A agonising soul sucking death commonly known as College or University
Years continue to pass — some students graduate, some fail, some drop out — and yet, nothing changes. The education system reminds me of a dictator unwilling to step down.
I understand that no education system is perfect, and I believe they are largely the same around the world. We memorize, study for the test, and then forget, only to realize years later the flawed world we’ve been building.
University education reflects our ability to acquire academic knowledge. It’s not easy to gain admission; we must pass numerous exams just to have the opportunity to study there. This long and arduous process has led people to believe that it is the only path to success.
University education primarily trains students in academic subjects, but non-academic fields can lead to success as well. Many successful artists and athletes are not university graduates, yet they excel in their fields and achieve great success. These non-academic paths require passion and dedication, not just academic knowledge.
Universities have led students to live in a non-creative way, following a structured path where they don’t see any options to opt out.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
“How we went about testing these questions and what we found may astound you. Our planned two-week investigation into the psychology of prison life had to be ended after only six days because of what the situation was doing to the college students who participated. In only a few days, our guards became sadistic and our prisoners became depressed and showed signs of extreme stress. Please read the story of what happened and what it tells us about the nature of human nature.”
–Professor Philip G. Zimbardo
In the experiment, a group of university students were assigned the roles of prisoners, while others were made guards. In these situations, good people, once given authority, can transform into abusive personalities, and no one questions their power.
Similarly, students attending universities are stripped of their creativity and their ability to question the system. Like in the experiment, some wanted to leave the “jail” but didn’t, out of fear. Students feel trapped; once they enter, they have no choice but to finish and earn the degree, largely due to the burden of student loans hanging over them.
“At least I have the useless degree.”
What truly matters is having the skills to do the job, not just a certificate that says you’ve spent four years studying a subject.
Do you remember being a child, wanting to explore and play? No one told you how to use your imagination. You asked questions like “Why is the moon white?” or “Why is the grass green?” — questions no one could answer. You pretended to be an astronaut and imagined traveling through space.
Then came school, a child’s worst nightmare. You learned to survive in an environment filled with competition and judgment. Teachers told you to stop dreaming and “face reality.” All that seemed to matter was a piece of paper — a report card. You were taught not to question the world, that you were wrong and everyone else was right.
“Stop asking questions and start memorizing. You won’t be successful if you get low marks.”
You start questioning yourself. Imagine a situation where you, as a child, are asked to answer five general knowledge questions. Some students get the answers right, while others don’t even know what’s going on. The teacher grades some with an A+ and others with an F.
The kids who got an A+ start to believe they’re smarter than the rest, while those who got an F? They begin to think they’re failures, that their work is worthless.
Sir Ken Robinson in his ted talk said that instead of growing into creativity in school, we grow out of it. Students all over the world have had more years of schooling than they care to count. During this process, students are taught that making a mistake is a sin. We have planted in our students’ minds a picture of a perfectly, carefully drawn life.
