It’s a sight to behold. How he packs up his school bag, slipping books in one at a time, ever so carefully. These books and that stationery box with perfectly sharpened pencils may well be his only treasure; at least that is how it seems from here. Has he already realized the value of these books? I am not sure. Would he always care for them, manage them the way he does now? I can’t say.
No one I believe can really look into the mind of a young kid and map out his thinking process. Or perhaps I feel no one should. You know the principals and followers of some unknown revolutionary paradigm must realize, that there are processes in this world which are sensitive by nature, and connected such inherently with different factors that it is almost unbelievable how a seemingly insignificant input, of words, thoughts, or perception, could in actual change the entire process. Like a dent, for life. How a child develops and how he understands our world is, I believe, one such process. It does not need that ‘shaping – melting – reshaping’ exercise, it does not depend on our participation either; all it needs is some support, to augment what is already in there.
We have been undervaluing this for long, tangled in the debate of nature and nurture. Perhaps our job, as teachers, parents and society, is nothing but to hold back our guide books and just assist through the journey.
Journey that leads to the glory. And character.
