Academics. Most of our existing school system & parental efforts revolve around it, and yet, does it really prepare our children for REAL life?
I am not saying our kids shouldn’t learn to read, write, do maths, or develop other valuable skills. But too often, the focus of our kids’ school day is merely the content with little connection to its application in real life or why it matters? Most of this content is merely memorized, disgorged for an exam and then quickly becomes ancient history.
What this system is basically doing is preparing students to become good linesmen. Someone who can figure out the arrangement and steer their way through the predictable demands of the system. But they are seldom truly engaged. As parents we reinforce this circle.
OUR STUDENTS LOSE THEIR CURIOSITY
We are born curious. Babies naturally explore their environments to learn; without being told. Three-year-olds constantly, at times annoyingly, ask, “why?” And yet, by the time my students arrive in Class 5th, they have all but lost their curiosity.
Our schools need not create great “Rote Learners”. Instead, we need to generate an environment that engrosses learners, nurtures creativity, and puts responsibility for learning where it belongs – with our students.
Instead of the rote culture, teachers need to use content to teach skills. We need to build milieus that allow our students to get muddled and build things. Places where students learn how to learn, and know how they learn best. Where students learn critical thinking, problem solving, engage in significant research, and learn how to identify credible resources amidst a excess of information that, that is freely available.
As parents, we need to shift our focus from our children’s grades/marks and encourage them to understand what they are learning in school and actually apply it in their day to day lives. Only then can we expect a transformation in the learning spaces available for our children.
