Education- The Past and the Future.

Aristotle once said, it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Now what do you think he meant by this?

What people think Education is.

We all have been scolded or reprimanded by our parents sometime or the other when they see that we have scored less marks and don’t see us studying. This has become a daily phenomenon in these days of online study.(Wink. Wink.) Anyway, they think that obtaining education is inhaling our books and materials and scoring good marks in our exams. But is this the reality or does this mindset need to become a thing of the past?

Education was widespread for elite young men in the 18th century, with schools in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion.

The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced and founded by the British during the British Raj, following recommendations by Lord Macaulay, who advocated for the teaching of English in schools and the formation of a class of Anglicized Indian interpreters. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British government and have been on the decline since.

What Education really is.

Education is a quality that involves dealing with perspectives. Aristotle’s quote explains this in a rather eloquent manner. What it means is that an educated person can have his perspective but still listen to another person’s ideas to see if that is better than his one. This is what education does. It leads you to make the better decisions, because when it comes to life, there are no right decisions, are there?

Education is the basic building block of society. Why did humanity progress so slowly in the early ages? Because half the population wasn’t allowed to study. Women were considered as housemakers and education was never provided to them. Now, women and men are equal in every field and we can clearly see the results, i.e. , the rapid development in all fields of science and technology.

What people need to understand is that education isn’t just about cramming the facts and spitting it out in the exams the next day and scoring marks. I myself have done this since my childhood, and even though I have kept up with extra curricular activities like sports, I have seen many children who are not able to do this and just immerse themselves in books. Now, if you are sitting in your room all day, how will that help you in shaping yourself to the type of person you wanna be?

Along with using your brain for bookish knowledge, you should always focus on your character and personality development too. Because both of these things go hand in hand, and together they constitute the most important elements of education. Take an example. Suppose a really intelligent person comes up to talk to you, but he doesn’t know how to properly communicate. Maybe he abuses too much or maybe he’s just socially awkward. Now how will the person progress in a society where social communication is the key to everything?

The Future of Education

The pandemic heightened existing gaps and disparities and exposed a need to rethink how system leaders design schools, instruction, and who they put at the center of that design. “As a leader, in the years before the pandemic hit, I realized the balance of our work as practitioners was off,” Cheatham said. “If we had been spending time knowing our children and our staff and designing schools for them, we might not be feeling the pain in the way we are. I think we’re learning something about what the real work of school is about.”

In the coming years, the panelists hope that a widespread push to recognize the identity and health of the whole-child in K–12 and higher education will help educators design support systems that can reduce inequity on multiple levels.

As educators and leaders create, design, and imagine the future, technology should be used in service of that vision rather than dictating it. As technology becomes a major part of how we communicate and share ideas, educators need to think critically about how to deploy technology strategically. “My stance on technology is that it should always be used in the service of our human purpose and interest,” said Brennan, associate professor at Harvard. “We’ve talked about racial equity and building relationships. Our values, purposes and goals need to lead the way, not the tech.”

The Future of Education in India

India is well-poised to take this leap forward with increasing access to tech-based infrastructure, electricity, and affordable internet connectivity, fueled by flagship programs such as Digital India and the Ministry of Education’s initiatives, including the Digital Infrastructure for School Education (DIKSHA), open-source learning platform and UDISE+ — one of the largest education management information systems in the world.

A comprehensive ed-tech policy must focus on four key elements — providing access to learning, especially to disadvantaged groups, enabling processes of teaching, learning, and evaluation, facilitating teacher training and continuous professional development and improving governance systems (including planning, management, and monitoring processes).

First, technology is a tool, and not a panacea. Second, technology must be in service of the learning model. There is a danger in providing digital infrastructure without a plan on how it’s to be deployed or what teaching-learning approaches it would support. Third, technology cannot substitute schools or replace teachers. It’s not “teachers versus technology”; the solution is in “teachers and technology”. In fact, tech solutions are impactful only when embraced and effectively leveraged by teachers.

The Indian ed-tech ecosystem has a lot of potential for innovation. With over 4,500 start-ups and a current valuation of around $700 million, the market is geared for exponential growth — estimates project an astounding market size of $30 billion in the next 10 years.

At last, I would like to conclude by saying that if we can continue our education system even in tough times like Covid, we can definitely reach new levels of development and efficiency and take our country forward at a good pace.