Quality in Education-Reflections of a Student

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school” -Albert Einstein

How many of us can recall the dates, names, formulas, scientific names and anything in detail that we studied ages ago in school? Of course, there will be few amongst us who would remember precisely what was taught but the majority of us fall in that category who tend to forget everything once the exams are over. But, what all of us do remember are the incidents of the teaching learning process-the way the mathematics teacher taught us, the way the history teacher helped us remember the dates or the way the science teacher created a sense of mystery in her class and so on and so forth. While there can also be instances where we don’t recall any particular teacher or much of our academic lives which is absolutely normal because the teachers didn’t contribute much to our learning… well, at least, not apart from the necessary curriculum per se.

The scenario hasn’t changed much since the time we last attended school. It’s the

same old concept that the educational system follows unless there has been new developments that I’m unaware of. The schools continue to have a written evaluation system in every class, the teachers are as always scampering to finish their portions, and the progress of a child is measured in terms of academic excellence alone.

The concept of all round development of a child in true spirit is just a concept after all. Apart from few co-curricular activities that the school thinks is good enough for helping the child develop his/her talents and equipping them with life skills there isn’t much that happens to actually draw out the best from within every child. The focus most of the time is on the limitations of a child rather than the potential of the child. Teachers easily categorize or rather easily label a child as someone who is “capable of doing it” or “just not fit to do it”. The ones in the middle are not given much thought and are left to fend for themselves very often.

Where exactly does the problem lie? Is there a flaw in our educational system? Our Indian educational system was set up  by the British and though the British have long gone away and much has changed around the world we live in, the same can’t be said in terms of our educational system. Except for a few tweaks and changes in the curriculum here and there not much has changed and it’s high time the educational system undergoes a complete 360⁰ revamp.

Along with the educational system the attitude of the teachers too needs to undergo a change and this is of utmost importance because it’s said a teacher affects eternity.

A man was selling gas balloons of all colours.  Once,  he  felt  his  jacket  being  tugged  by  a  little  boy  who  asked  him,  “If  you  release  a  black  balloon,  would  that  also  fly?”  The  man  replied  with  empathy,  “It  is  not  the  colour  of  the balloon,  it  is  what  is  inside  that  determines  how  high  it will go.”  Therefore,  the  need  of  the hour  is  that  every  teacher  must  be  aware  of  and  fully  develop  her  own  talents  to  bring  out  the  best  in  her  students. “A  lamp  can  light  another  lamp  so  long  as  it  continues  to  burn  its  own  flame.”

This change in attitude can be brought about not by any policy but if we are aware and clear as to why we choose to be in this noble teaching profession. People  are  defeated  in  life  not  because  of  a  lack  of  ability,  but  because  of  a  lack  of  wholeheartedness. If we are ready to be the change that we want to bring then nothing can ever stop us.

So  you  and I  have  a commitment  to  bring  out  the  best  in  our  students  so  that  they  in  turn  may someday  bring  out  the  best  in  their  students  as  a  famous  quotation  reads: “ Teachers  are  those  who  use  themselves  as  bridges,  over  which  they  invite  their  own  students  to  cross;  then  having  facilitated  their  crossing,  joyfully  collapse,  encouraging  them  to  create  new  bridges  of  their  own.”

Please note: This article was written for the college alumni magazine.