‘The Purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise… Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers.’
– A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
No doubt, education is most important and included in the basics of life of all the humans. Not everyone has access to it. The average Indian in this 21st century, can only afford primary level such as class 5th that too, only with the help of government schemes like ‘Mid-day meal program me’, especially in rural areas and sub-urban areas of metropolitan cities. At times like this, People from education fields have come forward with their ideas. One such idea is introducing life skill education in early classes like 1st grade. These skills include critical thinking, problem solving, learning moral values such as helping others etc.
Water lily Public School and Manosakha are the projects undertaken by the association of Purnkuti and Manosakha, a Non ProfitOrganisations that focus on training kids with special needs and underprivileged background. The curriculum of their programmes include
- Promotion of arts like painting, pottery, knitting, dance and singing
- Encouraging to try and learn about regional cuisines
- Teaching effective communication skills in writing and speaking
- Stress management and mental ability training
- Speech therapy and social skills for kids with special needs
- Training to develop interest in general knowledge and mathematics
Most of these activities help the children to prepare themselves to face the real life challenges they encounter in their later stages of life. Present working scenarios require individuals who withstand turbulence of the societies. In ‘Hands on Education’ published online on ‘The Hindu’ website, author says ‘Students are the human capital of the country and it is essential to empower them for the development of the economy.’ Better persons make better societies as said by our elders and visionaries.