Over the past couple of years, several parents have seen teachers conducting tutoring sessions for students studying in the rigorous Indian Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. Several parents tend to have a liking for the tutor, as he/she gives them immense joy through first class marks scored by her students. However, the parents don’t know the other side of the tutor.
The ways of punishing their students, show how he/she goes to every possible extent to make students learn the subject. For instance, one tutor sometimes orders students to sit on a dusty floor outside her house for not completing homework. The child remains helpless, as parents become friends with the tutor, unfortunately not knowing the other side.
The students tell their parents that the teacher is very strict, too short tempered and cannot sympathise with the feelings of the children, but nothing happens. Lengthy lectures are often sufficient to reduce a child to tears, often blowing the wind out of children. The tutor may be a fantastic teacher, but an even better at marketing, constantly having a special way with several parents. It has been observed that once students enroll, the tutor tries to cement a relationship with the parents, transforming from teacher to counselor, gaining a grip over the child’s future.
Children may be our future but are the most sensitive beings of today. Today the tutor succeeds towards pushing students to reach their A-game, but the ‘hunger for marks’ kind of approach can prove harmful for students in the near future. On the other hand, during these years, teachers are supposed to work and help students in a productive manner, not through beatings. As reports suggest that beatings can leave children demoralised for long periods of time.
Parents, it’s up to you to decide whether you want your children to become independent and work to fulfil their potential, living life with every minute of positivity or children who often get demoralised and depressed after being forced to do what they want them to.
The choice is all yours.
-The reader is a student based in Dubai.
