If knowledge cannot earn money or provide jobs, it is deemed ‘inferior’. This, combined with parental ignorance, social media addiction, and government neglect, has created a generation unfamiliar with basics. The solution? A love for books, self-accountability, and a focus on reflection over rote.
Syed Mustafa Ahmad
Besides being a student myself, I have been working at a private coaching centre for the past two or three years. In addition to my own self-improvement, I have also worked on the improvement of many students. Improvement, in the sense that I have made efforts myself, and also tried to teach children to understand the fundamentals of any subject. Through this two-way cooperation, we all, on one hand, succeeded to some extent in gaining awareness of knowledge, and on the other hand, we succeeded to a great extent in understanding each other. We smoothed out some rough edges and became engrossed in the thought of a beautiful tomorrow. We made full efforts to bridge the communication gap. In this way, we began to become acquainted with the intricacies of knowledge.
However, during this journey, I have found a lack of many basic things in students. When I was young, I was also in the same boat. We would move from one grade to the next, but we remained unaware of the things that were essential to know in a particular grade. The bad consequences of this are becoming apparent today. From Mathematics to English, I have found nearly every student unaware of the basic points of science. Most students are unable to articulate the difference between an identity and an equation. I have not found the skill of how to apply the principles of writing skills at all. Basic laws of physics, like Newton’s Laws of Motion and Einstein’s theories, have evaporated like steam from the minds of children. Besides this, these innocent students are miles away from knowledge of the various eras of social science. What ‘historical perspectives’ are is not even in the vocabulary of children. But now the question arises: how has such a situation come about? What are the reasons that are the primary drivers of this serious situation? A brief account of some reasons is given in the following lines.
The first is the domestic system. In the system prevalent in most of our homes, the genuine development of students does not take place. Yes, some family members do pay attention to their children’s studies for a while, but this kind of attitude cannot, in any way, help children in the field of education generally, or in learning skills. Sending children to school for a few hours and then expecting that our children will be familiar with the basics seems somewhat strange. The second reason is the education system.
In our education system, the mantra of “run ahead, leave behind” prevails. The basic things a student should know upon completing a grade are not visible anywhere. Every teacher, besides the school head, is focused on completing the syllabus designed for the year. In this race, students are not visible anywhere. Every fair and unfair attempt is made to complete the syllabus. Parents are also trapped in this syllabus web in such a way that they cannot even dare to point a finger at this education. Thus, a student remains unaware of the basics, which is not a good thing.
The third reason is the lack of appreciation for knowledge. Here, knowledge is weighed on the scales of money or jobs. If knowledge cannot earn money, then it is considered inferior knowledge. Furthermore, knowledge that is also unable to provide jobs is not even worthy of being called knowledge. So, in this situation, how is it possible for a child to be familiar with the basic principles of education? Now, sitting at home, what will the child do? It is better to enrol him in some so-called school and, after wasting some years of his life, then crush him under the burden of the home. In this way, education is trampled upon, and its value is lost.
The fourth reason is the negative effects of science and technology. The internet, especially social media, has shaken the foundations of their education. The mixed experiences of joy and sorrow happening behind the screen have sworn to first distance children from humanity. Besides this, striking hard at the foundations of these students has become its goal. A child who remains mostly connected to the phone and is lost in a world where neither emotions nor humanity itself are valued, then it is straightforward for the student to drift away from studies. So then, complaining that children lack basic skills makes no sense. The fifth and final reason is ignorance.
Our ignorance has prevented us all from self-accountability, and children have also fallen prey to it. If we all held ourselves accountable and recognised our own faults, it might have been possible for us to keep future generations away from this sin. But by making our ignorance our leader, we have always harmed ourselves by considering narrow-mindedness and superficial things as the gospel truth. Whatever seems right to us, we start worshipping it. We never took the trouble to weigh it and then pass it on. Remaining scholars ourselves, we remained ignorant, and handing over the pitch-black darkness of ignorance to the coming generation, we now, like old lions, are calculating the accounts of futile battles.
The sixth reason is the irresponsible attitude of the government. If the government had wanted, it could have brought an educational revolution across the country. It would have prioritised education to strengthen the nation’s foundation. Due to this, the children of the present and the coming tomorrow would remain devoted, heart and soul, to an organised and beneficial task, which would strengthen not only the foundation of their educational edifice but also its other floors.
Now, if we want to acquaint children with the basics, we need to provide them with proper guidance. It is in itself an achievement that we have identified the children’s shortcomings. Generally, what happens is that students’ shortcomings are not even identified. Now that the shortcomings are evident before us, a holistic approach is needed to correct them. From home to educational institutions, every sensible person will have to contribute to this noble cause. These children are like branches. It becomes our duty to protect them from the harsh gusts of sun and wind.
The most effective thing in this regard is to cultivate a love for reading books in children. Reading has countless benefits. The biggest benefit is that a child becomes acquainted with the basics. He becomes familiar with the ups and downs of language. How to use which sentence, in what style, and where – that is the greatness of splendid books. Reading mathematics books can teach the correct use of numbers. The manipulation of large numbers and their use in daily life is a gift from great books. The language the universe speaks can only be understood through the subject of mathematics. Besides this, by studying masterpieces of English literature, a child will benefit from both linguistic and intellectual breadth.
In educational institutions, more attention should be paid to children than to the syllabus. A child should choose books of his own interest and make his mark in that area, rather than rote learning and parroting. Instead of imposing things on a child, it is better for children to develop the capacity for reflection and thought within themselves in educational institutions. Benefits should be taken from useful websites available on the internet. Such websites exist that are proving helpful in fixing children’s foundations. The Hindu newspaper is a living example of this. This newspaper has opened many doors of knowledge for both adults and children, from which children benefit. I have also corrected my mistakes thanks to The Hindu. Other societal institutions should also play their role in the genuine development of children. These institutions can strengthen the foundations of children and pave the way for tomorrow.
This task may be difficult, but it is very beneficial. The difficulties in this are endless, but there is certainly hope for a cool breeze to blow in the coming tomorrow. Therefore, without wasting any more time, we should jump into this noble work and focus all our attention on the fundamentals of children.
sy**********@***il.com