Ah yes, the good old school days. I am sure you all remember the time where the biggest worry in our lives was that the Games period should not be taken over by a subject teacher. School was truly magical and it has no doubt helped shape the youth of this country into amazing individuals. Also, here is a fun fact for you – the modern education system has been around for a whopping 385 years. After so many years, it would not be an irrational thought to expect the education system to be nearly perfect. However, that is not the case yet and, in this article, I will be highlighting the few items I feel are lacking in our current schooling curriculum. A fair disclaimer – my observations and ideas are totally based on the Indian Education System and these observations may differ for different countries.
IMPORTANCE OF BEING HEALTHY
Like I mentioned above, one of the “fears” that the students had during their school time was that the subject teachers had the authority to take the Games / Sports period to complete the syllabus. Additionally, even if the students had the luxury of enjoying a games period, there were not a lot of sporting facilities to avail. Most of the schools I have been to had a single field which served as a Football – cum – Cricket ground. There were no other sporting facilities, no resources and most importantly, no staff to educate the students about Physical Health and Fitness.
This is the case for many schools across India and children are not being exposed to the sports and Physical Education that they would normally require. In a time where Obesity and other related diseases that plague the body due to a sedentary lifestyle are rampant across the population, it is crucial that students learn, understand and maintain a good physique so as to live a health life.
FIRST AID
This is basically a corollary of the previous point and is also an important skill that school fails to teach the kids. School is a place filled with a bunch of dumb kids who end up doing dumb stuff that occasionally results in an injury. Despite people knowing that children are prone to getting injured, you may be surprised to know that a very low percentage of the general population knows how to perform First Aid procedures.
Most children don’t know how to apply a Band-Aid, how to sanitize a wound, whether to apply heat or ice to the affected area, how to restrict the movement of the affected joints or muscles etc. These are the most basic first aid procedures that can prevent further deterioration of the most common wounds that children usually end up getting. Thus, schools should take some initiative to provide a basic First Aid course so that when in need, they are not helpless.
INTERACTING WITH THE OTHER GENDER
Ok, here is a question for all the men out there – has there ever been a case where you were caught disturbing the class and were forced to sit with the girls as a form of punishment? I think most of the men have been in this situation at some point during their school lives. The question to ask here is that why is this considered a form of punishment? Is sitting with the other gender so demeaning to your image?
Again, this is one place where schools are messing up. The 12 years one spends in school is the time where children undergo puberty and become young adults. This means that both boys and girls undergo hormonal changes which affects them physically, mentally and emotionally. If that wasn’t enough, the children also develop sexual curiosity which then leads to watching pornography and that is how they develop an image of what sexual intercourse looks like. If the person at such a stage is misguided, then it could become a menace to the society.
So, children should be taught about the changes they might undergo and how one should treat the other gender respectfully. However, this is one duty where the schools in India at least are failing repeatedly.
LET’S TALK ABOUT MONEY
I am currently 21 years old and have just started earning. However, one place where I constantly find myself lacking is the way I manage my earnings. I was never taught what to do with my money.
Looking back at my college expenses, I realize that those expenditures could have been easily avoided and that I was a fool to buy stuff I didn’t remotely need. Since children come from a sheltered school experience to an independent college life, the temptation to splurge money over material goods becomes overwhelming at times. This is where school must teach the students about the value of money and why it is important to save this money instead of just spending it recklessly.
WHAT IS MY PLAN?
Again, since I am 21 years old, I soon need to make a decision about my career and where I want to be in life. The career decision is something that one is expected to decide upon in Senior Secondary Level. However, in school there are only three streams that one can normally choose – Science, Commerce or Arts. Although these streams are necessary, no one really talks about what to do after taking these streams.
Basically, what I am trying to say is that after 10th standard, the students are faced with a career choice and they need to take a call. Unfortunately, the students are ill-informed and so are most of the parents. Many students are forced to take a particular stream since they are not aware as to what is right for them and then they end up being in a place where they don’t enjoy themselves but now, it is too late to change that. Thus, it is quite crucial to educate students and counsel them regarding their future.
Note from author :
Hi all, I am Sarvesh Shashidhar. I am a passionate writer who is hiding behind the eyes of a software professional. I enjoy reading and writing small articles and am trying to get a blog up and running. Apart from that, I am musically inclined and I play the keyboard and the guitar as a hobby. I aspire to author a book at some point in the future...fingers crossed.
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