What are the consequences of the distorted form of education given to the under privileged children?
From the poem : An elementary class room in a slum
Answers
An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum
In the poem, Stephen Spender gives an idea of the life of underprivileged children. The poet gives an idea of how challenging and pathetic life these children are living.
The children are living a very miserable life due to poverty and illiteracy. They are malnourished, depressed and have a foggy future.
The type of education they receive is distorted. Their classroom is not well-maintained. The money which is received by the school authorities in the form of donations is not used for improving the conditions of schools. It is an ironical situation to see the portrait of Shakespeare on the walls of school as no serious teaching is provided. The map in the classroom is seen by every child but alas! as they cannot experience the beauty of nature. They are unaware of the life outside the slum.
For them, the Shakespeare is wicked and the map is a bad example as they are deprived of the literacy which is conveyed by his portrait and the scenic beauties portrayed in the map.
The map gives them false hopes and aspirations as they know their life is limited to this narrow slum.
Their life is awful. Neither they are receiving a good education nor they are experiencing the real beauty of nature. What they see is just a slag of heap underneath a foggy sky which describes a foggy future of these children.