I am convinced that books are the ultimate source of information. It is because of books that we come to know about the nuances of the worlds around us. There’s a world of science that teaches us to distinguish between different textures. There’s a world of art that makes our senses react. We gather information to learn how to respond to a particular situation. Individual differences may change the response but basic reactions are almost the same. Books and other sources of information add to our knowledge. We keep piling up this knowledge and believe that we have learnt all. Here lies my question, an extension to my article on ‘Where India Lagged‘.
Rote Learning – Not a Solution
School education, especially in India, stresses on gaining knowledge by memorising loads of books. There’s a little difference between learning and memorizing if you ask our schools. Students are aware that their grades are completely dependent on how good their memorizing power is. Sad. A bright student who doesn’t believe in rote learning has to accept poor grades. On the other hand, an average student with excellent rote power excels in academics. Irony. As a result of the faulty education system, students passed out of the schools with flying colours do not know how to operate simple apparatus like Vernier Callipers and Screw Gauge! When these students enter institutions for higher education, their grasping power further slows down. Result?
Most of the times, Indian students can’t compete with students from Western countries.
Vicious Cycle Of Mediocrity
Knowledge without practical application fails at one point or the other. We should be prepared to put our knowledge into action. Without action, our knowledge is meaningless. I read somewhere that India has to cater to the education of millions of people. The country tries to impart basic information (read bookish) to most of the people. Not a very rich country as India is, it can’t provide practical experience to everyone that comes with the unavoidable expenditure. If this is the severity of the situation, we will never be able to come out of the vicious cycle of mediocrity.
Where’s the Respect for the Skilled
After Independence, in the process of developing, Indians lost respect for skilled people. People who work with hands are considered inferior to those who read and write. Shocking but true. You will be surprised to know that we prepare lakhs of engineers every year. Many of them, about 80-90% change their stream after graduation. Why?
Our engineering graduates are well-read people with little practical knowledge. The reason being the same; our grades largely depend on theoretical knowledge. Practical experience is required but only a formal certificate is enough to satisfy the authorities or the companies that hire them. After all, this is India.
These incomplete proofs of experience fall flat when our students get a chance to compete with the students of top foreign universities. Failure in the education system leads to many failed lives. Pause.
Analysing Application of Knowledge
*We are aware that acquiring knowledge is quite necessary for us. We can’t survive the life-game if we lack knowledge. Another question pops up.
Is the application of knowledge as important as knowledge? When we talk about skill-based training, it can’t be provided in confined places. Say, nobody can teach ‘how to swim’ within four walls of a classroom. Same is the case with many more things.
* Heard somewhere that a person with a lot of knowledge but no practical experience is like a library whose doors are closed. Convinced! The application complements the knowledge and strengthens the concepts learnt. Moreover, the interest in the subject increases once we are clear about the practical aspects.
* By practising what we gain as knowledge, we move towards perfection. It is true that the human brain always works for perfect results. One gets better results by bringing knowledge to practice. It boosts confidence as well as raises happiness level .
We strive to bring happiness in our lives and this is going to be one impeccable effort:)
This article is written for the prompt ‘Knowing is not enough; we must apply’ as a part of the #WeeklyBlogHop hosted by Alpana http://www.mothersgurukul.com and Neha Sharma http://www.growingwithnemit.com. I would like to thank Pragnya of https://lifewithmypenguin.com/ for introducing me to this blog hop and would further like to introduce Kushal of http://www.cafewhiz.com to share her take on the prompt.
PANORAMIC RIPPLES 
I agree practical implementation is very important. Only studying theories is not going to help when a student sees his/her future. We have got so much of talent. But proper direction and implementation is very important.
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Very much true!
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We can’t afford to be patient in this regard.
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Agree aditi, rote learning from books that are far from practical life leads us in the middle fo nowhere… we definitely need a transformation in the way education is systemised….
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We can’t afford to be patient in this regard.
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That’s a lovely take on the prompt . Completely agree with your thoughts and our system needs a change.
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Yes, our education system is outdated.
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Aditi, I so agree with you. Our education system badly needs a revamp. Our knowledge and efficiency are measured in terms of grades. There is little or no knowledge of practical applications. Education imparting is a booming business now. And we are doomed.
