Education.

For a note, after reading the talk by Hamming which I talked about in my older post , I am actually able to relate many of those things in my day to day life. It really makes sense. I hope, someday I will be at a stage to claim, "Hey, I owe it to Hamming!" :)

So, coming to the point which I am trying to talk about here:
"Moving from ignorance of an area to partial knowledge, and from that to a good grasp is something most people can do from either attending a class or self-study. But moving from understanding an area to really knowing it is more difficult"

That is a quote, I had read long back and probably I blessed my gtalk status also with it. No doubt about the correctness it has; I was just startled with the fact that its realization would have come to me many years ago if I had given a thought to my heart's voice a bit seriously in my school days. It is amazing to find someone else thinking on the same lines as you and it becomes really useful when it gives that extra stimulus to your mind to take that otherwise weak voice seriously.

Indian education system (yes, I dare to generalize) doesn't motivate 'really understanding' things. Students never understand that the exams are meant to test their understanding of subject (nor are test papers good enough to do that). They just concentrate on getting marks, revising the course hundred times and then spitting out all that knowledge on exam sheet. A month later, all the 'accumulated knowledge' is washed off. Its not so easy to really understand the things. Scoring high marks, getting rewards and recognition all look so tempting that the essence of education is sidelined. It is so disheartening.
True knowledge comes from questioning; the quality subdued in children in their early years by the society. They keep asking something, you will feel irritated and finally you will slap them and make them shut up. In India, how many times do we see parents respecting thoughts of kids?

Another thing to consider is: When you are writing a competition-exam with all that coaching and you don't qualify, you try again. Then you fail and you try again. Your parents and teachers keep motivating you (till the fourth attempt in which you clear the exam) saying "Never stop trying, you will win in the end". Haven't heard of any better shit. Of course, you will get it if you continue trying for it. But what next? Why don't you realize that your intellect in this field doesn't match with your counterparts? You won't get those many chances after joining the college. You shouldn't delude yourself.

Exams are meant to test all the basic knowledge required for the further studies you are opting for. You shouldn't aim to clear the exam but to 'really understand' that knowledge. There is no shortcut, no escape.

Haven't we encountered the cases wherein preparing for the final semester exams, shuffling through the books, all of a sudden, that thought strikes us and the entire course which looked useless throughout the semester starts making sense. But it doesn't happen all the time. People passout with all the recognition, rewards and everything but the knowledge.

And one fine day, when you are matured enough, you meet a person who hasn't got all those rewards and is not as well-recognized as you but makes you realize that he knows far more than you. You go into hibernation, think what went wrong and by the time you realize, its too late! Life is no longer same. You feel insulted with all those praises, you don't dare to take a snap with all your rewards. You curse yourself, you curse everyone for fooling you. You are broke!

I, desperately, feel the need of change in our education system. I want it to be focused on 'really understanding' the things and it should motivate the students for the same. Student should really be proud of his education in his whole life.
I can see the change coming but its very slow, very little. I wish to contribute towards it in later part of my life; got some other priorities at the moment.