Missing Chapters in Today's Education

"The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Have we ever wondered the ultimate goal of education? We teach our children Science, Mathematics, English, etc., and other subjects, in desire to prepare them for bright career. But is this learning enough or even worth if our children do not know the good from bad, to communicate effectively, or are unaware of the responsibilities towards the society?

Education is an unending journey of becoming. Our goal is to enable a child to grow consciousness in pursuit of realizing his/her full potential. The curriculum of today’s education lacks certain vital areas in bringing our children up. This article focuses on few of those missing chapters of today’s education: 

A. Legal Education

• Looking at the crimes committed by the juveniles, in the past few years it is clear that teen crimes are on the rise. Children are not aware on legal consequences of different crimes. Not only children, even adults, are unaware of the magnitude of the punishment he/she can receive, if found guilty of a crime. This lack of knowledge, can be abridged if children are taught the various consequences of crimes within their curriculum itself. 
• Over 50% of the juvenile crimes are sex offences. The point here is not punishment that is needed. The point here is these children need help - they need proper education. A child undergoes lot of stress growing up knowing something was wrong but not knowing what was wrong. There should be a formal education on sex, teen pregnancy, menstruation, masturbation, virginity, childbirth, abortion, pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, homosexuality, pornography, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, adoption, transgender, biological clock, menopause and etc. It need not be a teacher who can impart these lessons. It can be a visiting doctor as well. A doctor’s anonymity will give the children confidence to ask questions that they would not be comfortable to ask their regular teachers. 

B. Mental and Physical Health Education

• With the advent of social media – children today remain glued to their phones. There have been instances when children had committed suicide, over disagreement with their parents on using too much mobile phones or not buying mobile phones. Recently we have also seen how mobile games like “Blue Whale”, “Momo Challenge” had claimed several young lives. Over the last few months, several people have been lynched over suspicion of being child traffickers and source of this suspicion and paranoia among the people was fake WhatsApp forwards. The reality needs to be exposed to the children via education. Besides the health hazards like tumour, cancer, vision problem, chronic shoulder pain, hampered immunity status, etc. mobile has been the medium for cyber bullying, cheating, threatening, sharing fake news, sharing inappropriate content, etc. Social media sites digital access and design is not tailored to an age appropriate audience, and that the social pressure to be constantly connected to social media and to respond to notifications instantly can lead to mental health pressures encompassing anxiety, depression and lack of sleep; and that these are exacerbated by night-time specific social media use.
• Every child needs to be taught about the consequences of drug addiction. While different drugs and substances can affect the body in a variety of ways, sickness can occur for even those who use these casually. In some cases, even one use may be enough for an overdose, which is when the user’s bloodstream is teeming with toxins and the body can’t detoxify itself quick enough to be able to function properly. Overdose can be fatal. And all of that could happen with just one use.
• Obesity is creeping in children like never before. Every single adult is suffering from either cholesterol or high pressure or high blood sugar or cancer, etc. This has mostly to do with the lifestyle we lead and we expose our children as well. The education today needs to cover the reasons behind these diseases and how it can be avoided. We need to teach our children the misuse of antibiotics and its consequences in future, which is so rampant today. 

C. Behavioural Education

“Aakash was a very soft spoken and shy child at the school. Children in his class often bullied him. Aakash never retorted back. But he was very violent at home. His parents often being fed up of his tantrums, beat him up.”

