Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school

Albert Einstein, by giving this quote, not only acknowledged the human being’s natural tendency to forget, but also their ability to remember only those that matters in life. So, in his view, what matters, is beyond the traditional syllabus of the schools, which is often unwritten, but is the one that helps us lead our lives. If life is like a war, then, education is like what remains after the dust has settled, because only that which remains, can lead the life forward. Not the ones that are dead or forgotten!

In this essay, we will explore the unwritten syllabus of schools; what remains after the dust settles; and importantly, if the one that got dusted, really matters or not. Also, we will see the case of what happens if everything is dusted and nothing remains. Let's get started!

Let us begin our journey from our schools!

Back to school

Traditionally, the school education was perceived to be confined to a “textbook syllabus”. So, the focus lies towards the mastery of syllabus, to be more precise, “memorizing the chronicles of syllabus”. Furthermore, the certification obtained through this memorization becomes a parameter for measurement of the education. One must realize that with time, the unrevised and unused contents will eventually disappear, leaving only some remnants to stay!

This is where one gets a question, “Did I waste all my school years?” The answer to that depends on another question, “Did you learn only the syllabus?”. This in turn raises a question for us – did we miss anything or misunderstand what education truly means?

Education Beyond Syllabus

The true meaning of education as Einstein envisioned, is beyond the textbook syllabus. While the syllabus gives us a list of intellectual contents that need to be studied, often there is an unwritten syllabus beyond textbooks that needs substantial coverage.

The first and foremost part of the unwritten syllabus is – Intellectual Probing (IP). The IP, in simple, is just synonymous to what Socrates implies as the “art of questioning”. It will help to develop critical learning ability, i.e. teaches one ‘how’ to learn something instead of just memorizing. This ‘how’ is of utmost importance because besides learning new things, even forgotten ones can be learned back if knew how to learn. And thus, beyond the traditionally emphasized ‘what’, the ‘how’ forms an important part of education.

The second part of the unwritten syllabus is – Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI, in simple, is the ability to manage your emotions and use your social skills to successfully navigate any situation in life. In life, even a simple situation can be blown up if the emotion takes over our cognition, thus hindering our social skills. And schools prepare us to such situations by often simulating it every day. We learn leadership skills through team events, pressure handling skills through jam-packed exam schedules, healthy competition through sports, and equanimity through yoga, and so on. All such learnings necessarily sharpen our EI to face those situations boldly.

Finally, the last one but also the best part of the unwritten syllabus is– Values and Attitude. In fact, the values and attitude are mostly shaped by textbook syllabus. One may forget the specifics of subjects they learned. What still persists is the permanent effects they had on the values and attitudes of the student. While the names, dates, facts and figures of the history subject vanishes, the nationalism invoked while learning the chapter of “Indian freedom struggle” can’t be erased. And such reflection of nationalism in our values and attitude, is the sign of true education. That’s why psychology defines education as the one that brings relatively permanent change in behaviour!

Thus, true education lies in the everlasting effects the unwritten syllabus had on one, when one truly pursued it. This goes well beyond the textbook content, which may be forgotten if not applied in one’s career. But this reminds us of our previous question, “If unwritten syllabus is the true education, then, the once pursued now forgotten knowledge, a waste?” Not really!

The forgotten, are mere ‘means’

While becoming an educated person is the destination, it is not possible without a journey. All the knowledge we obtain is a means to prepare ourselves for our future career. Once its purpose is done, it departs from us just like how a rocket departs from the spaceship once it reaches the space! Poor understanding of this has caused many confusions and misjudgments in the society.

One such popular misconception is expecting career-linearity. While people often criticised the mismatch between graduation and career path against a linear career, many have shown that such criticisms are baseless!

 Dolph Lundgren, famous for his role as a boxer named ‘Ivan Drako’ in Rocky IV, was actually a graduate in Chemical Engineering. When asked about this career switch, he said while he forgot most of what was taught in his graduation, the ability to handle pressure, lesson of perseverance, and work ethic were inspired from his Engineering, especially the project phase. This was of paramount importance for his acting career.

Another example is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, an Indian biologist who got Nobel Prize in chemistry, started his career as PhD holder in Physics! Here, the journey of physics taught him critical thinking, while the destination in chemistry got him the Nobel prize.

Similarly, other notable examples include Gandhi who started as lawyer to become a national leader. Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal became the leader of Jhansi rani regiment of Subash Chandra Bose’s INA, started as a doctor. She also later turned into a politician and a women rights activist.

