By: M Ahmad
Children’s Day is celebrated on November 14 every year. The day marks the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister. He was given the moniker Chacha Nehru because of his fondness for children. His birthday has been designated as Children’s Day since his death in 1964.
The leaders of tomorrow are in school right now. It is often said that “children are our future,” and in a world where the future is rapidly transforming, it is especially important to prepare them for what lies ahead. We live in a world created and shaped by inspiring leaders from all walks of life. As a parent, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our children emerge as future leaders. For that, we have to start today. By teaching your children the right values and skills, you can help them make a positive impact on the world when they grow up. Remember that leadership is not only for adults. It has to start at a young age. Your biggest responsibility as a parent is to prepare your child for what the future has in store.
The more prepared they are, the more successful they will be. Here, in this guide, we share with you seven ways to inculcate leadership qualities in your children. Children are the future of the world. They are going to be the leaders of tomorrow and are going to make choices that will directly affect our generation. Children are pliable, so it’s up to us to mould them well and send them in the right direction. The Wealth of a nation is not so much in its of economical and natural resources but it lies more decidedly in the kind and quality of the wealth of its children and youth. It is they who will be the creators and shapers of a nation’s tomorrow.
The Right to Education (RTE) Act provides for the: Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group.
‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class. It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours. It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings.
It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief. It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications. It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition.
It also provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centered learning.
All schools covered under the Right to Education Act 2009 are obligated to constitute a School Management Committee comprising of a headteacher, local elected representative, parents, community members etc. The committees have been empowered to monitor the functioning of schools and to prepare a school development plan. The Right to Education Act 2009 mandates for all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children belonging to socially disadvantaged and economically weaker sections. This provision of the Act is aimed at boosting social inclusion to provide for a more just and equal nation.
For a better future, we need an education that will give students the freedom to think and speak, the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them, the freedom to dissent and discuss. Only then will education play its meaningful role in providing a better future to all. Education should not only emphasise developing these skills, but also modern pedagogy should propagate them. The Children of today will be adults of tomorrow. Today’s leaders and activists. Their quality and personality will determine the kind of destiny that beckons the nation.
It, therefore, become mandatory for every nation and every society to nurture a strong, healthy and intellectual youth. It is the responsibility of the adults to direct the youth in desired direction. The youth of a nation is its power-house. They have boundless stores of energy, will, capability, zeal, and enthusiasm and have the power to mould the destiny of the nation. This infinite storehouse of energy has to be properly moulded and needs to be given appropriate direction. The youth have to train to use their talents needs to be given appropriate direction. The youth have to be trained to use their talents and abilities in constructive ways and help in nation-building and strengthening of it. Without harnessing this vast store of energy, a nation and a society cannot think of developing economically, politically, socially and intellectually. The best way to engage the youth into playing such a constructive role is to educate them with proper training in the desired direction.
The world we live in today was created and shaped by truly inspirational leaders from all walks of life. It is said that true leaders are not born but are made, as all children have the potential to develop leadership skills and this development of leadership skills is a lifelong process. As parents, caregivers, and teachers, it is our responsibility to help instil these qualities and skills in our children for them to emerge as future leaders. Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and this tremendous responsibility of raising the next generation of leaders should be done with absolute due diligence.
It is by teaching our children the right values and skills while also instilling leadership qualities in them that we can make a positive impact on the world when they grow up. It is vital this quality of leadership has to be taught from a young age, as children who learn the skills of leadership from a young age are known to develop valuable qualities such as resilience, confidence, positive attitude, perseverance, commitment, willing to take on challenges, willingness to accept their mistakes and to learn and grow from those mistakes. Therefore, we will look at ways by which we can inculcate leadership qualities in our children and encourage them to be future leaders in this blog.
While we encourage, teach children to always remember that the best leaders learn to handle failures as gracefully as they embrace success. And teach them about perseverance and patience, as these are virtues that are also essential for effective leadership.
M Ahmad is a regular writer for this newspaper and can be reached at specialachivers78@gmail.com
