If we are afraid to reveal our lack of knowledge we will not be able to learn. In order to make progress we must admit where we are now. Such an admission of ignorance is not easy. As Thoreau says, "How can we remember our ignorance which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?" Does the present system of education encourage us to admit our lack of knowledge or is there too much pressure to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge?

A coin has two sides clearly distinguishable. But the figures on it are carved and embossed. So, on looking closer, a coin proves to posses many surfaces. Similarly, being able to reveal our lack of knowledge is not simply confined to the education system allowing us to do so and not. The present education system is not perfect and neither were those of the past. Transcending all such imperfections, however, people have made progress. Yes, the education system has a major role to play, but, no, the ability to admit or not our lack of knowledge depends on factors that are more complex to analyse.

During our parents' schooldays, the school certificate examination boards required students to study volumes of course material that may have put a tad too much load on them. Today the curriculum has been simplified to an extent that almost every Tom, Dick and Harry has exemplary scores to his credit. Both periods in time have fostered students with an inhibition for admitting their lack of knowledge, but for different reasons. In the former case, most of the students were probably held back by their fear of the expected physical or verbal abuse from parents or teachers. In the present case scenario, with the possibility of any sort of abuse eliminated, the inhibition arises due to a host of reasons.

The problem with the present educating machinery is that the not Toms, not Dicks and not Harrys are losing out on a chance to prove themselves in life. The current system gives examination question papers that can be answered without trouble if the whole text book is mugged up accurately. However, those unfortunates who wish to understand concepts and truly learn -- not stuff information -- are thrown into the abyss. Teachers and parents egg the pupils on to stuff and put more marks on the report card. At par with the views of many, the present education system is creating a generation of students like a pile of sand too damp to sparkle golden under the sun.

Sometimes, though, a few diamonds here and there in the sand do glint under the sun. The present education system seems to be neither encouraging us to admit our lack of knowledge nor putting too much pressure to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge. It seems to be promoting the demonstration of the ability to learn by-heart and reproduce information. Conquering the obstacles of such a system, some students are able to precisely gauge their performance and to truly learn to acquire knowledge. They are in the same environment as those who are unable, proving that there are other factors which determine the ability in question.

The attitude and mindset of the student are also two major contributing factors. A close friend of mine failed one of the numerous school examinations. She broke down crying and resolved to go to the concerned subject teacher for remedial classes. Asked, a few days later, how she was progressing with the subject, she revealed that she had refrained from requesting the teacher for extra help for fear of being demoralised by what he might have to say. After disappointing scores in subsequent exams she pleaded help from us but would neither tell us her marks nor her mistakes. With no knowledge of her level of understanding of the subject we could not give her the help she desired. Either this was her idea of saving her image or she failed to judge her own standings and act accordingly.

With a trend of smartness and show-off in the air, preserving one's public image and hence, hiding one's failures is in the forefront. It is not so much the education system that is holding back students from realising their capabilities as is the social environment -- and in particular cases, their attitude or mindset gone askew.
The complexity of this analysis is a window for the few who continue to glide over the obstacles they face and progress.