School In Todays Society

Oct 24
08:02

2011

Tintumon Thomas

Tintumon Thomas

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Do we know what the role of the school should be in our contemporary society? One hundred years ago the answer to this question was relatively simple. A high school diploma meant that the graduate was proficient in basic academic subjects and ready for the workplace.

mediaimage
A school is a temple of learning. The foundation of a child is laid in a school and it is strengthened in the college and the university. A good school background helps in building the career of the student. A well- groomed child is able to contribute more towards his family,School In Todays Society Articles employer and society.

The society is the collection of human beings. They are the products of schooling and hence, they affect the society through their own mindset and perceptions. If the school background is good, it has a direct and positive impact on society.

However, all is not well on the societal front in India. We find people involved in commercial activities but lacking in social interactions that form the foundations of our society. Violence, drugs, inter-personal friction and a longing for the pleasure-oriented life have indicated that there must be certain flaws in the schooling of the individuals. After all, the individuals (who are now a part of the adult society), were school-going children many years ago.

Let us trace our origins to the school. In a school, we were taught to read, write, behave and act property. This is being done today as well. But most of the schools are money making shops.

Convent schools charge exorbitant fees and donations and train us in accordance with foreign cultures. The tender mind of the child learns about the distant and unknown civilisatjons and assimilates them in his mind. He also learns to be more aggressive, competitive and fast in life. Disruptive behaviour and psychological disorders are common in the children of big cities. And add to it, the big burden of studies, which must be carried on in order to make a career. The agonies of children are not understood by the teachers and the parents. Their confusions remain within themselves. They do not think creatively but according to the syllabi that are taught in their classes.

Now, this child becomes an adult and starts contributing towards the society. Naturally, his frustrations, ego, mental inhibitions and reservations (earned in the school) reflect upon his actions and behaviour. So, the child builds a society, which reflects his schooling and formative years.

The era of competition, technology and wooden relationships has taken its toll. The society has degraded due to commercialism, nepotism, high-tech culture and a passion for the pleasures. Improper or snobbish schooling is responsible for this decay. It is an irony that the students of a convent school learn to waste as much as they want and do not study purposely whereas the village school cannot afford even the basic educational facilities and books for its children. The children from both these areas are not studying or learning anything.

The solution is in the hands of the society. The schools should stop following the mad rush for commercialism. Schools should be the temples of learning. Further, they should prepare the students for practical vocations. They should not inject such inputs of knowledge in their minds, which enable them to get a useless degree without any benefit. Vocational training should start at the school level itself. The relationships between the student and the teacher must be full of faith, reverence and reasoning. Teachers must give complete knowledge and students must accept it with all humility. The Gurukul system of ancient India should be combined with modern educational techniques.

Society should be built on the foundations of a sound educational system and proper schooling of the child. This fact must be understood clearly and at the earliest so that damage done to the society due to improper and negligent schooling could be minimised.

Our teachers are directly responsible for building a healthy society so that the nation is eventually handed over to responsible and strong individuals. And it is the responsibility of teachers to develop their students. Teachers must identify the talented students in the schools. They must inform the senior staff and Principal about the abilities of these young children.

Many children have exceptional abilities in painting, drawing, mathematics, engineering, sciences, sculpture making, fashion, music and computers. The keen eye of the teacher can identify the talent of the student. If the talented students are put on the right path from their early childhood years than they would develop themselves later on due to regular and professional training. They would also be able to contribute effectively towards the economy of the nation. Many of the young school students of the past are bright engineers, scientists and artists of the present era.

Further, good school and healthy educational environment do contribute a, lot towards the development of young minds. We would be able to develop good individuals for our society only if we can give them good schooling years. It should be noted that convent education is not bad. We would support the scientific system of learning. Our contention is that our culture should never be overshadowed due to the onslaught of Western culture.

In the schools of major cities, the cultural invasion by the West is complete. Now, the school-going child learns to speak English or French first and his native language seems insipid for him. We do not want him to stop learning English, French or Mathematics. However, our own culture should also be assimilated within us and the same should guide us when the Western culture fails to solve the riddles of life.

A senseless craving for sex and pornographic material, a passion for entertainment and drugs and finally, petty politics (and even violence) have taken their own toll in terms of precious academic careers. Students smoke, drink and even go to the movie theatres during the school. They try to imitate the adults and therefore, fall in the dark pits of modern culture. There are some who are able to escape this darkness but many others continue to drag on till they finally arrive in the crime world. These children are not able to complete their schooling and hence, are confused about their future.

If requisite parental support is not given, these children become criminals and hooligans. After all, every smuggler was a child during early years of his life. He could have been caught in the crime dragnet due to some mistakes committed by him during his early childhood. Similarly, reasons could be identified with respect to other criminals in our society.

The State has accepted the free market system as the guiding force in all the spheres. Therefore, education is no exception to the rules of the modern era. This has created more opportunities for the students in terms of jobs, careers and growth. But it has also created chaos and confusion in the young and tender minds; they are unable to choose careers in which, they would be efficient. Our society does not accept an individual without a degree. Hence, every student is working hard for getting an entry into a college. Further, our society respects engineers, doctors and professionals. Hence, all the students are working hard for professional courses. There is no career counseling and proper guidance for the students.

They are on their own so far as their career- building exercise is concerned. Parents can supply only the funds and have an apathetic attitude towards their children. They are busy in their offices, entertainment activities and household chores. They ignore their children who need their guidance on academic, extracurricular and moral fronts.

We must conclude by stating that schools and society are deeply related as the schools satisfy the complex objectives of the nations in terms of human resources. Societal decay has started due to the decay of the educational system in our country. Too much commercialism, satellite television and Westernization have done more harm than good.

The only solution is the adoption of the correct education policies, training of students about moral values and finally, the introduction of career-oriented curricula in the schools. Empathy and not coercion, could save our students. Schools are the nurseries of our civilisation. If the nurseries are healthy and morally upright, the final crops would be assets the society and for the nation.