Learning begins right from the day a person is born. In fact, the first five years are believed to be the most fundamental. These are the years that lay the foundation of a person’s physical and mental health, his/her ability to grasp and learn things, and his/her overall development into an emotionally sound individual. Childhood is ideally identified as the period between a person’s birth and his/her adolescence. This is a period when an individual needs maximum love, care, attention and guidance along with other bare necessities. It requires a lot hand-holding aimed at teaching the child to mature into an individual capable of making his/her own choices. Every part of a child’s life has a role to play, a contribution to make in his/her learning and development.
So what do you mean when we say that if a child has failed to learn something, it is we who have failed him/her? Since this could seem like an outrageous claim to make, we would like to break it down to you.
Charity begins at home
Children are impressionable and they grasp whatever they see. Even when they learn to speak, they are actually mimicking the adults. Children belonging to peaceful households turn out to be well-behaved and emotionally sound. There are so many skills children pick at home. The responsibility of parents does not end with providing the basic necessities of food and shelter. It merely begins there. The parents must provide a healthy, happy environment at home and prepare their children for the world outside their homes. They must teach the importance of discipline and inculcate positive values.
School- Centre of the Universe
As the child takes his first steps into the world of education, he/she becomes a responsibility of the education givers, the teachers. Some of the greatest human beings have admitted to having at least one of their teachers as their biggest role models. School becomes the biggest part of the child’s life. It is there that he/she learns some of the most valuable lessons of life. A School is a place where a child’s personality is shaped and molded. The school is where the child identifies his/her interests, talents, shortcomings, and school is what prepares him/her for what lies ahead.
Society- The Biggest Teacher
The society has a huge role to play in the development of a child. Education and learning do not end at scoring high and winning medals. While that is usually considered as a benchmark for measuring a child’s growth and development, it does not cover even half of what real growth really is. Real growth is when the children mature into individuals who understand their responsibilities towards themselves and the society when they learn to be good citizens and understand the value and importance of giving back to the society. And who will teach them all these? The society itself has to. Children get influenced by the environment they grow up in and the kind of values it shares and preaches. Not every child has the equal ability to tell the right from the wrong. The society has a lot of responsibility when it comes to teaching the children the virtues that a good human being must possess.
So, is it really wrong to say that if a child has not learnt, it is we who haven’t taught? If children see their parents fighting among each other, not respecting the elders, wouldn’t they imbibe similar characteristics? If at school they are not taught well, wouldn’t that affect their learning and slow down their intellectual growth? If the society is not setting the right example, wouldn’t that affect an entire generation and future generations by producing individuals who are not making positive contributions to the society? It is important that each and every child is taught the importance of growing up into a responsible individual. He/she must be helped in learning how to reason and grow up into a thinking individual as opposed to someone who blindly follows what he sees. So, set the right example by doing your bit in helping the children of today grow into respectful, healthy citizens of tomorrow.
