By Aristotle Lyngdoh
The etymology of education is derived from the Latin word ‘educare’ and ‘educere’ meaning to bring up and to bring forth. In general, education can also be regarded as the process of sharing or transferring knowledge and learning from person to person and from generation to generation. Knowledge implies that body of accepted facts and elements that constitute a structure of things developed and invented from time to time by geniuses. Learning on the other hand is a gradual approach to rediscover and understand the principles and fabric of its formation and development. The acquisition of knowledge is in fact the primary purpose of education but the development of attitude and thinking capacity should be the end objective of education because when there is a change in mental perception of a person, obviously there is transformation in person’s life and behavior too. And this is another vital aspect of education as glaringly demonstrated by the educated and the learned who can be distinguished from the illiterate and uneducated. People who are educated and learned are responsive, thoughtful and less emotional unlike those who are less educated. Therefore, holistic education should be inclusive in nature to take care of the individual needs of a person and the transformative process that follows.
Historically, the ancient systems of education were confined to two categories. The first are those who deliver and pass on knowledge and information (teachers or masters) and the second are those who receive knowledge and information (learners). It is a type of individualization of learning-teaching system in a one-to-one model of pedagogy. The nobility of the teaching process here lies in the passion of those who deliver it. Today such a teaching module that is personalized comes with an extra cost in the form of extra tuition classes. Here a school teacher assumes the role of a private tutor and personalizes his/her teaching efforts according to the capacity and need of each individual student. But such a thing is not possible in any educational institution today despite the spiraling school fees. This is due primarily to overcrowded classrooms or the attitude of teachers themselves towards education. Teaching in the present scenario is merely a duty to complete certain prescribed chapters of a syllabus irrespective of whether a child has learned or not. In this case the entire educational approach is like a one-size-fits-all policy.
But in the context of modern civilization the State has now emerged as the third party which is solely responsible for promoting the authentic process of acquiring and transferring knowledge. How the process is delegated is indeed a topic that raises many questions and apprehensions. Such delegation somehow has perpetrated right to the structure that formed part of the curriculum or syllabus for school children. But the syllabus of school children today appears to be philosophical in nature and less of application. And with the rise in the number of private schools whose primary intention is to capitalize monetarily from the huge market size, the idea of critical learning is just an illusion. For instance, Environmental study was introduced in the school curriculum for students to be aware about the surrounding environment and issues therein. But in reality who can understand and know the natural environment better and the vegetation thereon other than the rural folks. They can identify each plant and tree by their local name including the season that they bloom that most of the urban students are ignorant about it. Yet these rural folks can fail in this particular subject merely because of the fact that they are introduced into a different kind of learning situation that compels them to memorize unfamiliar concepts. In such a situation, it is therefore imperative that natural and self-learning knowledge should be also incorporated into the school curriculum.
The present civilization has also witnessed huge demographic changes and population explosion coupled with the growing consciousness in the society to acquire various types of knowledge and skills for future livelihood sake. Due to this consciousness, the process of transferring knowledge too has become more like a commodity which comes in various forms. Further, the process has integrated into an organized and unregulated market where the system itself has made progress to structured customers to adapt after its pattern. Educational institutions are today driven by the market forces of demand and supply of graduates strictly meant for a specific trade. They function like factories that produces homogenous commodity throughout its operation. Those who are not attractive or suitable for any purpose are left out and became a liability later on. On the contrary, such things have made innovative thinkers like Newton, Einstein, Thomas Edison and many others to move out of the system and create a new and different reality for the society. “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education,” said Albert Einstein. The concept of individualization fits well with the US education policy of, ”No Child Left Behind.’’ But Looking at the statistical figures freely available on the website, the picture is deeply unpleasant where the numbers of students who pursue higher studies in humanities stream after the tenth standard are exponentially higher than those who pursue technical streams. So what is this system of education? Does education in the present context merely implies the acquisition of any graduate or post-graduate certificate? Another discouraging aspect of the present educational system is also that choices of preference for further studies depend solely on the outcome of the various entrance examinations where students appear and re-appear.
Having said this, my intent is not to undermine the educational system but only to point out that that this process of transferring knowledge and learning should be conducted in a noble manner with the highest dignity of service to mankind. Education in the life of an individual begins with childhood and it is during this period that the destiny of a person is also streamlined to a desired adulthood. But when education system fails to impart the right taste to the mind of a person, as he or she grows from childhood onwards, that individual will be averse to the whole idea of education. In reality, each child is uniquely different from the other. Even twins who are born from a single egg or monozygotic are not alike and so is the capacity and nature of wisdom of the individual. The concept of individualization of education is widely practiced in developed nations. It is based on the principle that all learners share same learning goals but each learner can progress through different learning objectives at their own speed depending upon their ability. Thus the entire idea of individualization of education is to gain mastery on the content and the subject matter. Individualization of education for school kids is now more possible because of technology. Teaching and monitoring of teaching methods can be more accurate and simplified with the help of technology.
However, it is quite fascinating to watch a video clip on Finland’s education system. This small country in Northern Europe provides what is regarded as the most efficient education system in the world. The entire system centers on the individuality of a child and their freedom of childhood expression in a friendly educational environment. In contrast, the system of schooling in our country is so legalistic that the children’s freedom of childhood expression is severely curtailed because of excess disciplining. The prime focus of most of the institutions especially privately run institutions is that the rules and regulation should be strictly adhered to and followed in order to keep up the image of the institution and its reputation. Therefore, education in the eyes of many children is more about rules and regulations. For once in their lifetime can the goal of education go above grades, marks or any entrance test? Because when the goal is higher, these things will be at their fingertips. To encourage and promote learning is indeed challenging but it is also worth venturing.