I am an Indian, now in england for the past two years. I have studied in India but now I have observed the way the british scools teach. at first I really like this kind of teaching and believe that there is a lot of new development in teaching methods which should be incorporated within the Indian system. having said that I would also not want my kids to study in any o the british schools because they always teach the kids about their rights but never about the responsibilities. therefore by the time these kids reach the age of 10-12yrs, they become so misbehaved that even their parents cannot control them let alone the teachers. one really good thing about Indian system is that it is more geared to impart values into the young mind. one of the worst thing is that there is real lack of knowledge and understanding to identify disabilities like dyslexia, and to use different teaching methods to teach such children having disabilities...
Some of the views I completely agree with. Yes the story is a emotional outburst of that picture Ms Bansal saw of her daughter that morning. On a neutral level the Indian education seems to be standardised like specifications of a production line upto 12th. This has to change. Other wise the direction and thrust is good enough. Knowledge is valuable, Even if it is not useful to every one at each and every instance, it makes a individual what you could say...more complete. Intelligence is a collection of various aspects every body may not have a complete collection, however our education system tries to mould this intelligence so that the individual may some where in life make an attempt to complete this collection.
i don't think that just because we do well abroad, can all this be attributed to the tough education that we had here. the system in india teaches you to be a follower and not to be a leader. This is all inspite of and not because of the craaming that we do here. Thats the reason though we have highest no of engineers in US but are still not not a patch when it comes to original discoveries. A glance at the nobels in chemistry and physics would let you know that a small country like Israel has more to offer than just engineers who have been able to beat and survive the Indian education system to emerge victorious.
RE:inspite of...
by Pardeshi on Jun 25, 2005 09:41 PM
I agree with you ; the staunch supporters of the Indian system are those who work abroad.Perhaps the Indian schooling teaches you to survive in the heavy competing world. But where is the creativity ? I just don't understand comparing the Indian with the US Scool system , why not with the other European countries. The Americans live on the imported brains . If one really wants to improve education - one should respect the teacher - the teacher should respect the kid and his job - and of course a huge investment of taxpayer's money instead of cramming up Pythagorus theorem
I have seen education system in british and education system in japan, i can say if anybody survive in indian education system he/she would be one of the best in the world. Distorted techar, panic of exam, jealous friends and their parents, conception less information packed books, realisation less theoretical education are the elements we get. If we are even then imaginative then we are the best in the world. I have seen in my experiences.
the problem with most schools today, is that they seem to be concentrating on theory. its an open secret that in many schools, students are freely given full marks in practicals(especially in board practicals), without much analysis into their experiments.
im not saying the students are not working on the experiments at all... but there's a strange sense of feeling among students that the 'internal will see to it'.
at the same time, it's not wrong that the students concentrate on their theory more, as it is nore important anyway... but even there they look more to mug up answers... but it's not their fault. the way the papers are corrected in most places... especially in the state boards, will force even the best thinking students to mug up some lessons, as it is the only surefire way to score high.
I read your article with interest, but do not agree with many of your views. I was educated in India (ICSE). And I did my higher studies abroad. Yes, the education system here is very different. And it tries to do too many things : differentitation, creating independant learners; teachers have to do three part lessons (every lesson); we use interactive whiteboards in almost all lessons!!!; ICT is the soul of teaching; etc etc..I can go on and on.
But I still value my Indian education. I have been taught to compete, struggle and live my life for myself. I was never allowed to play too much as a child, and then left to struggle on my own at a higher age. My brains were moulded to taek in as much information as possible.
Maybe a little more fun is all I would recommend the change in Indian education system. We have an education system, which is of universal standard.
I recently read in one of rediff.com's columns about New York times Friedman saying how he was reminded by his mom about starving kids in India when he did not finish his breakfast. And how now, he reminds his kids about those Indian kids who would make them strave, when they dont do their Maths homework.
The article is well written to an extent. There are certain statements which are quite logical and correct such as the 5 day week and the burden of books. But on the issue of ease of choosing subjects only of one's liking, I differ. Remember that kids can handle a lot more than we think. I have been a student in India and US and also a teacher in US. If you see the students in US, it is those students who come from private schools who do the best. The reason is they are given a few choices, not many. If you offer too many choices, the students are confused and cannot think rightly. Give them choices, not a variety.
I have been part of alternative education methods and means. Parents who want bright and secure future need to push children through to highly rated schools and the child under pressure might qualify with high scores. Suppose if there is genuine concern about childs style of education we have National Open school and a group of parents can come togather to explore education differently. There are many schools which do that for example CFL School, Poorna School in Bangalore.
you have taken up a very important issue for discussion. i am a highly qualified person working in a very coveted position. but i had my earlier primary education in mother tongue in a govt. school and not a convent. This is about fifteen year old story. i remember my old school days where there is no computer or any multi media gadgets in the school. on the first day the child is asked to sit on the lap of the father or mother and with their help the child will write om on sand. this was the practice for three months. later on the child will be exposed all moral stories by the teacher this will go on for nine months. then only alphabets and other lessons are started. English is introduced only at the third standard. we never had tie or shoe anything of that sort. Our intelligence and knowledge grown in a regular pace and we are inferior to nobody. What i am trying to point out is the present day education will teach the child to committ suicide in case of failure. Tution and extra coaching has become a lucrative business. Above all the person running the school establishment may even be an illitrate. There is no controlling mechanism.