So, all of them took what was important from their old careers, and together with their values, pursued their new career paths with conviction. If they have worried about what they forgot and deemed them waste, then, they won’t have realized the power of what they have got, nor would have got that in the first place. Therefore, the journey holds utmost importance, and being educated is just a destination!

In this context, it is fascinating to think upon another thoughtful question – then who are actually the “uneducated” in real sense?

Case of nothing remains

While true education is what one learned from the unwritten syllabus, the educated-uneducated classification depends on the degree to which it remains in them. Sometimes, nothing may remain!

Consider the example of two person. One with multiple degrees, many accolades, but is a short-tempered and self-centred. The other person has no degree, but is very sociable, friendly, and altruistic. When we think who can have better relationship with peers, the obvious answer is the second person. This answer also points to us who really is the educated ones! For the first person, despite all the achievements, the life becomes hollow and empty because true education never rested in these academic achievements. The true goal of pursuing education is to lead a better life. And for that, mingling with people around and living together with good values becomes paramount.

Thus, the real education is not the one that is constrained by textbook syllabus, but extends beyond it, encompassing the ability to critically learn, control emotions, and develop behaviour filled with good values. So, one must not worry about the forgotten texts as it was just the part of the journey to become educated. And, the truly educated one uses education wisely, leading an ethical life, thus bringing happiness to all – Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavanthu!!

Let us learn through Socrate's discussion. Leave your thoughts below!

A society that has more justice is the society that needs less charity

 

“The world has enough for everyone's need, not for everyone's greed”

– Mahatma Gandhi

While this quote signifies the importance of minimalism and warns about the limited availability of resources in the world, it is unfortunate that greed, which is one of the seven sins according to Catholic Christianity and also called as one of the residing places of the demon Kali post-Mahabharata, has already taken over the minds of many. This has not only led to over-exploitation, but has also brought in disparity of resources, both material and intellectual, where some possess unlimited access while others left in shadows!

Here, to obtain parity and to satisfy each other’s needs, there should be mutual sharing of resources, which is justice. Besides Government actions, from historical times, this has been achieved through charity, also called as ‘Dhaanam’ in Sangam literature. Even Vedas that were composed earlier than that proposes – “Daanam Nyayam Sthapitham” (Charity establishes Justice).

While many have considered the need for charity to bring justice, the below quote flips the coin: “The society that has more justice is the society that needs less charity”. This implies that once justice is established with the help of charity, it no longer needs charity to sustain. But is that possible? If charity is gone, can justice still survive? If so, how? If not, then should charity reform itself to stay? Let’s explore!

But before any of that, we need to understand what justice truly is, since it is claimed to self-sustain without charity, right?!

Justice as multi-faceted

Justice is a narrowly viewed, if its definition is confined only to the economic angle of money and material wealth redistribution.

Justice should be seen also in terms of social angle where it tries to bring in equal opportunities in education and employment. Government through various schemes like RTE, Skill India, etc, provides such opportunities. But if they were effective and equal access was present to all, there might be no need for free YouTube video lectures, crowdfunding for various educational institutions, educational scholarships, all these various kinds of charity.

Also, we can take the environment sector where if there was environmental justice in terms of responsible use of environment adhering to Governmental standards without over-exploitation, the green donations collected by the NGOs, another form of charity would be needless.

The justice also transcends to global issues like climate change in terms of climate justice. If the rich and the industrialized nations would have reduced their exploitation of global commons like air, sea, etc., this would have not only reduced pollution, but also could have reduced the persisting dependency of the poor and developing nations on rich and developed nations for funds and technology transfer, another form of charity to better cope up with climate change.

These cases clearly illustrates that the charity is not needed if justice was established earlier, and actions of various nations and Government are effective in sustaining them. But unfortunately, this multi-faceted justice is a dream to be aspired for, rather than a living reality due to the actions of human greed taking over as discussed before. However, this does not mean that charity is required for justice to sustain, i.e. it is again a tunnel view if we believe that besides making government welfare actions effective, charity is the best way to attain that kind of multifaceted justice and sustain it in this globalized society.

Redefining Charity

First-of-all, let us try to understand why multifaceted justice is not what we are born with i.e. why are we all not born as equals?

