If fishes were allowed to swim…

Albert Einstein once said, ” Everybody is a genius. But if you ask a fish to climb a tree, it will lead it’s whole life believing that it is stupid.” 

And today, that fish is not just being asked to climb a tree, it is being asked to climb down again and then go for a 5 kilometre sprint too. And you might be wondering whom does the fish refer to?Sadly, that fish today is us, all of us. 

Ever since we were born, we were  expected to climb trees,i.e excel in school, excel in college, excel at work, etc. But doesn’t anyone understand that fishes aren’t meant to do that. Sure, some may be birds. But what about the rest.

Every person has different strengths, different needs, different interests, different dreams. Some are painters, some are singers, some are good with numbers, some are astounded by the cosmos. But the system in which they are, ensures that the fins of these fish are brutally clipped off and replaced by imaginary wings.

Children are trained right from their infancy to pursue careers that are remunerative. But what about the interests of that human being. Probably, the next Picasso now works at an IT back office in some obscure setting and the next Aryabhatta is wasting his time in the cockpit of a commercial airplane.

Everybody is a victim of this charade of a system that we call The Education System. It teaches us to be in line, speak when asked to, eat when allowed to and infact, express only when it wants us to. There is no respect for the spirit of humanity. Fishes are taught to climb trees but  tested by asking them to run a 100m race. This is our evaluation system. 

No regard for talent. No regard for creativity. No regard for knowledge. You are judged on the basis of how much matter you recollect of what you read on the previous day. Appalling, isn’t it. It is the death of understanding- slow but one which is certain. It needs an urgent overhaul before it is too late. 

Come now, let’s tend to the needs of the fishes. Let’s give them a system which allows them to dream. A system which helps them in getting to the path that they wish to tread on. Because, they may be 30% of the present population but they are 100% of the future. This is the world I believe in – a world where no fish is ever asked to climb a tree.

-(Inspired by a video)

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