A fierce critic of rote learning that passes on as education, thinker and philosopher, late J Krishnamurti believed that the “highest function of education is to bring about an integrated individual who is capable of dealing with life as a whole”.
The question of teaching children to face life is a tall task in times of acute commercialisation and ghettoisation of education. Caught in the race for marks and placements in ‘reputed’ professional colleges and later on, multiple-digit-salaried-blue-collared jobs, is the new generation of educational institutions, teachers and parents, with the student at the end of the alley. Unfortunately, the entire system, actually meant to educate the child, has the least to do with the child. “What we now call ‘education’ is a matter of accumulating information and knowledge from books, which anyone can do who can read,” argued Krishnamurti.
He added: “We send our children to school to learn some techniques by which they can eventually earn a livelihood. We want to make the child first and foremost a specialist, hoping thus to give him a secure economic position. But does the cultivation of a technique enable us to understand ourselves? Throughout the world, engineers are frantically designing machines which do not need men to operate them. In a life run almost entirely by machines, what is to become of human beings?”
Krishnamurti had questioned the form and style of education half a century ago. Much before him, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had caricatured colonial education and institutions as prisons and parrot training centres, which “imprison and brutally kill the natural impulses of the parrot through mindless discipline”.
He had argued that “children are not unfinished adults but have to be seen in their own right, so that their strengths become visible and can develop – for example their curiosity and wonder, their imagination and creative joy and their ability to see unity that derives from their freedom from habits of thought and behaviour”.
About the teachers, Tagore had famously said: “(A) teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself. A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame.”
Stress is a must, and a positive motivation to move forward. “The real king is one who is able to create his own kingdom,” Tagore once said.
Parents’ aspirations
In the race for marks, based on rote learning and regurgitation of lessons, a child’s curiosity and imagination are the first casualties. From a teacher-centric pedagogy, the need is for a learner-centric pedagogy that would actively engage students in the learning process and promote critical, reflective thinking and independent learning. This will not only enable them to be able learners; it will also equip them with problem-solving, an important life skill.
In times of diverse career alternatives and wide-ranging combinations of subjects, we find children and youth struggling to keep afloat under the pressure of academics and the wild chase to achieve the aspirations of others close to them, especially parents and teachers.
“Often, we come across parents who see their children as delivery agents of their aspirations. Some may talk about their personal academic and career achievements to ‘motivate’ their children, and those who have not ‘achieved’ academically or professionally may push their aspirations on their children. The latter begin to feel responsible towards their parents and end up piling up a lot of guilt on themselves if they fail them. Instead of pushing their unrealistic aspirations on their children, parents should understand them well,” says Dr John Vijay Sagar, head of department, child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans). He adds that children should also have “realistic expectations and not put undue pressure on themselves”.
“Support from parents, teachers and peers greatly helps in maintaining emotional and academic equilibrium in students,” says life coach Dr Ali Khwaja. “Teachers should inculcate a humane approach towards their students, and encourage them in finding their strength and not just highlight their weaknesses.”
“Parents must motivate their children to perform well while expressing that top marks alone don’t lead to a meaningful career. They should discuss various subject combinations and alternative career choices. Instead of being persuasive about IITs and IIMs alone, parents should encourage children to look at other quality educational institutions as good options,” says Ali.
“The messaging that it’s their child’s endeavour and not their marks that matters to them, will make a huge difference. Besides, peer groups in which students can share their concerns and gain strength from their peers will go a long way in helping students deal with stress and make correct life choices.”
Our marking system also needs an overhaul, says former chairman, University Grants Commission, Sukhadeo Thorat. “Student assessment and evaluation should be done through assignments, presentations, debates etc, throughout the academic year instead of one examination,” he adds.
Parents, children should work together
Activists and organisations working with students have red-flagged the mounting pressure on students. Vasudev Sharma, executive director, Child Rights Trust, says academic expectations from children have risen in current times.
“While students are under academic pressure, parents are under societal pressure to make students excel in their studies. Parents should not push their children to perform, citing their academic failure. Unfortunately, we are in a time where education has become a hard labour job, and not about learning. Though progress and upward mobility are linked to marks, we are failing to pay attention to our children’s careers and the right kind of counselling,” he adds.
Sharma suggests measures to help reduce exam pressure for children, saying parents need to be counselled on career plans their children can opt for. Parents and children should have a healthy discussion about what targets should be set for academic growth. “Understand the potential together, so that it does not burden children,” he says.
Sharma, who has been working closely with children for their rights and welfare, says the focus should shift from marks to comprehension. “Is your child able to pick up a newspaper, novel or comic book and comprehend the story? If yes, then rest assured that they will excel in life. Comprehension is the key and gives way to self- learning,” he asserts.
Academicians show the way
Vijay P Rao, principal of Anandathirtha PU College, Pajaka, Udupi, says waiting for an examination is a stressful experience, but one should figure out ways to face exams better. “Think of your brain as a sponge — it soaks up information very well but it also tends to squeeze it out pretty quickly if not reinforced. This means we forget a whopping 80% of what we learn within just two days. It is no wonder we feel like we are swimming upstream during exams,” he says, adding, “Hence, regular revision is the way out.”
He suggests well-spaced-out repetitive revision every two-three days is essential. Even casually recalling concepts while doing daily tasks helps. It is like flexing a muscle to keep it strong. Use flashcards containing keywords and concepts to facilitate multiple daily revisions. Students should try recalling topics in different places and at odd times to keep the brain on its toes. Mastering the art of revision will not just help in exams; but it will hone our mind for life’s challenges, Rao said.
Pressuring children to study hard has become a common phenomenon in society as most parents want their children to become doctors or engineers, says Vishvanath Chowhan, a retired high school headmaster and educationalist. He says 10th graders, especially, are under pressure both at home and in school. Effort of students is 70% and the rest is for educational institutions and teachers to score. So parents shouldn’t pressure children to study continuously.
Sharanappa Injiginer, a teacher from a private Kannada medium school in Gadag says, “There are many students who get stressed after January. We have created groups and are teaching students how to solve question papers and write answers. This helps as students spend most of their time in school.”
Senior academician Basavaraj Kumnoor says students should treat exams as a festival and not as a ghost, he said.
D Banumaiah’s College lecturer R Kumar says to avoid stress during exams, students must practice writing while reading textbooks, to understand the subject better. Once students start writing answers while studying, it gets etched in their memory. This improves their writing speed, which reduces stress during exams.
(Inputs from Puran Choudhary/ Bengaluru; Prakash Samaga/ Udupi; BR Udaya Kumar/ Hassan; Raghu Koppar/ Gadag; Ramakrishna Badseshi/ Kalaburagi; BK Lakshmikantha/ Mysuru; Divya Cutinho/ Mangaluru; Ramachandra V Gunari/ Shivamogga)