In my last post I talked about how we humans were unique compared to other species thanks to our intelligence and how we have used it. There is another thing that is quite unique about us and that acts as a catalyst for us to use our intelligence in the first place.

I am talking about curiosity of course. We humans are natural born curious beings and it’s evident from the fact that right from our childhood, we are always trying to make sense of something or the other.

You see, ‘the need to know’ is quite strong in us and that has led to us always moving forward as a species. If we were content about what we knew, we would never have come this far.

To make sure that, that continues to happen, we as a society, have settled on an educational system that prepares us, through years of learning and training, to be a contributing part of the society and to move the human race forward.

But, as the world around us has evolved, and keeps evolving at an ever increasing pace, our educational system has failed to keep up with times and now, the consequences are starting to get tangibly worrying.

We Have An Outdated System

Any system is designed according to the conditions present at a certain given time and as those conditions change and evolve, the system has to be re-designed as well. But unfortunately our educational system, which is the backbone for our civilization, hasn’t been updated.

Many people believe that today’s system is in fact killing the natural curiosity that we are all born with. You are told what to do and are supposed to stay on a pre-determined path. Students are more focused on getting good grades instead of being curious about whatever it is they are interested in.

From curious children to miserable teenagers, our education system does a good job of crushing the curiosity and converting potential geniuses into workforce for the economy. I have seen so many comments on Youtube videos that say things like, “I learn 10 times more from Youtube than school.”

Also, different countries have different education systems, but largely, at least in developing nations, students are trained to memorize stuff and the ability to do that is seen as the hallmark of intelligence while in real life, it doesn’t mean anything. In the information age, we can have access to any info in seconds. So, testing students on the basis of their ability to memorize things is so outdated.

Standardized tests are another big problem. Every student is unique and has their own interests and talents but the presence of a standardized tests, do not necessarily reflect that. A student may be a genius in one area but just because of low grades in other subjects he or she will be seen as a “low performing” student.

Albert Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” He also said that “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.“ These two quotes convey exactly what is wrong with today’s system.

Teachers, who play such a pivotal role in the education system, (as they literally impart knowledge), are not given the status they deserve and this is another major problem. I mean, they are the ones creating the necessary brainpower for the society and thus deserve to be paid on par with doctors and engineers!

But alas, today education has become just another business thanks to private corporation that could care less about student success and growth or the teachers. If you didn’t know, education is a $750 billion industry.

The students who are always stressed about getting good grades and get degrees and diplomas, don’t even realize that they do not and should not define what you can achieve in life. Take for example, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and hundreds of such example and you’ll know what I’m trying to say.

Another thing that bothers me a lot is that so many things that are important in daily lives aren’t even taught in school and that leads to a lot of confusion once you start your work life. Things like doing your taxes, negotiations, time management, money management, dealing with mental issues, all need to be taught in school.

Basically, we have a system where students aren’t asked what they want or need. Teachers aren’t provided the resources or consulted with about what would work in the classroom and we are just creating trained individuals that can act as a cogwheel in the corporate structure.

We are simply not able to realize our full potential under the current education system and that affects the whole human race. Yes, we are still progressing, but it is certainly not an inclusive progress.