Children must be taught how to think, not what to think. ― Margaret Mead
Before I sat to write this article, I tried to analyse the years of my formal education, there were many fond memories that came rushing to my mind. School education during our years of formal education meant a perfectly chalked out syllabus, notebooks, lessons, blackboard, chalk, tests, projects etc. But as the needles of the clock ticked, blackboards were replaced with whiteboards and later on by screens.
Today classroom teaching means an interactive and visual experience of learning rather than taking down notes from the blackboard. The parents today like to get their children enrolled in schools which have portable language labs, smart classrooms and aim to create all rounder’s rather than bookworms. This line of thought takes me back to the stories which were narrated to me by my maternal grandmother and mother about their years at school. Their experiences were similar, although they weren’t as technologically advanced as we are today.
But concepts like individual attention, low teacher student ratio, activity based teaching, grooming lessons and participation in sports as well as co curricular activities isn’t something new. The scenario of education in India has witnessed many changes in the past decade. There was a time in the nation when the percentage of bookworms and nerds was extremely high. Students used to enter and exit the school gates burdened with the weight of heavy books and a never ending list of homework. Academic excellence and the race for higher percentage left no time for children to take part in co curricular activities and inculcate in themselves skills which made them an all rounder.
In the past one decade classroom teaching has been re-defined by the educationists in our country in a very drastic manner.
The fire that needs to be ignited in the young minds of our country is going to not only help in creating a generation of motivated and mature youngsters. But will also help our nation come out of the developing phase quicker.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
― Nelson Mandela
Classroom teaching in India has definitely gone through a humungous change. Teachers and educationists today aim at sculpting students in a different manner.
Let’s list out the changes that our education system has recently witnessed:
- Structured classroom teaching has given way to visual learning and interactive sessions
- Blackboards have been replaced with plasma screens
- The syllabus of every class has been restructured to provide students learning in a more comfortable and easier format.
- Rote learning has been replaced with learning by understanding.
- Emphasis on participation in co curricular activities and sports has risen
- Professional etiquette and manners are bring inculcated from a very early stage
- A high level of importance is also been given to grooming lessons which were earlier a part of only finishing schools. These days’ children visiting the play group are made to practise table manners and general conversational skills.
Our nation today is passing through a phase where it is more than necessary for every young individual to foster in themselves good communication. The world today is giving way to boundaries and is turning into a global village. Our education system also has to keep pace with the developmental and technological changes taking place across the world, this will help our super brains and creative minds carve a niche for themselves and also bring laurels to the nation.
Children aren’t colouring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favourite colours.
― Khaled Hosseini
