By Dr Arun Mitra
The Maharashtra government’s decision to introduce military training to the students from class 1 to class 5 is absurd, dangerous and against the basic tenets of education. The state Education Minister, Dada Bhuse said the idea to provide military training to children from Class one is to promote “patriotism, discipline, and physical fitness among young learners from an early age”. However this does not hold good at any aspect of the care of the child. It is against the humanist approach towards the child development.
Disciplining the child’s mind in this manner is based on the concept propounded by some Psychologists that instead of showering instinctive love to children, they should be controlled, isolated and trained. Pushing them into Military training at this tender age is filling their mind with barrack like ideas in the name of disciplining. According to Dr Param Saini, a clinical Psychologist ‘these ideas were influenced by the 18th and 19th century societal norms which will be considered quite out dated now.
Modern parenting values affection, warmth, nurturing, empathy, positive reinforcement, secure attachment etc. and these are now seen as essential to develop healthy emotional and social skills’, she says. These have to be provided by the parents and the family and reinforced by the teachers in the schools. Children should be encourage to mingle with each other. Playing, discussing, arguing with the peer group is always a healthy sign of development. That is why we find many times children quarrel with each other but soon befriend.
The purpose of education is to develop a person who can think rationally and analyze the events. She/he need not necessarily follow what has been told/imposed by the society, family and state. Mind of the child is blank and it has to be filled with positive values. The very idea of imposing military like discipline at this tender age will destroy the creative ideas, rational thinking and inquisitiveness among the children. Disciplining the kids at a younger age by the military personnel will block their creativity and make them think like an obedient subservient.
Tender mind at this age is filled with several queries which must be answered to develop her/his personality. Ignoring any of the questions raised by the child leaves a negative impact on the developing mind. Since large number of things or events around are very new for the child she/he has to be encouraged to ask questions and to clarify the doubts. The child should be made to develop love for nature, preserve and promote it, play with the products of nature. It is the duty of the parents and the teachers to allay curiosity and develop rational analytical thinking. Several education programmes have been already designed throughout the world for the formative years of school students.
Dr S K Prabhakar, a psychiatrist, discipline should not be enforced but should be developed through the ideas of love and respect for others irrespective of economic status, caste, creed, gender and educational status. Imparting training by the retired military personnel who are brave soldiers but have little knowledge of the way the child should be educated will be risky for the child behaviour. The children live in fantasies and an imaginary world. It is gradually that they learn about the real world affairs. Under the military training they will be living with the thoughts of imaginary enemy and planning how to defeat/kill. Such children can develop violent character even towards their fellow mates.
Few decades ago the children used to play with the toys which had basis in the nature like the animals, trees, mountains etc. The present day toys, even those used to play Holi to sprinkle colours, have gun like working. These things make the children immune to the gun culture. The video games where the children learn to shoot and kill are playing a dangerous role. This has led to increase in the violence in the society. In the US where guns are freely available we find lot many cases of firing by the school children.
Purpose of education is to encourage the child to develop original thoughts, reasoning, rationality and observation. In this way the child develops its own personality. The military training in the early age will hamper all this. However it may serve the purpose of the ruling class to develop a specific mind in a child full of hatred, violence and revenge. In our present day society where already communal hatred, caste and gender bias have been promoted in the recent years, such mindset of the child will further worsen the social harmony. In context of the ongoing wars across the world it is even more important to inculcate the ideas of love, care, empathy and collectiveness among the children. (IPA Service)
