The overall teaching in the formative years plays a pivotal role in the general upbringing of the child. By overall teaching we mean teaching all those skills apart from formal education can help a child face all the challenges of modern life. It is important to lay thrust on skills which are as important as formal education.
We must draw inspiration from educators like the great Tyndale Biscoe who made life skills like kayaking, camping, horse riding, and swimming an essential part of the school curriculum. The challenges of modern-day life teach us that there are far greater challenges to be tackled which the domain of formal education can not overcome. There are schools in Japan and Indonesia which have made the basics of entrepreneurship and equity markets are essential subjects in their school curriculum. The emphasis is on the fact that once the child leaves school he should be able to earn enough to sustain himself. Remember the golden rule of life’s economics that you can help others only once you are financially stable.
Swimming in Kashmir as time has proven again and again is an absolutely important life skill. The tragedy at Gandbal would have had far fewer casualties if everyone onboard had mastered the art of swimming at an early age. Swimming must be taught as an essential subject in all schools of the valley. Channeling a particular distance in a water body should be made mandatory for passing matriculation for all able-bodied students.
The challenges of modern life indicate that we need to widen the scope of studies and include non-formal skills as part of essential studies. As they say, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man the art of angling and he never goes hungry all his life. Life skills like boating, lighting a fire, horse riding, and swimming are unputdownable skills in modern-day life. Full emphasis must be laid on these skills.