Maybe, I will share my views sometime with you Aditi on how my experience to the schooling system changed to recent homeschooling ideas.
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Homeschooling comes with it’s own pros and cons. It can’t be continued after certain period and in the meantime child unlearns some social skills.
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Our education system is kind of improper. I don’t have kids yet but always think about that perfect school where knowledge and practical implementation should be taken into consideration always! I agree with the pointer Skilled People are no longer respected!
#WeeklyBloghop #bloghop #GWNxMG
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Indians should understand the importance of doing work with hands. Learning of atleast one skill should be made compulsory in schools.
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Completely agree with you, Aditi. Our Education system is flawed and we know that. Someone has to take some action to bring a change so that our country’s talent don’t go waste and it can also help prevent the brain drain. Loved your take on the prompt!
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Thanks Neha!
This is what I want to convey. We don’t find many opportunities of applying knowledge that we gain in educational institutions. School/college curriculum should cater to the professional needs of the students.
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Absolutely! As if now the whole system sucks..and sucks big time. No wonder we get duffers graduating from schools year after year. Parrots..nothing else!
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We know where the problem is; still going on with the flow. A strong progressive system is needed to bring the change.
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Must for better future generations and development of the country.
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We want our India to change for the better. It’s the question of millions of people!
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Exactly!
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So true I remember our days when ratafication was the only solution.. It doesn’t help instead practical applicability should be the focus.
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You are right girl 👍
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Good to go through this post and simultaneously happy and surprised …why discussing this issues? there is no profit of pointing out the loopholes of our education system, i have also written in this issue, have read lots of posts but believe me nothing is gonna change.
Our education is wrong from top to bottom…no change is possible.
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Thanks for reading Jyotirmoy! I praised our country, nobody objected. In my Glimpse of India posts, at many places, I boasted using flowery language. I’m just sharing my thoughts in a hope to find people with similar feelings. That’s it. If any of my posts triggers revolution, I’m more than satisfied.
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I would like to point one important factor of Neuroscience. It is only by excellent memory can a life expectancy increase. Brain’s neurons die every day. But with proper memory in place, the elasticity of brain increases i.e., it’s neurons don’t die as fast. This is crucial for longivety.
Given that, Indian education system of past had wonderful money work. All Vedas were rembered. If you explore Ghana form of Veda, you will be biweldered as to how humans can remember such plethora of oscillating wordings. This caused a high lifespan for ancients.
In modern education, you correctly pointed all the rotting elements. If India will give enough credit to “skill” and what Rabindranath Tagore envisioned (Srujanaatmakata), the kid blossoms into a fragrant human who perceives every aspect of life with enough tools. Memory and memorising is important along with artistic outlook. India is in transitory state I feel, due to rich history and long lasting invasions, it’s hybrid culture needs to come to a stochastic equilibrium. We have to wait and educate society and parents first to give proper raceless grounds to kids. 🙂
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A big revelation. Wasn’t aware that memory is linked to longevity. Thanks.
I’ve written on the application of knowledge gained. Human race is moving at a faster pace in Western countries I think:D
India needs to catch up with them.
The difference sometimes pinches.
I missed writing about Vedas chanting and all those things we did in the past. While memorizing mantras how many of them could tell the meaning? Not many, I doubt.
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1) I too came to know few months back 🙂
2) You are seeing the waves on surface. See the ocean beneath. Humanity in West trying to understand East and East trying to adopt west. This is the chaos theory which suggests that until an equilibrium is reached, the chaos tries to oscillate in its modes. So no doubt western countries started material revolution, bit India is no less. When I was in IIT Madras, a scientist from MIT in neuroscience visited for a guest lecture. I asked him a simple question ” In the scheme of neurons is there a master neuron controlling the other neurons and if so how? If not, from where do these set of neurons configure as one unit?” – he has no answer. You see how shallow the research is? The west needs Eastern concepts like Schrödinger, Tesla, Heisenberg have foreseen and utilised. It’s the same truth trying to express in different way and hence the requirement of East for west. Anyway, it’s a big topic indeed. So difference exists only to localised view. See in a broad sense. You will feel happy that humanity is progressing unlike dark ages of absolute mass murders.
