15 years of learning spent in uniform, 3-5 years of learning more spent without a uniform; we have learnt so much in life. From first world war to algebra, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to function of mitochondria, how plants breathe to how who invented telephone, we have learnt it all. In fact, education is only getting better. So many new courses added everyday, so many universities opening up and so many scholarship options available making education accessible to everyone.
Yet, students are committing suicides, visiting psychologists before exams, blaming school for pushing them to commit a crime and girls still can’t go out at night because they’re scared.
Going back to school, how many of you actually felt your individual need of education was being catered to in a room full of desks, chairs, 40 students and one teacher? Because I didn’t. We just attended a few classes, gave exams and were provided with a different room with same process.
I’m not here to bash the education system. But we fight for individuality, equality, embracing our sexuality when we’re in our twenties. Why? Its because no one bothered to talk about LGBT, body shaming, bullying, respecting both sexes when we were young and oh my god, no one could use words like rape and sex, because shhh.
Education on loving yourself is very important. Here’s why?
Because only academically good students are teacher’s favourites and winning awards. The rest of them are encouraged to follow them and idealising them. That is just one of the standards set by our schools and colleges. An individual who is gay still struggles to make friends and often bullied. Girls are still slut shamed for wearing short clothes. The effects of such situations last for years. Can you find these lessons in books?
Society gives us this standard that we need to follow in order to be acceptable. If in some way we are outside of that territory, we start to question our self-worth. We try so hard to be this perfect image that everyone describes, and when we realize that it’s unattainable, we put ourselves down and critique ourselves so harshly. And maybe you see all of these horrible, nasty things about yourself, but someone else may look at you and believe the total opposite. You may find a job but you’ll have tougher time in finding the joy in it.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines education as ‘’the process of giving or receiving systematic information, especially at a school or university.’’ Over two hundred years ago when the need for this definition came about, it wasn’t enough to simply rub two sticks together and make fire. A new fuel was needed for this fire, and the solution man came up with to solve one of his many problems was knowledge. Back then if you had the knowledge you were worth something; regardless of whether you knew how to apply it to what you were doing. The problem they ran in to was how to give people this knowledge. The solution was education: ‘’the process of giving or receiving systematic instruction’’. These instructions told people how to read, write and do maths.
Education, which was set up to cater for the needs of the worlds young people, is failing. It is failing to educate us, failing to recognize our talent, failing to teach us so we may learn, failing to teach us what we must know and failing to teach us how to apply our knowledge. In return we as young people are also failing. We are failing to use our talent, we are failing to learn, and we are failing to be educated. I believe that we as a people, young people, have the right to be educated in such a way that we may learn.
– Mansi, Editorial
