All over the world parents spend a sizeable portion of their income on their children’s education. Education is considered indispensable in almost every human society today because all careers and professions require some sort of educational qualification. In other words, to enter any profession, a certain level of educational qualification is mandatory.
Moreover, humans are social animals. So after the initial years of nurturing at home it becomes essential to get the child exposed to the outside world. And so the question of confining a toddler to home becomes irrelevant and irrational because sooner or later the child needs to be amongst his own peers and out in the environment where all his sensory senses and other skills can be activated. And this is where schools come in handy and indispensable.
When it comes to so many other things, parents are in a position to bargain and compromise. For example, while buying clothes or toys for their kids, parents can bargain with others or when parents are not in a position to afford a certain commodity or service at a certain point of time they can wait for a more opportune time. Likewise parents can also decide or bargain on many other things concerning the need and wellbeing of their lads.
But when it comes to education, the bargaining and waiting power of the parents is almost zero because parents cannot bargain with the school authority in matters like fee structure and other rules and regulations of the school. So parents are left with no other option other than to abide by everything the school authority says. And this puts the parents in a rather hapless and vulnerable position because every parent consider schooling and education as very important and indispensable and they believe that the school which their children attend will play a very crucial role in shaping the destiny and future of their children.
Today, as we look around, we are surrounded by many educational institutions that are offering various educational courses to our children from the pre-school level up to the university level. And naturally every educational institution is trying its best to project an image that it caters to all the educational needs of a child.
And now, since the parents have many options to choose, they are now left confused at a crossroad to decide which way may be best for them. And we have the tendency to run from pillar to post like bees hovering over flowers trying to figure out which institution will be best for our kids. And an impression has emerged wherein we are made to believe that the greater the amount of money charged by an institution the greater will be the facilities and degree or quality of education provided by the institution. Yes, the infrastructure and the facilities offered in such institutions may be greater and more impressive. Yet the real learning and true value education offered may not be so.
Here there are certain things to ponder about. Firstly, a scenario is emerging wherein we are made to believe that if we admit our kids in the most expensive or the most infra-structurally impressive institution we are doing the most appropriate thing. And yes indeed it is a joy to watch our children going to schools wearing neat tidy uniforms and moving around in big impressive school buses from one end of our towns to the other.
But I am of the view that, in actuality, the role that the school plays in producing academically outstanding students is much smaller than what we are made to believe. For instance we believe a child is academically good or tops an exam because he was a student of such and such school. And yes schools do have a big role to play in shaping and moulding the students academically or otherwise but I believe the school’s role is secondary and not primary.
When a student tops exams like the HSLC or the HSSLC, his name is published in the newspapers along with the name of his school and we are made to believe that the school is the reason behind the success. And it is the school which walks away with a big portion of the glory and credit and an impression in created in the minds of the public that the school is the main reason behind such outstanding academic results.
But here I wish to differ. Most of our lads who top HSLC, HSSLC or even competitive exams are usually the ones who themselves decided to take the road less travelled and went the extra mile and burnt the midnight oil. Their brains may not be larger or more advanced than others or they may not be extraordinarily brilliant or intelligent or they may not have attended the best school around. But they beat the others and top the exam because they were focussed, disciplined and more committed than the others.
Besides, most of the students who top HSLC and HSSLC exams take private tuitions before or after their regular daily school classes. So, though the school normally ends up taking most of the glory and credit, I feel the role of the school here is usually very negligible and rather over–exaggerated because in reality it is the toppers themselves who did most of the hard work to bring about such outstanding academic results.
So what this write-up wishes to convey is that it may not be that necessary for parents to run from pillar to post trying to catch the best school around or to spend sleepless nights worrying about schools. Likewise, it may also not be that wise to think that a school is good just because it has consistently produce toppers over the years. But instead of over emphasising the goodness or badness of an academic institution, I feel that a much better way would be to focus and lay more emphasis on the institution which not only precedes all other human institutions but also is the bedrock of human life and society.
Yes, here I am referring to the first, foremost and original university which is the family. The family is the first institution which a child encounters after coming out of its mother’s womb. In fact, some psychologists even say that the child is already interacting with his environment even while in the womb.
The ability to learn and the curiosity and eagerness to explore and experience the world and his surroundings are already ingrained in the child. So whether a child is attending a so-called good school or not, he can still learn. So we just have to create an environment especially at home where these innate curiosity and eagerness for learning are harnessed and nurtured in a positive manner.
When a child does not have to worry about food being placed in the table every morning or evening, when a child does not need to worry about who will prepare him for school or drop and pick him up from school, when a child knows that his parents are united and when there is no discord or confrontation at home; the child will be freed from all hindrances to go and explore the world on his own. And I feel that all these are actually much more important.
In other words, creating a good conducive learning and harmonious environment at home is actually much more significant than admitting our lads to a so-called good school. We also have the tendency to think that our kids are lacking in something when they are found to be a little different from others. But each child is different and his uniqueness should be nurtured and synchronized in the right way rather than measuring or weighing him in comparison to others.
Despite their different theories and approaches to education, all child psychologists like Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Lawrence Kohlberg etc agree on one thing i.e. education should be child-centric. In other words, the individuality and uniqueness of every child should be identified and nurtured. And here, there is no other better place or way to start than the institution of the family.
Therefore today in our society the role of the school is over emphasised and overblown and the role of the family is rather relegated. But in actuality, it should be the other way round. If there is love, respect, consistency, support, proper nurturing (both physical and emotional) etc at home and if the uniqueness of the child is not scorned upon but appreciated and nurtured appropriately and if the child does not have to worry about the basic necessities of life and the daily challenges of life, then we have already admitted our children to the best and original university in the world which was instituted by our Creator Himself and we need not worry much about admitting him to a man-made artificial institution nearby.
