Education in India: Are students failing or the system?! | Sonam Wangchuk | TEDxGateway

Summary

The speaker shares inspiring stories of three individuals who, despite academic failures, achieved remarkable success. They emphasize the need to rethink conventional education systems, highlighting their work in Ladakh to reform schools and establish an alternative residential school for 'failures.' The school focuses on experiential learning, life skills, and innovation, fostering a supportive environment that allows students to thrive. The message is clear: a nurturing environment can transform perceived failures into shining stars.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The script introduces three individuals who, despite being labeled as failures in school, achieved remarkable success in their respective fields.
• 🏆 Rickson, a journalist, became the education minister of the Ladakh hill council at a young age, highlighting that success is not solely defined by academic performance.
• 🎬 Stanzin is a filmmaker who has won awards internationally, showing that creativity and talent can flourish outside traditional educational settings.
• 🏅 Finless, an entrepreneur, was recognized as 'Person of the Year' by a prominent journal, illustrating that innovation and entrepreneurship can be achieved by those deemed as academic failures.
• 🤔 The speaker questions the absurdity of college admission requirements that demand perfect scores, suggesting that this may not be the best measure of a student's potential.
• 📚 The speaker's personal experience tutoring students led to the realization that the education system might be failing students, not the other way around.
• 🔄 The establishment of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) aimed to reform the education system and has significantly improved pass rates.
• 🏫 An alternative school was set up for students who failed conventional exams, focusing on experiential learning and life skills rather than just academic achievement.
• 🌱 The campus operates as a self-sustaining community, teaching students practical life skills such as management, planning, and execution through real-world responsibilities.
• 🌍 The students engage in experiential learning activities that connect academic concepts to real-life applications, such as making jam to understand germ theory.
• 🏞 The campus is built with sustainable practices in mind, utilizing mud construction and solar energy, emphasizing the importance of environmental stewardship.
• ❄️ Innovations like the AI stupa artificial glacier demonstrate the campus's commitment to addressing local challenges with creative solutions, such as water scarcity in the Himalayas.
• 💡 The script advocates for a holistic approach to education, replacing the traditional '3 R's' with the '3 H's' - head, hands, and heart, to develop well-rounded individuals.

Q & A

Who are the three individuals mentioned in the script that achieved success despite being considered failures in school?

The three individuals are Salaam Rickson, who became the education minister of the Ladakh hill council at the age of 27; Stanzin, a filmmaker who has won awards at film festivals across India, France, and Canada; and Finless, a celebrated entrepreneur featured in many national and international journals, who was declared the Person of the Year by one of them.

What is the significance of the 95% marks requirement mentioned in the script?

The 95% marks requirement signifies the absurdity of some colleges demanding perfect scores for admission, which contrasts with the speaker's belief that less emphasis on marks would suffice and that students with 95% marks should not be made to feel like failures.

Why did the speaker decide to work on changing the education system in Ladakh?

The speaker decided to work on changing the education system in Ladakh because they observed that 95 percent of the students were failing in the tenth-grade board exams, leading them to believe that it was the system failing the students, not the other way around.

What is the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) and what was its impact?

The Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) is an initiative set up by the speaker and like-minded friends to work with the government to bring reforms in government schools. Its impact was significant, as it increased the pass percentage from 5% to 55% within seven years, and today it stands at around 75%.

What is unique about the admission criteria at the special residential school set up by SECMOL?

The admission criteria at the special residential school are unique because they are not based on grades or percentages. Instead, they prioritize students who have failed in the conventional school system, while those who have passed may be considered but are placed on a waiting list.

How do the two-week youth camps help students at the alternative school?

The two-week youth camps help students explore themselves and the world around them, understand failure, and prepare for it. They are designed to help students see failure not as a personal shortcoming but as an opportunity to join the alternative school.

What kind of learning experiences do students have at the alternative school?

