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he best gift one can give to one’s
child is a good education. It brings a sense of confidence and security. It is
the means of social and economic development. It prepares the child to face the
future challenges in life. Educated citizens are the wealth of a country. Hence
the Right to Education is considered the basic human right.
All round development
Education is not just making a person
literate and numerate. It is the intellectual, mental, physical and emotional
development of an individual. Schooling is a framework that encompasses the
learning contents and processes. It can be called methodical learning. However,
the schooling, today, has taken a whole lot of new dimensions.
Foundation must be strong
Though learning occurs from infancy until death, the child is initiated
into formal learning between the age of five and six years. The initial
formative years of education sets the foundation upon which all further
achievements are based. This phase
equips them well for life long learning.
Hence, the foundation should be laid with utmost care so that it should
not have any adverse bearing on the child’s life later.
The children who step into the school are
nothing but wet clay wanting to be moulded by the teachers. The dreary-eyed tiny tots - with the tag
‘handle with care’ attached - are quite
apprehensive during the initial days. These turn playful once the inhibitions
are shed. Holding the attention of the
wandering minds is another tough task.
Learning should be fun
Children’s attention should be gradually drawn towards learning without
their knowledge. They should be made aware of the joy of learning. Instead of stuffing the information into the
little brains, teachers should motivate the children to learn. Such an
atmosphere should be created that the children are eager to absorb the
information imparted by their teachers.
Further, children should be left wanting to know more. Lest, the
knowledge will bounce back without making any impact. Studying should be made
like any other activity in their daily routine. Drawing a beautiful analogy , well-known
physicist Albert Einstein observed, “I believe that one could even deprive a
healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness if one could force it with a whip to
eat continuously whether it were hungry or not…”.
Education
is new beginning
Theoretically, education is the process
of passing on the knowledge accumulated over generations. But, it should not be the end, instead a new beginning
should be made from thereon. It should serve as a platform for the train of
thought to chug off. The imagination and
creativity of the taught should take wings.
Children should be taught how to think more than what to think.
Inquisitiveness should be encouraged, for curiosity, it is said, is the mother
of all inventions.
Each child is unique
A class is like a beautiful garden with flowers of different hues. Owing
to his/her background each student is unique. Hence different strategies work
for different students. Reaching out to the needs of each student is a
challenge to the teacher. The teacher should try to identify the strength of
the student and improve upon his/her weakness. Every child hankers for
recognition and appreciation. Encouragement is the catchword. Appreciating a
student for his extra-curricular achievement may ultimately bring him back to
his studies.
Students can comprehend better if the topics taught can be related to
the objects/incidents they are already familiar with. As it is said, seeing is believing,
there should be more demonstrations. Thus life-long learners can be created.
The mere rote learning does not last beyond examination.
Extracurricular activities are as important as curricular activities.
Physical and creative activities serve as stress busters and make the mind
active receptor for the information. All
the extracurricular activities should finally lead to better learning.
Stress-free learning
Examinations, in fact, assess students’
assimilation of the subject. Unfortunately, examinations in today’s competitive
world are said to induce stress among children. But if taken in a healthy
spirit, such small stresses go a long way in preparing the students to face
bigger challenges in life. Private
tuitions have turned out to be another bane in the education system. A
stress-free environment is what a child needs today.
Making a mockery of the education,
Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman and scientist, said, “He was so learned that he could name a horse
in nine languages; so ignorant that he bought a cow to ride on”. This is what
happens when learning occurs without understanding and thus turns out to be a
drudgery.
The ultimate goal of education should be
enlightenment. It should enable the child to differentiate between good and
evil, justice and injustice, proper and improper, truth and untruth.
(Published in
Platinum Jubilee souvenir of NKES, Mumbai )
