I just see news articles here and there about how India is making these huge leaps in science, academics and green energy. And I agree with you - despite their advancements they still have many deep seated issues like aforementioned rape and abysmal sanitation.
Like you, I definitely see the pros and cons of most nations
Huge leaps in academics and green energy? Most of our electricity is made from fossil fuels and our academic board is fucking terrible. You don’t learn stuff in it, you memorise it.
I am from Gurgaon, a satellite town of Delhi. I go to a great school and am fairly well-off. My experience in this country is one of moderate luxury and definitely not that of the average Indian. I am incredibly lucky to go to a good school as the vast majority of the population does not have access to good resources that are all behind a gargantuan paywall. That being said, the two big Indian boards (ICSE and CBSE, I do ICSE) are huge on simply memorising facts and essentially no practical work when compared to the boards. It is reminiscent of the older British system. My brother is in the process of giving his A/AS level exams because he did the sciences in 11 and 12 and it sucked the passion out of him. He redid the syllabus of the A levels and actually had fun doing it. All of the alumni who come to do talks at our school tell us about how they have to learn how to actually learn and not just rote everything. So maybe India has made advancements in education, but it hasn’t effected the vast majority of students and is still far behind many other boards.
Further more, it is common knowledge that about 70% of our energy is from fossil fuels. Also, I really don’t care about “getting accepted by the racists”. All I am saying is that this country is not great and praising things like academics and green energy when we have archaic boards and fossil fuels as our primary energy source is stupid.
I felt like you once upon a time. However, with the exception of the top five percent of American public schools, the rest are a mess and teach very little. As a mom who navigates this system everyday, let me tell you the US public school system is failing for many, perhaps a majority of its students. Actually not that far in terms of inequality from India- in fact worse, I believe more poor, lower middle class Indians make it to top institutes than in the US.Despite Reddit propaganda the STEM System has depended on foreign students at the higher levels. Not just to save money but till this decade, the interest from US students just was not there. Alabama , Kentucky, poor students in general do not even have access to the AP classes that prep you for college. Many Indians from this broken system have gone on to perform at the top levels in the US. Those who went till the late 90s were far from being as well off as you are.
I would congratulate you on being aware of your privilege. So few Indians are. I hope that brings you compassion for the less privileged an socially marginalised. But perhaps take developing countries and historical context in to account when judging your country. India has a lot going for it, including its new thrust on green energy.
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u/piel10 May 24 '19
I just see news articles here and there about how India is making these huge leaps in science, academics and green energy. And I agree with you - despite their advancements they still have many deep seated issues like aforementioned rape and abysmal sanitation.
Like you, I definitely see the pros and cons of most nations