Education is failing us bigtime. It makes you obedient but not ready. It’s time to flip the script to 80% application, 20% theory.
The Education Lie We’ve Been Sold
Education is supposed to prepare us for life, right? Yet here we are, drowning in theories, case studies, and classroom lectures that barely scratch the surface of what we actually need in the real world. It’s like training for a marathon by watching someone else run. From India to the USA, Europe to Asia, this flawed system repeats itself.
Lectures and Case Studies Don’t Prepare You for Life
Listening to someone talk about what might happen in a hypothetical situation, doesn’t prepare you for anything. Sure, you might memorize some fancy jargon, but can you use it in real life? Hardly.
Take business schools. Students spend years analyzing case studies of big companies, but when they step into the workforce, they don’t know how to solve an actual problem. “Knowledge is not power. Execution is,” says Tony Robbins, the renowned life coach. If theories worked, MBA grads would be billionaires, however they have just joined other businesses (JOBs).
Applied case analysis in management schools is rarely done, where concepts are put into real world and real time tests.
High-Paying Jobs Are Based on Experience, Not Education
Name one high-paying job where your degree matters more than your experience. Struggling? That’s because there isn’t one. Doctors and lawyers? They rely on years of practice. Coders and engineers? It’s about the projects you’ve worked on, not the grade you got in college.
Elon Musk famously said, “I don’t care if you have a degree or not. What I want to know is “Can you do the job?”
Kids Need Real Projects, Not Textbooks
At school did a history book ever teach you how to negotiate? Did algebra prepare you to manage a budget? The answer’s obvious.
Kids need apprenticeships, internships, and real-world projects. Germany gets this right with its vocational education system, where students spend years apprenticing in their chosen field. Contrast that with the USA or India, where internships are often an afterthought or unpaid.
Studies show that students who participate in real-world projects develop stronger problem-solving skills and confidence. Why isn’t every country making this the norm?
The Education System Is Designed to Make You Obedient
The uncomfortable truth is schools aren’t about learning. They’re about control. The schooling system was designed in the 19th century to churn out obedient workers, not free thinkers.
Sociologist John Taylor Gatto wrote, Schools are meant to produce, through the application of formulaic testing, predictable and docile citizens. Sound familiar?
In most countries, schools emphasize rote learning over questioning authority. Obedience is rewarded. Creativity is not. Big businesses and governments prefer workers who follow rules, not disruptors who challenge the status quo.
Schooling’s Dark History
Did you know the modern schooling system was born during the Industrial Revolution? Factories needed workers who could read instructions, follow orders, and stick to a schedule. Schools were designed to create just that.
In colonial India, British rulers used education to make Indians loyal to the empire. Similar patterns existed in Europe and the USA, where schooling was about social control, not liberation.
This system isn’t outdated—it’s intentional. It ensures we grow up to be employees, not entrepreneurs.
Hard Skills Like Coding and Engineering Can’t Be Taught in Classrooms
If you really want to be able to code, you don’t sit in a lecture hall or keep on taking online tutorials. You build something. If you want to be a real-world engineer? You work on machines, not lab models.
All technical and hard skills require practice. Yet schools as well as universities are stuck in theory. A 2022 report from McKinsey found that only 40% of graduates feel equipped with the skills employers need. That’s why coding boot camps, not universities, are producing the best programmers.
If Education Worked, Professors Would Rule the World
If today’s education system really worked, wouldn’t PhDs and professors be running the world? They’re sure or not.
In fact, the most successful leaders and entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, either dropped out or credit their success to hands-on learning. Elon Musk learned rocket science by reading books and building rockets, not by attending a lectures.
It’s High time for an Education Revolution
The world needs thinkers, doers, and creators, not obedient workers. To make this happen, we need an education system where kids spend 80% of their time learning by doing and only 20% on theory.
It’s not just about careers; it’s about building resilience, creativity, and independence. But for this shift to happen, we need to challenge the system. As Albert Einstein said, “Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think.”
Shilpa Ahuja is the Editor-in-Chief of OpiniOwn. She has a Masters in Design Studies (MDesS) degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, class of 2011. She is also the founder of Shilpa Ahuja Media (SAM).
Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion and Jet Airways magazine. She is also the creator of Audrey O. comics. She enjoys creative writing and art. Her work has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and also been published in Chandigarh Times.
Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a professional degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. For feedback & questions, please email her at [email protected].