Education In The Form Of a Pyramid

Shape of a pyramid is like, broad at the base and narrow at the top and everyone wants to be in the top level of the pyramid. Now imagine a pyramid whose base is weak, will it last for long? Will it be strong? Will you be able to reach to the top level of such a pyramid? If the answers to these questions is NO, then dear readers apply the same logic towards your child’s education.

In 6-7 years of primary education of my elder child, I have come across many teachers and parents with different thinking regarding primary education but one thing common, which is, not pressuring the child for studies but at the same time marks oriented performance. Also I have come across many parents who either give lot of attention towards marks and performance or they take primary education casually and put full focus on higher education.

In my opinion we should pay focus on the initial years of education but most of us put lot of attention towards higher studies only. When your child is in the primary school or in middle school, that is the base of the pyramid which needs to be very strong so that the foundation is strong and your child is able to perform well in higher studies.

I think, following points should be kept in mind as a parent when your child is in primary school:

• Do not pressurize child for marks, even if school says so or if kids have peer pressure.
• Make the child study regularly at least for half an hour to one hour a day even during summer vacations. Don’t make them study for hours and hours at this age, if you make them study for long in primary school, they will run away from studies. Additionally, providing children with autonomy over their free time can help them develop a sense of responsibility and self-awareness about how they choose to spend their time. Read more about this here.
• Never make children study immediately after he comes home from school. Mentally and physically he/she is tired, give them their space and time to relax.
• Try to make the concepts of the subjects clear rather than making them do rote learning. Try to encourage the children to write answers in their own sentences even if they make mistakes. This way their learning will be better.
• Even if teachers are way ahead in a topic and your child is lacking behind, don’t rush, maybe he/she is not able to understand the topic, go backwards and try to see where exactly is he getting stuck. It is more important is to make them clear with the topic rather than getting along with the pace of the teacher. In case the child is taking tuitions, please ask the tutor to do the same. Once the subject topic is clear, they can quickly make up to the pace of the teacher.
• If a child is little weak in a subject, most probably he/she will try to run away from the subject making an excuse. If possible, we should sit with the kid and take up that subject daily or if there is a tutor ask him/her to do the same. I personally feel that as a parent, we should sit with the child for at least 15 minutes and take up that subject to regain child’s confidence.
• Please make sure that your child is going out to play (outdoor only) whatever time of the day it may be, no matter his/her friends are going out or not (I do that with my kids without fail, even during exams). This brings a lot of focus in the child towards studies or any other activity that he takes up. Maybe, walking alone and listening to music, cycling, chatting with friends or just being out in the nature is good for the child.
• Try to identify the problem areas in the subject or let the child come up with his/her problem areas. Identification of the issue is important to find resolution, so please encourage your child to identify his areas of weakness in the subjects. Actually, identification of the correct difficulty is very helpful even with extra-curricular activities.

I particularly feel that primary and middle school is the foundation for higher studies, like base of the building has to be strong for long run, similarly primary and middle school is the basis of the child’s future education.

Once the base of the pyramid is strong, rest be assured that it will not fall off. In middle school and high school also, we should follow the same practices as discussed above, but additional points need to be kept in mind:

• The duration of the studies should be increased depending on the child’s capacity. Don’t make your child study for long hours, what is more important is consistency.

• Please never push your child for marks, taking marks from the teacher is an art. And all children are not good in this art, but they certainly can be good at it under guidance. Never pressurize your child for performance, guide them towards not repeating the same mistake.

• Children in middle school when are unclear of the topic or concept, they may keep it to themselves and not share it with anybody, maybe, because of fear, shyness or anxiety of being mocked by friends. As a parent it is our duty (let me say again duty) to keep a watch on this and clear their doubts.

• In this age, lots of physical changes start occurring in the body, which can mentally disturb a child and therefore attention towards studies may decrease. If possible, try to ask questions to them and answer their doubts. Once the doubts are cleared, mentally they will be relaxed and have better focus towards studies.

• We all know that as child goes up in higher classes the level of studies increases, try and encourage your child to make his/her own time-table rather than you making the time-table for them. This way they will be under the pressure to follow time-table they have made for themselves rather than imposed on them. They will also learn how to manage time for better results.

I particularly feel that higher education is streamlined and sorted once the primary and middle school education is sound (base of the pyramid is Important), we should pay attention towards building a powerful base for a secured future. Also, if the child is clear with primary and middle school subjects, he/she will be clear what they want to do in higher education which today many children don’t know. Though higher education is very important for child’s future but as a parent we should not bother much and should not let our children bother much for the same. To reach to the top level of the pyramid focus towards building a powerful base.

Disclaimer: These are purely my thoughts on education, but would appreciate your view points on the same. So, please join the discussion to express your thoughts on primary and middle school education.