Educated vs fearful kids - What are we creating!

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As per Wikipedia - Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, Skills, Values, Beliefs and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training and research.

However, the sole purpose of education shifted (at-least in India) to examinations and getting marks. The over-obsessed society built this as the foundation of education – so much so the children in formative years and further are pressured to focus on examinations and passing them.

This goes in the genetic system of the whole education processes and systems – by the time students are in high school they have minimum 5-6 times examinations over a time of 180 study days in a year. There is no focus on learning and enjoying the learning and assimilating it to bring meaning to application of learning in real life. There are pre-boards (2-3 times) and final exams and many tests before the “monstrous board exams”. The phobia of this gets ingrained in each child, parents, family, teachers, schools and society and everyone is just obsessed by ensuring the kids get “good marks” in these examinations.

There are instances where kids start hating subjects like Math, history and many other, just because the way they are taught and tested. The whole focus is on remembering and answering the questions in a set-pattern; rather than actually enjoying the knowledge and learning for life.

Most of the assessments are focused on rote-answers and any individual creativity in answers is not appreciated or encouraged. Neither the teachers, parents and the education community is groomed to identify and build focus on originality and innovation.

In real sense if the sole purpose in India is to pass exams – then there is no need of schools as you can easily pass examinations by studying through google, Khan Academy etc. If the purpose is to get knowledge, then there is so much available online that one can not learn that in whole life.

The real role of schools, to build future youth, who is not only remembering but also capable,  is getting lost – due to this obsession with exams. There is hardly any initiative on building life skills and making them capable and self-confident. More to blame are the parents who pressurize the schools to focus on getting good marks. The whole system creates "robotic kids" - who can just write in the exams of whatever they rote.

The countries and societies where Education is considered as number one (like Finland) look at education in a totally different way of building higher order skills in kids, so that they not only get the knowledge but also build their focus on their own identified passion – where failure is not bad and is a way of improving self.

In real sense – what we need is a “transformation” – in form of Surgical action on education by totally revamping the way we teach; the way we assess and the way we identify potential of each child and help him & her to build that potential than army of engineers and doctors (more than 50% are not even worth employing).

It will take at-least a generation to actually see the results once the surgery is completed. For that we have to move out Education out of Political system and build education through future-minded educators and innovators.

Otherwise it will remain same – as it has remained for last 40-50 years; where we still teach things which hardly has any relevance in real life.

Even the top rated colleges in India are teaching without revamping their curriculum for last 30 years.

It looks that no one “really cares” about real changes in education – because if the people are more self-esteemed then they will not follow ideologies of the political systems and leaders. So they really need scared and fearful people who will always be worried about assessments.

This is so much evident in most of the organizations in the country – where you find feared and scared individuals working and following orders – just to get higher rating (marks) in the annual assessments (where more than 80% of the people conducting assessments do not even have capabilities to conduct proper assessments and understand the real meaning of feedback is for improving oneself).

Lets hope for the best ! Else we have the chalta-hai attitude in any case :-) 

You can read more at  http://hackeducation.com/2015/04/25/factory-model

    

Time is all we have !

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Note: This write-up is not to bring anyone down or hurt any particular nationality or people.

I was raised in an environment where our father used to reach everywhere (and most of time with all of us) much before time. So much so that many occasions there was not a single person in the wedding function where we reached at 8 PM (the time specified on the wedding invitation). While many others were irritated by this habit of my father but somehow it got into my genes and I started following it fully.

In last 10-12 years I had a chance to interact with more than 40 nationalities; including India. These include people from different walk of life:

• Ministers

• Actors

• Educationists – Teachers/ School Leaders

• Corporate Leaders – CXOs and across levels; business owners

• Service providers – a carpenter to the large companies including airlines, food companies, online shopping companies, telecom etc

• Hyped professionals – trainers, preachers, experts etc

Its amazingly and very shocking data to share how we Indians (in India or even outside India) – except for very few – understand & implement the Value of time. I read somewhere that as human – what you really have is time (that’s the only resource you truly have).

