Unsettling educational ecosystem

Jubilant students at dismissal of school remind us of whining students when they creep towards school

The jubilant students at the dismissal of school remind us of the whining students when they creep towards school at the start of the day.

Scenes of crying children who resist being parted from their parents at the school gate in the morning
are frequent.

These two divergent tell-tale faces at the start and the end of the school session must urge us to locate the
reasons behind their gloom or glee.

Shakespeare in All The World’s A Stage, a monologue in his comedy As You Like It, describes the several roles that men play in their lives.

The second role is of the whining schoolboy who walks at a snail’s pace towards school: “Then the
whining schoolboy with his satchel/ And shining morning face, creeping like snail/ Unwillingly to school.”

The literary critics reveal that in the Elizabethan period, schoolboys would have had to memorise lengthy Latin speeches for school. It is easy to understand why a schoolboy might not hurry off to school in the morning, knowing a tedious day of memorisation work awaited him. In our context, replace Latin with English, and it becomes crystal clear when a student has to read his books in a language which is not his mother language or not even
national language, wouldn’t he cringe while going to school?

The other demotivating factor is the unfriendly milieu of school. The stern looks of teachers, the fear of being
punished for not doing homework and the bullying classfellows — all prove deterrent for the students. Being un-
able to name their fears at so tender an age, they cry and drag their feet going to school. Parents use force to send
their kids to school without bothering to fathom the reason.

It sometimes develops in students the habit of lying and faking to parents and teachers for avoiding the school.

Parents and teachers must nurture a healthy communication with students, so that they may divulge their fears and hesitations. The ‘shining morning face’ in the above quoted lines means the mother is only concerned about the
outer appearance of the student, and has done nothing to his going ‘unwillingly to school’.

The unsettling ecosystem at classroom and school is a major discomposing stimulus. If a student faces bullyism at school, parents and school management must be proactive to neutralise bullies. Sometimes, a student is deseated from his comfortable place in the classroom; his lunch is stolen; his bag is ransacked; he is body-shamed; he is taunted for being a slow learner; he is not politely allowed to go to washroom: all this centrifugality makes him
behave unhealthy.

Lack of infrastructure at schools proves another discomforting factor. Lack of cool fresh water, absence of a
hygienic canteen, ill-ventilated and poorly-lit classrooms, filthy washrooms and absence of playgrounds, also appall
students from schools.

Sexual harassment and physical transgressions are rarely reported by students because of lack of communication with parents, and cold behaviour of teachers and school authorities. Students just internalise the transgressions, ending up in psychological aberrations leading to staying away from schools.

Physical fitness of students often go unnoticed both by parents and school authorities. Students with eyesight
defects, the scribbly handwriting of teachers and the distant seats of such students cause incorrect jotting down
of notes written on the whiteboard.

Consequently, their classwork copies are teemed with red marks by teachers. This embarrassment pushes students out of learning process. Such students must be reported to parents for timely treatment.

So before pressurising the begrudging students to attend school, all seen or unseen hurdles case-wise must be
located and eradicated. The blunt use of power and deterrence can result in the dropout of students from school, even from the whole educational journey.

The whining and demotivation among students gives a clarion call against the parental apathy, and the decaying and frightening school environment. 

The writer is an educationist based in Kasur. He can be reached at [e-mail]