Education Revolution Is In Motion...

Babysitting has it's joys. I've been around my 5 and 7 year old niece and nephew lately. It's interesting to see how children learn how to socially interact and associate cultural inferences to what they learn in classrooms and from peers. The important topic of the 'kind of education' comes to mind when evaluating well-roundedness and social intelligence.
Being brought up in both India and the States has brought to my attention the significance of academic versus social intelligence. There is a thorough and distinct difference that exists in ways how children are exposed to new ideas and topics. Granted it is next to impossible to beat years of solid academic foundation, but it is also crucial to note that a well-rounded and multifaceted training technique has its perks and advantages than to just having a sound academic background.
Because the academic base in Western school systems is weak, there are plenty of third party services available to weaker students for help with basic schoolwork and comprehension (i.e. Kumon, Sylvan) . The American education system, however, does an excellent job in providing students the opportunity to excel at sports, music, school government, hobby and social clubs, etc. which in turn leads to creating more opportunities for pupils to grow socially and pursue passionate arenas for expertise.
The Indian school of thought is a little reverse in this aspect. No doubt that the Eastern culture focuses more on the mathematics and sciences, sometimes mixed with rote learning techniques, but in turn the overall populace is much more sound in solid academic principles. However, students lose out on social and passion driven activities that eventually lead to more rounded individuals overall.
With the reverse of the American case in play, third party institutions that provide such skills within the Indian education system are the pillars needed to fill this gap for young students. One such institution is Discover Life based in New Delhi. Working with private as well as public schools, they seek to provide the training and skill set that can be of great asset to youth in today's highly competitive and fast paced industries.
The answer to a perfect education is a complex one and requires restructuring and reprioritizing on several levels of the education sector, but perhaps the first step towards acheiving this ultimate goal is to address the weakest links of the system. A confident and goal-oriented group of young individuals have the power to focus their energy and interest given the right direction through an organized learning experience like Discover Life.
The extra effort that will be required to fulfill the program successfully will in turn be an asset to the participants involved and pave the path for a well prioritized and real world applicable education system in the future.
Having been lucky to experience both, I truly believe that these types of goal-driven and leadership programs are the answer to India's intelligent yet confused student base. Do you get it? A revolution is in motion.

Got Stress?

If I had to summarize today's surroundings, it would go something like this: fast moving world, fast moving people, fast paced relationships, crash diets,crash dates, crash meetings, email synced blackberries, super crashed schedules...no wonder the amount of new diseases discovered are growing each year..
I mean where does this insanity finally end? I don't consider myself extremely stressed per se..pretty average "chick"...maybe a little more free spirited than usual, but overall have led an average life..and there are enough pressures in my life to make me go "please everybody just SHUTUP for a second or two (or maybe more depending on the day)"...It's bad enough that now a days just a Bachelor's degree in any discipline won't suffice.. If I could get a dime for everytime I hear "Oh, you've done your engineering, so now what's the next plan of action; higher studies?".. Just stamping on degree after degree buys you some sorts of societal rights of respect and privelege..Oh yes, you are smart after all, not like those underacheivers with just a 'normal' college education...The word "over acheiver" has vanished out of our dictionary these days...You just can't do too much..There is always room for more..and the only way to prove yourself is by continuing to grow through education and making yourself available towards your work and career..What happened to the good ol' simple life...What if I want to just have my family and raise my kids and be happy with a decent paycheck..But then I would be selling myself short..
There are two sides to every coin though (even if it's a trick coin)...Fine, I'll go the career "smart" route...but now what happens to my family priorities? As an Indian girl, if I could get a penny for every time I hear "You must think of marriage now, you are of marrigeable age", I'd be a millionaire!! Marriageable age in Indian culture seems to be right around 25. I mean if you're past that, you're getting really old. I guess we must decide what we want...Independent career driven, education infatuated, self fulfilling-proud-equality-seeking women or well rounded, house duties driven, domesticating house wives..The shadowy area in between is starting to get really really blurry...
For one instance, let's keep the whole "feminine" side out of it. People in general these days are stressed to the nth degree. Education stress, family expectations, societal limitations, traffic laws, civic constraints..We need a breath of fresh air to prioritize and sync our lives to what we really want..I'm not sure I know what I want, but it sure isn't to run around and put out fires for the rest of my life. Can I get an advanced course in Breather for Stressers 101??