I looked out of the window today, and realised that I haven't actually ever been able to enjoy one of those semi-summer mornings. The sun peeped shyly over the horizon and the sky blushed like a kid being asked his name. The air was filled with the natural symphony of twittering birds, lightly whooshing air and the rustling of the leaves in their silent duet. The atmosphere was refreshing and I felt that I could conquer the world. Then I saw the pile of text books on my desk that needed to be read and all my joie de vivre was sucked out of me faster than a horde of hungry Dementors. I trudged wearily through the daily chores, and ended up sitting beneath the dim glow of my desk light, trying to remember the formula for the slew rate of something I have no idea about. Next to the huge pile of misery which is ironically my path to third year engineering, lie the printouts of a PCB (those neat little things hat pop out of your TV remote when you inevitably break it.) we had made for our college projects. I had learnt more in those few weeks of making that project than in the months I spent in class trying to decipher the suspiciously hieroglyphic handwriting of our teacher.
Living in the heart of Pune city, I often have to traverse through streets painted head to toe with colourful banners usually with a photo of a bright, confident student, along with a rather Uncle Sam-like statement. "Do YOU want to EXCEL in life? Then join XYZ Classes" Which is perfectly fine, till you eventually stumble upon a pre-school coaching class. Pre-School? Seriously? With the new NEET pattern set to pounce upon the innocent little lives of HSC students, one can expect a rise in coaching classes, but this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. And this comes from a man who has survived Jaani Dushman.
The sheer inflexibility of the conditioning, is in itself enough to shrink the child's understanding of learning to mean that which he is supposed to mug up from text books.
Having said that, it doesn't take rocket science to realise that examinations are not a measure of one's intelligence. Yet we are beings most convinced by numbers. Quality above quantity is just an excuse for people who don't get higher grades, according to us.
Yet, it has never ceased to excite me when I learn something new.My heart has always skipped a beat when I try a new circuit with a new IC. I have always crossed my fingers and my stomach has always dissolved whenever I conduct a test run. That is the rush I get from learning. And that alone is worth more than any praise, any job offer, any prowess it might result in. As a primary student I never bought the idea that learning could be fun. Because my definition of learning was limited to what we learnt in the classroom. And what happened in it was less exciting than breathing. It hardly matters what marks I get, how do I stand in my class. Because the only good thing about our education system is that you can at least pass if you know the subject well, and not regurgitating it on paper.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you do, you learn. The whole world is one massive classroom without a class teacher. You can be an absolute maniac and still come out learning a few things.(Primarily to not behave like a maniac.)
Which brings me back to my pile of books. I have never done very well in linear integrated circuits, I never remember derivations or diagrams. So I might as well break out the breadboard and a few IC's and tinker about while listening to the birds sing in the golden sun.
Living in the heart of Pune city, I often have to traverse through streets painted head to toe with colourful banners usually with a photo of a bright, confident student, along with a rather Uncle Sam-like statement. "Do YOU want to EXCEL in life? Then join XYZ Classes" Which is perfectly fine, till you eventually stumble upon a pre-school coaching class. Pre-School? Seriously? With the new NEET pattern set to pounce upon the innocent little lives of HSC students, one can expect a rise in coaching classes, but this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. And this comes from a man who has survived Jaani Dushman.
The sheer inflexibility of the conditioning, is in itself enough to shrink the child's understanding of learning to mean that which he is supposed to mug up from text books.
Having said that, it doesn't take rocket science to realise that examinations are not a measure of one's intelligence. Yet we are beings most convinced by numbers. Quality above quantity is just an excuse for people who don't get higher grades, according to us.
Yet, it has never ceased to excite me when I learn something new.My heart has always skipped a beat when I try a new circuit with a new IC. I have always crossed my fingers and my stomach has always dissolved whenever I conduct a test run. That is the rush I get from learning. And that alone is worth more than any praise, any job offer, any prowess it might result in. As a primary student I never bought the idea that learning could be fun. Because my definition of learning was limited to what we learnt in the classroom. And what happened in it was less exciting than breathing. It hardly matters what marks I get, how do I stand in my class. Because the only good thing about our education system is that you can at least pass if you know the subject well, and not regurgitating it on paper.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you do, you learn. The whole world is one massive classroom without a class teacher. You can be an absolute maniac and still come out learning a few things.(Primarily to not behave like a maniac.)
Which brings me back to my pile of books. I have never done very well in linear integrated circuits, I never remember derivations or diagrams. So I might as well break out the breadboard and a few IC's and tinker about while listening to the birds sing in the golden sun.
Truth indeed.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!!!very well written!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
ReplyDelete