Rabindranath Tagore spoke about a country which was not free, oppressed by British rule and divided on many lines.Today when these beautiful lives are remembered I feel somewhere I relate to the children of our nation and to the youth of our nation.
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free, Where the world is not broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls” The poem refl ects the qualities that the Gurudev believed are essential for an
individual to acquire to form an ideal state. The repression of British imperialism was an impediment for an unfettered mind to breed in the sea of reason and happiness.
More than a century has passed and these lines still hold endurance in the light of today’s context. The education system is the foundation of our nation, and the only vessel at that, which is solely responsible to foster an environment for our children in which they can develop a mind that is without fear and held high.
Our nation expects students to think critically, communicate their ideas ,collaborate creatively and take risks. Only an education system founded on the premise of a learning where the student is in the driver’s seat, can assert to forge an army of fearless,dauntless, courageous children who have been disciplined to take the plunge into the uncertain. Schools are doctrinated to a process of memorisation,regurgitation, and forgetting that information. Our push-on education these days is focused on success, measured by test scores and better grades. In doing so, are we not oppressing our children and youth in one way or the other? They are under the repression of fear to raise their head or voice since we have not taught them that, in reasoning lies the spirit of an undaunting will. This is the bedrock which, subsequently, braces them for their political,
economical and social choices.
Let’s build our nation, then, on the premise of a knowledgeable youth force. Our system has to provide an ambience and create a winning mindset amongst students by encouraging them into various activities. Children or students have to explore various options available in honing their skills. It goes without saying, that children develop leadership skills when they are exposed to real life issues. Every life has great potential, the key to make it a great manifestation depends on the environment we are exposing it to.
DR. MONA LISA BAL
Editor KLOUD9