• Many of us cannot respond to an insult or a crossed boundary – even when we are grown up and adults. Those of us who cannot, actually never learned – how to say no, how to handle negative situations, how to stand against the oppressor without being violent, or how to manage our anger. This is just tip of the iceberg of issues that most of the children face today, which finally leads them to be a less successful, less confident and less happy human being in future. Children should be taught how to communicate. Schools should use methods like storytelling, drama, counselling, sports, group activities, etc. to teach communication in children. Special workshops should be carried out for their parents as well.  
• With working mothers are on the rise, grievance against parents and unable to cope up with the free time, is becoming a common issue amongst their children. With missing playgrounds now a days - children are not able to utilize their energy constructively. This result in indulging in something harmful. In modern day life, school should incorporate lessons to educate a child to be self-sufficient, to be able to do different handicrafts like origami/sewing/drawing/painting/etc., to be able to do certain safe household chores - (which can also help their parents in turn), to be able to divide time into a routine of activities, etc. This will help them to cope up with their loneliness even when they are adults. And the importance of their mother’s job and choice to work – should also be taught to be respected. They should understand that the privileges they are having today is all because their parents are working and working is a necessity, not a luxury. 
• The difference in family backgrounds of the children is not limited to one might have a working mother the other might not. Religious differences, economical differences, social differences, etc. – all these also can create complex behavioral issues in children. Apart from these, there will be children who come with a baggage of bias and prejudices inherited from their immediate family members. These differences of bias/beliefs/religion/family structure can be detrimental to the extent that - for very sensitive children it might be a lifelong impact – at times leading to a criminal trait in their adult life. School can bring these children together – forming a group, to educate them about the about the equality of religions, about the bias and prejudices that they need to get rid of, the seeds of being inclusive should be sowed.

D. Social Education

• On one hand, it is natural to have a girlfriend or a boyfriend at some point of time, on the other hand – teens or even adults today find it not only difficult but actually impossible, to be loyal. Being in love - is the most sensitive and powerful relationship of all – and not respecting the relationship can harm one forever. There have been instances of suicides, murders, acid attacks, all for love. We need to teach our children sense of commitment, loyalty, when they are in a relationship – and the consequences of not paying respect to one’s emotions.
• Generation Z today abhors the institution of marriage. They are against being dictated or ruled or having to compromise. They love the independence to be with any one at any point of time, rather than being tied down to someone for the rest of their life. We need to educate our children, about the consequences of not getting married, not being committed to someone for the rest of their life – post which it can be their individual conscious choice. Same goes for whether to have or not have kids. Many couples are willingly discarding the idea of raising a child. Children today needs to be taught the pros and cons of it, so that in future they can decide with more justification and logical reasoning.
• Sibling rivalry/jealousy is a very common phenomenon but can lead to treacherous consequences if not controlled in time. While in case of toddlers, it needs more of a cajoling but in older children this should be taught in the school curriculum itself, how to get rid of this feeling of jealousy/rivalry and channelize it into a constructive thought. This lesson will not only come handy in case of siblings but also later in their life - in case of their office peers, colleagues etc.

E. General Awareness

• Saving money is a habit that needs to be inculcated in children early in their lives and habit is a man’s second nature. They should be exposed to saving money in different schemes during their school life itself. They should learn the value of money and how it can be multiplied over the years. The different schemes of saving money should be taught to them via their curriculum. In my opinion, schools also should take initiatives to open bank accounts for them, and give them a target to save a certain sum of money by the end of their academic year.
• Children today have a powerful say in their homes. Adults tend to listen to their children and not only listen but do accordingly as well. This can be an opportunity to use our children’s voice as mediums for conveying the vital social responsibilities like – keeping the neighborhood clean, adding greenery to the neighborhood, avoiding smoking and other pollution causing elements, avoiding use of plastic, avoiding wastage of water/food/clothing, being inclusive, being helpful, getting rid of biases and prejudices, etc. And how can they learn the social responsibilities unless they are taught as formal education in the schools? :-)

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Not every demeanor can be taught by parents. Neither, the parents are well equipped with all the information, nor might it ever occur to them the need to impart knowledge in these areas, because they never had it as well when they were children. And even if they do impart, children most of the times tend to ignore parents’ advice. Some of the areas like above need a formal way of education, just like other regular subjects.

Student apps or chatbots can help in imparting static knowledge. But practical sessions like group activities, sports, drama, storytelling, professional counselling, doctor consultations, etc. also needs to be incorporated to bring out the child from its closet.

Jack Ma, the founder of Ali Baba, rightly pointed out, “To gain success a person will need high EQ [Emotional Quotient]. IF you want to be respected, you need high LQ – the IQ of Love.”