Vijay Garg
There was a time when after the exams were over, all the children used to spend their holidays free from pressure for a few days.
Nowadays it is seen that as soon as they come out of the exam pressure, the pressure of exam results starts dominating them.
How will the marks be obtained? Which grade will you get? Will the name appear in the proficiency list or not? Not just one or two but hundreds of such questions start putting pressure on their mind.
Along with this, another kind of pressure has also started trying to take hold of summer So much unnecessary work is crammed into children’s bags for the holidays in the name of homework that not only the children but even their parents forget that they are enjoying the holidays.
Summer vacations in the months of May-June enable children to meet their families, see and understand the environment around them, travel to the country, develop understanding of coordination and harmony etc. with their peers without taking any kind of mental burden.
Now the kind of mental and bookish burden that is imposed on children in the name of homework,These children have forgotten to enjoy summer holidays.
Are today’s children able to enjoy mango orchards during summer holidays? Are they able to visit their grandparents or other relatives living in rural areas?
Are today’s children enjoying swimming in ponds, canals etc.? Are they able to truly assimilate the fields and barns? It is not that the homework given during summer holidays is not necessary, it also helps in the mental and educational development of children.
The projects given during holidays create a desire to learn something new in them, but instead schools have started making them complete the courses in the name of homework.
By giving long written book assignments, children are being forced to remain engrossed in books 24 hours a day.
Now, neither attention is being given to increasing the general knowledge of children through homework, nor is emphasis being given to improving their handwriting, nor is any initiative being taken to develop any hobbies like art, music etc more.
The childhood of children has already been snatched away by the blind race to score more marks, the struggle to be at the top in the proficiency list, the effort to inculcate as much bookish knowledge as possible, now by indirectly robbing the summer holidays a In a way, they are also being distanced from society, family, culture etc.
Vijay Garg Retired Principal Educational Columnist Malout Punjab
