Rachna Shah
May 7, 2017

Is school effective?

As the title suggests, is school teaching us the skills that we need to succeed in the 'real world'? If not, how can it be improved? Are there any models throughout the world that should be regarded as most effective?

Daniella Ineza
May 14, 2017

I can comment on this by sharing my experiences in two different education systems. I first did my education in Burundi where we had to take 13 subjects all considered as majors and all required(well, I also added Physical Education but it was also a requirement if not fulfilled would make you lose marks and even make you not pass in the next grade). I can say that the only skill I got from that system was the ability of learning a lot of concepts in different topics and in a very short of time. The issue, however, was that it was a work of cramming notions but not necessarily understanding them. Our main goal was to study to pass exams but not learning. Cramming can be useful in some situations , but just in the short-term because afterwards, oblivion takes place. I don't think that in the real world you can survive if given a situation where knowledge would help, you don't succeed because you no longer remember what could have been the solution.


Then I had to move to Rwanda in a totally different education system. Now I had the option of choosing three major subjects and Entrepreneurship and another course similar to Sociology. As you can guess, I was more enthusiastic because I had to study only subjects had chosen myself and was interested in. The other difference is that we were evaluated from where we started to where we have reached. If you are in the 3rd year of high-school, you would be tested on the whole three years not just concepts of the year you are in. There is no way you would forget a concept because you constantly repeat it. And what I consider important is the fact that again, there are concepts regarding a subject you had chosen because you believed it is the one that is useful and that will help you in the career you want to pursue. School became more enjoyable and I no longer feel like it's an obligation.


Now the issue lies in the way these subjects are taught.


I would like to learn more about your education systems. Can you please share those of your respective countries?