Burden of Education

Ever wondered since the genesis of humans how education has toppled the world of people. Just like everything has got a life cycle and without further innovation that things meets a sad end, same is the case with the education system at present. It has actually ruined the development of human intellect. If we come across any great achievers in 19th or 20th century when this whole education system was getting shape across the globe, we could see the most number of discoveries or inventions popping up at that time. Father of Biology, Father of Chemistry, Father of Modern Physics or you name any subject domain never went through the set up of a formal education system. Education system never touched them. It was their curiosity and their in-depth knowledge which led them to a path of discoveries. We have seen or heard in so many self development books that if devoted a time of 10,000 hours in any particular skill, that helps you to gain mastery in that domain. Now wonder how many hours did the great guys like Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Ingmar Bergman, Martha Graham, Daniel Everett, Charles Parker, John Coltrane, V.S. Ramachandran, Yoky Matsuoka, Wolfgang Mozart, Freddie Roach, Buckminster Fuller, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Bradley put in to attain mastery in their domains. The list is not limited to them but it's indeed a very long list. They had surpassed 10,000 hours at a nascent age after identifying their natural curiosities in some direction. 

Some people have a knack of understanding the flair where their dexterity could be seen, others dream about it and hang on it with full determination. Nobody taught the great achievers what to study and how to understand different subjects but instead their curiosity fuelled them up for consistent journey of learning. These were the times when people did not have internet or connectivity or most of things at their easy disposal. In today's time humans have seen the most comfortable of the times. These are the times when people can communicate with each other just a click away. There is enough of content on the internet to make themselves aware of the interesting topics which one wants to learn. We have reached to other planets, hovering around in the space to get information beyond our reach. But still each and every human being is churned through the same grinder. The formalisation of the education system and marking up of different domains in order to compete with one another has raised doubts on self-learning mode. Everyone wants to be good in everything. This is a true agony. 

If one thing we could give to generations ahead is don't go by the rules defined by the education system. Be with the flow, but at the same time never at the cost of what one want to pursue. We must never rate things as per our limited vision, if everyone do so there will be no Leonardo da Vinci or Hellen Keller. The problem lies in the restricting vision. People follow each other like a herd of sheep and then fall stuck in their lives because they never were able to devote 10,000 hours to attain perfection or develop insight in one domain. This is the reason that societies do not flourish in a holistic manner. If everyone will follow the set path of being an engineer or doctor or masters graduate in business studies where will the creativity go down the line. Everyone is not carved out to suit themselves in one piece of craft. Everyone is unique. The sooner people realise this the competition which makes people stand against each other suddenly starts tuning for mutual growth. Humans appreciate each other instead of argumenting against each other. The most used phrase "think out of the box" will naturally flow out of talent and not some forced degree.

Instead of superimposing the layers of education system and bifurcating them into nth order of classification and specialisations it would have been great if people see world as a whole in a more holistic view. The obvious learning of different domains comes by hand when people are not forced to see them in silos but instead viewing the different phenomenons through the natural eye of curiosities. If you have any doubt regarding this thought I must say you should read about the life of Yoky Matsuoka for sure! She is a true live example of our times who resonates these thoughts.

These thoughts definitely challenge the present education system but it actually needs attention before the formalised structure takes the shape of a tower which ultimately shatters the entire human development. We are not here to just accumulate degrees but instead serve humanity for a greater cause. If a person is just educated enough and holds no great degrees on resume it doesn't mean that the true worth will be measured against the jazzy names on CV. Like this we definitely will loose out to the true worth and potential which people can achieve to foster growth.