It is the semester exam season, and the other day my friend’s son Parth was in full meltdown mode over this monster 20-page Business Studies chapter. “Planning”—features, types, limitations, and a guest list of dead guys like Fayol and Taylor. No projects, nothing hands-on, just pure, weaponized memorization. Watching him suffer took me straight back—nothing’s changed since I was the one groaning over textbooks. Still the same song: memorize everything, question nothing.
Suddenly, I am reliving those glory days, cramming useless facts, wrestling with formulas & theorems, and fighting off word problems that serve zero purpose unless you’re planning to become a trivia robot.
Mathematics: Where Logic Goes to Die
Let’s talk Math. I still remember that classic: “A bag contains 8 red balls and 5 white balls. If you pick 3, what’s the chance they’re all white?” Honestly, who’s hoarding color-coded balls? And why are we always picking them “at random”? Is this some secret adult hobby I missed out on? Here’s the real kicker: nobody ever taught me how to calculate the odds of getting stuck in traffic, missing a credit card payment, or whether my phone will die before I find a charger.
Trigonometry? Oh, the legends—cos O, sin O, tan O; the Pythagorean theorem; they showed up more than the actual principal. I could find the angle of a shadow, but don’t ask me to explain why there’s an extra 400 bucks on my restaurant bill. Integration, differentiation… sure, I could handle those. But splitting up my expenses or picking a smart investment? Nope. We’ve created generations who can crack quadratic equations but freeze at the supermarket when it’s time to budget.
Geography: Rocks, Soils, and Zero Real-World Relevance
Geography wasn’t much better. We crammed details about rocks—granite, basalt, laterite—like we were prepping for “Kaun Banega Geologist”. I could tell you what’s inside laterite soil, but if you asked me what soil actually works for growing tomatoes in my backyard? Beats me. We learned about rock layers in random mountains but not what building material keeps you alive in earthquake zones like Uttarakhand. Climate change? Human-environment stuff? Forget it. We were too busy memorizing Prairies and Pampas instead of figuring out why any of it matters to our day-to-day life.
Chemistry: Reactions in the Lab, Reactions to Real Life
Remember those chemistry classes where we learned about acids, bases, and the periodic table? Great for getting full marks in exams, but did they teach us how to handle life’s real reactions? We had formulas like H2O and NaCl on our tips, but never learned how to deal with life’s real challenges, like when your phone dies at 2% and you’re nowhere near a charger.
Instead of learning how to balance budgets, we balanced chemical equations. Instead of understanding pH levels in everyday products, we learned about pH in lab solutions. And while we could identify elements on the periodic table, we couldn’t identify the best way to save money or cook a decent meal.
Would knowing how to identify whether your shampoo is safe for your hair not be more useful than knowing the atomic number of uranium?
College – Engineer Who Can’t Fix a Plug
And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, college! I’m an Electronics Engineer, apparently. Family’s favourite running joke. If the Wi-Fi dies, the remote stops working, or the fan starts singing, guess who they call? Not for help. For comic relief. Meanwhile, our neighbourhood electrician—who probably never sat through a single integration class—fixes everything with a rusty screwdriver and a pair of rubber slippers. I’m just standing there with my degree and a flashlight, questioning every life choice I’ve ever made.
What If School taught life?
Imagine a school where kids learn to budget without panic, cook beyond instant noodles, and meditate enough to sit still for five minutes. Throw in taxes without panic attacks, online safety, and even growing tomatoes—because with inflation, farming might be a survival skill soon.
They learn to live greener—say no to plastic, save water like its gold, and join carpools. Add a bit of public sense (no honking, no littering), and some real-life skills like fixing a leaky tap or checking expiry dates.
How about volunteering? Not just for CV points, but for real—helping out at shelters, teaching someone to read, planting trees. You know, being an actual human.
Yoga to undo all that screen time, storytelling and philosophy so kids can figure out if they’re meant for greatness or just another season of Netflix, maybe even a dash of old-school Vedic wisdom—because, let’s face it, we could all use a little mindfulness and purpose.
And don’t forget the money smarts — saving for a rainy day, not falling into credit card traps, and investing like someone who knows the difference between SIP and “sip”. Add legal basics such as understanding rental agreements, consumer rights, and how to avoid accidentally signing away your soul when clicking “Accept Terms & Conditions”.
I made it through school—barely, and with a few scars. But honestly, it worries me what we’re passing on to the next Gen. Are we raising kids who’ll be curious, resilient, and ready for life? Or just prepping them for the next exam?
If education’s meant for life, maybe it’s time we put some life into it.
Iti Mattoo, retired after 30 years in the IT industry, now enjoying her creative pursuits.
Too good Iti. Very well penned a real issue
The charger motif was repeated for some reason?