Unlikely Connection

Have you ever wondered if there is anything common to ‘Indian education system that encourages cramming’ (mugging up, as we call it) and the ‘Habits of a human baby in its first 40 days’? 

Indian Education System: I know I will be crucified by many for even using the word ‘System’ here, as most criticize the lack of it and believes a complete overhaul is long overdue. Especially the process that encourages cramming “Without understanding” and a model that does not encourage the kids to “Analyze”. For all the criticism about the Indian education system, we have not done too badly across the globe over the last 50 years or so. You will find highly qualified or at least a decently qualified Indian in almost every major corporate, governments etc. So, for a change can we look at what is right about what we do or have been doing at school?

Analysis by definition is breaking up a larger problem to smaller chunks and solving the individual smaller pieces. For this to happen, the brain should be evolved enough and have more than enough repository of information (data, experience etc) to refer to. An average school kid can’t be expected to have this and forcing them to analyze would be unfair. Whereas, what our school system does is to help with Synthesis – The process of combining preexisting elements to form something new. By Cramming information, we ensure enough data is fed into the head. Age and experience teaches us at a later stage in life in combining these data to form a new meaning. Cramming also encourages discipline, determination and various other virtues that are more important to succeed in life. The bottom line is, our schools teach us to keep repeating, keep adding as much data into our head without worrying about analyzing them. All those effort would make sense years later, when it really matters.

Habits of a new born baby: All that a new born baby does is to eat, sleep, wake up approximately after every couple of hours and cry so that it can be fed and put to sleep again. This ritual apparently goes on for the first 40 days or so after the baby is born. They don’t care for the taste or patterns. The only governing principle is “Cry when hungry, Sleep when fed”. However, what this does is to build strength to the body and allows time for some of the internal mechanisms to evolve. Patterns, tastes, choices, dislikes etc evolve on top of this now strong body. Nature’s way to forming the fundamental building blocks by repetition that is critical for the further growth of this baby to be the adult.

Our education system is a reflection of this technique of nature. Nature always believes in the ground and pound technique.  Boring as it may seem, the most interesting results are often the outcome of mind numbing repetitions. Nature did not materialize anything out of thin air. It let things evolve. Maybe our ancestors got it right with our education systems, value systems our culture and many other aspects that we are respected for around the globe. So let’s not fret too much about everything Indian. Maybe we got it right before anyone else did.