Let the Children Think Clearly

There are many questions that the educational system should answer. For instance, if situations and conditions are constantly in a flux, have the teaching methods and approach changed to adapt to the new conditions? Are there obsolete and inaccurate things still being taught in the schools? What is being done about this? “Our educational system is today based on the industrial way of processing material. Linearly there is a problem. Material is cut in a sequence but, when you come to IT industry, information is still over the place. Kids are much better informed than adults at using the computer games and, to make them learn, a teacher needs to understand how their minds work. The role of the teacher is no more to teach; he has become a coach to help kids do things better.”

The situation is such that there is no point in having glamorous programs. We need to go back to basics. Knowledge is no more power. Skill to identify information that is relevant is more important. For instance, the learning deficiency; when the body is not functioning properly, it needs nutrients; so likewise, if you have enough in school isn’t tuition a sign of deficiency? There are number of issues that we should look at. For instance, if teaching is not fun, it won’t work and if you don’t like what you do it won’t work. To teach kids, open their eyes, lead them by the hands and touch their heart. Learning approach is finding ability, capacity and potential of the kids. From there you develop the processes you need to go through and adopt a system that which will bring learning. As a trainer, our job is to design a system so simple that all people can learn.

We need to ask ourselves whether there are things in the school that are being taught now, which are obsolete and inaccurate. Let’s consider which part of the question is Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) for instance. Which part of the question is Multiple Choice? None of it, yet the system is so taken for granted that you are not allowed challenging it. Why can’t we say: “Pick the right answer?”

Possibly the economy is changing so rapidly that knowledge and skills get obsolete equally rapidly. Internet has brought a real revolution as a source of information. We need to constantly check that our information is relevant. Mauritius is facing a serious language problem, particularly the use of English language. People here in Mauritius are mostly using Creole and French. The kids spend time watching cartoons in the television in French. The only time they are exposed to English is at school and only for a few minutes.

Deficiency is not in the intelligence of the kids but in the command of the language. The ability and command of the language is diminishing and teachers tend to translate in other languages, including vernacular, for the kids to understand. Translation means losing time and getting second hand information directly, he is ahead of time. If one wants to improve competency in the use of English language, then children have to exposed as much as possible to that language. Otherwise the results can be catastrophic. Without any doubt, the kids of Mauritius are as brilliant as kids from Asia, Indonesia, Europe and Australia. The issue here is not whether we like English, but the language is a commercial language that is used to communicate around the world. That is why it’s important to give a boost to that language.

However, things should change at all levels in order to opt for a different system from the parents. We have to start from the parents. The world is called a global village, an environment where we should be able to know each other better. If the parents refuse to change, kids won’t. Home environment is important and education cannot be surrendered to the teacher only; it is a global effort that everyone should contribute to. Parents should be example of what they want their kids to be. Get the children to learn correct value first. Let them think clearly before bringing them to be creative. First they should think clearly to get a right sense of direction, and then look for creativity. Is underlined here, “the designing of a program for which learning is based on the yardstick of the learner”. Children should use all their senses. Just like advertisements which children are fond of, try to be short, fun and compact. Teaching is not a science, but teaching is an art. Rather the content is science.

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