If we ponder into the philosophy altogether with logical reasoning for the answers, we can see that if all are born as equals, with equal resources and abilities, then, there will be barely any relationship. This is simply because no one needs the other, thus no respect for others. This leads to arrogance, which in turn breed conflicts and clashes, eventually ending humanity!

Since we are born with interdependency, we must aspire to establish justice through mutual helping of each other. This will not only breed communitarianism (sense of togetherness), but also strengthen our social bond leading to growth of all.

But to attain it, charity is not the best way. It is not because of its nature of giving, but due to the common understanding of its definition. The commonly accepted definition of charity is to voluntarily donate the excess of something that one may have to one who lacks that, expecting no reciprocity. The problem with this commonly accepted definition is that, the donor develops a sense of pride over their noble actions of donation over time. This pride, another sin in the Catholic Christianity’s seven sins, manifest into arrogance, followed by the birth of psychological hierarchy and further leading to expectations of loyalty from receiver in reciprocity (while actually charity doesn't expect reciprocity at all!).

That is why we need to redefine the word ‘charity’ as per what Gandhi has said. Also, Quran has this same concept – ‘trusteeship’. It redefines charity, from being perceived as a help or service to others, to social duty. That is, the wealthy are just a guardian of resources and they must distribute the excesses of that to the needy as a matter of their duty, not of generosity.

This definition not only eliminates the ego of the donor, but also makes them feel the gratitude for the opportunity to perform their duty of donating, rather than being prideful for it. This is well articulated by Bhagavat Gita – “Karmanyae vadikarasthe, ma faleshu kadhachana” (You have the right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the action). Thus again, only duty, no reciprocity!

Also, while charity can become a burden in the long run, considering it as duty won't make it feel so, as the duty is the primary job of a person (like a habit). But charity is an extra-voluntary effort which fades the interest away eventually.  Just like how a business that pays regular tax and follows corporate governance practices with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) won’t feel burdened, when done as a part of duty. One example of this is the Mitti Cafe, run by Alina Alam, who employs physically challenged in her restaurants, and has brought social justice through her social duty.

Beyond economic and social justice, true political justice can be attained in if there is better political representation of different sections of society, or else, the Government initiatives will be a mere empty & irrelevant set of actions. Through political representation, the needy will help themselves by drafting inclusive policies. Thus, bringing this political representation becomes the social duty of politicians and advocating for the same is the duty of citizens. Examples of the same includes Women reservation act, Gender budgeting, JANMAN yojana, NCSC establishment, etc.

Similarly, in context climate change, the rich and developed countries must abide by UNFCCC's CBDR (Common but Differentiated Responsibility). Through this, the fund and technological transfer becomes their moral duty which helps not only to establish, but also sustain the environment & climate justice.

Thus, when charity in generosity is transformed into social duty as a moral imperative, the justice self-sustains in the society, leading to happiness of all – Loka Samastha, Sukino Bhavanthu!

Let us bring justice to democracy and start an discussion. Share your thoughts below.

Mathematics is the music of reason

“Mathematics is the way of life. It is like air, and is present everywhere.”

- [Anonymous]

We like it or not, we cannot deny the role of mathematics in our everyday life. It is present in every conscious decision we make. It echoes in the reasoning we give for every decision, regardless of whether it is a clever or a foolish reason. Just like how pleasant rhythm captures one and the noisy beat annoys, the clever reason pleases us while the foolish ones may irritate. Thus, this makes mathematics more subjective like a music, deviating it from its traditional image of objectivity.

In this essay, we will explore about the musical nature mathematics, when mathematics turns into a noise, and finally how to strike the right note to capture audience!

Before getting started, it is crucial to understand what mathematics really means.

Most of the children in schools complain about the complexity of mathematics. Some even curse the discovery of it! But this frustration is completely understandable because traditionally, mathematics has been projected as a problem to be overcome rather than as a problem-solving tool. Mathematics provides a problem-solving toolkit, comprising of various rational tools like formulas, axioms, properties, etc which are nothing but a manifestation of reasoning. That’s why it is called as “music of reason”, as just like how a music with its rhythm gives us pleasure, the mathematics with its reasoning, pleases us by giving a solution.

Consider a situation where there are 5 children and 10 chocolates. To help one distribute the chocolates equally among children, the mathematics provides variety of reasoning, or tools. Among all those tools, one can pick the formula of simple division, so that, each child gets a fair share of 2 chocolates. Thus, the mathematics has made the children rejoice with its elegant music of reason, just like how a good song with its radiant rhyme makes them dance.

