Country experiencing ‘revolution of freedom’
Discussing safety of students, principals of various Lucknow schools, education department officials and parents say changing family dynamics turning students into rebels
PARTICIPANTS ALSO STRESSED ON PROMOTING A CRITICAL DIALOGUE WITH STUDENTS SO THAT THEY CAN REALISE THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHER ASPECTS OF EDUCATION BEYOND MARKS.
LUCKNOW: The country is experiencing a ‘revolution of freedom’ that has allowed students to explore their sexuality and relationships at a very young age.
Coupled with changing family dynamics, it is turning students into rebels.
This was the common consensus at the panel discussion on student safety in schools organised by Hindustan Times on the eve of Independence Day.
The forum was attended by principals of various city schools, education department official and parents.
NEED OF CRITICAL DIALOGUE WITH STUDENTS
According to the educationists, parents and teachers should have critical dialogue with students over the issue of sex and relationships.
“These days, children are getting mature at an early age due to social media exposure. This has resulted in a scary situation,” said principal, Study Hall, Shalini Sinha.
“Considering the impact of social media on tender minds of children, we should look into the exposure that our children are getting from the platform,” she said.
SOCIAL MEDIA: BIG BAD ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
“Social media has broadened our reach but has really narrowed our vision. It has made the students so self-centric that they are moving away even from their parents,” said Vineeta Kamran, principal of the Kanpur road branch of the City Montessori School.
Aashrita Dass, principal of La Martiniere Girls’ College, pointed at the flood of non-regularised information on the social media which is shaping the world view of students.
PARENTING WITHOUT ‘NO’
“A child does not need a cell phone after 10 pm and it is the responsibility of parents to take away the phone from them,” said Aashrita Dass.
“Kids are becoming rebellious because parents are not parenting. Parents are not saying ‘no’. This is why when teachers say no to students they become bad in the eyes of children. Parents should teach their children that no means no,” Dass added.
ONE MEAL A DAY MUST WITH YOUR CHILD
Mala Singh Mehra, principal of Hoerner College, insisted that even if both the parents are working they should ensure they have at least one meal a day with their child, no matter how busy they are.
She suggested that parents should work out a time schedule in which they can have a meal. Kamran also talked about the importance of spending quality time with children so that parents could get to know about the problems of their child.
Taking the debate forward, Mehra suggested it would be a good practice if children are encouraged to wish their parents in the morning and before going to bed.
“I would suggest that children are taught to touch the feet of their parents in the morning and later in the night as they go to their beds,” she said.
REWARD STUDENTS FOR THEIR CHARACTER NOT MARKS
Shalini Sinha asserted that many parents were chasing marks and children of some schools were going for private tuitions in quest of more marks.
“This hampers holistic development of students. Most schools only focus on excellence in education with more stress on marks. We are only chasing subjects. We don’t have dialogue on other issues with the child,” Sinha said.
Participants also stressed on promoting a critical dialogue with students so that they could realise the importance of other aspects of education beyond marks.
PARENTS-TEACHERS SHOULD ACT LIKE A TEAM
Chairman, St Teresa’s group of Schools, Peter Fanthome said, “Parents and children should act like a team to ensure safety and all-around development of students.”
“Students are not just the responsibility of schools. Family, parents and society play a major role in shaping a child’s future,” he added.
Subhasita Srivastav, mother of a student, said that schools should develop mobile applications wherein there could be a direct interface between parents and teachers on the progress of children. She said as most parents were working, they were unable to give quality time to children.