Article on Important of value education in school
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Values should be integrated in various aspects of life. It goes without saying that values go a long way in building a person’s character. Education without strong character is like a ship without a captain. Good education is inconceivable if it fails to inculcate values which are indispensable for a holistic life. Qualifications and skills are essential in the success of an individual but without values he is incomplete as a person.
Values are virtues that are imbibed by the children from their surroundings, the environment in which they are brought up, the environment in which they live. The people around them play a vital role in leaving an impression on the tender minds of these young individuals. With the increasing trend of nuclear families, parents working round the clock, absence of grandparents and elderly in the family, children end up spending a lot of time with housemaids and caretakers.
Here, role of the school and particularly the teacher becomes imperative to ensure that values are interwoven in all her lessons she takes up with her students. Values should be a part of each lesson, each topic taken up irrespective of the subject being taught. Here are a few ideas which can help the teachers in incorporating values while designing lessons for their class:
Languages are an integral part of any curriculum. Various skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking require a lot of textual material. The teacher can make use of motivating excerpts from the lives of famous personalities for the same. Speeches delivered by prominent leaders can be used as audio tools. It is vital to expose the students to our rich and valuable culture, ideas and vision of our great leaders who had the courage to break away from stereotypes, narrow minded thoughts of the society.Dramatics are an essential part in any school curriculum nowadays. Various inspiring instances from the lives of different leaders which show their determination, courage, selflessness can be staged or narrated to the students. Even inspirational movies can be shown to leave a lasting effect on the young minds.Social sciences teach us about the society. Debates, discussions, etc are conducted frequently during these lessons. These form good tools in teaching values such as inclusiveness, positive interaction, tolerance, importance of participation and being respectful towards others despite difference of opinion.Circle time is important as the students get a chance to express their feelings. During this time the teacher can stir the minds of the students and give them a chance to recognise and express their thoughts. For example, for teaching truthfulness, the students can be asked how do they feel when they speak the truth and how do they feel when they don’t. What stops them from speaking the truth? Do they feel proud when they say – I’m truthful, I’m honest, etc. It is important on the teacher’s part to create an affable environment where students share their ideas and thoughts fearlessly.Field visits to orphanages and old age homes present a true picture of the situation of our society. This can sensitise the students towards the less fortunate individuals of the society. Students can be encouraged to donate, may be a book, a shirt or a toy and share their happiness with the less privileged counterparts in the society. This will not just teach them sharing, helpfulness but also gratitude for all that they possess.From the cradle to the grave, learning is a continuous process for all men. Some knowledge he acquires from books, some from the people he meets in the course of his life and a good bit of knowledge is got from the various experience he has.
But the most important lesson he learns is the importance of Value Education. The teaching of values starts from one's childhood days and are first instilled into a child by the mother. There are values like obedience, courtesy, manners, honesty, truthfulness, respect, politeness and so on. These values are reinforced in schools, where the child goes on to learn additional values like civic sense, patriotism and secularism.
All these values instill into a child a responsibility and sincerity to fit into society and make him a good citizen who will always endeavour to do his best for his country. No one would want to be a misfit in society and be treated as an outcaste by one's fellowmen. Right from childhood a child adjusts himself to his surroundings, his classmates and the society he lives in.
A rude, disobedient, disrespectful child is disliked by all and his behaviour is reflected very poorly on his parents. Likewise a lying, corrupt, dishonest man is shunned by his colleagues and subordinates.
Our country needs good fearless citizens with good values who are prepared to stand for truth and justice in today's world and that is why value education plays a very important role in school today.