3) Is meaning everything? If so, meaning of Hunger should satisfy our hunger. Similarly, those who dedicate life for studying and memorising Veda, are blessed by something’s which modern mind can’t quantify. In fact same is true with any studies western/eastern, but the Veda had its specialization in configuring the syllables of utterance. So by very virtue they I due the effects irrespective of meaning. Knowing meaning is a bonus and acts as catalyst, but not necessity.
Even in present day world, howany researchers do proper research? Iyself am a PhD student and can’t say my research is groundbreaking. But my work will lead to some ONE in future to a groundbreaking utility. Same with vedic students. They all learn and preserve (while self helping). Someday people like David Bohm or Aurobindo etc., Exposes the grand mysteries. So that’s how always things are as long as manifested world exists, by virtue of its apparent differences. 🙂
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Really appreciate your approach to the things around us. Memorising is a kind of preserving and can be utilized, if not by us then somebody else. Great, at least it has a hope for a better future. Time to rethink.
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I admit that the active brain helps to live longer. The research work has done wonderful job by establishing a relation between the two.
Okay. I admit that memorising is not bad. But the engineers who can’t even operate simple apparatus or other people with skill-degrees who don’t know their job! There’s no use of simply cramming for the grades. A need to carve our place in the world still exists. I’m sorry but you, from IIT, one of the best educational institutions of India… preferred to settle in European country and not India.
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So true. That is where exactly we need reshaping Indian education system. Well said.
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*I did not settle in Europe. I am pursuing higher studies. My goal is always to settle in India and give my lot to the country in one way of another. I hate brain drain. Of course not that I see world isolated, I am a systems thinker i.e., whole world is one unit. But still, I feel my first job is to India and then to the world through India. There is nothing wrong in studying world, but there is something wrong in migrating and settling elsewhere. So know better before concluding. What meets the eye may not be final truth 🙂
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Oh..my fault. I’m sorry. This is what people usually do…
I appreciate your intelligent comments and wanted you to convince me to see migration as a fair practice. Please don’t ask me why 😔
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Haha …. I can convince you, but you need to make truce with yourself and your outlook of life as a whole. This is my opinion in few lines- If migration is for a better cause of humanity and world beings (animals and plants included), it’s great. If it is due to escapism (escaping from problems of motherland by blaming politics, system,etc.) Then it is no better than abandoning family at dire time of need. (May be I will write an article on this). The motivation behind an act is important than act itself (I skimmed through your karma article and I will share my views there aswell, soon).
🙂 🙂 All the best
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Exactly what I think. Moving away from the family and country is more of escapism than anything else. Shall definitely check your article once it’s published.
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* sorry, karma article is not from your blog. My mistake – human error 😛
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true that Aditi, We do need a change in the education system and nothing would come in a day. And spreading such words would definitely help people take the leap
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Glad you got my point:)
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Your point is well-taken. Actually the system needs to change the focus from rote memory to understanding the matter and the examinations should be conducted accordingly. The students go for rote memory because the system compels them. After all, they are supposed to get acceptable percentage of marks and grades for the sake of the career they are aiming at.
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Agree. We should try to move the authorities so that they may take the necessary action.
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For sure, it needs an overhaul and first, the Babulog should be sensitised and given classes on changing trends. Great pointers there Aditi.
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Thanks Harjeet:)
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Absolutely on point, Aditi. With rote learning and little or no emphasis on actually “educating” the child, both the system and the teaching methods need a complete overhaul.
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Exactly
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Good thought. Changes are taking place but slowly. The teachers have an important role to play. And numerous brain-storming sessions between the people in power and the people who want change will get the job done.
And there are so many posts here that I would be sharing with my friends.
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Thank you so much:)
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Thank you!
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By the way Engineering is the only course in India where more than 60% of the students enters by CHANCE not by CHOICE. Its the course where 19th century syllabus is thought by 20th century leacturers to the 21st century students.
Today more than 95% of the graduated students are not skilled enough get placed in the corporations. Here is the interesting story of a student who came running out of interview office.
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Good work 👍
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Thanks 😊
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