The most common question asked of a student after every exam is, “How much did you get?” or “What’s the mark?” What if, instead of this, we ask, “What did you learn today?” In a world of marks, grades, scores, and percentiles, we often tend to forget the true meaning of education and its purpose in a student’s life. Education is not about preparing young minds for examinations, but about equipping them with different skills for life.
Marks are definitely important to evaluate a student’s academic progress, as they will open the door to new opportunities. It might be the stepping stone to the next chapter, but it cannot be the only yardstick to measure one’s competence.
1. A Future Leader: Education often teaches a student the inherent qualities of a leader, building up the skill of listening to others, progressing further ‘with’ others and not always ‘ahead’ of others. Group projects in school enhance the skill of working with diverse groups of people and provide them with life skills that will matter long after a report card is forgotten. Leadership does not mean being ahead of others. It involves taking responsibility, showing initiative, and bringing out the best in others as well.
2. Humility, Sympathy, and Empathy: Perhaps the most important thing that education nurtures is one’s character and integrity. True education teaches a person to be humble and enhances their emotional quotient. A successful student is not one who scores well on report cards, but one who respects others, empathises with people, and contributes purposefully to society. Academic success without values makes a person a mere machine. They should understand their role in the lives of the people around them as well as in society.
3. How to Think, Not What to Think: Education does not merely teach a student a few facts and factors; it teaches diversified, out-of-the-box ways to think differently. It boosts the problem-solving, analytical, and interpretative skills of a student, helping them to find solutions rather than reiterating bookish knowledge. Correlating facts with real-life scenarios helps them to deal with obstacles in a more effective way. Curiosity and creativity will enable them to be lifelong learners, which will take them far beyond the scoreboards.
4. Resilience and Perseverance: True education will enable young minds to cope with any kind of adverse situation and overcome it with flying colours. They learn that failure does not mean being defeated. Each and every failure brings new opportunities to learn something meaningful. Getting lower marks in an exam will open up the scope to reflect upon mistakes and find several different ways to bridge the gap. Understanding their flaws and working on them will help them in the long run.
5. Life Skills: Education also means empowering students with various skills like time management, digital awareness, cybersecurity, and media management. In an era of technology and social media, mere percentages and scores will not help students to excel in the practical world. Time management is key to achieving a disciplined and well-balanced personal and professional life. In an age where a person gains an array of knowledge with a single click of a mouse, they need to be mindful to filter out the implausible and absorb the credible.
6. Communication: A crucial parameter to outshining others in life is an effective way of communicating. Communication does not only mean having good oratory skills; listening to different perspectives and responding sensibly also fall under its ambit. Students have to collaborate with different people in their lives. The knowledge that one possesses should be utilised in an efficacious manner. One should know the relevance of a topic, the context, and how much to present. Classroom debates, project presentations, and impromptu speeches will help a student to hone this skill.
Ultimately, education does not mean simply being literate or leading the scoreboard with mere numbers. The meaning and importance of true education lie far beyond that. It shapes the character, personality, and integrity of a person. Parents and educators have a very important role in changing common notions regarding education, which are commonly limited to marks. Students should be competent enough to face challenges, both academic and non-academic, should learn to ask 'why', and should delve deeper into their minds for answers. Only then will the true purpose of education be fulfilled.
(The author is Trustee, Sanskriti Group of Schools)
(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.)
