We send our children to school to get our children to learn the skills needed in order to follow the career path that they want, to help them get groomed to be better citizens and individuals. We look at schools to be the master trainer for our children, to be responsible people and law abiding members of society. A cliche though this may sound, it is an ardent reality of life. Though we as parents embrace and acknowledge this fact, have we ever paused and given this a thought: Are our children, our so-called “apples of our eyes”, really groomed to be better citizens and responsible individuals? It is only when one leaves school and is well into adulthood after gaining a bit of experience that we then fully realise the gaps in our education.
Items that should be considered in today’s education system such as, mandatory reading schemes, helping children to grow in confidence, making science more practical, more trips to the museums, teaching the evolution cycle, how to do a tax returns without feeling the pain, understanding the importance of respecting boundaries, delve a little more into the emphasis of mental health, eating disorders, expressing emotions in a non-judgemental space, gym addiction, the delusions of body shaming, tackling teenage obesity, connect with Nature, spending more time in forests with the flora and fauna – the list is endless.
With the changing times, children need to be made important, they need to feel that their voices are important, their choices do matter. We often speak of resilience. Our children need to feel confident that they belong and have value in society.
I feel we need more reports that articulate these emotions and distinctly convey the important space and role that our future members of society play. This can only happen if we as parents with the education boards, tap that hidden talent, that underlying passion and tap that to make them feel that they are not alienated and instead they are part of the mainstream of our society. This approach will help them face any adversity, any challenge.
- The reader is a homemaker based in Dubai.