At the alternative school, students engage in a mix of counseling, introspection, and experiential learning to learn academic subjects and life skills. They participate in activities such as managing campus operations, making jam, and going on educational tours, which help them apply abstract concepts in practical ways.

What is the significance of the campus running like a little country with its own government and newspaper?

The campus running like a little country with its own elected government and newspaper provides students with real-life experiences in leadership, management, and communication. It allows them to apply academic concepts in practical settings and develop important life skills.

How does the campus utilize the themes of Earth, Sun, ice, and fire in its innovations?

The campus utilizes Earth by building with mud, Sun by using passive solar heating and solar energy for various purposes, ice by creating ice hockey rinks and inventing the 'make it anywhere' technique, and fire by using solar cooking devices. These innovations demonstrate a holistic approach to education that integrates learning with practical applications.

What is the AI stupa artificial glacier, and how does it help the Himalayan villages?

The AI stupa artificial glacier is an invention that pipes water away from the Indus River during winter when it's not needed and allows it to freeze, creating a cone of ice. This glacier melts in late spring when water is most needed by farmers, providing a solution for water scarcity in the Himalayan villages affected by climate change and melting glaciers.

What is the message the speaker conveys about the potential of students labeled as failures?

The speaker's message is that even students labeled as failures can shine like bright stars if they are provided with a supportive environment that replaces the conventional 3 R's (reading, writing, arithmetic) with a more holistic approach that includes head, hands, and heart.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Overcoming Failure to Achieve Success

The first paragraph introduces three individuals who, despite being labeled as failures in school, have gone on to achieve remarkable success in their respective fields. The speaker questions the absurdity of educational systems that value perfect scores over resilience and creativity. The narrative then shifts to Ladakh, a region in India that faces unique educational challenges due to its geographic and cultural isolation. The speaker recounts their personal experience with the education system and the establishment of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which has significantly improved the pass rates in government schools. An alternative school is also mentioned, which caters to students who have failed in the conventional system, offering them a supportive environment to learn and grow.

05:00

🏫 Innovative Education at the SECMOL Campus

The second paragraph delves into the operations of the alternative school set up by SECMOL. The school functions as a self-governing community with its own government, newspaper, radio, and even a separate time zone. Students are given real-life responsibilities and learn through hands-on experiences, such as managing resources and planning community events. The campus is built using sustainable practices, with mud construction and solar energy utilization. The students are engaged in practical experiments that connect theoretical concepts to real-world applications, like using germ theory in fruit preservation. The paragraph also highlights the school's innovative approach to science, focusing on themes like Earth, Sun, ice, and fire, and mentions the creation of artificial glaciers to address water scarcity in the region.

10:04

💡 Embracing the Holistic 3 H's of Education

The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to education, which SECMOL refers to as the 3 H's: head, hands, and heart. The speaker argues that education should not be limited to intellectual development but should also involve practical skills and emotional intelligence. The campus's educational model is presented as an example of this philosophy, where students are empowered to lead, mentor, and innovate. The message concludes with the idea that in a supportive environment, even those considered failures can excel and contribute positively to society.

Keywords

💡Education Minister

An Education Minister is a government official responsible for overseeing the education system within a jurisdiction. In the script, Salaam Rickson's role as the Education Minister of the Ladakh hill council at the age of 27 signifies his early and significant impact on the educational landscape of the region.

💡Filmmaker

A filmmaker is a person involved in the making of a film, generally taking on the roles of writing, directing, and producing. Stanzin, mentioned in the script, is a filmmaker who has garnered international recognition through awards at various film festivals, illustrating the diversity of career paths beyond traditional academic success.

💡Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing the risks and benefits of the venture. The script refers to 'Finless' as a celebrated entrepreneur, highlighting the success that can be achieved through innovation and business acumen, even without high academic scores.

💡Failure

Failure, in the context of the script, refers to not achieving success or not meeting a particular standard, especially in an educational setting. The speaker points out that the individuals mentioned were considered failures in school but went on to achieve remarkable success, challenging the conventional view of failure.

