My Random Musings On School

Awesome post as always which brings all of us our memories. You have so minutely described about the children , parents etc.

Thanks to one aunty because of whom me and my sister could continue our school that too in aconvent school without fees. Those days there were no contract bus and we had to go walking. But that was also fun. When I was in Sixth standard the teacher and students contributed for my school uniform . It was difficult to buy books.Thanks to my best friend with whom I used to go to school and siend two hours in her house,one hour study and one hour play. She even paid half my fees for typewriting after school which helped me to get a job as Typist. Through my bosses I was promoted as steno and then senior assistant.

As you said now a days children have to carry heavy bag . They have so much competition and have to face challenges . Besides studies they have to attend so many classes

Enjoyed reading your post

 

@Agatha83,

This is a good analytical article advocating the real meaning of education. I thoroughly enjoyed and agreed with all the points you mentioned.

Truly, education has lost its purpose in India. (and I don't know about the other countries.) It never teaches and equips students with basic life skills essential for survival, instead the focus is on irrelevant matter. As a result, when the child is out of the school, it can never have the guts to survive independently. Given the bleak job scenario, having some skill is essential. The primary focus could be to teach high-schoolers, especially in rural parts, things that are relevant to them like, bank transactions, agricultural requirements, first -aid, some relevant practical skills etc, while extensive History, (world) Geography could be avoided or be kept for general awareness.

Even after professional courses, our children are not confident to take up professional roles! Often their curricula is outdated. A duty doctor once asked me what my complaint was? When I informed him of my issue and showed my doctor's diagnosis cum prescription letter, he still asked me, 'Do you have phle-gaam?' It took me a few seconds to understand that he meant, phlegm!

 

An interesting article! There is a mountain of difference between schools in 1950s and the present day institutions.There is a kindergarten school in our street.I see cute little kids carried by either parents , and the kid beginning to weep as the school campus is nearing. Some children are playful. Many school buses are parked in our street.The children waiting for a few mts just ask for water or 'going choo-choo'.Daily I eagerly await some cheerful faces, some complaining that her Amma would have gone to office.A girl expresses her desire to stay with me for a few hrs until her mummy returns home from office.Actually there is nobody at home and she would wait at the stair in front of the locked house until her mother's arrival.
Reg syllabus, taking a heavy load, too much competition, too much extra curriculars-it is a pitiable sight.This true picture was dramatized in a stage play-U. K. G. by Varadarajan.

The four year old child is the daughter of a home maker mother and grocery shop owner father. The mother wakes her child at 5 A. M. make her do some yoga, karathe practise,feeds breakfast, brings her home at 1P.m. takes her to carnatic music and bharatha natyam class,gives her some coaching in some games.One after another the mother signs up for many programmes.The child becomes depressed.A ref is made to a psychiatrist.
The consultant asks the child why she is so sad and what she actually wants. The kid innocently says " Amma madiyile thaachukkanum" I want to sleep on my mother's lap ". See, what the child longs for.
The child is taken out from all extra curriculars, advised not to compare her with any other child.Father says' let her look after my grocery shop. I want my child to be happy."
A happy child is a healthy child.
A healthy kid turns into a smart kid.
It is not a world of scores and marks alone.Let us teach our children how to face the reality.

Jayasala 42

 

Very beautiful narration taking ones memory back to school days.

 

brisk and brilliant scene and as one of your avid readers you had me a vicarious enjoyment at the gates of modern school. It transported my memories to my own school days. I agree in toto with your viewpoints and those posted their views. Thanks and regards.

 

Dear Agatha,

The world has become the people evaluating each other whether one is from an affluent family, what school she studied in, which college she went to and which family she married to. The whole exercise is branding/labeling a person as belonging to one category or another. Those who didn't get to the level they aspired to qualify under the branding exercise are aspiring to make the next generation to qualify under a label above.

When we went to school, there were classes for arts and crafts, physical training, moral, etc. The whole school assembled in the morning to do prayers, National Anthem when the National flag was hoisted. When the boys focused on carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring, mechanical assembly, etc., the girls focused on embroidery, stitching, painting, drawing, etc. In the moral classes, the teaches spent time teaching important values that one should have in life to be successful. The teachers really discussed the areas of interest of the children with the parents and what subject excites the children the most.

Nowadays, the schools have become a factory where the children are products in the assembly line with certain standard skill-set that allows them to branch out to engineering, medical or other subjects whatever the parents want them to pursue in the college without really bothering about what is their area of interest. If a student is from an affluent family and has studied in a particular school, she should pursue certain professional courses without fail. If she is interested in media and communication, for example, the parents are shattered.

The students are head down focused on studies and barring a few, they are no longer focused on writing comprehension, public speaking, etc. A graduate or post-graduate when she gets her first job doesn't know how to interact with the peers and superiors. They learn it the hard way of experiencing it first hand. Sometimes, they find it hard to even present their brightest ideas in a meeting. Some of them find it hard to work with other peers and remain secluded in a work environment.

Only way to overcome this ordeal is to introduce several other branches of education at the school level so that they are trained in those areas at an impressionable age. The focus has to be to identify the natural skill-set children have, nurture them well for them to excel and build knowledge through their interest to learn more than dumping information. The competitive exams have not served any purpose other than those who learned how to compete getting admitted to colleges they never wanted to go in the first place.

We need to send educators to Norway to see how the children are educated in that country to set this ball rolling. Dumping information for several hours a day added with homework only get the children exhausted. There has to be breaks in between and opportunity to demonstrate their interest in certain areas. Even sports and entertainment interest need to be identified very early in life. The availability of facilities should never be hindrance to the growth of the children. The school system requires to be remodeled completely.

Viswa