Question : Education is a means of shaping character and of social change.
(2022)
Answer : Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ Leaders, thinkers, and revolutionaries from all over the world have held the belief that education has the ability to spark social change and mold people's personalities throughout history.
Studies have shown that character development is the true purpose of education in every person's life and that basic education in schools serves as the main tool for this purpose. Character development is based on six pillars: dependability, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. A child can only develop these traits through a quality education. Because of these values, they are inherently capable of overcoming obstacles in life and making a positive contribution to society.
The child gradually forms a mental manual that instructs him or her on what to do and what not to do, what to accept and imbibe and what to reject and refuse, how to react when certain situations arise, and these lessons last a child their entire lives. For this reason, primary or elementary education at school is the most important part of the education system and disciplines a child.
If we evaluate our educational system, the elementary or primary level is actually the most crucial one because of its crucial objectives that serve as a person's foundation for life. The primary goal of elementary education is to keep children engaged because this creates new opportunities and chances for each child to succeed.
There are several areas where India can still make considerable progress to establish its school education system adequately. This can be achieved by utilizing technology to its full potential, upgrading teachers' education and training to reflect changes in student curricula as necessary in the present, and developing effective assessment systems to effectively gauge a student's capacity for learning, acquisition of new skills, and social engagement.
Social change is triggered when the complex web of human relations and interactions undergoes a mental transformation. It’s when we, as a society, disregard viewpoints propped up by ignorance to accept new ways of life, and education plays a vital part in ushering in this change. Social change requires acceptance, and acceptance comes from knowledge. Additionally, changes in education broaden people's perspectives and enable them to see a better future. This implies that there cannot be social change without education, and as a result, education comes first. Many social reforms are started, but because of the lack of education among the populace, they are ineffective. Hence, education should bridge the gap.
Education is the key factor to change. People's attitudes and values are anticipated to change, and a desire for advancement is anticipated to be instilled in them. Education can contribute to a greater understanding of the present, and it can also spread scientific ideas among people as data on current events is disseminated. A profession, a job, and eventually a better status than their father had in life have all been made possible for many children from lower socioeconomic groups by education. Many people's perspectives have altered as a result of this educational opportunity.
Education offers information, training, and skills, as well as fostering in young people new ideas and attitudes. Through education, many of the outdated superstitious beliefs and absolute values that impede progress can be changed in favor of enlightened concepts. The main causes of the general public's backwardness and poverty are ignorance and illiteracy. Therefore, education may be the key to saving them from their predicament. The fundamental structure of education was created as a tool for social change. We identify all the elements required for a dynamic strategy to change society in its objectives and procedures. By cultivating an optimistic outlook and expanding our thinking, education can assist us in accepting social change. Additionally, it can spur a change in behaviour and mentality in individuals, enabling them to positively influence the development of a progressive and tolerant society.
Question : Education as a Means to Serve Humanity
(2021)
Answer : It may seem quite out of the ordinary in this day and age to insist that the ultimate goal of education must be service to humanity. In the secular world, a person's value is frequently determined by the level of knowledge they have attained, the papers they have produced, or, at best, the level of respect they have attained from their peers and leaders.
However, the level of happiness revealed by these scholastic measurements invariably bears little relation to the person's regular activities. Although the attitude instilled in the students is the heart of an educational organization, from preschool to university, one frequently hears parents reflecting these very same secular measurements when looking for their children's educational setting, including the number of computer labs, the size of the gymnasium, and the appearance of the school building.
In light of our long-term objectives, a person's true value is based on their capacity to be of service to others. This is because all humans will eventually leave the material world and all of its standards of success. Whether we hope for or believe in eternal life or not, we all have to leave this world at some point, and there is no other option. No one can partake of material joy beyond a measured portion.
According to the Persians, Alexander the Great wished for his hand to remain outside of the grave for three days following his passing in order to demonstrate to the world that despite having conquered many nations, he had left the world unsatisfied. It was quite surprising to find that this does not seem to be noted in Greek history. Perhaps this is the perspective of the conquered, but he did leave the world empty-handed, and all that is left for us from all of his conquests are his contributions to humanity, if any.
The history of the rest of our lives follows a similar pattern, albeit on a much smaller scale. Education will never make a person happy if its purpose is anything other than to serve humanity. For instance, parents frequently advise their kids to pursue education in order to be able to support themselves, land a better job, and live more comfortably. The best of these parents' children are those who submit to them and receive what their parents have encouraged them to seek—a more comfortable life, more respect, etc.—in return. By the time these kids reach middle age or their first significant crisis, they are inconsolable and, like the great Greek Emperor, may reflect on the emptiness of not only their hands but, more importantly, of their hearts. They will now need to review the events in their lives and consider how they became disconnected from the true purpose of living.
