Longing for real education

As a child, I often dreamt of opening my own school one day. This dream has resurfaced. It is funny how the internet works. I was looking for music by Bhupen Hazarika, landed on a Bengali site that mentioned Shantiniketan, and there… I was dreaming again! :)

I am sure many of us were tired of rote learning and exams that made no sense on a deeper level. I was too. I remember crying and longing to go to a different system. I even fought with my parents sometimes, accusing them of forcing me to memorize the historical dates. However, the fault was hardly theirs. They, like every other parent of the day, wanted the best for their child, and saw no other option.

Similar thoughts have resurfaced in the recent movie ‘Three Idiots’… also, many international universities in the US and elsewhere are realizing the drawbacks of the “British” way of popular “education”. I am glad to know that I am not alone.

Lucky are those who escaped the clutches of standardized books and exams.

Well, I still have time to open this one “dream” school of mine! Investors wanted! :)

What better place to start yet another school, but Pune!

Creativity and "Template" thinking

I watched this video recently and my thoughts about creativity and its decreased use today, sprung up again. (Please click on the title of this post to watch the video) I have had a few thoughts and reflections after I read Ayn Rand’s books, which I have been trying to put into words, but it seems more  and more complicated every time I press the questions deeper into my brain.

I have come to realize that we are drawn to “templated,” simplified thinking today.  We simply try to modify or tweak what our forefathers did or have done and call it “change”, when what we really need is a totally new thought, a totally new solution.

What is all this blabber about? You may ask. What questions? What solutions?

Well the society as a whole is becoming more and more complicated because we have stopped questioning authority. We have stopped seeking real “out of the box” (as cliché as it sounds) solutions.

Take the law of “reservation” in India for example. We are merely implementing what Dr. Ambedkar did in increasing quanities, hoping the problem will go away. But all of us know deep within and it is not a solution. It is a “simple”, temporary way out of the mess.

Take the middle-east for example. We are still applying age-old “war” methods that seem to solve problems, but in reality solve nothing.

People are increasingly afraid to have their own opinions, ideologies or thoughts. We are increasingly dependent on social approval, simply because we are not trained enough, not bold enough to ask the difficult questions.

People who founded NATO, IMF etc… came up with these creative solutions to address the problems of “those” times. We are not doing the same in “our” times.

Any revolutionary, starting from Sant Dnyaneshwar to Isaac Newton, to Galileo, or Einstein, came up with brilliant ideas because, they truly wanted answers to questions. They truly needed to present a solution to whatever problems they may have faced.

Following templates is easy. But not a permanent solution to any problem.

I am sorry if this post is confusing. I just needed a brain dump! :)

GO ORGANICS!

Happy about this new development. I hope more and more farmers profit from organic farming practices and it is a win-win situation for all. I hope Sharad Pawar realizes the economics of organics. I am not against profit making, but profiting without harming our national health sounds better.