Someone once asked me... Why should children attend school?
What is that children best like about coming to school?...
Now... don’t be naive and
affirm “To study”!!
Well, almost every child
likes coming to school because one can meet
friends and of course, PLAY !
BUT...that happens only if the school authorities allow children
to play!
When I was in my primary
class in a leading school in Trivandrum in the 1970’s when
the bell for the one hour lunch- break rings, and when the moment the teacher leaves the
classroom, some of us dash to the playground to reserve the space for
our teams’, cricket pitch for the afternoon. For, if one is late by even 05 minutes
atleast six other teams would
have already placed their wickets. And during lunch break,
we play
a cricket match of 30 to
45 minute duration sometimes carried over to the following day as in Test
Matches.
Today, children in most
schools are given a lunch break for 30 minutes and they are strictly forbidden to play! Well... it is not always that all play makes
jack a dull boy as the saying goes.... In a game like cricket, you
learn to play like a gentleman, acknowledging
the skills of a superior bowler,
wilfully accepting an LBW decision, learn to play as a team etc.
Most teaching in schools
these days, I think
is not very inspiring. [Incidentally, as
a teacher educator, I often visit schools and observe classes and meet children
and teachers].
Now...,how often have we seen children given to day dreaming.... some who pretend to be listening to the teacher but
whose minds we know are hundreds of kilometres away or may be in a world of their own making.... Should we
not encourage it!...Well that may be debatable....
Recently, I had been to a school where on the walls of a
classroom was displayed a poster from a newspaper describing the days that
should be celebrated in schools each
year. (A total of 70 days was mentioned)
When schools
compulsorily celebrate those days and if
the programme for the day is thoughtfully and imaginatively planned
won’t this create some impact on those children who are playful and imaginative by nature??
So...
never complain (as some Supervising
teachers whom I met during Practice Teaching, in a
few Government-run schools [where
students from poor socio-economic backgrounds
usually study] said.. “There is
no use teaching them!... They do not
even know how to spell simple words and
are incapable of writing a grammatically correct sentence... Even if we do not
teach them, the faulty examination system will ensure that they pass!”
Now... don’t you think that the celebration
of days of the kind mentioned above might help
the ‘useless’ children to become useful citizens in future! Don’t
you think that there is a
‘reason’ for students to attend school..
Plz do offer your
comments...