But when we talk about music, however charming it may be, still the same one feels like a noise to some. Ever wondered why?

Music is subjective

Same music might not always resonate well with everyone. It often comes down to the preferences and taste of the audience who listens to it.

Consider the example of a rap song. While it may please the Gen Z (new generation kids), their parents, the older ones may still perceive it as a noise. This subjectivity is simply because of the generation gap that has altered their taste. While the older people demand peace, the younger ones thrive well in the energetic vibes of rap, thus, making music more personalized.

Well, it might be true that music can’t be completely universal enough to please everyone. But can’t mathematics not please all? It is highly objective and gives rational solutions, right?

This is a valid question that needs answering, so that, we can effectively inspect the complexity in decision making, when done at a larger scale.

Not a pleasure always

While distributing chocolates equally is a simple decision to make, when the problem is complex, the mathematical reasoning based on narrow ‘one-size-fits-all’ values often fail to address the problem effectively, thus creating noise!

Assume that there are 40 students in a class. When we apply the formula of simple division as we did earlier in case of distributing chocolates, one teacher spends the same number of hours with all the students. While this reasoning is justified in the name of equality, in reality, it actually worsens the intellectual divide in the class. This is because, it does not consider the difference in the grasping ability of each student, where some may need more time to grasp, while others may need no time at all. So, this same formula based on the narrow ‘one-size-fits-all’ value of equality, while helps some, leaves most in noisy-shadows forever.

So, here, the mathematical formula of simple division should be altered based on the broader value of equity, to inclusively share the benefits of education for all the students. Based on that, if customized teaching is done, spending time with students according to their grasping ability, then the results will be a melody for all rather than appealing just a few. Thus, it becomes crucial for us to customize mathematical reasoning based on broader inclusive values, making its musical solution more personally appealing for all.

Now, let me demonstrate similar orchestra of mathematics in government policy-making, which deals with problems of huge magnitude. Unless the bow is drawn over the strings gently in this violin named governance, the strings might snap causing chaos instead of charm!

Hit the right note

In governance, hitting the right note is crucial to please the stakeholders involved in a problem. But often, as discussed, when the values inspiring the mathematical reasoning becomes narrow, it tunnels the benefits to please only the privileged many, leaving others in ruins, thus, snapping the strings over time.

One such issue arises from dam constructions for hydropower. In such constructions, generally, the narrow utilitarian values make the mathematical reasoning to please the country’s majority. This involves concentration of the divided benefits of such construction towards them. But such a narrow value considering only the economic prosperity of nation’s majority, historically has neglected its negative impacts on various minority groups. Not only were the tribes got displaced without a suitable rehabilitation, also, animals and birds lost their habitat. Further, environmental loss was also not compensated. This in turn manifested itself in the form of naxalism, human-animal conflicts, and, climate change. While mathematical reasoning has the capacity to distribute the benefits to all the stakeholders, narrow value preferences can lead to poor mathematical reasoning, thus creating out of mathematics a chattering chaos opposed to melodious music.

Since this narrow utilitarian value was no more in tune with the expectations of every stakeholder, the value preferences of governments across the world have substantially broadened. They adopted sustainable & inclusive development as their values. This made the mathematical reasoning focus on harm-mitigation strategies together with inclusive distribution of benefits.

It provides for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to be conducted before such constructions to estimate the loss, based on which the rehabilitation programs are designed for the affected tribes in prior. Further, the CAMPA, Compensatory Afforestation, helps to compensate for the loss the environment has sustained through calculated plantation drives. This not only gives a new home for the displaced animals and birds, but also prevents their dangerous contact with humans. So, we can infer that while mathematics can provide us with variety of logical roadmaps or formulas; to select the right reasoning, right values are necessary, preferably ethical values. That is when one can hit the right note.

So, the mathematics is not an abstract concept, but music of reason that connects with our heart, inspiring to make better decisions. Just like how music is personalized, mathematical reasoning also is shaped by the value preferences of people. The values that inspire the mathematical reasoning should consider all the unique conditions of all its variables to attain an inclusive and just solution. Despite ‘all’ being ideal, at the least most should feel satisfied, with less being affected. Thus, when the frequency we tune is based on ethical values, mathematics will produce a magnificent melody than a malicious misnote! 

Like how music emerges from friction between strings, the democracy thrives only via constructive discussions. So, share your views below!