Age of three; sometimes even less, toddlers totter in uniform, with water bottles dangling around their necks, a triangular piece of handkerchief hanging from a safety pin on the uniform, walking along merrily holding onto a finger of their mother, immersed in deep conversation. The tiny tot’s musings over the little things which we as adults overlook, often being translated into questions.
At a gate so large that the archway seems just as far as the sky to the child, the mother withdraws her finger to leave the child to enter the doors of an unknown, unfamiliar world.
The amazed and surprised face yet to realize what this new world is, lead to a new, exciting place filled with wonder.
New faces, new voices, and among them a smiling face, one loving voice like that of a mother welcomes the little one. The teacher holds the hand of this tiny fledging and this touch immediately builds into trust. It is on this trust that every parent entrusts a part of their soul behind that door.
In no time this place called “school” becomes the second home of the child. Teachers, friends and other staff members of the institution become a part of their family. The school otherwise just walls of bricks reciprocates this by reverberating the laughter of the children.
The child continues to grow in the midst of tenderness, fondness that the teachers continue to offer. Time and again children are chastened and corrected so that they grow up to be kind, empathetic, friendly, joyful and knowledgeable.
In a few years, an unsullied, pristine soul enters into another world to face a jarring reality. The sphere in which the child enters once again, is unfamiliar and foreign. Everything learnt in these many years seems incongruous. The adamantine trust in human beings begins to quiver. The carefree world of children changes and pillars of doubts start growing around them. The unfathomable gap between what is said and what is understood widens and the long-learnt values of life appear unfounded.
What should be the role of the teachers then? Is it to prepare the children for this ruthless world or is it possible to change this world where meanings don’t alter, where children can grow to live for a greater cause……..