💡Admission Criteria

Admission criteria are the standards and requirements that an educational institution sets for accepting students. The script describes an alternative school with unique admission criteria that focus on students who have failed in the conventional system, emphasizing a different approach to education and opportunity.

💡Counseling

Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers individuals to accomplish personal growth and development. In the script, the alternative school incorporates counseling as part of its approach to help students introspect and cope with their academic failures, providing a holistic form of support.

💡Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is an educational method that involves the application of concepts in real-life situations. The script mentions experiential learning as a method for students to learn academic subjects and life skills, such as through running a campus newspaper or managing solar cooking devices.

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value. The script discusses various innovations in education and science, such as building with mud and using solar energy, which are central to the campus's approach to learning and sustainability.

💡Artificial Glacier

An artificial glacier is a man-made structure designed to store water in the form of ice. In the script, the 'AI stupa' is an example of such an innovation, created to address water scarcity in the Himalayan villages, demonstrating the application of creative solutions to environmental challenges.

💡Holistic Education

Holistic education is an educational approach that aims to develop the whole person, including intellectual, emotional, social, and physical aspects. The script contrasts the traditional '3 R's (reading, writing, arithmetic) with the '3 H's (head, hands, heart), advocating for a more comprehensive educational experience.

💡Youth Camp

A youth camp is a gathering or program designed for young people, often with educational or developmental goals. In the script, the youth camps are used as a platform for students to explore themselves and the world, understand failure, and prepare for the possibility of not meeting academic expectations.

Highlights

Three individuals, despite being labeled as failures in school, achieved remarkable success in their respective fields.

The absurdity of high academic standards, where students with 95% marks feel like failures.

The educational experiments in Ladakh, a region with unique climatic, linguistic, and cultural challenges.

The transformation of the Ladakh education system, increasing pass percentage from 5 to 75%.

Establishment of a special residential school for students who failed in the conventional system.

Admission criteria based on failure in the conventional school system, not academic grades.

Youth camps that help students explore themselves and understand failure as an opportunity.

A campus that operates like a small country with its own government, newspaper, and time zone.

Students learn life skills through practical responsibilities such as managing animals, solar cooking devices, and gardens.

Innovative learning methods that bring abstract concepts to life through experiential activities.

The campus is built using sustainable materials and energy sources, emphasizing environmental stewardship.

Students engage in scientific innovations, such as building artificial glaciers to combat climate change.

The campus promotes a holistic education approach, replacing the traditional 3 R's with the 3 H's: head, hands, and heart.

The message that in a supportive environment, even those considered failures can shine like stars.

