Nurturing Young Minds

In my opinion elementary education (Montessori/kindergarten through Class 4) must focus predominantly on character building, social interaction and etiquette, and communication skills. Character building must encompass instilling in the minds of children the importance of values such as honesty, fairness, patience, sincerity, diligence, dedication, perseverance, empathy, and a myriad others. I believe this can be achieved by story-telling and also by making them take part in short plays that portray the significance of these values.

Academics must be centered on the three Rs — viz. reading, writing and arithmetic. Analytical reasoning, puzzle solving and logical thinking must form an important part of their instruction at this stage. Instead of being passive listeners, they must be encouraged to talk and discuss without any inhibition. This will help eliminate shyness and fear and make them good speakers. Training them to work in little groups of four or five will help towards making them good team players. Positive reinforcement from time to time will enhance their self-esteem. Punishment in a mild form must be used only as the last resort and with a view to maintain a fair level of decorum in the classroom. After all, you cannot expect little children to behave like adults. An atmosphere of noise, fun and some mischief is always refreshing and welcome as depicted in the Hindi movie “Taare Zameen Par”. The teacher besides being a role model should also serve as a source of inspiration to the children.

More time should be allotted for sports and other outdoor activities. In fact they should be made to spend an equal amount of time within the classroom and outside it everyday. A large part of their learning must come from observation, reasoning, analysis and inference. They should be urged to keep asking questions all the time. This will not only keep the 'spark' alive but also help tremendously in inculcating a scientific attitude. The importance of generating curiosity within their minds is conveyed effectively in the following quote by Clay Bedford:

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.”

Depending on their talent and interest, they must be encouraged to take part in role playing, dramatics, public speaking, visual and performing arts, music, etc. Athletics must be made compulsory — only then can we churn out more gold medalists at the international events. I strongly believe that exposure to one form of martial art such as judo, karate, taekwondo and the like will boost their self-confidence.

There should be field trips, treks and educational tours where topics such as energy conservation, animal welfare, tree planting, environment protection and the like can be taught. This route of learning will have a greater impact and will definitely be more fun than rote learning from books. This, I feel, will certainly go a long way in making them responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Finally, in Richard David Bach’s words:

"Learning is finding out what you already know, doing is demonstrating that you know it, teaching is reminding others that they know it as well as you do. We are all learners, doers, and teachers."

Let us hope that the system of elementary education all over the world undergoes a positive radical transformation soon so that we can leave behind a crime-free society as a legacy for our children. The world will then be a much better and safer place to live in. Let us all work as one to realize this dream.