Taare Zameen Par is a much needed breath of fresh air for the effete and constrained school environment in India. Although it might pass off as the story of a dyslexic child gaining recognition for his unique talent, the story is a commentary on us as parents, teachers and school administrators
Parents
I'm increasingly getting convinced that what India needs the most to improve its Human Capital is not better schools, or more universities but Parent Counseling. We, as parents operate from centuries old myths, stereotypes and misinformation. And the root cause seems to be the quest for the 'Ideal Child'. And the Ideal Child is defined primarily in terms of Verbal and Logic/Math capability. Guests check whether the child can count or read the alphabet. Parents want to teach their children the 'a,b,c' and the '1,2,3'. Schools test for 'A for apple' and 'count till 20'.
There is a need to redefine the 'Ideal Child'. Better still, we need to shed the notion of the 'Ideal Child'. Each child is unique. Some can read well. Some can count well. Some can draw well. Some can relate well. Some can imagine well. Some can model well. Some can sing well. Howard Gardner calls them Multiple Intelligences. And there are 7 of them. Each child has a grain of these intelligences but is overdeveloped on some and underdeveloped on others. Society needs each intelligence but parents tend to over-value language and maths acquisition more than other intelligences. This needs to change and Parent Counseling can play a massive role in this area.
I feel that embracing the philosophy of Multiple Intelligences will allow parents to respect their child's capability in whichever sphere it exists. It'll save children from the pressure and stress of being judged on limited and misplaced criteria
Teachers
Teaching in India is crying for Talent. Teaching is the last resort of the failed, clueless or in the case of women, the married. There are umpteenth reasons for it. Low salaries are the primary quoted reason. The absence of role models and their celebration is another big one in my pov. In a world, where a Mittal, a Modi, a Bedi, a Dhoni or a Khan are touted as 'Indian of the Year', where will young impressionable minds get the inspiration to become great teachers??
Even those who join the profession with the right intent are benumbed by the old and defunct 'BEd' course. Here, the vicious cycle of bad teachers creating worse ones manifests itself with age old paradigms on Human Development, Child Psychology and Cognition getting perpetuated and new research and learning remaining in Research Labs and books.
Once these teachers enter schools, they start the process of dousing any ambers of curiosity in the child with their inane, 'fingers on your lips', 'get out of the class' and 'Amit, you read the first paragraph and others repeat' routines. Teaching is one profession where there is little to no refreshing of skills and knowledge. Teachers use methodologies that existed when they went to school and sadly, all the modern developments and learnings on human cognition by-pass them.
I haven't yet touched the plight of government schools where teacher absenteeism exacerbates all the above issues (Although you can argue that a bad teacher can do more harm than no teacher at all!!)
I feel that New Age Schools run by the Private Sector can play a role in attracting talent to this profession. The Private Sector can also contribute in the area of teacher training if the right incentives for skill upgradation are provided. Technology can play a big part in this area by carrying centralized content to far off areas. If the Govt. pitches in by revoking the senseless Not for Profit Trust requirement for schools and Media plays its part in celebrating Teaching as a profession of nation builders, much can be achieved.
School Administrators
School administrators play a huge role in the area of teacher-student ratio, teacher recruitment & training. I'm a big supporter of inclusive education - every child has the right to learn. And every child can learn, as long as schools accept this as their responsibility and make provisions for the different intelligences exhibited by different students. If students learn in different ways, schools have to make the extra effort and investment in teaching in different ways.
This is possible only if the right teacher student ratio is maintained to allow individual differences in intelligences to be identified. Classroom design will need to follow to enable child centric methodologies vs. creating pulpits for sermons.
Taare Zameen Par touches on all of these in subtle ways. Whether it is the father who misses his child's uniqueness in his pursuit for the 'Ideal Child' or the teachers who perpetuate rote learning or the school principal who struggles with the dilemma of efficiency of administration vs. focus on each child - the movie portrays issues dogging education today.
Credit should go to the scriptwriter for a great story. Darshil has performed his role with amazing finesse for his age. And Aamir, the director, has resisted the usual producer-actor-director urge to focus on himself, thus allowing the movie to focus on the theme vs. the star.
