EDUCATION: LEARN – UNLEARN - RELEARN

Students are the foundation of future for any nation; youth is the strength, the power, the intellect and an asset to its country. Education is the prime necessity in today’s time, especially in developing and under-developed countries, as it is the only ray of hope in these nations. We hear people proudly say:  my son is a doctor, my daughter is an engineer, I want my grandson to do his PhD, my wife is a management graduate and I have done masters in education. But, in a race to be literate and face the challenges of a fast pacing world we have forgot the actual meaning of education.

Let us first know that “Literacy IS NOT Education”, they are two different terms, with different meanings and motives! Literacy means to know how to read, write and speak; literacy is what we are taught in schools and colleges these days, it lies between the two covers of a book. But, literacy doesn’t give you a thoughtful outlook towards life; it doesn’t give you feelings towards your family and society at large; it doesn’t provide you with virtues like confidence, respect & morals; neither does it make you human! Here the need to be Educated arises. Education teaches you how to merge your literary intelligence with your emotional quotient and make a combination that can bring success to win over the world.

So, who is responsible to make our society educated: Teachers, parents, friends or oneself? If we expect changes to happen, we must also understand that changes can’t be made single handedly, we all must, together, work towards bringing a change. Teachers must stop thinking that their only responsibility is to make sure a student gets good grades, they must also make sure a student explores his creative side, practices compassion with his mates, is kind and thus, the teacher herself must practice alternate methods of teaching. Parents must stop thinking that grades is the only way to success, they must also understand that learning is essential as well, they must ensure overall development of the child by making him responsible, loving, honest, caring and respectful, hence, the parents must practice similar virtues at home. Because the best way a child learns, is by imitating! Children must be taught to be self-reliable right from a tender age to make sure that the foundation of confidence in oneself is strong. So, the need to be right all time vanishes and the student shall be free to learn-unlearn-relearn! When we tie these tiny souls to the thread of “being correct”, they stop learning new things fearing “mistakes”. We, as elders, must respect the fact that one learns only if they make mistakes and those who work are bound to make mistakes. So rather than throwing criticism or advices towards them, we must let them learn to make a way out themselves. We must trust them for this!

The process of learning is easy, one time job! But, to be with the flow one must learn how to unlearn old practices. This can be a little tough as one has to erase what is harmful or unnecessary or rigid. And finally, once we have unlearned, the process of relearning the same things in a different way begins. This is the toughest phase, because, it involves new thought process, new methods and moreover, a new way to look at old things! We have heard of recycling old things to avoid wastage and make new things that are more useful. Here, we have to follow the same pattern, we are trying to change what is outdated to make way for things that are new, thoughts that are modern and practices that are flexible. This, in real terms, is being educated. We must therefore learn to be educated and teach to be educated as well!