, we have in 3 layers.
Now It's legit that question is raise in your head, What's the difference?
Information is absolute raw data which we have about a topic or subject without purposefully relate it to a subject. Information doesn't lead us to insights. Information doesn't lead us to actions. But Insights does. The span of time is very less. Few days, weeks, months.
Knowledge is use of information around a topic to gain insights for the purpose of decide action for that matter. Knowledge is a result of action we took on the based on the insights we got from the information. The span of time is relatively larger. Few Months, years, Decades.
Wisdom is analysing the knowledge we have gathered all these years after experimenting and concluding something that will be used by coming generations. The span of time is Decades, centuries or generations.
If you analyse, the current education we get from KG to 12, and 12+3+2, all the conversation happens is more in the nature of Information and less in the nature of Knowledge and Wisdom part is almost 0%.
The synergy we get out this kind of education process is solely because of the culture in which student cultivate it's habits. Some of the top universities usually get smarter and intellectual students than other mediocre ones and that's enough for a smart student.
The reflection point is, are the teachers becoming outdated?I doubt, is the same 5-7 years old notes, from which our teachers teaches is the thing which we want, when new and latest updated information is available at the tip of your fingers.
What is the role of a teacher in today's time?I feel, the role of a teacher is of a mentor, a guide and a philosopher. 😀 I mean it. I believe, this generation is smart enough to figure out how to do something. The teacher should be there to guide What to do? and Why to do it?
If I neatly compare, than in our maths lecture teachers (Except one) used to teach us the steps to calculate the sum without explaining the use of that particular sum in real life. An analogy is utmost important which we usually misses.
Once again, I seriously feel, It's time to upgrade ourselves, we no longer need formal education once we learn how to read, write and understand in Regional Language, Hindi and English.
After than we just need a guide or a mentor who understands our appetite, aptitude and attitude and guide accordingly.
I personally feel, the wonders will be made. What do you think about it? Let me know your say in comments.
