Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Spare the rod

Sir — The article "Spare the rod, save the child" (June 29) did give an in-depth account of the travails of today's children. As I was reading the article, I could not help remembering the late R.K. Narayan, whose educational outlook always differed from those of his elders and well-wishers. In one of his essays titled "My educational outlook", Narayan writes "... If a classification is called for, I may be labelled `anti-educational.' I am not averse to enlightenment, but I feel convinced that the entire organisation, system, outlook and aims of education are hopelessly wrong from beginning to end; from primary first year to Ph.D., it is just a continuation of an original mistake." "... In the field of education, the educator and the educatee seemed to be arrayed in opposite camps, each planning how best to overwhelm the other." "... The real wrecker of young nerves, however, is the examination system. It builds up tension and an anxiety neurosis day by day throughout the year, all through one's youth, right into middle age (for some)." Learning should be an enjoyable experience. If we compare our childhood days to today's children, clearly we were simply not overloaded. Parents and teachers must understand that each child has his/her own unique ability and talent.

B.S. Ramakrishna,
Bangalore

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