When Conventional Methods Of Education Take a Backseat

Over the years, our education system has deteriorated. The current education system demands a greater memory rather than greater brainpower. The examinations existing today are more of a test of memory than of knowledge. Thus, students are made to resort to rote learning rather than actual provocative thinking. Amid this kind of educational atmosphere, Arghya Banerjee realised that the current education system does not train the youth of today for logical reasoning and thinking, and deprives them of some practical life skills.

Arghya Banerjee left a corporate job, and decided to start his own school, where he would redefine the methods by which knowledge is shared. It started when he could not find an appropriate school for his 4 year-old daughter. Ignored by investors and banks, Arghya pooled in his life savings and started Levelfield School on a rented premise in Suri, West Bengal.

He applied an altogether different, unique way of educating students. Rather than making them memorize information, he taught them to process it. Rather than giving them the conclusion, he gave them a trail of information and asked them to come up with the conclusion themselves. The students were not given any sort of readymade material, but had to work and then gather information. “Rote-learning at school makes us a nation of followers rather than leaders”, he believes.

This method was quite helpful for the students, as it taught them how to solve problems, along with polishing their logical reasoning skill. The conventional method of education does not prepare students for real life scenarios. Thus, those students find it difficult when it comes to applying their own knowledge to tackle real-life situations.

Apart from training students to fare well in future, Levelfield School truly stands out from the rest. Arghya realises the importance of education, and believes no one should be deprived of it. Often, the world seems to ignore the financially lower classes. These underprivileged kids are not granted their right to education, which makes it nearly impossible to get a job in future. Realising the importance of educating the poor, Arghya has taken it upon himself to make sure that they master and become fluent in English, to compete against city kids.