The DREAM...that we know as School

What you see below in image 1 are a few kids going to their school with their parents. They need to walk for hours on the frozen river to reach the school. Life is at serious risk. One wrong footstep and the thin layer of ice under the boots can rupture. Kids will be in freezing rushing water with no hope of survival. In fact, it has happened at times in the past with some kids with expected consequence.

Despite this fatal risk, the poor parents (in image 2) have opted for kids to go to school. WHY?

Meet another poor family. Their house is in a remote village with no school. Their mere eight years old son peddles through the vast sea for 3 hours one-way each day to reach school (image 3). That too alone. WHY?

In a similar situation, two little sisters, aged six and four, row a small boat in a river amidst a tropical forest for 2 hours one-way every day to reach their school. Image 4. Parents cannot accompany them as they are busy earning bread. WHY?

Many of you may not be able to believe that such small kids are traveling such long and life-risking terrains on a daily basis just to go to school. But it's no surprise to me. When I was seven years old, I, along with two younger sisters, would travel three kilometers one-way daily through traffic frequented roads to school, without any adult. WHY?

In a similar shocking situation, a group of kids travels through the precarious zip line daily to reach school. Image 5. Can you see how small these kids are? Such non-maintained zip lines can break down any day. Can you imagine your kids going through this without any adult supervision?

Look at one more situation, in which a father carries his two kids daily to school through a half-alive risky zip line, daily. Image 6. WHY?

It is not over yet. Poor small kids around the globe are going through all sorts of imaginable pains to reach their schools. Some must climb cliffs (image 7), some must walk on edge of the infinitely deep ditch (image 8), some must move across the ice-cold field (image 9), some must cross waterfalls (image 10), some have to cross merciless rivers and forests (image 11). To understand the gravity of these situations, try imagining your kids in these situations that too when they are just 5-10 years old.

Why, why, why are these parents risking the lives of their kids so mercilessly. They have a DREAM. The dream of seeing their next generation out of poverty. They think that a good school will provide the right education to the kids and give them a better life ahead.

Everyone attached to the education sector in any capacity needs to understand the stories of such kids and parents, and then must ask his soul if he is really doing justice to these DREAMS. Is he doing his best? Is he doing enough?

School owners, teachers, etc. need to realize the burden of expectations they carry. There is no harm in making money out of education, obviously there is a financial reality. But you are not just selling a product like soap, you are selling DREAMS, HOPES, FUTURE.

When you educate a child properly, you positively change:

• His life
• His family’s life
• The Society…he may become a good police officer, doctor, army person, etc.
• The Nation…he may become a good politician, bureaucrat, etc.
• The Course of History…Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya, Arjuna changed the course of history due to their great teachers Aristotle, Chanakya, Dronacharya.

If you are in the education sector, get up and realize the gravity of your profession and act accordingly.

(Courtesy Quintus Media for images of this article)