School Corner

There has been a spate of discussions on the topic of education which made me reflect on how we as parents have dealt with it in our own lives.Here are some of our musings as parents …

Education is one of the legs of a three legged stool of a child’s development in our perspective.In bringing up our two children, we have followed a simple principle which can be expressed in E2+V.

Exposure comes into play in the area of decision making. We have exposed our children to all possible experiences – people, places, religion, sports, hobbies, art & literature, etc., during their schooling days; and continue to do so. During this period, we have also understood their natural inclinations, interest areas, what they are good at, by devoting our time to them. Neither of our children aspired to be an Engineer / Doctor, nor did we as parents set any specific expectations with regard to the field of studies. We as parents focused on ensuring that they were provided with adequate exposure based on our economic strength and ensured that they were brought up in a value based environment, that can build in them the capacity to know what is beneficial both at an ‘individual’ and at the ‘community’ level.

Parenting is like being a gardner. The home is the nursery in which the young minds are tended to till they are ready to be transplanted into the real world. If like the gardner, we as parents provide the right nutrients, environment, and loving care, we can be sure that our children can create a life for themselves in line with their interest, thereby living joyfully. The most impact on a child’s development is by seeing their parents lead their own lives. A major portion of the growth and development happens in the home where the parents are the primary ‘role models’.

Values are imbibed by the children from the environment that parents create in the home. A strong foundation of values built in the home can enable an individual to withstand any moral ‘tsunami’ that they might face in their real life as adults.

If a child is inclined and naturally gifted for academic excellence, he /she will excel in any environment.We have enough examples of children coming from challenged environments, studying in government schools, excelling in the pursuit of education. Parents should remember that academic excellence is not the ONLY area in a child’s life. We have so many examples of children naturally gifted and inclined towards music, arts, sports whose parents facilitated them to focus on that area and completed their education through open schooling and universities.

Money is an important element in a person’s life. However, if it is made the core of an individual’s life, it is a sad reflection on the individual’s upbringing and value system.We have seen many such individuals bringing pain and suffering to so many people, plundering our eco-system, discrediting our heritage created painstakingly over so many centuries.

Just for the recordRajani – my better half and myself studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya’s across India as our fathers were in Indian Air Force. While Rajani pursued Science stream, I chose the Arts stream.I failed to get into the Indian Army due to medical condition and came into Human Resources on the rebound. Rajani became an IT professional and gave up her career to devote time for the children’s upbringing. She took to Family Counseling as a 2nd career and is today immensely satisfied as she makes a significant difference to so many individuals and their families, most of whom – 80%, are from the IT industry. Our professional pursuits have provided us with adequate economic returns to lead a comfortable life as defined by us. Our son is pursuing Hotel Management, our daughter is studying Fashion & Apparel Designing – choices have been their independent decisions, aided by our understanding of their interests and capabilities.

Thanks for your patience and indulgence.