[dropcap]C[/dropcap]lose on the heels of the rather depressing Annual Status of Education Report 2013, of the state another ghastly fact has come to light which partly explains why the state of education leaves so much to be desired. Fifty years of statehood certainly has not shown us how to educate our children nor prioritize this vital field.
Education is the bedrock of social and economic development. Throughout history, philosophers like Aristotle and Plato recognized the importance of education. It is foolish not to recognize and give importance to this pillar of society and of mankind
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
― PlatoIts one thing to learn about appointment of teachers with political affiliations, out of turn promotions, some teachers who are more irregular than regular in the classrooms etc …the list of anomalies would make a red rose pale in comparison. We hear of agitations in some of the government run schools of inadequate classrooms and a shortage of teachers, of leaking roofs, broken walls and scarcity of tables and chairs. Teachers who go on strike because they have not received their salaries, In the same way there are teachers who leave their classrooms and the students, get away for awhile to do their laundry finish cooking a meal all between school hours !! Forget providing toilets for the students the availability of drinking water in schools is considered a luxury not a pre requisite.
Just when you think things cannot get much worse … out of the blue news comes of a government primary school that has been running for four years (FOUR YEARS??) out a of stockade, a WW II relic for dumping ammunition. It should have been renovated and preserved as monument and heritage site not turned into a prison tower for children from the ages of 4 to 9-10 (Classes A to IV). The school in the picture is the Government Primary School (GPS) under ward XIII, Landmark Colony, Dimapur
The school has been functioning with six classroom for seventy students and a 10 member staff since 2010. So many questions arise despite the pressing necessity of a school in the locality. Surely thare must have been a better way to address this need in a more civilized and thoughtful manner. How was the school granted the permission to being enrolling students in this structure almost 70 years old since WW II without any tests of the safety of the structure. We allow such situations to take place without batting an eyelid and at the other end of spectrum hold numerous workshops and demonstrations on disaster management preparedness and tell our children about that the state lies in a highly seismic zone. Who are we kidding? The classrooms inside the stockade were separated by bamboo mats as walls with a fan suspended over some bamboo poles. Which parent can send a child to a school like this and feel that the children are learning anything between the walls made of bamboo mats, inside a towering structure. The echo as the teachers conduct must be deafening. Less said about the ventilation the better. To cap it all the stockade is close to a pile of garbage.
What kind of world are we introducing our children to? Can we then be surprised and take the moral high ground and cry when school results are declared. The government is not just wasting resources if it fails to take cognizance of such blatant anomalies but it will be responsible for bringing up an entire generation of children without a hope in the future.
The importance of primary education cannot be stressed enough. It is the foundation years of a child’s mind, his most imaginative and creative years. The mind of a child is often compared to that of genius, in fact scientists are known to state that every baby is born a genius, because their capacity to learn is infinite. We as adults limit this experience by exploiting their innocence and schooling them in environs that neither nourish not challenge the inert nature to learn and acquire knowledge.
Is it all surprising then that the rate of crime and criminal activities are on the increase. For every unschooled and uneducated child the dark forces get a shade darker and the problem of the state for the future just gets that much more difficult.
While there is time to still turn the clock and reassess the follies of the past we are in for a dismal future. A majority of the population of the state are accommodated in government run schools since education is still subsidized. Many hundreds and thousands of parents are unable to send their children to private schools where the hope of a better education beckons.
But government run schools come with their own advantages. They come under the same syllabus, they are widespread across the state and established in the interiors where no private schools would profit if they ran a school. It will require political will, determination, imagination, creativity, NO EGO, and true relentless search for the best that can be done within the finances available to steer this ship heading for wreckage unless a mid course turn is set in place. We don’t have a choice. Our future depends on the quality of education made available to our children.
If we fail here, we will fail them for life. IT’S NOT only learning to read or write that we need chidren to learn in schools. They must also be taught to think and desire the right and good things.The oldest, and still the most powerful, teaching tactic for fostering critical thinking is Socratic teaching. In Socratic teaching we focus on giving students questions, not answers. We model an inquiring, probing mind by continually probing into the subject with questions. Fortunately, the abilities we gain by focusing on the elements of reasoning in a disciplined and self-assessing way, and the logical relationships that result from such disciplined thought, prepare us for Socratic questioning.There is a predictable set of relationships that hold for all subjects and disciplines.
Each of the elements represents a dimension into which one can delve in questioning a person. We can question goals and purposes. We can probe into the nature of the question, problem, or issue that is on the floor. We can inquire into whether or not we have relevant data and information. We can consider alternative interpretations of the data and information. We can analyze key concepts and ideas. We can question assumptions being made. We can ask students to trace out the implications and consequences of what they are saying. We can consider alternative points of view. All of these, and more, are the proper focus of the Socratic questioner.
To think correctly and do the right in the best way possible is what the aims and objectives of schools need to be. This can’t happen in hostile surroundings.
