Recently, we organised and facilitated a workshop for DPS society teachers on Value education through digital story-telling. The objective of the workshop was to equip pre-school teachers with skills, tools and techniques to teach values to children aged 3 to 6.
Within the Indian context, there is an emphasis on value education even within the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The NCERT has released a framework - 'Education for values in school'. There are two quotes from the framework that really stick out for me.
Children and youth need to be educated to practice the commonly held values of harmony and peace with self and others. Children are envoys of the future. As per the population projection, India will have one of the youngest populations in the world by 2020. This vast human resource will shape the nation and the world.
While the stat may not surprise anyone, it is the impact that the young population will have on the World that should be considered. This young population is currently in schools all over the country. It is at a stage where it can be easily moulded to understand what is right and what is wrong and internalise the right values. Schools thus become an important medium where value based education can cause the biggest impact.
The second key quote from the framework is.
From individual’s perspective, the purpose is to enable students achieve personal fulfilment for success in life and work. From societal perspectives, education aims to prepare young people to contribute to the society / nation and world around.
This is important because the importance of teaching values not only enables an individual to achieve success, but also enables the society to progress at a much faster pace. If the young population is taught the right values, the country and the World will be a much safer, productive and professional place to live in. Schools once again play an important role in ensuring this.
