I first thought I will write a simple "happy teachers day" status in facebook. As I started writing, I realized that I wanted to write more. So, here is the blog.
I just finished reading Dipesk Ghimire's article on "Guru Purnima" . Found in this link http://setopati.com/blog/31574/. He talks about the memories of his teachers and they are not happy memories. And each of us who are an adult at this age do not have happy memories of their teachers. I barely remember few teachers with fondness. We are the generation of violated children who took beatings, name callings and high level of psychological abuse in the name of "teaching" from our teachers. And sad thing to say, it continues to this day in many schools in Nepal. When are we going to change this? How can a child celebrate " Guru Purnima" with a memory of the beatings of cane in her hand. How can a child bow down to teachers in the day of Guru Purnima with memories of insult and disgrace he faced from that teacher. There is equally high level of sexual abuse experienced by particularly girl students from male teachers in Nepali schools.
I feel like I am living in the world of two contrasts. My childhood is so different to the childhood my two sons are experiencing currently. They are studying in Clayton North Primary School in Australia. My younger son Soham started his Foundation level from beginning of this year. He hardly knows how to write proper sentences. He does not know a lot of words that regular 6 year old currently studying in some of the schools in Kathmandu. Had Soham been in grade 1 studying in school in Kathmandu, I can say with certainty that reading and writing skills may have been better. I struggled a while to take stock of this fact. I was frustrated in the beginning. But the most interesting development I have seen in Soham is his deep love of learning. He is in charge of own learning. A child of that age has a "learning goal". He tries to reflect himself how much he knows and what he needs to learn next. The emphasis on academic skills ( reading and writing) is there. But they are not considered the whole tenets of learning.
Just a week before, Soham received his first report card. The teacher carefully describes his personality. She writes about the development he has made in social skills. Soham has been encouraged to speak in front of his class many times speaking about his own project. Sometimes, he builds a musical instrument. He loves to read books and he reads at least 4 new books everyday at home. And he does not want to stop. And there in lies the secret of Australian Educational system. children are encouraged to develop their own interest. Each child is seen as an unique individual with different level of learning. And they are encouraged and nurtured to learn more.
I just finished reading Dipesk Ghimire's article on "Guru Purnima" . Found in this link http://setopati.com/blog/31574/. He talks about the memories of his teachers and they are not happy memories. And each of us who are an adult at this age do not have happy memories of their teachers. I barely remember few teachers with fondness. We are the generation of violated children who took beatings, name callings and high level of psychological abuse in the name of "teaching" from our teachers. And sad thing to say, it continues to this day in many schools in Nepal. When are we going to change this? How can a child celebrate " Guru Purnima" with a memory of the beatings of cane in her hand. How can a child bow down to teachers in the day of Guru Purnima with memories of insult and disgrace he faced from that teacher. There is equally high level of sexual abuse experienced by particularly girl students from male teachers in Nepali schools.
I feel like I am living in the world of two contrasts. My childhood is so different to the childhood my two sons are experiencing currently. They are studying in Clayton North Primary School in Australia. My younger son Soham started his Foundation level from beginning of this year. He hardly knows how to write proper sentences. He does not know a lot of words that regular 6 year old currently studying in some of the schools in Kathmandu. Had Soham been in grade 1 studying in school in Kathmandu, I can say with certainty that reading and writing skills may have been better. I struggled a while to take stock of this fact. I was frustrated in the beginning. But the most interesting development I have seen in Soham is his deep love of learning. He is in charge of own learning. A child of that age has a "learning goal". He tries to reflect himself how much he knows and what he needs to learn next. The emphasis on academic skills ( reading and writing) is there. But they are not considered the whole tenets of learning.
Just a week before, Soham received his first report card. The teacher carefully describes his personality. She writes about the development he has made in social skills. Soham has been encouraged to speak in front of his class many times speaking about his own project. Sometimes, he builds a musical instrument. He loves to read books and he reads at least 4 new books everyday at home. And he does not want to stop. And there in lies the secret of Australian Educational system. children are encouraged to develop their own interest. Each child is seen as an unique individual with different level of learning. And they are encouraged and nurtured to learn more.
