Ms. Punita Sachdeva, Headmistress – Modern Delhi Public School

‘Value Creating Education’ — The term has a rather heavy ring to it!

The responsibility of creating value in another’s life seems like an onerous one, and we wonder if we are up to it?

It’s easier to keep your head down, deliver the syllabus, evaluate the quantum of regurgitation of information, and continue to believe that the job has been done effectively!

But in all honesty…has it, really?

Do we remember the linear equations, or the endless definitions we committed to memory painstakingly in school? The weather graphs or the world capitals? Can we rattle off botanical names or chemical formulae? …Do we need to?

While the information gained in school is internalized to some extent, and will come to us in bits and pieces when required…what really stayed with us? What shaped us to be who we are? What continues to create value even now in our lives?

Step back, and ponder this question.

The answer will vary for each of us, but there will be some common threads; universal and forever with us. It will the times we felt truly happy, carrying that glow with us even today.

The satisfaction at a task completed well, and on time.

The faith that no matter how often we fall, there will be loving hands to steady us.

The realization that nothing is really as hard as it seems, once you get down to tackle it.

These, and so many more life lessons learnt at school through diverse individual experiences, inculcate in us the skills, confidence and motivation to traverse life with light yet firm steps; rooted in reality, while soaring in the skies!

Let us reflect then, on how best we can equip our children to do so, joyously and confidently.

It’s actually quite simple. Just spare a moment to pause and consider before you reflexively respond to them. Will your words and actions create joy for them? Will they lead to a positive life lesson? Or even a positive perspective on a negative life experience?

Each child is a unique individual, and craves to be seen and acknowledged as one. Yet, children will mostly do what they are told to do; some willingly, some reluctantly, some submissively…we tell, and they do.

We tick our checklists and move on to the next, for we have a long list and time is always short, right?

Have we ever paused to notice the expectant eyes of a child, waiting for a Well Done!

“It’s only a routine addition sum”, you say. “Reema’s daughter would have done it faster!

She could have, and good for her…but the little one in front of you has tried his best…only to please you!

Give that smile, that little pat on the head, that well done for the effort. The evaluation, the critical review, will, and should be, done… only, could it be done a bit later?

Yes, education has to be imparted. Yes, career paths have to be steered. Yes, expectations of self and society have to be met. But a little calibration of our methods and motives will go a long way in fulfilling our most important responsibility and privilege as co guardians of our children: the shaping of happy souls, equipped to traverse life joyfully, fruitfully, effectively.

How good a teacher or parent you are will not be ascertained by their academic scores or future bank balances. It will be determined by the value you create in shaping their persona, in bolstering their confidence and self- esteem, in enhancing their world view, so that their lives are enriched…and they move ahead, enriching the lives of others, in a steady stream of value creation, most vital in the choppy waters of today’s world!