SCHOOLING
FOR EVERY DAY LIFE
Education is the
process of instruction aimed at the all round development of individuals,
providing the necessary tools and knowledge to understand and participate in
day to day activities of today’s world. It is the only wealth which cannot be robbed. It
builds character, provides strength of mind and increases knowledge.
The education sustains the
human values which contribute to individual and collective well-being. It forms
the basis for lifelong learning and inspires confidence to face challenges. It
provides the skills to individuals to become more self-reliant and aware of
opportunities and rights. It also enhances the ability of individuals to manage
health problems, improve nutrition and childcare, and plan for the future.
The education not only impacts on human development and economic growth, but also is the fundamental requirement of democracy. Through education people become more responsible and informed citizens.
The education not only impacts on human development and economic growth, but also is the fundamental requirement of democracy. Through education people become more responsible and informed citizens.
Concept
of Schooling
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. The school is a highly structured and closed social
environment with rules and regulations. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory.
In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for
these schools vary by country but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school
for teenagers who have completed primary education.
In ancient India, schools were in the
form of Gurukuls. Gurukuls were traditional Hindu residential schools of learning; typically the teacher's
house or a monastery. During the Mughal rule, Madrasahs were introduced in India to educate the children of Muslim
parents. British records show that indigenous education was widespread in the
18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions
of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic,
Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion.
Under the British rule in India,
Christian missionaries from England, USA and other countries established
missionary and boarding schools throughout the country. Later as these schools
gained in popularity, more were started and some gained prestige. These schools
marked the beginning of modern schooling in India and the syllabus and calendar
they followed became the benchmark for schools in modern India. Today most of
the schools follow the missionary school model in terms of tutoring, subject /
syllabus, governance etc.with minor changes.
SCHOOLING IN INDIA
According to the 2009 Right to Education Act, schooling is
free and compulsory for all children from the ages of 6 to 14. The schools are established in order to provide
access for all children to primary school or its equivalent non-formal
education. The main objective was to reduce overall dropout rates, increase
average learning achievement levels and reduce gaps in enrollments, dropouts,
and learning among gender and social groups. The state governments maintain the
expenditures on elementary education at the state level. The Indian education system is structured as follows:
- Pre-school: Education at this level is not
compulsory. The Montessori system is especially popular at the pre-school
level
- Private playschools: Catering for children between
the ages of 18 months and three
- Kindergarten: This is divided into lower
kindergarten (for three- to four-year-olds) and upper kindergarten (for
four- to five-year-olds)
- Primary school: First to fifth
standard/class/grade (for six- to ten-year-olds)
- Middle school: Fifth to eighth
standard/class/grade (for 11- to 14-year-olds)
- Secondary school: Ninth and tenth
standard/class/grade (for 14- to 16-year-olds)
- Higher secondary or pre-university: 11th and 12th
standard/class/grade (for 16- to 17-year-olds). This is when students
choose an academic area on which to focus
- Undergraduate: A BA is a three-year degree.
Specialised courses such as medicine and engineering can be longer
- Postgraduate: A 2 year course
TYPES OF SCHOOLS
- Public/government schools: Most schools in India are funded
and run by the government. However, the public education system faces
serious challenges including a lack of adequate infrastructure, insufficient
funding, a shortage of staff and scarce facilities
- Private schools: Since many government schools do
not provide adequate education, Indian parents aspire to send their
children to a private school. Some expats choose to send their children to
private Indian schools
- International schools: There are international schools
in all major cities. They are attended by expat and Indian children
- National open schools: Provide education up to the
higher secondary level for children whose schooling has been interrupted
and have been unable to complete formal education
- Special-needs schools: Provide non-formal education and
vocational training to children with disabilities.
BENEFITS
OF SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
The aim of
school education and learning is to bring pupils out of darkness into light .
This view focuses on learning outcomes in terms of knowledge gained. Going to
school enables a child to ‘read and write’ which are important things in
everyday life.
Literacy, one
of the most tangible products of schooling, is considered as highly relevant in
everyday life. Parents recalled how their school going children assisted them
in communication . Children on their part aspired to gain the literacy skills
for their own use in everyday life and to assist 0their parents in
communication.
Numeracy skills acquired through schooling
enable children to do simple arithmetic calculations and even keep records. In
local discourses non-school going children are often teased that ‘they should
have gone to school just to know that one plus one is equal to two’. Literacy is considered a significant aspect
of school knowledge and an inherent quality of the educated person. Literacy
leads to new possibilities for accumulation and sharing of knowledge.
Individuals who acquire literacy skills in
reading and writing use it in practical matters such as reading and writing
letters, as well as reading other material like the Bible and newspapers.
Similarly literacy in numeracy skills enables one to do simple arithmetic
calculations and even keep records. Such skills are relevant for individual and
societal functional needs in everyday life and are highly cherished.
School knowledge is believed to equip children
with credentials necessary for entry in the job market. Schools are the gateway
to the job market since they prescribe who is educated and who is not. Schools
engage in the production of educated persons by equipping students with
knowledge taught through the formal curriculum. Through learning students
acquire a series of competencies .
School
Knowledge and Its Relevance to Everyday Life Holland 1996: 2) and thereby
increase their chances of success in everyday life, for example, getting a good
job. Modernity is the dominant discourse in the production of educated persons
in the study schools. An educated person is also a modern person distinct from
others in the community. Through their formal classroom lessons teachers
espouse ideas that link school education to modernity. The school transforms
children and distinguishes them from the “unschooled villagers”.
School
knowledge is considered to introduce children to modern values and improve
their chances of success in everyday life. In the public sphere schoolchildren
are expected to behave differently – dress nicely and maintain proper hygiene.
The practices and values surrounding schooling have found their way into the
fabric of community life where styles of living of the educated persons are
admired.
The school
presents students with an opportunity to acquire a modern identity through
formal learning and social practices at school. Children are aided in this
process by drawing upon a shared understanding of success and how success works
to form a valued and legitimate self. This opportunity to express self and
develop autonomy is offered and supported at school. The formal educational
experience of learners was also found to contain a wide variety of informal
experiences of relevance in everyday life. This experience has often been
referred to as the ‘hidden curriculum’ – lessons taught unknowingly by the
teachers and school personnel .
The experience
of being in school transforms an individual’s worldview and consequent
experience of every day life. The concept of time was specifically pointed out
as something that tremendously changes with the experience of being in school.
Adults pointed out that by experiencing school life students learn many aspects
of daily life including marital, parental and occupational roles. Students
experience from the way the school days are structured that time is a resource
that can ‘be put to best use or wasted’. This aspect of school knowledge was
said to be useful in planning or arranging one’s daily activities in a way that
ensured efficiency . Women with some level of schooling have been found to plan
their lives better, take care of children appropriately and seek health care
promptly.
