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How many of us fear going to school or how many of us were afraid of going school in our childhood? A question often considered as normal which has been running down from ages and unfortunately is marked by indifference.
But have we ever pondered over it? It is considered to be a very general phenomenon that when a kid of 9th grade doesn’t score good in exams his/her parents tend to go tense. As a matter of fact, the whole blame shifts towards the child, inevitably, he/she is termed as a non-performer and is often grounded.
We have seen several movies conveying the message that every child or human is a unique creation of god and is blessed with a special talent.
The movies add to the message that there is a need to harness that talent, nurturing it so that every child can find his way up for himself.
Majority of the population of our country have seen these movies, enjoyed them, but only few could assimilate the message.
The education system is a major contributor to the economic development and statistics indicate that it is expanding rapidly but yet at the grass root level there don’t seem to be much difference.
Girls in rural areas still have to fight to go to schools, and if some kids are privileged enough to go to schools their fates are often sealed from day 1 by this very system.
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An Anomalous Situation
The education system instills fear in the kids of competition rather than developing an ability to cope up with it. It creates a dark world around them in which the average life span is just about 17-18 years.
I happened to overhear a conversation between 2 teenage students and their chemistry teacher outside the classroom of a private school which could demonstrate an example of the lines written above–
Teacher – “Why couldn’t you two score good in chemistry in the recent exams?”
Kid 1 – (Silent with head bent down in shame)
Kid 2- “Madam, I have a hard time in comprehending the concepts that is the reason why I couldn’t score good grades.”
Teacher – “You have been saying this for a while; the real problem is you do not want to study. Only you two out of the entire class flunked in chemistry which is unacceptable.
One day, all these bright students are going to make it big, they will have great jobs but you two will struggle all your life.
There are only next two years for you to study hard, you would jeopardize your future if you didn’t work hard enough in these 2 years.”
The teacher simply, in the end, put fear in the minds of students instead of instilling hope and wisdom without realizing that she has become a channel of discouragement.
The teachers and parents do not know that they have been acting as a conduit of this system passing on tension to kids.
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A brutal division
The current education system divides students into winners and losers on the basis of grades. This brings pressure on the students and instead of expanding their minds it is nipping them in the bud.
Are grades going to decide that a kid’s future is going to be dark or bright?
Can grades seriously judge a kid’s ability?
The parents and the teachers should ask these questions to themselves in the first place. Awareness of the answer to such questions is going to expunge the darkness lurking in the corners of our minds.
It is probably the time to think that their life is more than the grades.
The teenagers tend to become reticent under pressure and parents feel that their future is on a slope. This mindset needs to be addressed.
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Significance of the word ‘Education’
There is a need of finding ‘the actual meaning of education’ and imparting it to kids rather than channeling all their energy towards achieving grades and spoiling the attitude.
The most important lesson needs to be taught to the education system first that books are a source of inspiration, an ocean of knowledge, a guide to the expansion of mind but not a machine of scoring excellent grades.
The teacher is the owner of the class and every child is important instead of revving up the engine from the very first moment the class starts , it is now the time to take a step back and check what is going wrong with the non-performers
Around 50% of the non-performers can be transformed to perform well just by keeping a placid disposition with them and motivating them that they are not heading towards darkness.
Moreover, if we look at a few examples around us then we find numerous cases in which some people who did very well as students and who scored so-called ‘excellent grades’ throw their parents out of the house in old-age.
These are the same people who failed at keeping their incomes intact and often find themselves in a financial crisis in their forties or fifties.
The high-scorers are also among the people who cannot even contain their urge to break a traffic signal. They lack courage to do what is necessary.
Scoring good grades in school or college is great but the world demands more, the education system has to address the mandate to enable children to score well in humility, courtesy, expansion of mind, tackling arrogance, compassion and thinking pragmatically.
Competition coupled with the mindset of education system is introducing malaise in kids at a very early age. There is no use of teaching lessons against caste, creed and race if they are not implemented properly. The implementation is important.
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The underestimated subjects
How many schools give importance to moral science in addition to other subjects? It is a subject of utmost importance and has been suppressed to an extent of becoming diminutive.
Every day of the students should begin with imparting moral education to them, on the contrary, it is taught only half an hour per week in the current education system. A change should be brought in here.
We talk always about morals and values but the system itself doesn’t pay much heed in teaching them to students, rather, it is throwing more and more kids in a race.
Students should be taught to maintain balance between studies and co-curricular activities, which I believe, are very necessary for overall development of the kids.
It is time to overhaul the sports infrastructure in schools and colleges as well and encourage students to take part in different types of sports.
Many schools and colleges put ‘sports’ at the bottom of their priority list, however, they forget that ‘sports’ is very necessary for brain development and mental skills and is an education in itself.
The work has to start at the grass root level for creating good sportsmen. We cannot simply wake up after four years and grumble at the medal tally in Olympics. It has to begin from the base level.
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Conclusion
Concentrating in subjects such as sports, moral sciences and general knowledge is equally important as focusing on Math, Science and Social science because they are the forces necessary for overall development of kids and probably necessary to turn them into good humans.
We need leaders at every level of our infrastructure; leaders free of corruption, full of compassion, loyal, trustworthy and good in a crisis. To make this happen, the education system needs an overhaul.
To begin with, it has to stop classifying students as winners and losers on the basis of grades. The students need to be treated as assets not as liabilities which have to be paid back in the form of top scorers.
May be it’s the time to think on finding significance and the real meaning of the word Education!
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