Educationally Speaking

School. Why does one go to school? To Enrich Their knowledge. Why do Students in India go to school? To stuff their brains with wanted, needed and completely unwanted knowledge about practically everything you could know, in the span of about 15 years, and memorizing every word to write many all-important exams.
I'm saying this from the view of a student. Teachers and parents may say that the Indian educational system is one of the most efficient ones in the world. And to support their theories, we see Americans and Europeans coming to India to find the secret of our system.
But for a student, studying this way is excruciating. We often question the need for learning about something as common as the internet with definitions with huge words when we could probably explain it much better by saying it in our own simple words. If going to school teaches us anything, its how to memorize 31 chapters to write an exam for 100 marks.
Indians stress on being book smart. The child with the highest marks are always commended. Teachers rarely pay any attention to students, who may not be able to put their thought in an exam well, but have brilliant ideas nevertheless. I've met so many people who were never great scorers in examinations but they are now successful in their respective fields.
The Indian educational system should give emphasis on ideas and creativity and not only marks, grades, exams. Teachers should recognize every student as intelligent. Schools must introduce ways to test children in creativity. There will be a rise in the number of students who look forward to going to school.
Sure, some of those supersmart kids won't be able to keep up with the street smart ones who can think on their feet and make logical decisions. I'm not saying marks are not important. They very well are. They encourage competition, they give us a way to judge the capacity of a student. But isn't school about preparing us for life ahead? Whatever happened to classes about first aid, FAQs on computers, an English speaking course, money management???
Indian students have minds evolved to learning. Grasping everything and shelving it in the depths of their memories. But how many can react smartly in a crisis?
And for how long will students enjoy school?
Indian students, parents and teachers alike must re-prioritize the system.