Will there be a dawn?

It was a normal day that started with routine power cuts. I was at my home town in my sister’s home. I heard a voice murmuring, an atommm.. an atom.. an atom consists of.....

I got up from the mat and sat to see the sun light illuminating my room. “God, is it 12 already?” I told myself.

“Damn, it’s just 7 o clock. I hate summer”, I muttered.

I stood up and shouted, “Oh my god! How many times should I have to tell ya not to mug up subjects for god sake”.

My nephew replied, “Mind your business for god sake.”

“God, how dare he is! “ I scolded him but not to him, because, you can’t compete with today’s kids. If I do, I can’t win a war of words with him. I gave up so easily and went to him.

I asked him,” Son! What ya studying?”

He replied,” What’s your problem now?”

I needed that. You know, His answers were abrupt and annoying. I asked him nicely,” It seems that you are studying physics. So, you are at the first chapter. I heard you were mugging up the subject. Don’t mug up things. It isn’t gonna earn you anything. You are going to be the loser.”

He replied,” Oh come on! Now, don’t switch on your idealistic channel. I’m fed up.”

My sister came there. Bang! Her fist landed on his head and he turned to her saying, “I’m used to that. Expecting more from ya mom!”

“I have told ya many a times to give respect for the elders, yet you are defying it. He is your uncle and he is far more elder than you. So, speak to him nicely”, my sister blasted.

Well, that’s the way we teach kids how to respect elders. I told my sister, “Come on! What ya doing? Don’t hit him. See, it’s your entire fault. You forced him to get good marks in exams and you don’t want him to understand the real purpose of education. Please! You don’t know the hardships I have been through after my 10^th standard here. Don’t bring him up with this sort of mentality. He isn’t gonna succeed If he studies like this. Give me one hour, I’ll teach him how to study. Are you ok with that? And for heaven’s sake don’t beat him the next time”.

She replied,” Ok I’ll give one hour. Teach him what you want to.”

I sat with him and asked,” was it too painful?”

He replied,”Nahhh.”

“Ok son. You were studying about atom. Do you know what an atom is or it’s properties or about the scientist who first put forth the atom model?” I asked.

He replied, “An atom means Anu(tamil meaning for atom).”

I posted another question,” Ok. What is Anu?”

His reply was spot on. He said,” Anu means an atom.”

I wanted to bang my head on the wall. But, I opened his note book and started drawing the atom model and explained the basics about the atom. He started realizing it and asked me,” uncle! What is current?”

“Did he call me uncle?” I muttered.

I cleared his questions that ran through his mind. I was happy that it took more than an hour which was way past the time that was given to me. My sister came and broke the flow,” Ok! Enough! Now start studying for your exams.”

The little kid looked down to read and started,” An atom consist of..”

Kids are being pushed on to the corner and they are being given only one answer,” if you don’t get good marks, you will not get good job.”

Once, education was a wonderful aspect that drives a man from his foolishness to the state of wisdom. But, in present India it’s upside down.  If we need a better future generation, then it’s time that we need to change the education standards and we need to delete our way of judging the students by marks. It’s time that we need to find individual talents and teach them how to master it. Don’t limit the education with 6 subjects instead, give choices for students so that they could make good use of the choices they are given. Don’t give theoretical explanation instead, shower a practical view of the principle. They will be delighted and eager to learn. Because, great scientists are not great students, they deviated themselves just to think differently. They did succeed.

One last thing, Why not an objective type of exam instead of a descriptive explanation? A teacher knows only one subject. Is it justifiable if you push a small kid to learn all the six subjects? I don’t agree with it. It’s a budding age don’t burden their backs with bag full of books. Think about it.