“What do you all want to be when you grow up?”
The teacher asked, her voice warm and inviting as she smiled at the little ones, their faces giddy with excitement.
Instantly, a chorus of enthusiastic answers filled the room.
“I want to be a Pilot!”
“I want to be a Singer!”
“I want to be a Princess!”
“I want to be a Pirate!”
“I WANT TO BE A –”
“Alright, alright!” the teacher laughed, her eyes twinkling with affection. “One at a time, please! We’ve got all day.”
Twelve years had passed since that day. Dreams—some grand, some whimsical—had been buried beneath the weight of reality, lost in the relentless rat race.
A few had survived the horror, enrolling in a college and major their younger selves never dreamed of pursuing.
The professor’s gaze swept over the room, his smile polite but devoid of any warmth. “So, why did you all choose this major?” he asked, his tone measured.
"I didn't know what else to choose."
"This field has a promising future."
"I chose it because it pays well."
"I had no better option."
"I just..."
One after another, the answers blended into a monotonous chorus—different voices, the same reasoning.
Dreams weren’t the only casualties of those twelve years—curiosity and inquisitiveness suffered as well.
As American astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan observed,
When you talk to kindergarten or first-grade students, you’ll find a classroom full of eager science enthusiasts asking profound questions: ‘What is a dream? Why do we have toes? Why is the moon round? When was the world born? Why is grass green?’
Their curiosity flows naturally. But by the time you reach 12th grade, that curiosity has vanished. The questions stop. The students have become dull and disinterested. Something tragic happens between kindergarten and 12th grade—and it’s not just puberty.
Let's address the elephant in the room: what went wrong?
If you ever wondered, “Well, it's quite strange why my school's teaching doesn't seem much different from that of my parents and grandparents.”
That's because it's not.
The current education system was developed during the industrial age where there was a requirement for more factory workers and clerks who were basically “educated” to follow orders and work for long fixed hours.
One might challenge this, “Hey! what's so wrong about it? So many people went to school and they all turned out just fine.”
On the surface? Perhaps.
Dive a bit deeper and reality starts to rear its ugly head.
Considering the toxic coaching culture of India, it takes a very dark turn when you consider the city Kota, the hub for IIT coaching, has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
Let's address some of the problems while we are at it, shall we?
Sorry, Your Free Will is not on the Timetable
Maths at 8 AM? Who decided this? This lack of autonomy has caused children to lose their natural curiosity and turned them into dull 12th graders.
This tight knit table that tells us what to do 6 days a week (YES! 6 DAYS ! THEY DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE SATURDAY GOD DAMN IT!) has taken away essential skills like time management, decision making skills, creativity and spontaneity, etc.
Not only that, but schools don’t even bother to set time aside for extracurricular activities. It is all work and no play—turning them all into dull Jacks.
Let's flip the script — give the students the ability to choose when and how they learn best. Instead of dictating every hour of a student's day, schools should implement flexible scheduling that balances academics with extracurriculars, ensuring that PE, art, and music are not just "optional" but essential.
Most importantly, education must foster curiosity, not kill it. If the goal is to create thinkers, innovators, and leaders, then we must allow students to take control of their own learning—
no one has ever changed the world by doing what the world has told them to do.
Mug Up, Forget, Repeat — Learning Method Officially Endorsed by Schools
A 2018 National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) survey found that over 80% of Indian students prioritised memorisation for exams.
This heavy emphasis on cramming for exams and pursuing marks over understanding to no one's surprise, stifles creativity, deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.
Such kind of learning practices makes students great at reciting information but need help the moment the situation requires them to analyse, problem - solve, and adapt their knowledge to new situations.
Schools should implement application-based learning, where students engage in real-world problem-solving, discussions, and projects that encourage critical thinking and creativity.
Additionally, exams should focus on practical application, analytical reasoning, and conceptual clarity rather than just marks. Teachers should also foster curiosity by encouraging question-based learning and discussions, helping students understand the "why" behind concepts.
Only by embracing a more thought-provoking education system can we prepare students for the challenges of the real world.
Teaching Fish to Climb Trees in the 21st Century
The one-size-fits-all approach to education is deeply harmful to students. Year after year, class after class, everyone is expected to learn the same material, regardless of their individual talents and interests.
Each person has a dominant type of intelligence among the seven identified by Howard Gardner: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal.
Intelligence isn’t just about how smart you are—it’s about how you are smart.
In Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner highlights the diversity of intellectual abilities, arguing that everyone has a unique blend of these intelligences. Drawing from psychology, biology, and anthropology, he provides compelling evidence to support his theory.
However, most schools follow a traditional education system with narrow focus on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence while doing little to nurture other forms.
Education should play a crucial role in helping students understand their strengths and develop their unique intelligence. A more personalized approach would cultivate all types of intelligence, allowing students to thrive in ways that align with their natural abilities.
Slow Learners, Fast Judgements
One of the biggest flaws in today’s education system is the lack of respect for slow learners.
Instead of receiving the support they need, they are unfairly judged by teachers as “not very bright” and often become targets of ridicule among their peers.
Every student learns at their own pace—it’s completely normal to excel in one subject while struggling with another. However, rather than being given proper guidance and encouragement, these students are dismissed and labelled as “failures.”
In the eyes of many teachers, the only path to success is being book smart.
June Huh was convinced that math wasn’t his strong suit—until a chance encounter with a legendary mind changed everything. A decade later, his unconventional approach to mathematical thinking led to ground-breaking discoveries.
He became one of only three mathematicians, alongside Vladimir Voevodsky and Ngô Bảo Châu, to achieve the Fields Medal—the highest honour in mathematics.
Here’s an excerpt from the blog that debunks the myth that 'slow means dumb':
He proceeds just as deliberately when doing mathematics. Wang was shocked when he first witnessed it. “I have this math competition experience, that as a mathematician you have to be clever, you have to be fast,” he said. “But June is the opposite. … If you talk to him for five minutes about some calculus problem, you’d think this guy wouldn’t pass a qualifying exam. He’s very slow.” So slow, in fact, that at first Wang thought they were wasting a lot of time on easy problems they already understood. But then he realized that Huh was learning even seemingly simple concepts in a much deeper way — and in precisely the way that would later prove useful.
To all slow learners out there—this is your sign to keep going. Your pace does not define your potential. Never give up!
So, school is slowly draining our brains. What now? Waiting for the education system to change isn’t an option—it must be demanded.
Speak up, challenge outdated norms, and push for an education that values creativity, critical thinking, and individuality.
Write, protest, and engage with parents, teachers, and policymakers to make them see what’s broken.
But don’t wait for permission to learn on your own terms—pursue your passions, question everything, and carve your own path. True success doesn’t come from following the rules; it comes from rewriting them.
This perfectly captures how our curiosity fades over time. The education system really needs to evolve instead of just conditioning us to follow a set path. Loved how you highlighted the need for real learning over rote memorization! :)
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