Dear Rashmi Your article is really excellent and has really bought out the issue which is a great concern to most parents. One solution to this problem is home schooling please get the details on the net
I liked your article, but the fact that American schools have more universal pattern in not true.I have been teaching In USA for a while and they are facing a tremedous problem because of weak curriculum and not much effort to put in academics and homework.Both the Indian and Ameican system have disadantages but I will prefer Indian Education over a system such as American schools. Learning more is not harmful but knowing little is.
Every good thing is followed by some critisism. But Rashmi we don't have any other choice. Indian school systems is one of the best in world and really produces best barins. Our country is far behind others and we need to work hard to reach at their level.
You wrote 'One-size-fits-all education'. But there is an ongoing debate in Germany where we have different schools for students at different level. Its really not justifiable.
You wrote about the weight of books. Ya, locker can be a good option, but I dont find reducing book weight or eliminating homework a good option. Students here forget what they did in school once they are at home. Its like an obligation. And India's only ray of hope is educatio is hard and strict education.
A wise man once said, "The aim of education.".Dont care about such sayings. You will find thousands of them in your own Vedas which favours strict education.
You wrote "Preparing for what?". Preparing for bright future I would say. Preparing for tough compitition.Today everyone look at us with respect in forgein countries.Last few year have changed India. Thanks to our education system.
Our system gives rise to race,real compitition. Encourage it!
The sad fact is there's a dearth of schools, and even in these the quality, both in terms of infrastructure and administration, is deplorable. Parents nationwide must unite and form a National Education Cooperative, to build and operate schools that meet the highest and most modern standards, instead of paying for such substandard service.
I'm writing from America. I think this level of course material and the studies really are essential for kids. I know that a lot of these kids struggle with the heavy course work, but still I feel that its good, they get used to it,one way or another. I see the level of education here in Usa. Its not even half the workload we received back home in India. The result is that these people have a tough time studying and accomodating to the study pressure later on in college and competitive exams. Also, as we get an early start our minds get used to analysis and examination of evrything in life which I feel is an excellent tool to combat life in today's growing populations. So for Darwin's theory "Survival of the fittest", we get an ahead start to survive and only when one gets out of India one realizes how much Indian schools have helped. Do remember that in coming years the world will have a mixture of populations in most of the developed countries.
Indian schooling system is best in the world.
by poonam on Nov 07, 2005 08:43 PM
I am not agree with Karthik.I am studying here in USA ( PhD) and I have done my previous studies in India and I am glad I did that.that gave me strength to do better here unlike other students (citizens).Unlike schooling higher studies are little difficult here.Here you dont see much competition in schools and by this they dont develop competitive nature, and becasue of this they get difficulty in higher studies.I do agree higher study like PhD is slighty hard thats why you see more PhD international student students than American, its definitly hard for them to go through this since they have very easy school. they get a lot time to all the useless things in schools and undergrads.Infact Indian studens known to be bariny here, not American. Not winning Nobel prize have different isuue and I dotn want to discuss that in this column.and finally its world famous that American student have poorest general knowledge.When I was In India I used to say same things but now being exposue to here I came to know all the reality.I am really really proud of Indian schooling system.Though it can be little easy but definitly should not be like USA.Indian schooling system is best in the world.
RE:Its good
by Karthik on Jul 26, 2005 05:58 AM
Dear Amit,
The major defect in the Indian system of education is that cramming is given too much importance where as thinking and understanding is given a go by. That's why Indian kids are unable to win any major awards (Nobel Prize included) because they are just incapable of using their brain. Indian kids win "Spelling Bee" awards because it is all about mugging up the spellings. "Thinking" culture needs to be inculcated in our kids else India will never be able to make inroads in the research frontiers.
The American scheme is very good to follow in that it helps in the allround development of personality.
Rashmi Bansal's column is the prime worry of every parent. I like the idea of a 5 day week school .This 2 day break will give a breather to the child to be his/her own creative self and spend some quality time with their family or friends, instead of a crammed sunday where both the parents and the child will have too many a chores to catch up or prepare ahead than having a much needed cordial/interactive weeknend . Also the trimester system of examination has infact reduced the load on the childrens back, but we are yet to find many schools introducing the locker system. If concerned parents could make a collective representation and contirbute their opinion through your column which could be sent as an newsletter to various schools acroos the country, it could pave a way for some change or be an eye opener or an interactive column with the school management.
Rashmi, Good article, very well thought out monologue. What I found striking is that amidst all the complaints, there was no concrete workable low-to-medium cost solution. And even more surprising, that a school topper & an IIM grad does not remember much more about mathematics than the 2 'P's. What about the theorem - "2 sides of a triangle are together greater than the third side."? Doesn't this help you in going from one place to another, say to get to another edge of a triangular park. Strangely, you are right! You have proved what bookish learning does to "bright" individuals, like yourself. SOLUTION? Yes, you are right! We all want to "do something about it", at least for our children. We owe them that much. Why not get together with a few more like-minded individuals & draft a "Utopian School" blueprint? What say? Round up a team. Count me in. Lets do something about this... I personally can't bear to see kids laboring to school with heavy bags & breathing in polluted air.
I guess its the Indian schooling system, with which i mean those over-packed classes thru which i still used to manage to take out my piece of share and those vast courses which wud help me to learn how to manage my time in betw my sports ,other activities and acads and the teachers who expected a good score out of every single student etc etc..,which has helped me and my classmates to becum different ppl than we wud have if we had a "slow schooling". Harsh and tough conditions, even in childhood, donot go waste. It is highly probable,and it does happens, tht our children do reflect these in theier lives, someway or the other. They becum better than those other ppl in whose country if u walk into a shop and if thier calculator is broken they apologise to yu and say the shop is closed! Maybe next when u take a class with some foreigner , sit close to him and note the differences! Wish u all the luck. I think it is worth mentioning here tht one of my cousins family who were in aus once thought of shifting to india and they did but went back to aus in one year time and the reason was only one: thier kids found tough and competitive here
The article is the true mirror of the current scenario,Sometimes I feel ,we are sending our children to schools for learning hardships of life rather than educating themselves. The quality of the teachers is dismay , most of the mid range schools opt for low profile teachers, who themself are not not knowledgeable. The painful thing is the parents adding tremondreous pressure on little hearts by comparing and shouting at them,todays children are not even permitted to enter play ground,inspite of doctors repeated request to allow children play.
