Any crime needs to be punished is a well known doctrine of any civil society.
To maintain civility uncivil methods have to be adopted from time to time. That is where the judiciary and law enforcement agencies step in.
Same is true with students. Corporeal punishment is banished from schools, but there is a rise in bizarre violent crimes hitherto unheard of from the juvenile community.
A rise in crime, suicides, Divorces and Office violence shows nothing but growing conflict within the society.
In the backdrop of the above it becomes imperative to use some form of punishment at school level maybe not corporeal.
Healthy punishments could be used to deter bad behavior of students.
Also other ways of inculcating good habits in students like sports and cultural activities can be taken up.
Education is the first line of defense of the nation towards progress.
Students should be made to pursue hobbies and involve them in creative projects to harness their energy and channelize towards their own good and the good of the society as a whole.
The only way to reduce violence is harmony in the society. Many schools celebrate grand parents day and other cultural events to involve the parents of the student and free them from the worldly tensions which create gateways of stress and conflict.
Also students seldom only know good things and show real cruel behavior. Hence the students should be exhorted towards practice and preaching good behavior and not just preaching the good behavior. This way the knowing doing gap of the students can be reduced.
Creative punishment can be used with students. For eg. if a student litters , instead of beating or reprimanding the students, the students could be asked to take part in a shram daan, school cleaning program.
Also to make them understand about importance of environment cleanliness, they could be involved in community cleaning programs to inculcate the discipline with in them.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Democracy, Student Empowerment and Equity
Gone are the days of Stick
Today even toddlers of primary school may dissent autocracy. So the best way out and more effective way is only to treat the students with equanimity.
With the coming of democratization in Education we see students being handed over more and more power to lead the way they want the education process to be delivered to them. You may see them asking for various methodologies to be followed to make learning easier for them.
Empowerment is good and for the better of the system as a whole and is likely to increase the quality of the manpower churned in an economy. But it is a double edged sword.
Empowerment to students should in no way dis empower the faculty and the educationists. This way sure it can lead to a power struggle between the two and result in erosion of the goals for which the democratization and empowerment process itself has been initiated in the first place.
Empowered student can more often give voice to their opinion about the delivery systems in education and the difficulties which they face in the same. This can lead to over all improvement in the delivery and better satisfaction level and grades for the students.
Democracy and Empowerment interventions which can be used in Education setting:
1. Student leaders can be elected to act as interface and interlocutors between the faculty, management and student groups.
2. Steps may be taken to create harmony between the stakeholders by conducting various group initiatives like educational tours and outings.
3. Students should be able to suggest the pace of teaching and some hold on the curriculum to be expanded and shrinked according to the student preferences and capabilities.
4. Students should be provided with guidance to learn beyond the textbook by providing tools of education like internet, educational CD/s DVD's, Web site subscriptions, Practical Project kits, Industry internships.
5. Regular feed back should be taken from the students which can be anonymous and also direct bu using avenues like suggestion boxes.
Today even toddlers of primary school may dissent autocracy. So the best way out and more effective way is only to treat the students with equanimity.
With the coming of democratization in Education we see students being handed over more and more power to lead the way they want the education process to be delivered to them. You may see them asking for various methodologies to be followed to make learning easier for them.
Empowerment is good and for the better of the system as a whole and is likely to increase the quality of the manpower churned in an economy. But it is a double edged sword.
Empowerment to students should in no way dis empower the faculty and the educationists. This way sure it can lead to a power struggle between the two and result in erosion of the goals for which the democratization and empowerment process itself has been initiated in the first place.
Empowered student can more often give voice to their opinion about the delivery systems in education and the difficulties which they face in the same. This can lead to over all improvement in the delivery and better satisfaction level and grades for the students.
Democracy and Empowerment interventions which can be used in Education setting:
1. Student leaders can be elected to act as interface and interlocutors between the faculty, management and student groups.
2. Steps may be taken to create harmony between the stakeholders by conducting various group initiatives like educational tours and outings.
3. Students should be able to suggest the pace of teaching and some hold on the curriculum to be expanded and shrinked according to the student preferences and capabilities.
4. Students should be provided with guidance to learn beyond the textbook by providing tools of education like internet, educational CD/s DVD's, Web site subscriptions, Practical Project kits, Industry internships.
5. Regular feed back should be taken from the students which can be anonymous and also direct bu using avenues like suggestion boxes.
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