Introduction to the Author:

Dr. Amulya Cherukumudi, a general physician part time, loves to dabble in essay writing and research articles. Apart from singing, she finds writing, singing, cooking and writing on controversial topics close to her heart a stress-busting experience.

My Concept of Ideal Education

Maimonides once said, ”give a man a fish and you feed him for day; teach him to fish and you feed for a lifetime”. Education is not just a rite of passage or a pre-requisite for your child; it’s a way to help your child express themselves. Over the years, people have become narrow-minded about the rules of educations, when there are none. There is neither a one-way nor an ideal mode of education. Every person has different talents, different interests, and different rates of grasping knowledge. Education, according to me, should be custom designed like a tailored suit.

Let’s imagine a scenario – 2 children of the same age, same development, same backgrounds. Both are put into a school, for “formal” education. We often find that while one child exceeds, the other lags behind. We deem that child an imbecile. However, the reality if far from this. The child is lagging behind simply because this is not what he is good at. Instead of encouraging children to be the best at what they are, we force them to be the best at our idea of ideal education. There are many different careers out there, incomparable to say the least. Education should teach our children to be self-reliant, not make them more dependent on the world. Our genes define who we are, what we are capable of. Education should complement the internal wiring of each person, personalized to his/her needs. If your child desires to deviate from traditional educational practices, then encourage your child. Education is not in the books, it’s in how we adapt with the world. Education, like charity, begins at home. Once your children find their niche, they’ll learn to succeed and, most importantly, be happy.

According to me, school should be a place where children are free to explore the world through their own eyes. Education should not depend on money, status, colour, caste, gender or any other thing in this basket. And most of all, education should not be a tool for discrimination. There are no disabled or special children; we just don’t know how to handle them. Most schools cannot and won’t deal with a child with autism, and often shun such children away. We are responsible for curbing the healing and development of such children. Every child has different needs, and we need to cater to each and every one of them. While most children do well in groups, some require individual attention. By denying these children education, we are doing a great injustice to the society. We were not all made from one mould, we are not meant to fit in.

“Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself” said John Dewey. Encourage people to be different, learn what they love. Schools should aim at holistic learning and development, not enforcing something in a book. Education knows no boundaries, cannot be quantified, and cannot be contained. Education is the opportunity to live a fruitful life, without regrets. It’s the gateway to freedom. Every child is special, and has the right to education, specifically catered to them. That is my idea of an ideal education, learning without restrictions. It is to help everybody’s true colours shine through, no conditions applied. It is to encourage being unique and different, this is ideal. And we owe it to our future generations to provide the same.