failure is the greatest form of learning: Aruna Sarkar
“Literacy in itself is no education. Literacy is not the end of education or even the beginning. By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man-body, mind and spirit.” –Mahatma Gandhi
A sapling requires an appropriate amount of soil, water, sunlight and air for decent growth, absence or even excess of any of these factors can hamper its mellowness and development. Only good care and nurturing can cause the plant to grow strong and bear fruits and flowers and so is the case with children. The objective of basic education is the physical, intellectual and moral development of children, parents and teachers are the two fundamental factors that share equal responsibility to facilitate this growth and enrichment.
Nowadays, a number of parents defer their responsibilities to teachers and expect them to probably wave a magic wand and make things right. As a result, an overburdened teacher may not be able to give his/her best shot to help the child overcome his complexities and unfortunately, inadequate performance of duties, by both parents and teachers, causes the child to suffer. The responsibilities of a parent or teacher do not end the very moment the child steps out of home or school. Instead, whatsoever the child may become, whatever he may achieve or wherever he may go, it is their teachings and values that he carries along, he is the reflection of who have shaped his thoughts, mannerism, and conduct. Thus, a healthy and overall personality development of a child can only have effect if both, teachers and parents balance their duties well.
Some parents hesitate to play a part in the academicals of their ward, mostly because of lack of their higher qualifications. For them, it is important to realize that teachers are readily available for any kind of academic help and support, while their job is to provide the child with a healthy environment to grow and to persuade him to deal with situations calmly and patiently. Make him realize the potential in him, let him have faith and confidence in himself, empower him with a few words of encouragement, inspire him to cover miles and feel the sense of pride when he comes home with laurels. In addition, one must understand age is no bar for learning and parents must make an effort to learn along with their child, for the assistance of both.
A teacher plays a crucial role in molding the perceptions and pattern of thinking of a child. A teacher has approximately 40 students in her class, and each of them requires individual attention and therefore, it is significant for her to value the impact of time. Under work pressure, she must not forget that no two individuals are same, and so each student must be allowed to take his or her own learning time. Both parents and teachers often get annoyed on seeing their ward’s report card, but a child’s true growth in performance must not be evaluated with grade points but with improvements, he has shown overtime. He must be appreciated for all his tiny efforts that ultimately make him a better person than he was yesterday. Only achievements, medals, and trophies, are not important in life, rather failure is the greatest form of learning, and it is the collective responsibility of parents and teachers to motivate children to take criticism in a positive stride.
Responsibilities of parents and teachers go hand in hand, and so classifying them separately is not only challenging but also incomprehensible. The purpose of education is not to impart bookish knowledge but to make one a good human being. Parents and teachers set an example and jointly lay the foundation for the child to evolve into a humanitarian entity. With their values and principles, he must develop a good moral character, respect his own self and every other individual, must possess the ability to question and face all odds, should be opened to change and most importantly be grounded.
Being both, a teacher and a parent, my word, to both parties is to never force their decisions on children. Instead,give them courage, believe in their ideas and visions and make sure your preaching is so influential and powerful that they, slowly but surely, with experience and your lessons, acquire the conscience to choose between right and wrong and must graciously shoulder the strength to face further consequences.
-Aruna Sarkar
(Team Coordinator, Sapna Kiddies)
