Beyond Books

For most Nepali people school is merely a means to bookish knowledge, but the teaching-learning process that takes in a modern day school goes way beyond just books. The role of a school is not simply to develop children’s literacy and numeracy skills; the primary function of schools is to prepare their students for life after the classroom. I can relate this to the “sleepover” programme organised by my son’s school in Australia.

During their time in either the third or the fourth grade, students of the school were invited to a sleepover programme that the school organised within its premises. Many Asian parents were hesitant to send their children there; more so if they had a daughter. I was curious about whether or not my son could spend time away from his parents, even if that only meant a single night, and at the same time I wanted to learn about the purpose behind the event, so I sent him off. 

This “sleepover” turned out to have a lot of hidden meaning. The school wanted to teach students some ‘risk taking’, i.e. to make students more confident, fearless and independent. The school principal clarified, “If we always remain in our comfort zone (family periphery) we may not learn those skills which we need in our later life.” 

Yes, it was a wonderful experience for my son. He spent a good time with his friends from different cultural backgrounds; I am sure they must have exchanged information related to their culture which would help to expand their horizon. In addition, he learned dishwashing, making bed and packing it up. From observing the school’s circumstances I realised that “schooling” has a broad perspective. Children do not go to school only to gain knowledge but they learn various sorts of life skills. It is absolutely true that knowledge is for life – a long term educational goal. 

On the contrary, when I look back to our context, the scenario seems different. In Nepal, students go to school to gain knowledge; and that knowledge is for knowledge’s sake, not for life’s sake. Although the curriculum has emphasised life long goals of education; in practice this has hardly been realised. 

The sleepover is just an example. There are so many other activities which schools can organise to provide students with broader learning experiences. There is a trend of educational tours in Nepali schools as well but they are limited only to “tours.” They are more for fun, and the “educational” portion of the term is often forgotten altogether. The purpose of such tours has not been clearly identified. If students were given some tasks to complete after visiting the places the educational tours would perhaps hold greater value. 

In fact, there is a very limited learning environment within a formal school setting; children can learn a tremendous amount of things from the outer world. Therefore, they must be given opportunities to go outside and explore the world. However, the outdoor activities should not be purposeless – just go out, hang around with friends, have fun, come back and forget everything after some days. Such activities should always be able to challenge students’ thinking process; students should be able to reflect on their world experiences. One way to do this is to assign them a project to complete. Then, they can have fun while achieving something towards fulfilling their life-long educational goals.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, March 2, 2018 ) 

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