For last one week, newspapers and magazines have
been producing pieces on Nehru before his birthday, his ideas of socialism and
how it will sustain in the age when the government in power is doing away with
“the idea of the Nehru”. They are taking his birth anniversary as a platform
for political discourse.
Apart from this we should also take this day to debate
how we are playing with the children of our country.14 th November is
celebrated as the children’s day. I think this the right time when we should
celebrate and dedicate this day to ponder that childhood today stands at
crossroads.
Let us discuss what has marred our children. First
and foremost is the education system. The culprit. The aim of education is to
liberate human mind and ignite it, but ours is a system that binds the mind and
degenerates it. For our kids text books are gospels of truth-absolute truth. If
they write or say something out of text book, it’s thought to be a crime.
Education today has become burden for the students
and parents. Parents of kids as young as in LKG, send them to take tuitions
thus making them vulnerable to the system. Though school boards have taken
initiatives to reform the system but the problem still remains, kids still
struggle with homework and they do the class room activity just because they
will be marked on. And we know everything we ever studied for marks has doomed
us in the end. Those who fail to achieve so called meritorious grades are
labeled as-Oaf.
The higher education is no better; it too tames the students’
mind and mobility. The students are forced to stay in campus oasis and attend
lectures. At this level students need freedom and space to explore and not read
the words in the books. Our kids are always betrayed by the textbooks.
Why Zuckerberg, Gates or Jobs are not born here, not
because that we are third world country or we lack resources but we think like
losers and have fear what will happen if we chose to go off the beaten track.
Our system is such that Innovators cannot come out and flourish. We break the
confidence of children from childhood only. We snatch the right to question,
right to argue.
India slipped 10 places in Global Innovation Index
from 66 to 76 in 2014 among 143 countries. This is the level of research and
innovation in the country. How can we become super power? When our kids are not
given environment where they can innovate. Even after studying for so long what
remains remnant is self pity and guilt of being a member of crowd. We Indians
may feel proud to hear that silicon valley runs with Indian engineers but when
that ‘eureka’ moment will come when an Indian (here Indian means Indian who
studied and lived in India not Indian origin who migrated to the west) does
revolutionary invention or discovery .
In India sports is thought to be the avenue of those
kids who don’t do better in academics. The kids who are good in academics are advised
not to play, so that their studies are not affected. I remember in my school days,
sports period was arranged only when some teacher was absent. In our homes we
keep telling kids not to play and we try to make them afraid of getting injured
while playing .But when India gets only a few medals in international sporting
events we sigh at the dismal scene of sports in the country. In news hour
debates we shout that government is not providing enough resources and
infrastructure to sport. Instead of this we should discuss in our homes and
schools do we encourage and foster sporting habits in our children? Now women
have started appearing on the sporting stage in the country. But still how many
parents in the country would see their girls becoming a player rather than IAS,
engineer or doctor. Why our children are not confident to take over the rules
of the world and make their own rules?
Last year when Carlsen (21 year old then) surprised
everyone when he defeated Vishwanathan Anand in chess championship .what an
attitude and confidence he displayed while playing shows what role great
conditioning play. Sports build confidence then why we don’t let our kids play.
Then we have technology that is making kids less innocent.
Less human and less social. Kids get in touch of technology at a very tender
age .the television, internet and mobile phones. These are full of content that
violates childhood. These are full of violence and other pornographic content
that corrodes childhood. In our country sex education for children is
considered bad whereas a child can easily access porn with one touch now. We
try to over protect our kids.
Even Steve jobs did not let his kids use the i-pad
as he thought too much technology exposure is not right for children.
New York Times reporter Nick Bilton
said he once asked Jobs, “So your kids must love the iPad?”
Jobs responded: “They haven’t used
it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.”
No wonder why he did so. We might
give our children smart phones, tabs at tender age but we were depriving them
of wonder years. Technology kills creativity and child’s imagination. Instead
children should be left in playground to play with dust, get dirty, stained,
let them fall and learn to get up and walk. Playing games on internet robbed
them of greater joys of life.
Thus children these days are less patient
and are less tolerant.
This children day please let your
children off from the typical school bags, let them play in open air and not
candy crush, go for walk with them, instead of watching TV in night. Let them
be silly, imaginative. Don’t expect them to be rational and right always. Let
them be wrong and commit mistakes.Dont frightened them with life ahead and what
ifs and buts. Let them cherish these wonder years, because we know childhood
the ecstasy we get once.
PS. Happy Children’s Day.
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