“I used to follow all the guidelines given by my parents. I used to help my parents with household chores. I never demanded anything from them.” – typical thoughts of a parent of a 21st-century child.
“I used to complete my home assignments on time. I used to respect my teachers and follow their guidelines.” -typical thoughts of an educator teaching 21st-century students.
Are these familiar thoughts, whether you are an educator or a parent?
Well! Parents and Educators! Please wake up to the new reality. Your guidelines are not going to be “ followed” just because you are a parent or an educator. That is not essentially due to a lack of respect. It is because children of today evolve a sense of identity very early on. They are confident, young individuals with a wide variety of knowledge at their fingertips. They question the status quo and are curious about everything around them. Just imagine these young individuals turning into adults and transforming their community, city and world around them with their ability to question, think, act and inspire.
Let us work with them with these possibilities in mind. To convert these possibilities into a reality, parents and educators have to see themselves as guides, facilitators, mentors and coaches. They can no longer give unilateral instructions and expect children to follow them. It has to be dialogical and facilitative. Give them the context and purpose, they will love to think, act and do.
“Just focus on the possibilities. The limitations will take care of itself.” said someone and I would like to leave all parents and educators to work with children from this space of possibilities.
Blog by
Mathangi Rajasekaran, HOS, Ekya NICE Road.