A Wholesome Education System?

We're getting there...fingers crossed!

I was out today with amma and sis. A 15-year-old approached my mother saying he was looking for a job. His mother had broken her leg and was immobile. He dropped out of school and is looking for a job. Asked amma where he could get vegetables-his sister hasn't eaten. Father had left them to fend on their own. Now, I don't know how true his story is. Amma just told him to get back to school. He didn't belong out there in the working world just yet.

Made me think. Shouldn't the school be aware of the boy's absence? Shouldn't they take active measures to get this boy to stay in school, and contact someone who could help out this family? Were they just closing an eye knowing that so many children like these were out there making it out somehow?

Then, there is my neighbour. Father does contract jobs. Mother is an alcoholic. She helped babysit so many children. It's a small area they live in and yet practically everyone they knew were bunking in. Bad influence on the children - drug addicts, heavy smokers and alcoholics. Now, the eldest son has dropped out of school, with his father agreeing to him working. The second has major discipline problems in school and wants to follow suit. What will happen to these children? How much can the education system do when the parents are not cooperative enough?

When I was in primary school, there were students who just 'didn't get it'. Teachers would scold, whack, criticise harshly. Didn't anyone see maybe there was more to it than just giving extra classes for them to catch up? There were root problems that were not addressed. I vividly remember a girl that hardly spoke. She did not respond much to anything. Never saw her cry, laugh, nothing. She didn't do well academically or in sports. Teachers were obviously irritated. Thinking back, they had targets to reach and students like these were  like a setback. Weren't teachers supposed to be the guiding lights in a student's life?

A friend I know opted for the Arts stream although given the Science stream. Generally, people looked down at these students. Teachers were pressured to make them perform. What they couldn't see was the other strengths of these students - their creativity, the passion they have for the subjects they love, the caring hearts that forged amazing friendships. Yet, they were always compared to the "better" Science stream students, and harsh words were thrown at them, demotivating them, telling that they were not good for anything. Is this what we expect of the teaching force? Aren't these the very people who were supposed to bring out the best in a student? To realise their untapped potential?

We do have a long way to go. The education system should be redefined to cater for every student's needs. It should be able to identify students with learning disabilities, encourage them out of their little shells, tap brilliant hidden potentials, and prepare the youths to make a better world for tomorrow. We've all got a role to play to better the system. A small step it may be but every step counts.