CHILD and EDUCATION

 

CHILD  and EDUCATION                         

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 collating 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 study / 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

HOW TO STEM THE ROT

The remedy to the on-going perpetuation of inadequacy in learning is not far to seek. All that one needs to do is to change the strategy of learning and develop the skills of comprehension. Comprehension is a natural ability vested with all humans. To bring it to life, understanding must be encouraged. It begins from understanding of words, terms, meaning, construction and related processes of memory. Remembering the related items keeps the memory intact. Forced learning [learning by heart] can fade away or bring about confusions due to lack of clarity. On every session of learning, the student has to apply the mind to clearly understand the spelling, the phonetic component, the usage by way of word- assembly as a part of primary learning. 

Mere repeating of a sequence of words [bereft of their significance] may at best help clearing of examinations. It will never substitute the authenticity of true learning. Therefore, formative days in schools are the critical ones in pruning the skills of language / communication.  It is the duty of elders to oversee the progress in language skills appropriate for that level of learning. The best bet is to cultivate the habit of learning from the text [not from the poorly drafted ‘notes’], accompanied by academic support from Dictionaries, Thesaurus, Atlas and such educative aids. 

Once groomed on those lines, young minds explore the explosive possibilities of ‘knowledge acquisition’ in place of the present scenario of ‘laboured study’ for the sake of examinations. Because they are unable to grasp the message, boys and girls take to memorizing- a path leading to endless doom.  Before long, the priority for correct expressions must be  enforced. All other abilities need to vent themselves through the elegance in expression. Learning as many languages is a right approach to build confidence- essential for competitive edge.