We have heard all work and no play can make Jack a dull boy. But times have changed; education has been integrated into games. A game can teach what 5 pages of theory can’t. Children tend to grasp concepts when explained in an innovative manner. My sister wanted to teach her kids about the Newton’s third law which sates that every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Her kids were playing a game and when one kid was pushed, he fell down. And then she hinted on this law. I laughed for I felt she was talking nonsense when they were playing. But I later realized she explained numerous concepts when the kids were enjoying themselves. I exclaimed what a creative mind! If I was ever taught things in such a way, I would not have googled the basics of any subject. Games can be used to teach basics and once a person is strong in basics then everything becomes easier. There are also educational games, which is a new phenomenon that imparts educational concepts as the child is playing them. The child will have to use these concepts to win the games. As a result, one learns and applies them! I knew games can be very helpful, but not this much.

I was reading the morning news paper, when I heard the little angel next to my house crying. I went up to her and asked why she was crying? And the answer hurt me a lot. Her teacher would punish her for not doing the home work. I was surprised, but then managed to console the child and send her to school. The one fact that irritated me was why should the child be punished if the home work was not done or even if the child was disobedient! What is the point in punishing; it will only terrify the child. In countries like USA and some more there are child rights which protect a child from cruel punishments. But many countries do not have such laws, and hence there is corporal punishment. I do understand , that though a teacher may be driven crazy when the students don’t listen to her/him, she/he have no right to indulge in corporal punishment or any other form of punishment which would wreck the student emotionally or physically. The question here could be should the teachers accept disobedience? I am not suggesting that disobedience be accepted but instead students be counseled such that they not repeat. Instead of providing corporal punishment, community service could be allotted. Some other alternatives are to forgive them a few times and then talk to parents, learn if the student is facing any behavioral problems/learning disabilities or so on. I heard this somewhere; a student was being very disobedient. The teacher decided it was time the student learnt a lesson. All that she did was “role reversal”. After few days, the student understood the trauma faced by the teacher and abstained from indulging into disobedient acts! Care and love are always better than a whip.

Our education system must be of inclusive nature. This will provide an amicable situation for children to learn. It focuses more on disability and special educational needs. What is inclusive education? It is about refusal to accept segregation based on physical ability, gender, race, status, language, ethnic origin and so on. It also means that inclusive schools are open to all students and satisfy all student needs. It is not that easy as it sounds. It is a continuing process and the system needs to be strengthened over time. The teachers play a very important role in inclusive education. They need to develop games and syllabi which are competitive and also accommodate the interests of all the participating parties. There are many reasons to adopt inclusive education. It promotes human rights, good education and good social sense. One teacher who supports inclusive education raised a very interesting question during the age old debate on inclusive education. Her question was, “Are we trying to protect children from each other by encouraging segregated schools?” Inclusive education is known to build friendships and remove any sort of fear. I believe inclusive education is the step towards tolerance and is the means to an efficient education system.