We all believe that our educational system exists to make our children knowledgeable. We believe that the schools and the teachers functions to educate our minds.
We believe that we study solely to gain knowledge. That is why we all want our children to go to school. Even when we were studying, we assumed we were going to school to learn new things.
But, why did we study? Why are we sending our children to the schools and colleges? Didn’t we go to the schools just for the sake of our parents? Didn’t we all study to get good marks and high grades? Weren’t we all sent to schools to be the topper of our classes? Didn’t we just study to pass our exams?
We could wonder, what’s wrong in this? We may believe that our knowledge expands when we study and perform well in our exams. But we tend to forget what exactly knowledge is? Isn’t knowledge all about the ability to examine an idea or a concept from various angles, raising questions from every perspective and understanding the idea?
But, do the schools provide the freedom and opportunity to explore a topic from different perspectives? Do the teachers encourage the students to question them? How can absorbing just what the teacher says, memorizing what’s in the book and repeating as it is on our exams called as knowledge?
If knowledge is all about questioning, analyzing and understanding, do our school classes start with our questions? Or are we asked questions just from our lessons?
Do we at least learn our subjects with enthusiasm knowing that we will learn something new? Or are we all denied of the freedom and the time to explore and ask questions from a young age? If so, aren’t we all forced to study half-heartedly?
By curbing our interests and forcing us to study from a young age for so many years aren’t we all losing the desire to explore and learn anything for the rest of our lives? Are we losing our interests and passions as a result of the existing education system? Or is our education system designed in such a way that it ensures that all of us lose our interest in learning anything passionately?
Shouldn’t our education assist us in clearly expressing our thoughts and ideas? We believe that exams are conducted to assess our knowledge and skills. But, are exams carried out to express our understanding? Or is it carried out in order to write exactly what is in the book? Do we write our tests with the intention of showcasing our skills? Or are we compelled to learn and rewrite everything as it appears in our textbooks?
Knowing that we will not get full marks, if we write our exams from our understandings, in our own words, don’t we just memorize everything on the day before the exams? Don’t we just memorize for the next day’s exam simply by forgetting what we studied the day before?
By just memorizing for the textbook questions, even more narrowed down to the important questions, aren’t we all losing our interest in learning anything completely? Are our thoughts and our perspectives suppressed by our exams? Or are our exams designed in such a way that we are all afraid to express our opinions and feelings openly and honestly?
If this is the case, then aren’t we all made to believe that our education helps us in acquiring knowledge and that we are all conditioned to accept what is written in our books and believing it to be true?
So our education system, which is intended to teach us to think for ourselves, is only manipulating us to a single point of view, sculpting our thinking and narrowing our perspectives?
If so, isn’t it true that our education system is not making our children wise and intelligent? Isn’t it true that they are silencing our children’s unique thoughts and talents and they are cultivating a pre-planned viewpoint among all our minds?
If true, is this education or brainwashing?
To continually ask such life changing questions and to engage in constructive conversations, stay connected with Vattam. We ask powerful questions that can change the way we think. We engage in productive conversations that can change the way we live.
