Painfully Mediocre


The activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill... this is the definition my trusty WordWeb gives of Education. I would like to further add that the current education system aims to impart knowledge as well as skill. I, proud of being from a very illustrious and privileged institution was always taught that overall growth mattered and not the sole ability to pass tests with flying colours, thus taking such a thing to heart i started playing a bit of sports started writing a bit, debating and the likes. But the time for disillusionment was not that far away. The 11th standard arrived and the rules of the game changed, sports and other activities were no longer encouraged, i being a science student with a double whammy of maths and biology to contend with was particularly flummoxed that the things which had me stood me in great stead were now being actively frowned upon. Only study was the new anthem of my great alma mater. In retrospect i should have studied more and participated less maybe then i would have landed the profession of my choice with the kind of job that would have encouraged me a lot. Sadly, as my school was, the indian education system is starting to become. My school did not accept mediocrity in any form, studies, sports, ex-curricular or for that matter anything worth being in a school. So, naturally i was one of the most mediocre beings in my school excelling at nothing but not really bad at anything. This is the state of the current affair of the indian education system, any sane normal student will never get an admission into any half decent college of his choice because his seat has already been filled with a person who has outscored him on one exam. it does not matter if you were a head boy, football captain, social service head and an NTSE scholar to boot, all rolled into one, your future depends on 1 round of examinations totalling 15 hours in all and they will decide your future. talk about pressure, no wonder the students of today are under so much pressure, these are worse odds than missing a penalty in a world cup final penalty shootout(Roberto Baggio and David Trezeguet). this is not a game it is your life. A lot of people have reacted in a very vehement manner concerning this issue. but will there be a change? No, not really because the system does not accept mediocrity. Let me help you by not sugar coating it, this will be the case for the rest of your life in whatever you do, mediocrity will never be tolerated. i would like to continue this rant into another 1000 words but i feel they will go out of context hence wait for the next article in the series.

Comments

  1. MIHIR SEMWALAugust 3, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    I totally agree with you man , Indian education system SUCKS and in the words of Green Day ,"born and raised by hypocrites".

    ReplyDelete
  2. RaphaelAugust 3, 2009 at 4:07 PM

    Thank you Mihir....and that line is sooo true

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I wish i Could fly...

Image
Another haze of smoke clears from my face as i drag another lungful from the hokaah in front of me, i taste something delicious and look around to pass it to someone else, and all i see is strangers from a strange land, suddenly i realize i'm not in kansas anymore. These faces smile, joke and laugh, their eyes full of mirth, and i'm a stranger in their midst. I strain my eyes to see a familiar face, to see someone who is not an empty shell of existence, my gaze passes from face to face and i realise that i'm executing an exercise in futility, i break into sweat and in a most "inceptionesque" way wonder how i had gotten there, sadly it was not a dream and i had to live that moment for what it was. My sweat peppers my forehead despite the air-conditioning, i want to run from that place screaming at the top of my voice just to feel myself again, to convince myself that it is not a dream, but i control the panic and leave the smoke box to gather a precious few breaths
Read more

Aarambh hai prachanda...

Image
In a post i had asked what is the difference between the king and the horse, if they had the same amount of power, skill, and intelligence, the answer was very simple, the instinct to rule, the instinct to crush all opposition with extreme prejudice and to prove without doubt that the king is the one who rules, unquestioned and unchallenged. The horse is the one that lacks this sort of instinct and thus in every battle it merely becomes a tool for the king to use, and not the ruler itself. Why am i saying this... well 1. Because i want to, and 2. Because i have been thinking about the world of power, it is very alluring and murky to say the least. The quest for power is a path walked by many but nobody succeeds in getting to the end, there is no destination, just like there is no true perfection, there is no absolute power. THERE IS ONLY THE ETERNAL QUEST OF POWER . "Might is right" that is a saying and also a topic i was given to evaluate my GD skills, and obviously i was f
Read more

The pyre of Raphael, The rise of the Zen...

Image
"I have gone from the pyre of denethor, to the ashes flowing in time, from which shall rise The Zen.....this is my tao....this is my destiny....."- occasionaly Raphael, majorly The Zen There comes a time in the life of everyone, where a major upheaval or change completely shifts your view of the world. This change is almost like viewing another spectrum, like a blue or red shift on the doppler, like the rose tinted glasses on your nose have been replaced by a murkier brown, enough similies....like black and white has had more grey shoved into it.....(well maybe just one more for old times sake) The carefree wanderings and trust fostered over years, beautiful relationships wrought in gold, love given unabated, attention showered magnificently...that was the birth of Raphael. The will of fire passed down from the elders of a sublime tradition, then we became the inheritors of that will, to be passed on to the next generation, till we became the ethers and the elders of the hall
Read more