The
modern world is a highly competitive place where millions join the race to the
top each passing day. The struggle to succeed involves a lot of hardship and
misery, which has caused the fear of the future to become ingrained in parents.
This fear coupled with the desire to make the child’s path up the greasy pole
as smooth as possible is leading modern parents to focus on schooling to the
exclusion of all else. This tunnel vision parents are trapped in is highly detrimental,
is doing untold damage and should be discouraged no matter what.
The
gravity of the problem of excessive emphasis on formal education is best
exemplified by the situation in South Korea. Here children go to school at the
crack of dawn for a full day and then head off to ‘hogwons’, that is to say
private courses, where they have to do tests and solve problems. They are not
allowed to go to bed until they have managed to solve all the problems
correctly. The result is that they often don’t get to bed until midnight. Such
kids are known to have committed suicide.
That this attitude to raising children and preparing them for the future
is akin to torture goes without saying. Not being able to see the damage done
to the child’s physical and psychological development is inexcusable.
A
child who studies to the exclusion of all else will miss out on a lot of
socialization and thus the acquisition of numerous social skills which will
also have an undeniable role to play in determining his future success. These
social skills can only be learnt through interaction with others in a social
setting not through interaction with tests. It is a wonder such children are
still able to speak their native language as they don’t even get practice in
that. The educational value of the unending battle with tests that continue
into the night is also highly doubtful as most educators should know full well.
Concentration levels will drop as exhaustion sets in and hunger takes its toll.
Couple this with lack of restorative sleep, unhealthy eating habits and minimal
physical activity over a long period of time and the child’s growth and
development will be stunted. This is not
the whole story however; the damage done to the child’s mental well being also
needs to be considered.
A
child who is unable to escape the grip of formal schooling will inevitably
suffer psychological problems. He may be plagued with lack of confidence as he stays
up well into the night completing schoolwork. He may become shy and withdrawn
as he has minimal contact with his peers. He may not grow to be street-wise due
to insufficient contact with the outside world. He may suffer from fear of
failure, be plagued by guilt and be prone to nightmares. Conversely, he may
become an inhuman zombie in whom all the qualities that make him human have
been suppressed. Parents need to think long and hard about the path they are
taking when deciding on the best way to raise their children. The system they
are bent on applying amounts to child abuse.
Some
may say that a good education is the only way to get ahead in life but a quick
look at college application criteria will show that grades are not the only
thing being sought by good universities. Club activities, individual
initiatives, hobbies and interests and the like are also required.
Incorporating all these into the child’s life and providing a more rounded
upbringing is more likely to lead to future success as well as good physical
and mental health. Parents should wish their children to be successful and
happy as well. What is the point of having all the wealth in the world when you
can’t relax enough to enjoy it?
A
child isn’t the latest type of software; he is a human being with human needs
which should not be ignored. Raising a child involves addressing physical and psychological
needs. It also involves providing a loving home environment and time with
peers. Only focusing on cognitive development to the exclusion of all else will
do untold damage to the child and should thus be categorized as a crime.
