On closer inspection of the education system, I have always found it tottering, crumbling and collapsing while we stand by watching, oblivious to the damage being done to the future generations. However, neither do we have the time to question — so naturally there are no answers — nor do we know the destination to be reached, so we do not undertake any journey.

In fact we are akin to mice who chase their tails, running faster and faster, believing we are reaching a goal but actually just wasting our energy. We blame the government, the schools, the teachers, the inadequate facilities and when we get tired we blame our children for not putting in enough effort.

The question is and will always remain, “When are we going to change ourselves?” When will we as adults, elders, guardians get up and take responsibility? We have come to believe that education is academics with a little bit of extracurricular activities tossed together like a salad. However, the word education has been derived from the Latin words ‘educare’ and ‘educere’ meaning to draw out that which lies within. Hence it is through education that it is sought to take out these inherent qualities of goodness.

We, however, stress on educational programmes without focusing on the inherent qualities. In fact, it is bewildering as to how we shirk our responsibility of providing vision, inculcating values and imbibing a continuous desire to learn. Education is not flat like a report card, rather it is three dimensional and includes the overall development of the child, a concept which seems to have blown away with the wind.

Yet, who has the time to talk of vision? We have become mercenaries from visionaries. It must, however, be remembered that a single idea can change the entire system. There are nations which race ahead of ours simply because of vision based on simple concepts and basic practical beliefs. Time, it seems, is running out as our children lose their creativity and latent talents striving to succeed in examinations. Focusing mostly on academics can be as dangerous as the Midas touch.

Many years ago, when I was at school, I always received low marks in English. Teachers tried persistently but things remained as they were. I cannot blame the teachers because all of them had completed their Masters, completed two years of BEd and had been teaching since years. It was only in grade nine when I met my English teacher that my marks, my perception and my attitude changed forever. She didn’t go on endlessly about the character sketch of Julius Caesar. She spoke of life, beauty, relationships, emotions, hardships, shadows and tears. She shared her jokes and taught us the importance of giving and receiving respect and not by lecturing. Being in her class was a privilege. Each word was like the first drop of rain on thirsty sand. Even while I sat in class I used to wish if there was any means by which I could capture each precious word.

I had wanted the lessons to continue forever but now, though gone they live within me. We needed plenty of extra classes to complete the syllabus but I am proud to say that she was the one who made it all interesting for us. In those two years she did what all other teachers could not do simply because she blessed us with knowledge, personality grooming, insight, vision and super English language skills.

Anyone who has been to school can easily tell that there is as much to learn from the curriculum as from the hidden curriculum, the personality of the teacher as well as the environment. Furthermore, as I write of education, why should the focus solely be on school? The family and home environment play an extremely important role, too. Hence, we need to change our thinking. We, as adults, need to read more and enlighten ourselves in order to make the difference. We need to believe in growth and only then can we change the world around us.

We chase academics and get further away from knowledge. We pursue light but chase away sunlight. We run after information and forget wisdom. This is because education is certainly is not about completing a syllabus. It is about embarking a journey on which you strive to learn each day, every step of the way.

The writer is a teacher.