Formal Education versus Self Education

Ishaan Awasthi, an eight year old young boy is sent to boarding school by his frustrated parents, who thought he does not want to study and he is lazy and a troublemaker. Later, a new art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh arrives at Ishaan's boarding school looking to liven things up by getting his students to think outside the box. He has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind Ishaan's struggles in school. Besides, he discovers Ishaan's passion for art and colors in a few days that his parents and other teachers overlooked for years. This is a story about the famous Indian movie "Tare Zameen Par," directed by Aamir Khan in 2007. This is a fine example that reflects the fact that parents and teachers judge children's smartness and intelligence by their test scores. They force children to give priority to studies over other activities, which are also very crucial in developing children's interpersonal skills.

My whole life I have heard it said that education is mandatory and crucial to be successful in life. Diverse age groups have generally dissimilar perspectives, but when it comes to education their viewpoints are usually common. People visualize books, school, college, bag pack, library, computer or teacher, at first when they hear the term education. Conversely, I suppose that formal education is not the only base to be successful and to become a good human being. Learning is an extensive and enduring process including, but not limited to books and schools. Education does not assure success in professional life as success depends on the person's intellectual skills, creativity and critical thinking abilities that cannot be learned through formal education.

Firstly, modernization has a significant impact on s...

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...vision, motivation, thinking and innate abilities. Moreover, the education system must incorporate new technologies and extra-curricular activities in the academic education to enhance children's creativity and talent. Considering the example of Ishaan Awasthi, his talent and interest were being ignored by his parents and teachers. They just wanted him to focus on studies, but he was viewing the world from a broader perspective. Afterward, Ram Shankar saw his innate abilities and encouraged him. He made Ishaan's parents and teachers realize that children who cannot focus on studies should not be considered unintelligent; however, they have the abilities to think big and succeed. Likewise, in the end Ishaan did not only win the art competition, but also won hearts of his classmates, teachers and parents by depicting his thoughts and ideas in a creative piece of art.