Needs of Students vs Needs of Society

A few weeks back (or maybe a few months ago), I had watched a couple of Ted Talks on how Education kills creativity and that children should be taught the Socrates way (by teaching them to ask the right questions and finding answers). It highlighted how the present Education system(School/College) was introduced to be a factory for the production of human resource suiting the needs of Industrial Revolution and Colonialism Machinery. How we are being taught to take over the desk jobs in the big Corporate/Administrative Machinery. Each of us taught to be compliant and uniform in our skill sets, thereby easily fitting into the system and ergo easily replaceable. They are all compelling arguments and to a point true. So when we say that the education system is broke, we are wrong. It actually works perfectly fine. It's just not the system that we need now.

So what is the need of the hour? The policy makers would like to continue the present system. They need more fodder for the country's economic growth. Their main argument being how are we going to bypass the other countries in economic development if we do not have the sufficient human resources? But that would be a myopic view with stress on the present. Also it pits US against THEM.

They say science fiction is the precursor to technology. H.G Wells, Jules Verne, Issac Asimov, George Lucas and others have dreamt of the future. We have brought the technology they dreamt of to reality. But another staple in science fiction is being a World Citizen and a Planetary government instead of present plurality. We have been living in status-quo on that front from the second world war (joining hands for the formation of UN). At times we have even undermining the UN and been strengthening regionalism. Anyway, I guess it'll remain science fiction for a long time to come.

Coming back to the need of the hour, we need a system that helps us as individuals. Teaching us to be masters of our own fate instead of the dystopia they currently sell (school-college-work-spouse-kids-retirement). We do not go after what we want. We go after what we are taught to want.

So the need of the hour is a system which teaches children/students to think critically and creatively. If such a situation is achieved, they would stop being foot soldiers and lead the system (or at least their lives). It all sounds really good in paper. Even idealistic if one may call that so. But is that achievable? I agree that every kid is equal. Given the right opportunity, they can all excel. Before I go any further, I think we should understand the concept of excellence and intelligence. In the present day school system, the measure of intelligence and excellence is narrow. It is only the marketable qualities that are called intelligence. It is measured in terms of whether it would make a good career and get you money. How good are you in math, science..etc. Even in sports it is only the major popular games that matter and the less popular ones are relegated to the background.

So when we say that each kid excels, the catch is that they may not excel in the same thing. One kid could be a prodigy in Dancing and another a Polymath. So who gets to say that the Polymath is intelligent and the Dancer not so? So here comes the concept of "Theory of Multiple Intelligence".
So the education system should not be a mass brainwashing program or a day care that lets the parents go about their work. It should be a place of learning. A place to explore. A place that lays the foundation for the person you are going to become. The approach should be tailor made to needs of the students and no the needs of the society.

We must learn to cherish all abilities and stop making everything a race. Sometimes you can lose the battle but still win the war.