Twenty five years ago
Twenty five years ago, around 1980s, the world was a different place. India was a different place. We all know this, have read about it, heard about it, seen it with our own eyes. The tremendous change that India has undergone is commendable. Progress, development are a step away. Change has become the breath of India's existence. Every day, every second, things are changing rapidly.
Along with Technological changes, there are also social changes. Changes in the society, in the way things work. Changes in the way people think. And the rapidness of all this change, has made the effects of the generation gaps tenfold.
Gurukul
Gurukul is a school that has noted this change, and incorporated it. They say that their school is different, because the system is more open, because the teachers are more open with students and parents, because students are given more freedom. Because teachers involve themselves with the students.
Yet, why are the students still dissatisfied? Why do the students still complain about this wonderfully open school? The responsible adult would answer - because they've grown up in a background where they get everything they want anyway. Because they take things for granted. Because they don't value what they get. Irresponsible, good-for-nothing students.
Let's look into the truth.
But that's it. It ends there.
Yeah, we know the teachers involve themselves. We know that we get freedom to voice our opinions. But that's it. It ends there. What about the consequences? Ever mention those? What about the fact that voicing our opinions might mean that we're eternally written in the teacher's bad books? That once you voice your opinion, you don't have much scope for proving its right? That whether your opinion is right or wrong, voiced or not, at the end, you're going to have to listen to the teacher's statement? And then suffer for the rest of the year, labelled as the 'black sheep'? That yes, we're given the freedom to voice our opinions, but we still have to bear a sentence in jail for it?
Illusions.
Illusions. Its the illusion of freedom. They say it, but don't incorporate it. Black and white. There is no grey. This is wrong, this is right. Any deviation, will not be tolerated. If you don't agree to Black and White, then you're history, then you're the rotten apple. Look around you people. The world is changing. India is changing. Try and keep up.
We're teenagers.
We're teenagers. Yes, we tend to be ruled by our passion, emotions. But that doesn't mean we don't have minds or our own. That we don't have value systems, limits, self-control. We are not kids any more. We're on our way to adulthood, to facing the changed world, and we need to adjust ourselves thus. Just like you, we don't like being herded like cattle. We want to be in charge of our own lives, to a certain extent. We can understand that there is a need for us to be micromanaged, but all we ask for, is that we're given the freedom to have our own opinions.
There are some things, that adults can't do, however much they're convinced that they can.
Yes, the school teachers involve themselves with students. It was an experiment that the principal of our school decided to try out. Her hopes were that the students and teachers share a healthy relationship. And maybe it would have worked. Except not all teachers are like her. There are some things, that adults can't do, however much they're convinced that they can. Logically, the generation gap is such, that after a certain age difference, it's practically impossible to relate with each other. We understand that. They don't.
You cannot just barge into a person's life, dictate their thinking, their actions, rule their life the way you want, and then expect them to thank you for it.
If you want to involve yourself in a person's life, you need to understand the person's problems, understand their situation, their mindset and take in account the change that has undergone since you were in their place. You cannot just barge into a person's life, dictate their thinking, their actions, rule their life the way you want, and then expect them to thank you for it. It doesn't work that way. If the school wanted their teachers and students to share a healthy relationship, then they should've trained the teachers, to give up their black and white ways, because now, the world has accepted the colour grey.
The effects of the above? Disastrous.
The effects of the above? Disastrous. What the teachers have in their rigid picture of life: The students need guidance. Their life is completely messed up. We interfere. Yes, we have to be harsh, but its for their own good. They may hate us, but they'll thank us later, of course, once they realise how we fixed their life for them, by interfering and incorporating our black and white way, to a world of grey. They are teenagers, and we are the adults. So naturally, we are right.
Teenagers I know spend every night crying in their room hating the fact that they have their own opinions
The reality: Students need guidance. Their life is generally not as messed up as everyone is convinced. They manage on their own to a certain extent. The teachers interfere. They are harsh, they are not understanding, they undermine our intelligence, creativity, and scorn our opinions. They whip us into doing what they think is right. They dismiss our problems as utterly disgusting. We hate them for it. Our life is more screwed up than it would have been, if the teachers had not interfered at all. Teenagers I know spend every night crying in their room, worried about what the teacher will do next, asking themselves where they've gone wrong, hating the fact that they have their own opinions, and dreading going to school on Monday. Why? Because the teachers involved themselves.
Now, we might have a slight idea
Now, we might have a slight idea why the students wish their school wasn't special. Why the students and teachers don not share a healthy relationship after the age of 13. Why the teenager crying in her room wishes she had gone to a convent, where her life would have been so much easier.
They think they're removing our distractions. Well, they're creating it.
Maybe because these teachers are willing to consider grey, and hence the students are willing to consider black and white
But then, there are some teachers, who the students don't despise. These are the teachers to whom students actually listen to. The ones, who if they tell the students they are wrong, the students actually listen to. Why do they listen? Maybe because there is mutual giving of respect for each other's opinions. Maybe because these teachers are willing to consider grey, and hence the students are willing to consider black and white. Sure, the other teachers may say - 'hey, you like them because they do not scold you. We, who scold you for your own good, are the ones who have to suffer.' Consider it again. Consider why, even if they do scold us, we listen to them, we heed their words, we are ready to follow their instructions. Because they did not barge into our life and dictate our way, but tried to understand our problems, did not dismiss them as barbaric, and took into account, the change that has undergone. And the effort makes the battle half won.
This is the biggest challenge India is facing. Life has evolved completely, and the old ways need to slowly be changed. But that can only happen, if there is a willingness to do so. Of course, you might say, why don't you give this whole lecture to the teachers of your school, instead of complaining behind their backs? Well, I'm rather fond of my life, and I kind of want to be able to get whatever enjoyment I can from my last 50 days of school.
