An apology to kids

 In our country where we have strong laws to protect animals, we have none to protect kids. If you kill an animal, it’s an offence, but babies are killed for various reasons everyday and rarely does it get publicity. If an animal is ill treated we are arrested, but kids are physically, emotionally hurt and abused in the name of discipline and punishment. We name all our pet animals with all the great names under heaven, but we call our kids the zoological names of all the animals. The bullocks and donkeys are freed from pulling and carrying heavy loads, but kids carry a bag full of books and another one with snacks and lunch and water.We worship various animals but we don't even respect kids.

I know that many of the readers might not have liked me comparing the life of an animal and a kid. Let us face the fact. Kids are the most punished, the most shouted and yelled at, among all the creation. The ignorance of bringing up children leads to first spoiling them with too much attention and freedom and then taking inhuman methods to discipline them. The schooling which starts at the age of three, the difficulty to get an admission in a school, the challenge to deal with the fees and curriculum of the school etc make a parent act like a circus trainer. The same is the case of a teacher who handles 60 plus students in a class, who is forced to do her duties to the management’s satisfaction. Humanly nothing is possible for the kid, parent, or the teacher, to deal with the system any better.

We have been blaming the Indian Educational System for the past so many years. Though all the adults of the high and influential level of the society know the pathetic life of an Indian kid in the Educational Institutions, no one has ever taken a major step to change it. Indian society consists of numerous elites, VIPs, VVIPs, politicians, business kings, learned intellectuals, and many more. There are activists who are ready to be on the street for any reason. Why have all these people failed to do much to make the kids feel comfortable with their schooling?

Among all these types of powerful people, isn’t there anyone to reduce the weight of a kid’s school bag? Isn’t there any Gandhian to abolish the tight tie and the socks which the English left behind? Doesn’t anyone care about the tiny neck and feet which sweat and make the kid sick in the summer heat?

Did anyone study the physical and emotional and intellectual capacity of a kid? Did anyone weigh the school bags of each class and confirmed that a kid of that age can carry it? Did anyone check if all the kids have the right emotional and intelligent quotient to cope with the curriculum?

Have we ever thought why only about 3% of the Indian Students who complete their professional courses are eligible to take up a profession?  Have we thought of the vast majority who lost their battles after so many years of Indian Education? Though all of them passed their exams successfully in flying or non flying colours, they lack personality and soft skills. They can hardly face a stranger or speak effectively. Their limited knowledge resulted from the mugging up style of learning and their limited exposure for a personality development make them ‘inside box’ category.

Our universities are filled with foreign students from other Asian and African countries, who cannot speak even a word of English. They manage to do their post graduation and PhD within five years and go back to their respective countries and work as professors! In their words, India is the only foreign country where they can get admission for any course that they like, and the course fees are less than their own country. And when it comes to profession, India recruits the foreigners or Indians who’ve completed their courses in the universities of Europe or US.

What happens to the poor Indian Youth roaming around the street after completing years of hard work and stress? They get into small jobs for a few thousands of rupees and continue their struggle till the end of their life. These are the same kids born in our households who we carried fondly along with so much of dreams and expectations.

Can’t we try to increase productivity and creativity instead of increasing the weight of their school bags? Can’t we train them up for public speaking and other language skills instead of training them as parrots? Can’t we let them grow up in peace and happiness than killing their young mind with ideas of rat race and unhealthy academic competitions? Can’t we help them learn than putting them down by comments and comparisons that we make? Can’t we find their inbuilt interests and talents and mould them to become what they are good at rather than making them become what you failed to become or what the neighbour’s son has become?

 These are the kids who we used to hold in our arms and loved so much. These are the ones who sat on our lap and walked holding our hand. If they have changed, it is not their fault. They have undergone years of negative phases of life in the pretext of being educated. Instead of trying to blame and change them, try to do something to clear the educational system from stupidity and corruption. After years of Indian education, if the result is an immoral, ignorant adult, it means that we must check it out for its intention and efficiency.

Nothing is permanant?

While the DELF classes were going on, Sangamithra volunteered to write French vocabulary on the long white board. In her small, neat handwriting, she filled the board, for others to copy down. As she reached the end of the board, I got up to help her by wiping the first few lines. To our shock, we discovered that it was a permanant marker!
In the moments of confusion, many suggestions came. Those who had learned from their mistakes shared their success stories; Mr Muscle, or spirit or nail polish remover can remove the letters.
This morning Nethra brought the remedy, a small bottle of spirit. With all of us witnessing the cleaning, the red stains that were left behind was wiped by Swathi,with a wet cloth that we had in the room and in few minutes, the white board became whiter than before.
I learned not only the 'solution' for that problem, but also appreciated the initiative of the kids to solve it. Also a little enlightenment happened, that any mistake can be corrected, any thing can be erased, though it is made by something which claims to be a 'permanant marker'. So keep only what is worthy to be kept, erase the rest and get a new look!