Being a teenage student in this digitalized world, I’m obsessed with the current education system. One of the reasons for that is, the amount of curriculum that has to be memorized thoroughly, just to qualify an exam. Memorizing the information from textbooks and blackboards becomes a problem when we realize that all these can be searched on the internet and we can access it anytime. The leaders of our education system too are aware of it, but we saw no change or response to that (the NEP 2020 is in execution). So how significant is memorizing or learning the information which is already present on the internet?
Let’s go through each subject to check how crucial learning or memorizing is :
- Languages ( English, Hindi, Regional language) :
According to me, language is a medium we use for our communication, through texts and speeches. So for me at least, if a person can read, write and speak a particular language with some accuracy, he need not learn anything more about it. A large part of grammar and writing formats ( letter, essays, summary etc) have to be memorized by the students, where I think most grammar is unnecessarily memorized rather than understood, due to the exam questions. Learning writing formats is totally unimportant, as they keep changing, and the latest versions can be easily accessed through the internet. The marks should be focused on the content of the writing, and not how accurate the format is.
- Science and Math :
Concepts here have to be learnt regardless of them being present on the internet. STEM ( science, technology, engineering and mathematics ) is about executing the knowledge to solve problems or make the system/machine function efficiently. The mind here plays the most important role, and it is not feasible to learn a large number of concepts by searching them, understanding them and then executing for the benefit. It’s vital to learn to proceed in this field.
- History and Geography :
A large part of memorization and learning comes under these 2 subjects. Dates, places, names, numbers etc have to be memorized in these subjects. This is where the question “ why not google it “ comes into play. After some basics, and necessary concepts, I think the subjects should be transferred into clubs where the interested students can participate and learn more, as all these concepts can be self learnt via the internet.
Looking at the amount of necessary learning and memorization of concepts and information, I think there is very less unnecessary memorization present in the curriculum, but that too undoubtedly should be removed. I think some particular subjects like history and geography consist more of unnecessary learning and memorization, and the question gets a hype due to the unfortunate focus of the ed-system on memorization and putting that information in exams more than understanding and truly learning the concepts.
By Gangasagar.D.R
Grade 11 science student