While dealing with most of the "hyped best" from the above list – no where I found that people valued your time or for that matter time at all. No commitment is honored w.r.t TIME. School leaders and teachers; CXOs; trainers/preachers who regularly talk to others about Time – were never on time and did not meet without delay (there were few exceptions whom you can count of fingers). Most of the children just follow what they observe and then grow with this quality and it goes on in a large nation like India. So we have to remind everyone for the timelines/ deadlines - its true for all level/strata/location of our people.

To share some examples (without naming or shaming people) – I was with a friend who is CXO of a large company and had a fixed meeting with someone. When the secretary came and informed that person has come on time and it’s the time for the “fixed meeting”. He told – “Let the person wait for some time – else he will feel we are jobless”. And he actually made the person wait for 1 hour. This was a shock to me. But soon I realized that the importance of time in India and for your designation is “ how much you make others wait”. You recognize and appreciate those employees who sit late in office. 

In past I have left two of my senior level jobs as I found the HR practices to be just in papers and Corporate Values were for employees (to pull them up) rather than being displayed by the top management.

This has become part and parcel of the life of Indians. The same people then preach about Time management and Work-life balance and so many big concepts - Never walk the talk. So neither we are productive nor we spend time with ourselves and family well. Everyone seems to be just busy and most of the time people "do not have any time for themselves - to think, contemplate and be at peace with themselves".

The experience in western nations and few asian nations have been very different – where almost all the people from all the walks of life are extremely cautious of their own time and your time. Truly Time is seen as Money and very dear to their life. I was fortunate to meet a Minister of Education in a country and when he offered tea to me - and I said ok - he took me to the pantry where he and me both made our own tea.

Someone recently asked me why I am always on-time or before time – with a smirk on his face. My answer is very simple – this is how I am and I feel really sad when in another country a comment is made “Indian Stretchable Time (IST)”. I respect time - first I do this for self – as I don’t like to wait myself – so I do not make others wait. This is also how I project my country with my actions or inactions to others :-)

I do not wish to claim that I am great or very unique – as there are so many others doing this. But I wish to highlight that time is really what you have and one day you will realize that you do not have that too. So better act now than be sorry! Soon you will find a lot of spare time for yourself.  I am never too busy – I keep remote of my-TIME in my hand (leveraging the time given by God to me). 

Please Respect TIME as your time is limited on earth!

Does God Exist?

This question has many perspectives and opinions by different people across globe. Let me not get into a debate or question views.

Just to share a small story of today (Sept 17, 2018) in Salzburg, Austria. I started my day with an early breakfast and ready for the meeting with a College in Salzburg. I reached the office in city center – just by walking from the Hotel and was told that the office for this meeting is around 15 kms away and I was given the address to reach there.

Although it was a little surprise, I started by using our famous google maps and got the answer that bus number 180 will take me there. Confidently I got a day-pass for the bus and boarded it and was told by driver that the day-pass is not valid as my destination is outskirts of Salzburg; so I had to buy another ticket.

After 30 minutes I reached the bus stop of my destination and then walked to the defined place in the map. To my surprise there was no college in that village (out of Salzburg). That was a big shock as time was running out and I had to finish meeting and reach back hotel in time.

Suddenly I saw an old lady – must be 72-75 years and slowly walking towards me. I asked her about the college. She did not understand much and replied to me in German something which I did not understand. So I showed her the paper with the address and she again said something in German language (I could understand only 5 kms). So I was lost and we were talking – me in English and she in German and she told me to follow her and she will show me a buus stop. We walked and then she said something and walked towards a building and asked me to wait. I found it was an old-age home. She merged again after 2 minutes and asked me to come with her to the car. She started the car confidently and took me to the college, which was nearly 6-7 kms away and dropped me at the reception. We both spoke on the way (she in German and me in English- without much understanding) – she showed me a Porsche factory on the way and I thanked her when we reached the college. I also gave her the Thank You cards I carry.

Later, I though I could have taken her email, her photo etc. I don’t know if God exists – but am very sure there is some super-power who guides us and protects us and helps us through their messengers. And the old lady was probably the Messenger of God; who emerged out of nowhere. Probably, staying alone in the old-age home; she looks for people to talk to and communicate.

This looks a very simple story; but it throws so many good experiences and feelings in addition to belief in power of positive thinking and gratitude!