Why The Current Education System Sucks: And What Can Be Done To Improve It…

The current education system is actually a really bad one, and here’s why…

1. They Focus Too Much On Grades…

This is a really popular reason, and most of you know the problem with it, although still, by convention, I have to include this point. This is one of the main problems with the school and the education system, and seriously speaking, this should change. Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements of varying levels of achievement in a course. Although, today it has become more of a comparison method for students. Today, students are judged based on their grades, and how well they do. This should not be how it is, because students now feel demotivated and some of them might not have a wish to continue school. This competition exposes the youngsters to a really competitive world, where people are just fighting for marks. Surveys show that students tend to forget 90% of whatever they learn, right after 3 days of taking their exam! I do not understand the point of such an education system, where the worth of some letters and numbers is more than knowledge. Do not believe me? Try asking yourself if you are a student, or try asking your son/daughter about this. You will be shocked if you did not know this. Think about a situation where you go and you sit for an interview for coding. On one side, your competitor is a guy who has gotten a college degree, but you on the other side have gotten blogs, content and projects to show. To be honest, I can guarantee you that at least I would ALWAYS prefer you over the college degree holder because he has no experience to show me, and for all that I know, he is clearly not passionate about coding and the job itself.

2. The School Education System Does Not Care About A Student’s Talent, If It Is Not A Part Of The Curriculum Or Extra-Curriculum…

Believe me or not, every child is unique. Everyone has a different mind, and a unique talent. Although, the school system will NOT care about your child or your talent. They have a gigantic syllabus to cover, so your child’s talent is neglected, because they do not find enough time. If your child likes a particular sport more than the other, and if that particular sport is not included in the extra-curriculum, the school will not care about your child’s interest. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Every child should have the independence to learn and follow their passion. They should not be forced to learn the subjects which they do not like. Yes, there might be several of you who might not agree with me, but this is my own personal experience. My friends and I had weird passions and talents, although our school did not support us at all, even though we were good at what we did. I was really interested in programming from a small age, and I showed keen interest in the subject, although I had no independence to choose it as my main subject, and I had to study history, a subject which I disliked. The point that I am trying to make over here is that I would like students to have the freedom to continue with the subjects they find interest in, and they should at least be supported by the school. And that leads me to my next point:

3. Students Are Forced To Learn Subjects Which They Do Not Like…

I hated social studies, and I did not perform well in that subject. I did not find any point to learn it, because I always thought that “I won’t be doing anything meaningful reading about the dead”. I loved computer science, although I was forced by my teachers to focus more on the subjects which I am weaker on, saying that, “It is important for your future.” To be honest, I find myself using the pythagoras’ theorem EVERY DAY! It was so useful that I cannot go to a store without wondering about the triangular route which it has!

Just Kidding

But we should not be taught about the subjects we do not like. Schools focus a bit too much on the theory, and we never learn things like how to handle money, or how to deal with awkward situations, which I would ACTUALLY use.

4. Schools teach outdated content…

Here, several of you might go crazy on me and say that. “I go TO HARVARD! they teach UP TO DATE content!”

To all the people who got into Harvard, congratulations, I do not think that this blog is ideal for you, although feel free to read on.

My targeted audience with this blog post is those guys who did not make it to an ivy league college, or who did not get the best college.

Now, coming back to point…

You guys will not believe on how many colleges and schools teach students outdated content. Taking programming for example, I have seen my friends be taught Visual Basic in their college for web development, and I am sure that 70% of you guys do not even know this language, and the rest 30% know how bad it is in comparison to the latest technologies like JavaScript and python. Now, this is just one example of schools teaching students old content. To be honest, I have never EVER used history in my life, and I have never written a paper-based mail to a friend. EVER.

So I still wonder why we learn technologies like these?

Some people might say that it’s for being able to understand the new trends better. Although, I do not find myself to be in an uncomfortable spot, trying to understand the basics of python, without knowing Visual Basic.

How Can We Improve It?

1. Have Surveys Every Now And Then: I alone cannot design the entire education system again, although if we take monthly surveys from students and if we ask them what THEY would like to see improve in the education system, maybe we can come to an end agreement and we can try to design the education system in such a way, that we kinda satisfy everyone. Also, students know the best! I too am a student, so the next points which I make are my personally preferred points, which might be controversial.
2. Give Students Independence: Students require a little bit of independence. Like I said, I did not find it valuable to study the dead, rather I would have preferred CS, so if I had the independence to choose CS as my subject, I would have been way ahead today.

1. Teach Kids Origami: Origami is a really good skill to have, because it improves both the logical as well as the creative sides of students’ brains, and they learn a lot more from it. It has proven to calm their minds, and Origami also makes it fun to learn.
2. Change The Examination From Memory Based To Logic Based: Grades have been a determining factor of a child’s intelligence, but actually, all that a student needs to have to earn grades is memory, not intelligence. Your marks do not prove anything, they just prove that you are someone who can remember something for a prolonged period of time. But is that the same thing as intelligence? I don’t think so. So, if you want to make a grading system, make it logic based rather than memory based.
3. Teach Students About Money In High School And In Further Grades: Schools hardly focus on the skill of money management. Although, this is a crucial skill to have for a child’s bright future. Most of the students graduating from college are in debt, and they do not know how to manage their money, because they were never taught how to do that. This is the difference between a highly skilled yet poor guy and a not that highly skilled but really rich guy. The rich guy is the one who could figure out how money works, and did not just blindly focus on what everyone learns.

Remember, these are my own thoughts.

Thank you everyone! I hope that you found this valuable, and I hope that this article reaches more people and creates an impact on people.