I want to highlight that no one is perfect as no one is correct either.But with the good guidance we can achieve anything in the world as we say Nothing is impossible.
Well, when i was in school I am quite a hesitatitive and reserved kid, who just read whatever comes, jotting it and mugging up, never had an idea of we actually need to understand and can apply in real life!! isn't it strange? When a student have no idea of what the education is exactly, what it needs to be done, to get a basic education, the logic behind and the main concept basic education must be, then how would he lead or how may he/she might be able to face the higher levels?
I remember when I was in college, pursuing a degree in computer science and engineering. It was Java class. It was the new session, And a professor came in, who just had finished might be same degree or i mean to say a fresher - came in, cleaned the board which was cluttered with definitions from the previous lecture, and wrote in block letters:
JAVA
We watched silently, wondering what is going to follow. Unlike some of us, I had no idea of this language before as it was not included in our school curriculum.
The professor, scribbled 3 more words on the board below JAVA in his atrociously difficult-to-read handwriting. And then, the professor began what appeared to be his daily chant.
“Listen students…In order to understand JAVA, you need to know the basic concepts of Object Oriented Programming or OOP, which is the building block for learning JAVA.”
It was a 2 hour long lecture. By the end of the first hour, he was done with the basic principles of Encapsulation, Abstraction, Inheritance and Polymorphism. I was confused whether to listen him carefully or i need to jot down notes for future reference. Doing both at a time did not seem to be a good option, given his speed of shuffling from one topic to another - which could give even Rajdhani Express a serious complex!
In the second hour, he scribbled some pieces of code on the board and continued, “This is Constructor…that is Overriding…that is Overloading”, as he simultaneously gave small examples.
This went on for the next few months, with Java theoretical lectures being conducted in this manner twice a week, and a dreary, dull Practical class once a week. By the end of the semester, we were expected to be ready for interview in Core Java, with additional basic knowledge in Applets.
Truth be told, by the end of the semester, I could not even write 10 lines of code properly without consulting the text book. Same was the case with most of my friends. Except those who had learned JAVA previously in school or had special aptitude in coding, most of us ran into tutions to somehow pass the semester.
Just imagine, we were learning one of the most prominent computer languages in the world, with very little hands-on work on the computer itself! And the entire dependency is on the black-board n the text book! Not to mention our Express-like Professor!
The fallacy in the system and lack of clear knowledge in the students were caught during job interviews when the interviewer asked us conceptual questions, leaving most of us stunned and horrified!
Now, JAVA was just an example. This is applicable for most science and commerce related, and some even arts related subjects. A lot is wrong with our education system. We learn A LOT by heart, but have very little understanding of how to implement that same knowledge in real life.
We are made to practise a hundred derivations and deductions in Physics and Chemistry, yet most of us do not know what is the physical significance of the derivations!
Remember, Farhan’s dialogue in 3 Idiots?
“Salt Water is a great conductor of electricity. 8th Standard Physics. Humne pada tha…Saale ne APPLY kiya”
Translation -
Salt Water is a great conductor of electricity. We had only read it in Physics text books in the 8th Standard, but he(the hero of the film) applied it!
Now, this is a fun scene. Of course, we do not need to behave like Rancho here. But the implication is clear.
So, what is ideal education? One, with a little more experimental, demonstrative studying. One that encourages students to explore various authors. One that helps us relate the formulae with real life situations. One that encourages to analyze, and not just mug up.
Look at this Professor, and see how he teaches Physics:
Here is an example of an interactive English class:
How about History class?
Students give instant attention to lessons when the lecture is made more interactive with activities, quiz, etc. And to achieve this, expensive gadgets may not always be required.
I hope this answers your question…:)
