The other day I was traveling with my son in an auto after a while he asked me something to eat and I gave him a banana. After eating the fruit he threw out the chilka in the mid of the road without realizing that it is wrong. I felt bad about it for a while I was thinking that neither I had taught him nor our education system teaches us how to behave and keep our society clean. It talks about just Science, Maths and History and leads us to Engineer, Doctor and to many other disciplines. But it never leads us to be first a good and responsible citizen in the society.
Our Education system has one or two lessons on cleanliness but it never brings any big impact on the child. The child passes the exam and closes the chapter. I feel this kind of social responsibility topics should be inculcated at every stage of the education system and not just leaving it us chapters.
The attitude of throwing things out just like that is not only seen in my child but i see this common among many adults. I have seen people throwing garbage from the balcony, throwing out things in a irresponsible way in spite of dust bins, keeping their place untidy and disorganized in the office. I also see spitting in the railway station especially on the white walls as one of the basic problems among Indian citizen, and urinating near electric junctions & wherever they feel. Education system will grow, and produce lots of engineers, doctors which in turn will grow our Indian economy and better infrastructure but finally if people don’t have the tendency to maintain any system then nothing is going to be useful. I wonder the metro rail which is being constructed with lots of money and efforts in Chennai if people don’t keep it clean then its going to be really difficult. Any place which is basically a public domain should be treated and kept clean like the way you maintain your house. Its up to us to have the emotional attachment and inner consciousnesses to keep our place clean.
We definitely need a basic education/workshops through out the growth of every child on cleanliness and social responsibility. It might be on behaving in a public places for example in temples, theater queues, railway queues, way of talking and respecting other citizen and the list is endless but some mannerism should be taught and made as a serious subject in our education system so that the future India can be seen with more responsible and clean citizen.
I hope the topic will be considered and will be published for parents and schools to feel and think on it and more importantly to act on it to make every child a better citizen tomorrow.
Sivapriya Chellappa, Parent of Child - R Yashovardhan, SBOA Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai.
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Its neccessary to inculcate basic (read compulsary) civic sense in our kids and parents alike. Schools need to organise field trips to teach the importance of recycling waste, the harmful effects of polluting the environment etc. If this had been done in every school our cities wouldnt have been the filthy garbage dump they are now!! parents lets practice what we preach and want our kids to replicate. We owe our kids a cleaner and greener enviroment.
Excellent article. Thank you for sharing! Yes I agree….we dont teach our kids a few things! nor does our school at times. But its never too late really.
I personally feel that there in never really a moment to sit back and TEACH. When I have to teach my child something, me and my hubby team up for a small skit. We DO. If I wash my hands before eating, my son surely would do the same. This technique has worked the best for me.
Thanks again for sharing
It is really a vital observation , we shall not only teach the manners and decipline to our children but also make them a teacher for the same to spread the same things thro them
Thats very true.. it is not only the education part but we as a parent should teach our children not only discipline, but also manners…. if any one tells them their mistake, children should be able to rectify it regardless who so ever it may be. children should be made aware about their future and cleanliness. thanks for the message… We parents and teachers are really the founders of our children bright future and happy life
Thanks to everyone for the response. I wish the message is passed on to every kid whose parents have read the article . The number may be small but i would be happy if the kids take it up seriously and who knows one of these kid may turn out to be a great man for the country.
Thanks. You have spoken out what I too have in my mind for a long time. I do share it with my students in private coaching classes in slums of Mumbai.
First, I need to practice this value. I am the change agent. Gandhiji rightly said: If you want to see change, BE THE CHANGE.
First, I need to practice it, every parent for that matter. Children observe our behaviour more than they listen to what we say.
Let your words reach everyone in our beloved country.
Thanks Mr James for taking up the importance of the issue & sharing the same with your students.
yes it is really important to teach our kids about the healthy habits of cleanliness , conservation of electricity and water resources. However being the roll model we the parents should set the examples in front of our kids. Charity begins at home as well the decipline .
I enjoyed the article, thanks for raising the awareness to enjoy the mannerism and ethic cultivated in children.The children behave the way they are told or seen.Period.
Cheers
Yes, we must as parents set an example to the children about what we expect them to do. If we do not want them to litter the surroundings we must first not do so. Also we must correct them when they do something wrong. If they litter the place we must make them clean up so that the next time they think twice before littering.
Children should be given responsible jobs at home and school so that they learn social responsibility in their daily routines. For example, if you want the child to be neat and organised and caring towards the surroundings, then make them do small jobs around the house or school like clearing up the table after use, helping in odd household jobs, etc. This will inculcate in them a sense of responsibility and make them care for others. After all charity begins at home!!
I think its high time to teach them manners why dont we teach them what is healthy and unhealthy for them for us and the entire world cause after all we are the birds of different feathers but our nest is same and its our earth why respect only towards the human and why not towards the nature.
Being a Parent , I think it is the time to correct our self and do the correct and right thing’s our self setting examples for them , looking at us doing the right things they will Inculcate the same..
These are basic stuffs and i will never held a school responsible for this. Majority of us tend to never insist on the importance of nature and its resources to our children.
It seems that being parents is easy but being responsible and ideal parents is tough…. Every child first search his ideal in parents and than looks surrounding.
Very true . Children learn through seeing and observing from very young. So, before we realise they pick up good and bad habits and sometime we realise what we have been doing only after seeing them do the same.
As parents we cant at every point be a role model, but things like littering, being organised, cleanliness etc can be inculcated only by first ourselves practising it. So, lucky are those adults who are naturally like this.
There is this other way of kids learning and adapting to be NOT like the way some adult behave (may even be a parent). This is an indirect way of learning good behaviour, but pray as adults that we are not such teachers.
Thirdly, every child’s personality helps to shape the child’s behaviour..
BUT, YES… PARENTING IS THE MOST DEMANDING WORK EVER
Since we are parents it doesn’t mean that we should always teach our children’s. if u watch ur kids closely, u can learn so many things. Normally kids are perfect and systematic. In due coarse of time they get corrupted by watching us & others. So first we will learn good things that are available with them.
When u find a change in ur child and if u feel it needs to be changed, then explain,make them understand and then change them as required. All kids doesn’t require same teaching, it has to be tailor made based on the kids behavior change.
Encourage ur kid when they are good, teach them when required.
there are so many things that should be taught and can be taught at school…but most important is what we as parents do and what we say…’SET AN EXAMPLE’ at all times to come…we parents wash away so many lacunae by this kind of escapism:) we utter so many lies to our own parents, relatives, friends, unwelcome guests, colleagues at work and pass that off as ‘diplomacy’ or manners…!
It is not about cleanliness alone. children of this generation need to learn about conservation of electricity and water. It is our responsibility to teach them.
children copy their elders… so if we have the habit of keeping our surrounding clean, saving water and electricity, they will watch and follow the same.
You are right.. I am happy to have taught my children to keep an extra bag with them to keep garbage like chocolate warpers etc. This change will only come in youngsters when parents & all adults will think that if I can keep my home clean then why should my neighbourhood be dirty. It just takes 2 seconds to really keep a garbage bag in your purse & just put all waste in that bag & empty that bag in dustbin at home or garbage cans kept outside…
You are right. Most of the schools teaching the “cleanliness”. Parents also need to educate our children on this subject. So it is both parents and teachers responsibility to teach about “cleanliness”.