Education

The term ‘Education’ has been variously explained by great minds as ‘the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction’; ‘a body of knowledge acquired while being educated’; ‘an enlightening experience’ and so forth. But in essence the word suggests much more than that. In its true spirit, education aims at imparting not only the ability to read, write, and analyse, but also “the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality”.

An educated person is not he, who just has a college degree, but the one, who is able to translate his knowledge to action, for the better good of people; it is not the one who just holds a well-paid job, but the one, who comes forth to work for the community without asking for a reward; it is not only the one who has reached success and fame in the world, but the one, who is confident and holds his own in the face of dire challenges and leads others to success.

Undoubtedly, the teachers play a major role in the value development of the students. However, gone are the days when they stood unchallenged in the class? A true Educator through constant interactions, should guide the children and keep their IQ and EQ in balance. They should induce their students to engage in methodical thoughts, to develop scientific habits, and encourage the young ones to analyse and communicate their thoughts and dreams candidly with others. This will empower the students our future generations with the expertise to observe and make educated decisions about their future.

An educational institute should take the responsibility of inculcating values in each student and prepare them for life by introducing Life Skills in their curriculum right from Jr. KG – Grade XII. To prepare the students for life, each school should have a Student Advisory Programme from Grade VI upwards along with a well-made vertically aligned career guidance curriculum for the student.

The Institute should also give every child a broad vision of a career path, which shows them the potential possibilities after they finish school, so that the children grow up confident, and learn to respect themselves.

In short, ‘Education’ should empower one ‘to turn mirrors into windows’, and enable them to look out of these windows onto a world of light, freedom and uninhibited dreams.

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Nirmal Waddan

Principal

The Kalyani School, Pune