Education, culture, and social responsibility: changing student-teacher relationships and the search for the right direction.
Today, education has become limited to marks and jobs. Moral values and culture are vanishing from the priorities of children. As a result, there is growing bitterness in teacher-student relations, and indiscipline is coming to the fore. If the family, society, teachers, and administration do not take the right steps together, the coming generation may move in the wrong direction. Education should not be made only a medium of knowledge but should be made the basis of character building and life values; only then will we be able to say that our students are moving in the right direction.
The school, which is called the mirror of society, has become a matter of grave concern today. While earlier education did not mean only knowledge but also culture, discipline, and morality, now some incidents are forcing us to think in which direction our students are going. The recent incident in the Government Senior Secondary School of Dhana Ladanpur village in Bhiwani district of Haryana, where a student attacked his own teacher, makes this question even more serious. This incident is not just a dispute between a teacher and a student but is a warning for the entire education system and society.
In Indian tradition, Guru has been given a higher status than God – Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwarah. But today’s reality is that in many places, the teacher-student relationship is getting sour. Earlier, students used to consider the scolding of the teacher as love and guidance, but today the same scolding seems like an insult or torture. Mobiles and the internet have given freedom to the students, but at the same time, it has also increased arrogance and indiscipline in them.
The foundation of any child’s personality is laid at home. If there is an atmosphere of discipline, culture, and dignity at home, then the child will learn the same. But in today’s fast-paced life, parents are not able to give time totheir children. Television, mobile, and social media have become the ‘gurus’ of children. Students have easy access to substances like drugs and violence. The result is that when a teacher tries to show the child the right path, the student considers it a restriction or bondage and rebels.
The biggest crisis of the current education system is that the objective of education is limited to only jobs and marks. The emphasis on moral education, life values, and character building has almost ended. Children are being taught ‘what to become’, but ‘what kind of person to become’ has been lost somewhere. In the race of competition, the pressure on students has increased so much that impatience and aggression have replaced tolerance and patience in them.
A student attacking his teacher is not just an attack on an individual, but it is shameful for the entire education system and society. It can have far-reaching consequences. Teachers will hesitate to discipline students, the dignity of the school will be hurt, and a wrong message will be sent to society that if students themselves do not respect teachers, then how will respect for seniors and elders be maintained in society?
Such incidents are not just a school-level problem but are also related to law and order. Immediate and strict action should be taken in such cases so that both students and parents understand that indiscipline will not be tolerated. It should also be ensured that there is a provision for the rehabilitation and counselling of such children.
If we have to take students in the right direction, it will not be possible only by punishment or fear. For this, multi-dimensional steps will have to be taken. The family will have to increase communication with the children and create an environment of discipline and culture at home. There is a need to improve the education system, and moral education, value-based education, and character-building activities should be made compulsory in the curriculum.
The teacher will also have to change the style of communication by understanding the mentality of the children. Instead of scolding or fear, they will have to explain and reassure. Counseling rooms should be mandatory in schools, and children with aggressive tendencies should be given timely psychological help. Society and media will also have to play their role, reduce the impact of violent and negative content and present positive ideals.
“In which direction are the students going?” This question is not just a question arising from an incident, but a deep reflection on the condition of the entire society. If we do not show the right path of discipline, respect and culture to the children today, then both the teacher-student relationship and the structure of the society will become weak in the coming generation. The solution lies in the joint efforts of the family, school, society and administration. Education should not be just a means of getting a degree but should become a means of character building and inculcation of life values, only then will we be able to say that our students are going in the right direction.
