Category: Unit 1 (Page 1 of 26)

“It could be a scene in almost any school. Children, full of questions about things that
interest them, are learning not to ask them at school. Against a background of tests and
targets, unscripted queries go mainly unanswered and learning opportunities are lost.”
“Further, the researchers found that when it came to good school performance, the ability to
stay focused and, for example, not be distracted by a thunderstorm, was less important than
curiosity – the questions children might have about that storm.”
This is the reality of most education system around the world. Our education system is more
about scripted targets and success than about the learning process and purpose itself. Most
teachers and parents are concerned only about the good academic performance and being
focussed in our lives. We fail to realise that curiosity is the self-motivation. If we are not
curious about the things than we might not want to learn them but we do forcibly just to pass
exams of various kinds. We are taught that we should strive for successful future and others
interest of ours are mere distractions. Therefore, we give up many things that we genuinely
like and struggle to find where we belong.
Engel, who is professor of developmental psychology at Williams College in Williamstown,
Massachusetts, says: “When you visit schools in many parts of the world it can be difficult to
remember they are full of active, intellectual children, because no one is talking about their
inner mental lives. How well they behave, and how they perform seem much more important
to many people in the educational communities. Often educational bureaucracies have
shunted curiosity to the side.”
It is true for each one of us. As we enter the primary schools, we lose our bubbling curious
nature behind and mould ourselves as per the educational institutions. It is made worse by
how we are gauged by our scores in the name of improvement of life skills. We then focus on
memorizing the concepts than understanding them deeply, which honestly don’t do any good
to us.
“He says: “What children love is to copy what adults are doing with objects. What people
and objects do makes them curious about their world?” Children are so innocents and real
curious kinds. As they don’t know anything of this world, so all they learn is from the elders.
We as kids really try to copy elders and ask them endless questions and mostly, in return we
are asked to keep quiet and behave well. Therefore, slowly we lose our curious nature.
“School kills curiosity. When do children get to ask questions about things that interest
them? As soon as they are at primary school they have to shut up and learn. It’s not the fault
of teachers. They have so many targets to meet.” In my opinion, school is not to be
completely blamed. This is how our society works. We have to work and behave in a certain
manner to be a part of this “big society”. I believe people should be encouraged to ask
questions, be it at home or workplace or schools. Also, we should not be afraid to ask
questions or to look for answers from different sources. We as a person should be motivated
too to let our creativity to flow.
As a kid I have always been active and was very much interested in particularly sports. I was
interested in playing football, baseball and ride bicycles around the neighbourhood. But I
stopped all that at an early age when I was 9 or 10 years old. I started playing basketball and
doing boxing a little bit later. I was being more energetic and enthusiastic. So, slowly my
interest shifted to motorcycles, dirtbikes and bicycles. I quitted sports to ride bikes and all. I

was curious how the cars and bikes run. I like how the engine worked, the speed and
manoeuvres. Then, I stopped doing these because I knew bicycles won’t do anything good to
me. When I got into high school, I realised I wasn’t that good in sports and this field is really
competitive. I knew I need a real job to support me and my family. I believe I was into too
many sports and hobbies and it was kind of hard to keep and needed to focus on one thing.
I’m still interested in sports and bikes but it just that I don’t give them my enough time and
energy. Asking questions have always helped and made me learn and grow in a better way.
As I grew, so do my curiosity changed and have grown over the years. I’m interested in
space, a little bit of finance and helping people. I think educational system didn’t quite do any
good to motivate students to ask questions and to be inquisitive. In my opinion school has
been more about regular test and assignment. I think curiosity is a part of all of us but it
depends on us as and when we give it importance and a way. Elders do less on their part to
make children more curious. We are more expected to be focussed, to behave well in the
manners defined by them, which eventually made us lose our interest in our things and do
things as they ask. But I think curiosity is in us all the time and it’s just us who don’t give
time to our curiosity.

My earliest impression of schooling and education is quite unpleasant. I always had to struggle throughout my school because I was less attentive and more distracted. I attended a summer school in my 3rd grade. Sometimes I felt I wasn’t getting anything what was being taught daily. Sometimes I felt alone and overwhelmed with my low grades. I wasn’t good in studies and never really was able to focus. I never want to miss my summer again. I already disliked the school and to do it in the summer had me more stressed. Soon I left that school partially because I disliked the teaching methods and partially because I wasn’t too keen.

I felt disappointed and started to look low at myself. I acted like I’m strong, can handle the changing situations even though I know I was terrible. So, I kept myself tangled with irresponsible nature and let my mind wander to meaningless things and habits. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t get the concepts taught, I was not so willing or say determined.

And then it happened. I made progress slowly and steadily. At 7:57am I entered my school building on one sunny cold day in my 8th grade. I said good morning to the secretary whom I met on my way to the school auditorium. I waited there to be called upstairs for classes. The day looked usual and I too was my usual sneaking in my phone, without getting noticed, as the classes didn’t start until 8:05am. The principal and dean were strict about using phones and especially strict on me as I was one of those kids who was always targeted for not obeying the rules. Then I made my way towards my class. I thought to myself that getting average passing marks is all I need to be promoted to the higher class. At that time, I was giving multiple tests for high school and also the most dreaded by me “SATS”. I used to be up day and night as studying was hard for me. These chains of thoughts were running in my mind while I was physically in the class. I was leaving for lunch with my friends after my first three classes of the day. The principal had put the honor roll students list on the bulletin board outside the main office. And then, I stopped. That was real. My name flashed on the honor roll list. I remember walking past to it in 6th and 7th grade as I never really cared about the honor roll. As long I was passing that was fine to me.

But that 8th grade year I hit the honor roll. It totally made me view my education differently and gave me more of a motive to strive and do better. I went home and gave the big news to my parents. My family and friends were proud of me and that really made me feel special on that day. I have heard stories of dropping out for whatever circumstances from older relative friends. That did impact my psychology and made me put less efforts on my education. But I know my situation wasn’t that bad. I thank my parents for getting me up every day. My father always quoted Abraham Lincoln – “the best way to predict your future is to create”. This still resonates in my mind. I understand that I don’t have to be good in everything. I just needed to be more mature and responsible.

I realized that it’s all a matter of choices and education just show us the right roadmap to lead a successful life. It is not something to be scared of, it simply a test of our abilities. I need not always get good grades but should also not desert myself from learning as it is a never-ending process. It is not just grades, honor rolls or endless assignments. It is way up and beyond. Education has definitely made me who I’m today, ‘my better version’. It gave me discipline and boosted my skills and awareness about our surroundings. It opens the world to me in my little head.