Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Long Live Real Education

Honestly, I, perhaps many others as well, have lost faith in our domestic educational system. Yeah, straight A's students flooding the headlines every year. But now lets look deeper.

One major problem is the structure. Education was supposed to be about what an individual loves, what an individual is good at, and most importantly, how an individual could happily make a living out of that. With these structured system, where everyone gets the same type of syllabus, we're not teaching humans, we're developing robots. At a young age, students deserve their rights to their own destiny. They deserve the right to choose. Teach them to organize their own studying outlines. Don't force them on anything that they are not capable of,cause they would eventually fail the paper over & over again. Trust me, even once they've passed, they have nothing but hatred for that subject. Being young is no excuse, its the duty of both parents & teachers to identify what a student is good at from the beginning. And once that's done, keep him/her on that track only, & let them go once they're matured enough. Instead of being plain "normal", who would've thought what these students could accomplished in 10-20 years time? Don't you get it? The future is theirs, if they're only allowed to make decisions after college, it would've been too late.

And this brings us  to the next point.  When it comes to finding a job, students should only know how to distinguish between a "career" and a "hobby". Be really serious with the former, & be moderate with the latter. But with this system, we're confusing them with multiple terms; "academics", "curriculum", "extra-curriculum", where what is important is merely human self-development. This system is emphasizing so much on the concept of a "well-balanced, multi-talented" individual,who excels in almost everything. So here's the thing; that's the most retarded idea one could ever think of. Because its a joke. No successful person in the course of human history were well-known for killing two birds with one stone. They are professionals, experts specifically in their respective fields. If Mr A is so good with Physics, then Physics is his "academics" + "curriculum" + "extra-curriculum". If Mr B is so enthusiastic with football, why not just let him be the next Cristiano Ronaldo?  Don't narrow your definition of a Genius. It doesn't necessarily needs a man with a lab-coat, hanging in his lab 24/7, & trying to make a chemical reaction that would change the entire world!

Hell, I could go on & on; on how this system is merely focusing on how to pass an exam, rather than being practically capable of handling the real deal. The subtle bullying done towards these poor, less-privileged students. The level of bureaucracy one needs to face, just for one piece of scroll. I know, these youth needs to be taught on the difficulties of life, so they would understand. But please, you gotta know that "teaching" is different than "torturing". I've gambled with a lot of things in my life, been totally irresponsible with many of my duties. But when it comes to my children's future, with their education, I'm willing to give all my dollars and cents for the best. If this mockery you're calling "education" remains the same for years to come, then I've no choice but to keep my young one's away from it. Sounds kinda egoistic, but do I have a choice?

I don't know, but what the world could agree upon is surely, education is THE most vital arsenal to cope with the modern world challenges. Perhaps this is an on-going issue, discussed for seemingly forever. Tupac had a say on it, so do Einstein. Hey don't get me wrong. I'm nothing close of being THE model-type student. I skipped classes, rarely pay attention during lectures, and on top of all,  failed a lot of my papers. And this started way back since pre-school. So you got the picture of who I am. And I humbly admit that. But that's my part of the spoil, how about yours?

Please, do correct me if I got any of my facts wrong. I know a change is hard, and it will never be a holistic one. But as how I see it, it needs some. Trust me, it'll worth it.