INTELLIGENT, CONFIDENT AND SENSITIVE TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS

 



“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life.”

An old saying

 

I am believer in education… A great believer. But, to me, ‘education’ should be neither confined to the boundaries of schools and colleges, nor it should end when we come out of them. Just as the thirst and hunger of our bodies last a lifetime, so do the thirst and hunger of our hearts and minds…

I said ‘hearts and minds’!





I was the first graduate in our household. My parents barely been there; and grandparents, never!

So, when I had a fortune of joining the first standard, at the age of six, it was a local church-school. The school had classes up to standard five. So, this school, always, had that badge - ‘Primary’. When I look back, I really smile… the medium was Kannada and the language we spoke inside was either, Kannada, Tulu or Konkani. English was foreign; only the rich kids spoke it! The school building was a humble building block… There were no desks, only benches… no lights and fans, nor toilets… Under the tree, we kids, both boys and girls, managed it so blissfully! Haan, there was some enclosed thing for the lady teachers… That’s it. For Higher Primary and High School, we had to migrate to a bigger and farther school.

Today, when parents get hyper about their little babies’ education, right since age one or one-and-a-half, spending sleepless nights quarrelling over ‘Which is the Best School and which is the Best Board for my baby?’, I look back at my own days and say, ‘Thank you God for not putting that kind of pressure on my village parents, and for helping me grow up into whatever I am today’!

Times, yes they are a-changing! With times, we, too, need to – yes, they say.

I, also, wonder: The story of the education, which I have described above, is a story of some six decades, maximum. But, this world and this life have been there in existence for thousands of years; right? What must have been the kind of education our great, great grandfathers and grandmothers had? What must have been the kind of  schools and colleges?

It really humbles me!





I think, the words  ‘Privilege’ and ‘Blessing’ should be added to the list of synonyms for the word ‘Education’… Even then, it’s an understatement!

Today, if our kids are able to go to great schools and colleges, right since they are babies, they – and we parents - should consider ourselves privileged and blessed… I say this, even if it costs us crores to see them out of their academic campuses!

But, I still wonder: Is it all going to make our kids fine ladies and gentlemen – intelligent, confident and sensitive to their surroundings?

I don’t wish to be judgmental… One brush is not enough to paint this magnificent canvas, Sir… Life, yes, it’s a-changing… Our outlook, too, should…








‘Intelligent, confident and sensitive to their surroundings’… I have, always, considered, that only when body, mind and hearts are educated, there is a hope to be educated…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.’s: pixabay

 

Videos: 1. Lyric Videos  2. P & G Shiksha 3. Imagine Devils

 

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