Burden of expectations

I had read this article in a weekly magazine, I found it worth sharing so put some efforts to translate & publish from Marathi to English.

According to a saying, 'A healthy mind lives in a healthy body', Rabindranath rejected those traditional four walls for the school & the strict discipline. He superseded it with Shanti Niketan where the education was given to students by their natural tendency. 

Maria Montessori too studied even the micro psychology of child's mind and proved the importance of the fun oriented education system. But nowadays, with the excuse of 'brain development' CBSE schools are throwing these physical and social oriented education system far away. Where there's no scope for your curiosity and creativity. Only studying the syllabus or textbook and getting highest marks, giving 100% results is the aim of these insitituions.
Especially, some of them are so strict that even students can't talk with each other, any outsider isn't allowed to enter the premises, teachers are well educated and qualified; which means they're smart and most of all, they give too good results. This all is enough to so called educated parents to cage their children. They pay heavy donation of lakhs, manage an autorikshaw for the daily travel between the school and home which is 6-7 miles out of town. And here the mechanichal routine of 9 to 7 starts for these innocent children. These schools don't stop here; they conduct teacher-parents meeting every month and make report card of every student. They inform their parents about their child's weak subjects. Parents too start home schooling of their only child. At home too, children are given only one choice, studies. They don't allow children to go out and play for the sake of discipline. Albeit school teachers are high qualified but are unaware of children's psychology. It directly and indirectly affects their future. Our educated parents have forgotten that kids should play, their health is much more than 100% marks. And uneducated parents have started following them.

Once a lady came to Rabindranath Tagore with her adamant and stubborn kid and said, "My son is weak in studies. He wastes all day in playing and doing all the mischievous things. We've admitted him in the very reputed school. Tried to convince him with love, scoldings, but nothing worked. We've heard a lot about you. You only guide him now." That lady was just talking to Rabindranath about it, when she saw her son had climbed up on a nearby tree. She felt ashamed. Seeing her sad face, Rabindranath said to her, "Ma'am, he's naughty, unyeilding, plays a lot, does not study. It doesn't mean he's not clever. He's really very bright. Don't worry about him, keep him in Shanti Niketan. I myself will look over him." That lady sighed with a relief and went back. Years after that same brat kid became a famous scientist.

If our child isn't good at studies, he can do nothing; this is the new discovery of parents. They believe, huge buildings of schools and horrible discipline is the only key to our child's success. I've not heard or read any of educationist who has suggested such kind of education system at least till now. This is the effect of blind westernization that this outdated, European education system is rooted deep inside in our country. Now admission in the *XYZ* school is being a matter of pride and reputation to the parents. They're hustling hard even more than the students for homework. Boards create a stressful aura into the house. Attending functions, social events gets banned at this stage. Poor students, they dwell so much into studies which makes them forget about a thing called society. Respecting elders, morals, they forget everything. Their goal became limited by MBBS and IIT. Specially, when they achieve their goals; they feel the happiness of reaching the apex of Mt. Everest. Because their dream was that only. What out of the world they got? Nobody found it necessary to think about it. They have been living like machines till now and will continue ahead. If they have got something besides the machines is 'trace'.

Children are extremely capable. They're naturally curious. This curiosity of them makes them creative. Education can be a tool for polishing it, but 'education is everything' is a mere misconception. In this period children learn equivalently, rather more from the society, family, games etc. Hence developing their natural growth, natural curiosity is very important. Teachers and parents might rarely create the environment according to the children's natural tendency, but this number is so shrinked, that many serious concerns about education are emerging in society. Cases of depression are constantly increasing. 

Sometimes when the students who were in merit 'once upon a time' return their home,  their parents show his/her years old news-paper cuttings to everyone with utmost pride, where their photo was published. They tell people about their child's degrees, non-stop without taking a break. Sometimes they come home in festivals. "He works for a leading Asian xyz company, he was amongst top-ten in IIT, has X Cr. package, he has flats in Bangalore, Chennai. What else we want?" Whoever comes home, they stay busy in the felicitation of their own child. Nobody knows him except his family and relatives. Only old, tired souls are left at home. No one is their companion in their high-lows. World-tour and money is all they feel important and happiness, and parents are happy in their children's happiness. We experience these strange situations. At times when they've to hospitalize someone, they have enough money; but the child for whom they have been working hard.

Before too, there where scientists, inventors, philosophers, businessmen and even now many are becoming. It's not because they all went to the school of strict discipline and hence succeeded. They got education accompanied with their natural talent, that only made them successful. Many of these couldn't complete their education, still they're world famous. Even if today parents read the biographies of Einstein, Edison, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Dhirubhai Ambani, Warren Buffett, Sachin Tendulkar, etc., they will soon reach the way to their children's career and the burden of expectations can also be released.