"In the next academic year when any teacher of your school walks into a class for the first time, the last thing they should do is to teach the subject."
The focus of these workshops being exam stress and pressures, there had to surface some of these rather daunting concerns. While delving into most of these issues, I realized that in almost all cities one issue emerged as a common thread. Children especially in the high school had one pertinent question to ask - "Why am I studying this subject?" Probably this is one of the biggest and unattended questions so far of our educational system that continues to haunt us to this day.
We don't look at schooling as a process of learning in India , but as a means to get grades or a degree. If we look at the National Curriculum Framework recommended by the NCERT or the curriculum of the CBSE or ICSE boards, they are all brilliant in their objectives and vision. The problem lies embedded in the way in which it is implemented in our schools.
Here is an amazing example. Every school going student in India studies Civics for 3 to 5 years. Yet at the time of elections the segment of the Indian society that votes the least is the urban educated. In fact the more educated the populace the lesser chances of them voting. What it means to me is that after years of studying Civics our children do not understand the first line of our preamble "We the people of India .." I am sure the Civics teachers went out of their way to ensure that the children got good marks, but never bothered to educate them about the importance of voting.
To fit in a suggestion here--in the next academic year when any teacher of your school walks into a class for the first time, the last thing they should do is to teach the subject. The first class must be kept exclusively to build a bridge between the teacher and the children and more importantly to make the children understand the importance of the subject. Teachers need to link up the subject with the real world and its people.
The faculty of logic sets into children only after the age of 11. This is when they start thinking logically and they need answers to be convinced. Once children understand the importance of the subject, they are led by an internal conviction to study it. Half the job of achieving high grades would be done if we make this clear to children.
An important task for you this summer would be to revive your hobby or start a new one. You keep giving 'gyan' to teachers and parents about how important it is to develop an overall personality. Your personality is incomplete without a hobby that enriches you soul or invigorates you body.
This issue being the last issue of MENTOR in this volume; I would like to wish you a great summer break and urge you to de-stress and get back charged for the newer lot of challenges ahead.
PS: The 1 st of May is also celebrated worldwide as School Principals day! Pamper yourself on that day and start the year on a high!!!
sultan@activitiyindia.com |
