Creativity and education system..part 2

I remember my school days when rote memory was valued in high esteem. The teachers and tuition/coaching class teachers used to tell us to memorize all the answers, and to write in the exam as it is. I am sure everyone must have experienced this in their school days. To such a high extent was this system promoting to memorize and rote memory at the expense of creativity and original thinking, that if we wrote answers in our own words in the exam, we were scared that we might get failed or get less marks. In short, this scene from the movie “3 Idiots” well explains the over emphasis on rote memory in schools and college.

Movie – 3 Idiots

All this results in utter destruction of creativity. In fact not just creativity, but the student even loses interest in studying or passing exams. The over dependence on theoretical contents without any discussion, debate, or application of those concepts, over -reliance on marks and passing the exam, studying from a particular author’s book or reference notes, displaying of marks or grades on the public display board, outdated syllabus, competition between students to come first( which makes no sense) are some of the inherent flaws in today’s education system.

In India, the students are forced to study for clearing IIT entrance, since a young age ( from 5th or 6th std). It scary how would a 10 year boy or girl stay motivated or even interested to study for IIT entrance which happens at the age of 18. The age 10-16 are the age group when creativity blossoms at the peak level due to more understanding of the world along with physical changes in them. They normally become curious to know the world, how things work, why people behave in such a way etc. And in that delicate age, if they are burdened with preparation for entrance exams, or to do programming to become future Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerburg, then that is not only destroying the creativity in them but also is an injustice against them.

In an age when the students should be allowed to play, make new friends, read books or paint, they are taught to compete with their fellow classmates. They are told to look down upon failures, and even a sense of fear is instilled in them to avoid failing in any exams. They are given false promises of a bright future ahead, if they study now. I had even heard some teachers saying to students that if they study till age 22, then the next 40 years after that will be full of comforts and luxury. And the kids are so innocent and obedient in that age, that with the only hope that life will be easy after 22, they decide to compromise their playing time, or health during teen and early adult years. Later do they realize, how were they tricked into this game and after having lost the teen years in just work and study, they regret later in life, which results in loss of faith in hard work and in teachers/elders as well.

A lot can be said about the flaws in today’s education system, and we simply cannot ignore that its a need of the hour to reform the education system. Finally, I just want to add Pink Floyd’s classic song with lyrics

Pink Floyd

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey, teachers, leave them kids alone
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave those kids alone
Hey teachers, leave those kids alone
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in…

Creativity and education system?

Recently watched this TED Talk and thought to share my views about this.

Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson

First of all, this talk is incredibly humorous. The speaker is exceptionally adept at making people laugh, and at the same time, conveyed his views about schooling and creativity quite eloquently. While watching TED talks, I suffer from lack of patience, and if I find speaker or the topic boring, I have the habit to stop watching the talk within 2-3 minutes. But this talk made me glued to the speaker, and I simply admire the way he cracked jokes and expressed his views.

After listening the talk, I agree that the schooling or even the entire education system seems to have lost its real purpose with time. The education system which is still being implemented all over the world was started with the purpose to provide skilled workforce during the industrial revolution. During first industrial revolution, it was the need of civil, mechanical engineers who would build ships, railways, bridges, canals etc. Especially for the European and later American colonialism it was the need of the hour. They need to build ships to go to India, Africa and East Asia, and bring the looted resources back to their country. The requirement of not just engineers but also managers grew during second industrial revolution with the introduction of assembly line in manufacturing, to increase productivity by managing workers, and thereby reaping profits. All this needed the right kind of people who had a habit to listen, to obey, to fear failure in real life because that’s what is needed in factories, and companies.

Later, during the third industrial revolution, the same pattern followed except the techno savvy minds needed to be created, and hence, we see kids being taught to learn programming. Going to B School became a fashion, as it not only paid well, but it also allowed only those people to excel who were obedient, hard working, servile to the company and boss, and did not think out of box. Ironic it may be, but the third industrial revolution which introduced computers, telecom, social media, Iphone to the world, was started by those guys who either did not graduate from grad school or college. The list consists of giants like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and many more. They all were creative and yet dropped out. Why? May be because they did not feel that going to school or college will enhance their knowledge or boost their creativity. That’s why, Peter Thiel has started the “The Thiel Fellowship” which grants $100000 to those young people who would not go to a 4 year college, and instead build something innovative!

In India, we see creativity and schooling are in mutually exclusive zone. The system seldom encourages students to think out of the box, or work on some innovative projects, though there are always few exceptions. More than building something, its the mindset of students which needs to be worked on. We see students are compelled to follow the standard routes of education, which is primarily engineering or medical. Only in rare cases, where the family owns a business, are the kids allowed to study commerce/business. The subject “Arts” doesn’t exist in the dictionary of parents. And that’s why only those students who get less grades( or those who graduate at the bottom of the class) are sent to study Arts. How would a creative artist be born if he/she is convinced that the only reason to study arts was because of their failure to get good grades in high school. Why wouldn’t they consider studying arts as a punishment which in J K Rowling words “that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension”. That’s why India hasn’t produced any excellent painters, writers( not many still), poets and philosophers, and neither has India won any Nobel prize for literature after Tagore won last time in 1913.

To be continued…