A life that is not lived in service to others is frequently lived in service to oneself, and serving oneself is like drinking salt water that will never quench one's thirst or digging an endless pit that can never be filled. When education's main objective is to serve humanity, a student is raised and is given a better perspective on life. It is comparable to having a master plan that organizes all of your relationships in life. Its all-encompassing nature motivates and benefits the student. A person who respects others and strives to help them and improve their lives would undoubtedly respect and value his or her own life as well as every opportunity that comes along.
Service to humanity thus raises a student's consciousness to the point where they can derive meaning from the information that is presented and convert knowledge into wisdom through experience. As humans are created out of love, this service to humanity would put words into action, and the knowledge created in this setting would regenerate the students and the environment in which they live.
Question : Should students be allowed to grade their teachers?
(2014)
Answer : There are two different views regarding students being allowed to grade their teachers. First, students should be able to grade their teachers because when they are graded they want to grade right. Even teachers need to know how they are doing. If students are able to grade their teachers the teachers can look back on this and focus on what is failing in their teaching career and work to make it better. Students have the best firsthand feedback on how teachers are doing and if they are making high school an uncomfortable, inappropriate, or overly difficult experience. Every student’s got that teacher that they just absolutely hate.
But some are of view that students should not be eligible to rank their educator. Most students are immature and will rank their educator on their own moronic opinions on their educator’s educational system. Many will abuse this privilege for their own injurious purposes, such as less homework or cellular devices in class. This will disrupt the learning environment for serious students trying to have a better future.
The process of education is complicated for both students and teachers, because the young people have to work hard in order to gain new information and the teachers are responsible for the improvement of the effectiveness of this process. Naturally, people cannot be perfect and everyone is an individual who has his own strong and weak sides, approaches towards education and presentation of the material. Every teacher is different and suggests his own methods of education which can be treated by students differently. Students understand that the educational process is a serious problem and that its quality depends on the teacher. Teachers are different: there novice and inexperienced teachers and the reputed and honoured ones who are supposed to be the experts in this field. In order to improve the educational process students ask to be allowed to grade their teachers and this question has its supporters and opponents.
To begin with, it is quite reasonable to grade a teacher, because one cannot evaluate his work himself objectively. Third people can do it much better. Then, students mention the mistakes of a teacher, especially if he is inexperienced and cannot organize the educational process correctly. In this case it is wise to provide the teacher with the piece of advice concerning the methods of studying and approach towards the process of education. Next, constant grading is a stimulus for a teacher to improve his knowledge and professional skills. Being controlled by the students he starts to deepen his knowledge on the discipline all the time improving the quality of the classes with interesting material.
However, the problem has its drawbacks. For example, a student is not so experienced to be able to evaluate the work of the teacher professionally. One cannot criticize a person higher in rank without the possession of the appropriate knowledge and skills. Secondly, many students will use grading for their own benefit evaluating the teacher’s work as ‘poor’ just because he is demanding and strict, as every student dreams to work little and receive only high marks.
So, the problem is serious and controversial and students can be given a certain right to grade their teachers but this ability should be seriously limited.Question : The ways to enrich our regional languages
(2002)
Answer : India is an enormous land of ancient culture and ritualistic heritage, which is further heightened by the fact that the land has been enriched by all things natural and innate. At present there exist 844 regional Indian language dialects. Each state additionally possesses its own language, which by and large acts as its official language.
That regional languages are on the decline is too well-known a fact to bear repetition. The question is: how does one arrest this decline and enrich as well as preserve regional languages.
Great literary works in regional languages remain inaccessible. English has become the representative language of Indian literature. At literary festivals, we only see writers who write in English, or whose works have been translated into English, or those who can communicate in English.
One good way to enrich regional languages may be possible by getting good translators to translate works in regional languages into English and other languages. The government should step forward to employ good translators to do this important job.
A possible suggestion may be about using social media and blogs to preserve and promote such language. It would be an excellent way to preserve and promote regional languages. Social media and blogs could also be a forum for translating good works in regional languages in to other languages. Modern technology, thus, provides the solution to the serious issue of preserving and enriching languages.
In India we do have language policy where all school boards are required to teach local language, this would already be helping a bit to preserve local language.
Moreover, the government should also initiate to come out with regional language databases to promote computational linguistics. It will make it possible to use internet using regional languages. This is how we can enrich our regional languages.
