It is a great tragedy that our children are not being taught to think independently. Though all students are natural-born creative and independent thinkers, but the method of teaching in schools drills them into a submission mood and deprives them of their independent thinking skills and insightful ideas. Instead of supporting students to become aware of their strengths and figure out how to set their personal goals, teachers scold, criticise and punish them for every little mistake. Apart from that, there is a ‘one-size-fits-all’ curriculum in schools, which has limited opportunities for students to be independent. Teachers focus only on being able to repeat information and ideas already formulated, emphasising completely on examinations and grades, which causes a feeling of dependence in students. As a result, many students lack confidence to think for themselves independently. To help students be independent and creative, corporal punishment, scolding and criticism must be avoided in classrooms. And students must be provided with plenty of opportunities to develop their independent thinking skills.
Asif Iqbal Qasmi
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
