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Widening educational ambit
Encouraging creativity.
HOW MANY schools in the city have activities specified for parents, in accordance with the triangular equation _ involving students, teachers and parents. Needless to say. It is quite meagre.
And now, how many schools in the city are interested in making the life of students interesting through incorporating sufficient extra-curricular activities? Nay! Again, it is not even a handful.
Wait. There appears to be a silver lining. The activities in the Mahatma Montessori Matriculation Higher Secondary School, could be an eye-opener for other schools too.
Says the School Principal and the recipient of the State Government's `Best Teacher Award', S. Premalatha, "The presence of eleven clubs in the school campus, to take care of specified activities like sports, extra-curricular activities etc., has had its reflection in the enhancement of the students' leadership qualities.''
But then, it requires dedication, motivation, resoluteness, commitment and what not in the parlance of positive thinking to put words into practice, to steer the career of thousands of students along the desired path. The challenge element is in deviating from the beaten track of textbook-oriented study.
It is for this progressive thinking that Ms. Premalatha stands distinct in the comity of academicians. Her topmost priority is to incorporate practical aspects connected with all-round personality development at the school-level, in her institution.
For her, progress of a student should never be confined to academics alone. They must be prepared for life and hence the need to identify their potential and aptitude at a young age, says Ms. Premalatha, who opines that though sticking to the curriculum and considering it as a base is necessary, interesting practical components should be incorporated into a student's approach towards any particular subject.
It was not an easy task convincing the parents about the concept of all-round personality development. But Ms. Premalatha has had her vision engrained in her mind. The parents did take some time to realise their responsibility but after understanding the rationale, the students' progress is in accordance with the triangular equation.
And breaking monotony faced by students is indeed important in the current context. Perhaps, monotony, as a detrimental factor, could occur in every stream of life. But not many know that this aspect, if left unchecked, could wreak enormous havoc on individuals and humanity as a whole.
One need not strain so hard to make out who the worst sufferers of this syndrome are. It is the school students, especially the class X and XII students, for whom the entire duration of the day is meant for study, study and more study. The academic preparations of the students, for realising their desire, have already entered the realm of feverish pitch.
Perhaps, they are not to blame for focussing their thinking on entering only Medical and Engineering courses since they are taught at school as well as goaded at home to narrow down their thinking to a few options, at the cost of eclipsing umpteen career openings.
Well, it must be okay as long as one succeeds in entering the sought after professional courses. But this success will occur only to a fraction.
But the idea of Ms. Premalatha is that if the students' aptitude is identified at a young age, they could flourish in their chosen path of progress.
Here exactly lies the need for interaction between the teachers and parents.
By R. Krishnamoorthy
Photo: K. Ganesan
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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