What is the true meaning of education?

I just saw a speech given by my brother in one of the most esteemed business schools in India about the Right to Education (RTE) and how to achieve it. He asked many questions in it which got me thinking. Right now, so many thoughts are running through my head, I needed to put them down or I thought my head would explode. Right to Education is clear from the three words. It represents the idea of an excellent education, an education available and attainable by people of all strata of the society.

My first thought was that quality education was an integral part of our family even two generations ahead of me. Both my grandfathers were in the education system. Both my father and mother are postgraduates. My dad is in the Faculty of a very esteemed organization and my mother was a teacher in a school for a few years teaching Social Studies & Telugu. I did my primary & secondary education from one of the best schools still ranked number one in Hyderabad, I did my graduation in a university considered one of the best in the city and I did my post-graduation in one of the best institutes in the country, IIT. Somewhere in-between my education, I realised I am one of the privileged kids. I come from a family that treats its children equally, despite their gender. How many girls in India are encouraged to pursue their post-graduation and are not questioned on their wish for higher education? How many kids are supported on their quest for knowledge? So, I believe the first step in RTE, - educated parents or at least parents who realise the worth of a good education.

One of the questions raised by my cousin in his speech was how many people aspired to be teachers in their childhood. I raised my hand. There was a phase in both my sister’s and my childhood, where we aspired to be teachers (more than anything, the result of that was chalk everywhere, on walls, on cupboards, on anything that can be used as a board). I was in awe of some of my teachers who managed to fuel the fire of my curiosity, who believed in my capabilities, who urged me to be better. My school doesn’t allow corporal punishment, it expects its teachers to explain to the students patiently, affectionately and reassuringly. I went to a school that treated everyone equally, people of all gender, castes, regions, religions & classes of society. I never knew the caste, region or religion of my classmates nor did I care. The thing that I thank my school for even now. My school never behaved differently with their boys and girls. I see a lot of people who behave differently with the opposite sexes. It was instilled in us that all people are alike. Our school also believed in all-round education. We were pushed to know our skills in all domains, arts, sports, oratory skills and not scoring full marks in various tests. (This led me to pursue my love for music and art. It also made me realise that I am really bad at catch or other sports that involved hand-and-eye co-ordination).  I still remember the day my music teacher & my arts teacher praised me in front of my peers, making me confident in my abilities. So, the second step in RTE - a teacher who believes in you, in what you can do and how important you are to the future of the country.

One of the other things my cousin pointed out in his speech was that the realisation of what constitutes an excellent education. There were many answers from the audience, I had some thoughts of my own I would like to add. An excellent education constitutes an attitude change in the kid, encourages the thirst for knowledge, imparts wisdom, implants the belief & confidence in themselves that they can be something, inculcates values to treat everyone equally, with empathy and compassion, including animals, not to judge people based on any pre-conceived notions of any caste, religion, gender but be inspired by their stories, to introduce them to a world of opportunities and to support them in whatever they want to be. I once saw a TEDx show of a kid who asked a question, why do adults always ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up and not right now. Kids at a very young age should believe in themselves that they are an integral part of the country, they are the present and the future. I believe education in these terms is more valuable than any numerous degrees that one might possess. These values will also help them vote or lead in a democracy that needs people to be able to make informed and challenging decisions.

My cousin talked about his experiences as a primary teacher that now helps him guide new teachers he trains as a part of his programme. He talked about kids and their idea of education. That many kids study for the fear of humiliation or for the fear of punishment. He rightly pointed out the fear needs to be replaced with want, desire & aspiration. My experience with under privileged kids (my definition of under privileged not just lies in their financial problems but also with the level of education & understanding in the society they are growing up in) is less but my very first experience was when our maid came to us for help for her daughter’s education. She said that computer skills are a dire necessity in today’s job market and since we had a computer at home, if we could give her an opportunity for her to learn. I taught her what I knew and what I was learning in school. From turning it on to Microsoft Office to turning it off, she saw opportunities in the world wide web of knowledge. And in turn, it was a learning experience for me, my first experience as a teacher. Another time, I helped my maid’s son with his mathematics. I tried to instil in him the fun of doing mathematics, and not for the marks. He used to initially say that his teacher taught him in a particular way and that my method was different, but once he learnt to think on his own, there was no stopping him. I’m glad that they came to us for help. It shows that they know the value of education and how education before work can give their kids a brighter future than what they have.

Another experience that convinced me of my privilege was when I went to a maths tuition in my tenth class. The key to be adept at mathematics was practice and more practice. Teachers in my school never spoon-fed us the answers. For example, in languages or social sciences, or even science, we were never given answers to the questions at the back of the lesson. We were made to answer based on what we understood from the class. They taught us the concepts and asked us to try solve the problems before they gave us the solution. The questions in the exams were never from the textbook. These methods helped us think in all directions, using all the concepts we learnt so far. This way, every student had his/her own unique solution. It made us analytical thinkers, problem solvers and in not just the way the teacher wanted us to. So, getting back to my experience in the tuition, since we were from all kinds of background, the teacher was forced to give problems from out of the textbook or what-were-asked-in-the-last-few-years questions. It astonished me that most of the students didn’t know how to go ahead. They were taught to solve for x and not for y, so it stumped them. They were shocked that I could solve the same question in a few minutes and arrived at the correct solution. I am not saying any of these kids were less intelligent, they were equally intelligent if not more. But they were not taught to tap into their capabilities and their skills. They were taught to mug up what the teacher has taught them to get 100 marks. Parents were proud of their kids getting > 90% but did not worry about how much they were actually learning (not all, I must point out, maybe they were just ignorant or unaware of the situation).

My own experience with that kind of teaching was when I was pursuing my 11^th and 12^th. I was studying in a college that focused only on our marks. Their approach to that was long hours of sitting with books. Even if you had finished your work in half an hour, no, two hours of study time is prescribed for excellent marks. The college has promised miracles to their parents, that their kid would get > 95%, and not what he/she would take with him at the end of it. I remember, in my college, when in an exam, I solved a trigonometric equation in my own method. Now the person who was correcting my paper only knew one solution to it, unfortunately I didn’t remember it and solved it in my own way, trying to solve it in various methods during the exam. Though there wasn’t a single mistake in my solution, it just wasn’t the “right” solution and wasn’t awarded more than half the marks. I tried to explain to her that my solution was correct, and although after 15 minutes or so, she agreed with me, she was still reluctant to give me the marks. Imagine, this being the situation of a primary school kid. His first lesson will be to blindly follow his teacher and not question anything on his own.

It’s turning out to be a longer article than I thought, but this subject has always been very close to my heart. I believe that each and every one of us should do our bit for being the privileged few. We should help make the future of our country stronger and greater. I believe that providing an excellent education should be our number one priority.

Lastly, I would like to wholeheartedly thank my parents who believed in me, who never questioned my need for higher studies, who encouraged me to read, play and develop my personality – you are my first teachers. Next, I would like to thank my teachers who have taught me to think and solve my own problems, who taught me that am a valuable asset to my country and the responsibility that comes with it.  

And I thank all teachers who are helping make this country better, one student at a time. 

Thank you.

Here are some of the quotes that I found inspiring:

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it’ll live its whole life believing that it is stupid” & “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school”– Albert Einstein

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think” – Margaret Mead

“One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

And what I always believed in and is the caption to my blog,

“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” – Mahatma Gandhi