Life Of Today's Child : The Overburdened One

Today's student is a perfect symbol of stress and pressure-ridden society. In these "Cut Throat Times", when everyone is trying to catch space in the mad race of "Competitions and Successes" what we have acquired is only physical, mental and emotional stress. Perhaps Darwin's theory of "Survival of the Fittest" is being blindly adopted by one and all today. Be it a father; who is the bread earner of the family or a mother, a teacher or a doctor; all fields of life are marked with a high level of stress and frustration. The "competition" dominated age has forced everyone to strive for the best at "Any Cost". And in this race, even a child has not been spared.

Education is the foundation of "Professional Success." And as this base is laid in childhood,

the stress is also sown there and then only. What can we expect from childhood in this world, when parents take the registration forms of the school, and start 'Surfing' the net for good schools, even before the child is born? And once he is in this world, he is trained to get good grades, applauses, trophies, and certificates and the vicious list goes on and on.

Come Examination days and the phobia of exams, studies and results bring about the true state of the 'Student' overburdened with heavy bags, huge books on the one hand and the unlimited aspirations, sky-high expectations of parents, teachers, and relatives on the other hand.

The scenario can be visualized on a scene, where a student is under the rocky weight of a bag and the pressure of the parent's desires and expectations: a mother criticizing his aptitude in " Mathematics" and father's look of sarcasm the same time. One wonders at the sorry state of the student, a weakling and as a reaction to which, a father is criticizing his health and food habits which have made him so weak as to carry his own bag or whether the father is to be blamed for his expectations from the child which have pressurized the child so much that he has lost even his physical strength and has made him 'Fragile'. At the same time another question which arises: " Is the running system of education too much to be borne by the small child ?"

All the questions relate to the pathetic state of the present day child or student where he has to become a machine to produce a bandy report card for his future growth. Starting from school in the morning, extra coaching at the tutor's home and at home too doing homework till late nights leave no 'Place and Freedom' for the child to enjoy and grow in life. He is expected to master 8 to 9 subjects, prepare a variety of tests like class tests, House tests, terminals and not forgetting the surprise ones and then at home he is to prove that he has done something in the school. We can easily say that the child has become a mobile educational museum for the display where he is at service for 24*7.

The burden of studies and strain due to parent's continuous coaxing and scolding leads to tension and fear in the child's mind. All this automatically affects his overall state of Personality and Individuality. It further leads to loss of appetite, over-eating, loss of stamina, mental disorders and so on.

But, it is time, 'IT IS HIGH TIME' to realize and recall that we are talking about children, so why should we measure their steps like that od adults. Blake and Dickens have aptly pointed out to the 'Loss Of Innocence' in a child as he has to master the superficial and materialistic ways of the world in form of his studies and his daily routine. This is the reason that the psychologists' and counsellors have entered the field of Education. From minor stress to the suicidal conditions of children and teenagers things have to be taken care of. A revolution or total transformation is required in terms of the education system and the teaching methodologies. Most of all what is required is cooperation and understanding from the parents. They should try to balance their child's life and cater to the overall requirements of the child. they should understand that it is not only the books and education which are important but most of all what they have to provide is the breathing space to the child for everything else as well. To conclude, the two famous lines from an English poet can be quoted to describe the ' overburdened' condition of 'Fallen Childhood':

" What is this life if full of care,

   We have no time to Stand And Stare."