CORRECTIONS

 

 3   MAKING   CORRECTIONS

 Even as life is a game of chances, it is also full of scope for errors. Unfortunately, everything cannot be learned by ‘trial and error’. Certain trials are better ‘not run’, as escaping to safety at a later point may prove more complicated. For instance, bad company and bad temptations –gambling, drinks and drugs are easy to come by; extricating from those is a task by itself. The society is a place of mixed facilities. Divine grace is perhaps the most needed through our life to desist from temptations. Children who are not under the watchful eyes of affectionate parents run greater risks of getting drawn into minor temptations which may potentially amplify to disastrous scales. Children are receptive and quick to grasp. So, the elders ought to observe discipline in what they themselves do at home. It includes language, food, drinks, smoking and entertainment –cinemas, TVs and the like. Practising is a better alternative to preaching. Parents need to stay moralistic, to advise children on values /healthy practices.  Obviously, corrections have to be made in life at every stage. For this, the first available opportunity must be properly utilized. As and when some ‘wrong’ is spotted in any member of the family, ‘educate’ the individual as to how it is wrong and suggest a better alternative- no matter at which age the error is spotted.  If this code is uniformly observed in the family, children get to be analytic and slowly recognize ‘the value system’ which holds the key to the styles of living. With such a domestic arrangement in place, children understand what and what not to do. There are bound to be minor slips as children grow; make tender corrections by cautious advice instead of injurious reprimand. Advices work slow but make a lasting impact, if the preacher truly practises.

4   EDUCATION AND THE CHILD                           

The surest way of sustenance is education. Let there be no compromise on this. Education does not mean passing an examination or scoring very high marks. Education is an empowerment of the individual. Honestly, true education is not the popular notion of entering Profession studies. Rather it is studying professionally. Learning has to be professional; it should help a clear understanding of the intricacies of any subject. Clarity in grasp and vividity in expression accrue to the student who develops the correct skills of learning. Learning is not memorizing answers for specific questions. It is co-ordinating knowledge to information or vice-versa and acquiring skills of articulation by analytic evaluation. Acquiring marks is not acquiring skills. Toiling to achieve tall scores is itself an impediment to learn. If appropriately learnt, any question can be answered with clarity and zeal. Learners should not be harassed by parents /teachers for making it to professional institutions. A balanced learning is far more important than reproducing ‘pre-meditated’ answers; such a culture of memorizing would prove empty when the faculty of analysis has to come into play. The remedy to the syndrome [of memorizing for marks] is quite simple. The learner has to ‘understand’ every piece of information to its finality; should avoid practising the habit of ‘reproducing’ words without being aware of their relevance in a context.

In recent times, there is a greater out cry of concern against the trend of prioritizing scores over that of comprehension. So far, agencies have remained spectators, with no clues to arrest the malady of learning without understanding.  The impact of memorizing has a telling effect on our boys and girls during any genuine competition. They suffer inhibition by their inability to express themselves, even if they understand the issue. Certainly, the mark-centered, methods of rote have robbed these youngsters of their freedom to win jobs, stay at par with others of like-attainments for leading a life of dignity.