Transcripts

let me share with you three of the many

stars that I follow and ask a little

question salaam Rickson studied

journalism and became the education

minister of the Ladakh hill council a at

the age of 27

stanzin is a filmmaker today and has

been winning awards at film festivals

across India France and Canada finless

is a celebrated entrepreneur featured in

many national and international journals

and one of them has declared her the

Person of the Year

can you guess what could be common among

these stars no they were not top scorers

from an elite school in fact they were

failures that failed miserably and

repeatedly at school yet they achieved

these feats now on the other end of the

spectrum the absurdity that we see is

some of our colleges demand

hundred-percent marks get an admission I

think less would do makes one wonder why

our students with 95% marks made to feel

like failures let me take you to la da

to see some of our experiments in

education a little bit about la da a

mountain desert at 11,000 feet in the

rain shadow of the Himalayas nature has

left us well i and dry climatically

linguistically culturally we are a

microscopic minority in India and

therefore face a lot of problems

especially in education I came face to

face with the reality or rather the

follows

of the education system almost

accidentally while tutoring tenth grade

students to finance my own engineering

studies in those days 95 percent of the

students were failing in the tenth grade

board exams I was convinced at this rate

it could only be the system that is

failing and not the students I decided I

was going to go back to Ladakh and work

to change this system together with

like-minded friends we set up the

students educational and cultural

movement of Ladakh segments we work with

the government to bring reforms in the

government schools and within seven

years the bass percentage went from five

to fifty five percent today thank you

today it stands at around 75% but we

didn't want to miss out those who still

failed in the exams and for them we set

up a special residential school an

unusual one on the banks of Indus in

Ladakh here the admission criteria is

not your grades or percentage but that

you have failed in the conventional

school system

while those who have passed may be

considered but on the waiting list for a

change a typical student arrives at this

campus as a lost and confused soul in

one of our two weeks youth camps that

are led by the seniors at the campus

these camps are held just after the

board exams and before the results are

declared and in these camps there help

to explore themselves and the world

around and understand failure and

prepare for failure because it's not

them that are failing and when the

results do come out more than half of

them fail but they are better able to

cope with it and see it in fact as an

opportunity to come to the alternative

school at this alternative school they

have a mix of counseling introspection

and experiential learning to learn the

academic subjects and the life skills

that they miss out at school for example

the campus runs like a little country

with its own little elected government

that changes every two months it has its

own newspaper the campus times the

campus radio and even a separate time

zone one are ahead of the Indian

Standard Time it's the easiest way to

make teenagers go to bed early and get

up with the sunrise

the leader of their elected government

may give them portfolios or

responsibilities for example of

management of the animals the solar

cooking devices gardens and food

production electricity supply accounts

and so on they plan they set goals

execute and report in the big bimonthly

Parliament and learn the life skills

that way abstract concepts are brought

to life through experiments using in

life for example when they learn the

germ theory they make use of it in fruit

preservation in a big Jam making

festival to make hundreds of bottles of

apricot jam and then they label it

packet advertise and sell it in the

market you could say their lessons in

economics and commerce and lit the

profits the whole school goes on tour to

the plains of India by learning

geography on the way and when they are

back they report it in the campus times

talk about it on the campus radio and

with such experiences by the end of the

year they are so mature that they are

ready to lead and mentor in the next

youth camp where another batch of lost

and confused Souls come teenagers who

are infamous around the world for how

they are it's unfair to them you see

that they can be our partners in running

the system if they are given

responsibilities respect and challenges

to channelize their energy rather than a

long list of rules and disciplines to

follow the

these innovations in education

innovations in general are a part of

life at this campus innovations in

science have revolved around the themes

of Earth Sun ice and fire now earth or

mud that is the cheapest material right

under our feet we have built the whole

campus using nothing but mud no cement

and Sun the cheapest source of energy

right above our head is the source of

power for heating these buildings

passive solar heated buildings that

requires no other fossil fuels keep

these buildings at plus 15 degrees when

outside it is minus 50 the Sun is also

used for all purposes this campus is off

grain for cooking for vegetables in

winter in the solar greenhouses for

natural lighting electricity water

heating water pumping even the cows on

the campus live in solar heated kashyap

ice can be a lot of fun and used also

the fun part face this campus invented

make it anywhere technique of ice hockey

rinks and build what would probably be

the largest ice hockey rink in India and

produced women's ice hockey champions at

the national level I can also be a

savior for the Himalayan villages

reeling under climate change and fast

melting glaciers our latest invention

has been AI stupa artificial glacier

together with my students we first build

the prototype of this glacier very

simple technology where water that goes

waste into the Indus and the ocean in

winter when nobody needs it is piped

away and downstream and where a big

fountain gushes out just because of the

gravity no moving parts no machines and

freezes as it falls down in

- 22 - 30 and makes a cone or a mountain

of I the geometric shape is such that it

melts in late spring when farmers need

water the most it has been widely

covered in international journals and

you can look up basically what we are

doing at this campus is to replace the

conventional 3 R's approach to education

reading writing arithmetic all to do

with only the head with a more holistic

three H's head hands and heart without

skilled hands education is practically

useless without a kind heart it can even

be dangerous so my message is that in an

unfortunate environment even stars are

made discarded as failures but in a

supportive environment even so-called

failures can shine like bright star

thank you

you