What is Worth Teaching?

by Krishna Kumar

English
159

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ojaswini · Rating 4 out of 5]

The portal to reality of education system. As a teacher in training it gave me a clearer perception on many things that we think of informally and some I, personally, never thought of like quality of education through equality.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kumar made some good points in this little collection of essays ... and some really fundamentally obvious points. Overall, an interesting read, especially on the power of textbooks in education.

[Sumeet Pradhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Education deals with knowledge in a rather limited context, which is defined by the social reality of a particular period of history and locale"

I came to know about Krishna Kumar thanks to recommendation by Ravish Kumar in his Youtube video that covered New Delhi World Book Fair 2023. I picked up this book mostly because it is hardly 100 pages long and is in English. And I am not disappointed. In fact, I agree with one of the other reviews that this book should be a must read for every teacher, parent and anyone who has been through the Indian schooling.

The book is a collection of different essays dealing with Indian school education system. From the fundamental question of what ought to be taught, to over-reliance on textbooks, to the issue of dealing with secularism in education, it covers a lot of issues ailing the Indian education system. Many of the things mentioned resonant with my thinking. For instance, the author's critical remark about centralized examinations trying to reward "meritocracy" reminds me of my student years when IIT-JEE and other JEEs had so much of ill effect on engineering education. Such "meritocratic" exams divided the students into two groups: one elite group who felt that engineering in India was not up to their standards (even though they never failed to enroll for B.Tech degrees) and were meant for higher things in life, and the second not-so-successful group who were left demoralized and were subjected inadequate engineering education. The end sufferer being the engineering ecosystem of India.

Written sometime back, some of the things mentioned has become rather prophetic. For instance, in the chapter that talks about rewriting history, the author writes, "Indeed, this fragility [Nehru's legacy to create an ideal and romantic image of secular Indian state] can surface any time, and the day may not be far when Hindu revivalism may come to dominate the state apparatus for education". The author warns that the simplistic, ideal writing of history with cardboard thin caricature of important personalities may backfire someday. I afraid we are now living through that day. And this was predicted much before our beloved Supreme Leader came into picture in national politics.

One negative point about the book is that it deals with certain then contemporary issues (the last edition came out almost 20 years back) and is backed up by data that has gone slightly out of date. But the core points addressed are still pertinent. I feel it is imperative to keep publishing updated editions of this important book every few years.

[Apurva Takle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for every parent, teacher, administrator , basically every one. The author delivers such thought provoking and pertinent view points about our education and the education system, that we are almost left gobsmacked by the end. Such a small but powerful book. Absolute must read.

[Akash Dey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read such well articulated counter-intuitive arguments in response to a seemingly simple question. So profound. So inspiring.

[Gittika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give it 100 stars. Every line. Every word is so powerful and insightful. A must read for every indian educator.