I  happened to turn on the TV after school and while flipping channels I saw Vasant Valley’s  Mallika Singh of class 9 being interviewed on a show called "Cool CafE9" (DD News  channel). She was talking about her life as a student, and what came across was that  the poor girl never gets out, she’s overworked. On weekdays she comes home after  school, has tuition, and studies and then sleeps. How could she get a chance to do much else   with the burden her school homework and her tuition homework on her shoulders? Another  opinion that she expressed during the interview was that everything learnt in school  was irrelevant.

The interview got me thinking, is our school  really just about formality, and overwork? Should Mallika be so stressed out? The   conclusions that I came to are expressed below.

There is no reason for anyone from class 9 or  for that matter any student in the school (excluding students appearing in competitions)   to be so overworked that they cannot find time for entertainment and hanging around. A  lot of students, even in the lower classes take tuition and I think this is the major  reason for the feeling of overwork amongst them. Why does anybody need tuition? Isn’t  everything taught properly in school? If its not, then my fellow students, it is our  job to raise our voices about it. If you don’t understand something then the teachers  are available for you at all times, we have more than enough time in our school day to  clear whatever doubts we have. Justification for tuition by fellow prefects was given by  stating that students have problems with certain teachers, they do not feel free to ask them to  explain, to teach, or to clear their doubts after it has been done once in class. If you  have a problem with a teacher the answer is not tuition, the escape is tuition. Each  student has a class teacher, a tutor and a house captain who you can go to at any time  for anything. Talk to them about your problem, its something that definitely needs to be   corrected. The only time one really needs a tutor is if he or she is way behind the   class due to whatever reason and the school itself recommends tuition for the student. The  question that I would like to ask not only to the numerous students taking tuition, but  also to the loving parents that give their children this privilege is of having a tutor  is, "If a child doesn’t want to study in school, is tuition going to make him  study?" You can force a child to do most things, but you cannot force knowledge down  his throat. It’s a cruel fact of life that time always moves in one direction.  Childhood is about having fun, about learning and maturing, so I suggest you send the tutor on  his way and use the money you save to buy a new music system.

The other point that I would like to comment on  is whether or not everything learnt in school is irrelevant. I agree that there are   lots of facts and concepts that we learn which will be of no direct use in our life.  Who’s going to ask me where mica is found or whether the given compound is optically  active? However, there is a certain amount of information given in our textbooks that we  will be using in our lives. Ignoring this another question with an obvious answer comes  to mind. Is our school confined to the material present in our textbooks? The textbooks  I’m happy to say, are quite a small part of what school is really about. School trains  one’s mind to think, it gives a discipline of thought, which is the making of  citizens that are achievers and developers of the society. School is responsible for  making people, building personalities. Qualities in children are spotted and nurtured,  potential is made into reality. School provides one’s first exposure to society,  learning how to interact with people and how to make your own place in society is one of  life’s most important lesson’s. School exposes one to art, music, sports, etc. One  can find where his or her interests lie and turn it into a skill. Let us not forget the   knowledge that one is exposed to in school, from textual matter to learning in each and  every sphere of life. I expand Einstein’s theory of relativity by saying that the speed  of light, charge and knowledge are absolute concepts. Knowledge of any type is priceless.  True knowledge in every realm of life can be termed as education. Let’s not  dismiss school as a formality, its hard to imagine what kind of ignorant, shallow world  we would live in without it.

Sharad Bajaj

XII A