We all talk tall about getting ourselves educated. Education,
as we know, equips us with certain privileges and teaches us to contribute to
the society which we live in. But what do we mean by Contribution? Does it mean
something materialistic like helping someone or some organization financially?
Or does it mean something spiritual like spreading peace and harmony throughout
the world by doing something good for the society? There are certain facts which
are relevant to focus the meaning of Contribution.
1.Education
Our education starts
from our family and parents play a major role there. Children love their
parents from the core of their heart. They admire them and imitate each and
every action of their parents. But after sometime they also judge them. Every
parent wants his child to be successful and success , in the contemporary
set-up, implies material possessions and social recognition. So the parents ,mostly
force their children to lose their way in the congested traffic of the
breathless generation .A child can choose from the options given to him but
selection of options needs guidance. A child is like a ship without a compass and
the voyage may end in disaster. So the parents must brace themselves for the
insecurity of their child being overstressed and feeling paralyzed to keep pace
with the fast-moving world .They should justify the ends and the means as
nwell.
2.End and means
The question of end and means has long been debated through the
ages. A character in a novel by Anatole France said that if the path is strewn
with flowers, he would never care for the destination. Machiavelli thought that
the end justifies the means. Mahatma Gandhi’s opinion,
on the other hand, was that if the means is not good, the end, however profitable,
cannot be good. In the Bible, we have the saying “What profit do you have if
you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?”This question has to be
considered by the parent who seeks success for his child.
3.Success versus
happiness
Now what do we mean by success? Is it earning bucks in billions?
Is it rejoicing over owning several cars or several houses? Is it being the
most powerful person in the world? Or is it getting name and fame all over the
world and being a celebrity? To me, success is something which leads to a happy
contented life .Discontent is the main hurdle in the path of success. If we are
happy with the minimum gadgets which can provide us a comfortable life and can
fulfill our basic needs, why should we bother for more and more? So while
bringing up their children, the parents must try to plant the seeds of
contentment in their children so that they can sprout up in a better world
without keeping up with Joneses.
4.Self-discipline
While rearing the child, parents must practice self-discipline
so that the child can also be disciplined .If the parent himself is a drug-addict,
how can he expect his child to be normal? Imitation is the best way of admiration,
they say. The child admires his parent and would repeat doing whatever he finds
his father doing. The parents should get rid of all the bad habits before they
expect their children to behave.They have to make sacrifices and practice self-discipline
in guiding the child correctly.
5.School
After family, the child gets his education from the school
he joins. In school, he is externally educated. He acquires knowledge about the
vast world. For this the school management and the teachers play a major role
in his life. The school management must follow a better curriculum to quench
the child’s thirst for knowledge. Instead of minting money in the name of
spreading education, the management should thrust a practical approach to
education. The child must get involved in the learning process. Workshops for
the teachers must be arranged for the continuous improvement and development in
the teaching methods .However, the management must look at the soothing
environment provided to the teachers. The workshops must not be held on the
holidays. The school management should divide the teachers into groups and hold
the seminars and workshops on school-days only.
6.Curriculum
The school must follow a curriculum which can pave the way
for all-round development of a child. Every individual is not a photocopy of
the other one. He or she has some distinction and hidden talent to distinguish
himself or herself from the other individual. The school must see to it and
help in deciding the right path the child should opt for. The child may not be
good at Mathematics, but is superb in graphics. The school must be equipped
with all the facilities to provide teaching varieties of subjects. The strength
of the students of the school may be less , but the quality must not be
compromised.
7.Teacher
The link between the child and the school is the teacher who
becomes the icon for the child throughout his life. The interaction between a
child and a teacher fills the vacuum about the vast universe in the child’s mind.
So the teacher must be friendly in his or her approach so that the child can
unravel the mystery of this world with the help of the teacher, without any
fear .The teacher who is strict yet affectionate can win the child’s heart. He
or she must come down to the level of the child and help him or her to solve
the problem.
8.Values
Earning a livelihood is not the only motto of a child .The
parents and the teachers must bring forth the eternal values and see that the
child is able to overcome all the hurdles in his /her life with a positive
attitude .Above all he/she should be a good human being who can reach his goals
without hurting others and can be sincere and honest to his rights and duties.
9.Self-confidence
Without self –confidence, everything is going to be a flop. So
everyone who is concerned about the child should inspire him for betterment and
motivate him for a better perspective. The child should get chances to improve
because success is like the sweet nectar ,if achieved can quench our thirst in
a minute and if not can let ourselves toil for years to get a sip.
After going through
all these steps, a child becomes a full-fledged man to contribute to the
society he lives in and if he is able to adhere to all the good qualities of
life like tolerance ,compassion and honesty , he can spread the message of
peace and harmony all over the world without any selfish ends.
