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Every Child is Unique

by Srishti Sharon
(Patna, India)




Remember the school days when results used to be declared? Some students would score very high scores, some would score average marks, and some would score unexpected marks (I used the word unexpected instead of low, because low is a negative word that can bring down the morale and create a sense of pity). Then our teacher would make us clap for the student with the highest grade and tell us that we should idolize them and do our best to match their level.

Or, let’s suppose our neighbor kids got more marks in the exam, and we hear our parents talking about how nice their child is and how lucky those parents are to have a child who is supremely intelligent and hardworking, and our parents wish the same for themselves.

We should understand the fact that every child is unique and each of us is blessed with some special talent, which slowly vanishes as we grow due to different reasons, but mainly social reasons. This occurs because we have a tendency to judge everyone on the same parameter; we don’t understand God’s gift of uniqueness, which is necessary to sustain this world. Suppose every child is forced to study law. Only then will our society develop; no, and never because there would be only lawyers. In case of a health emergency, can a lawyer use his knowledge and experience to save a person's life? The answer is no.

Therefore, we need different kinds of people in this society to solve different kinds of problems, and how will this be possible? Here the role of teachers and parents comes into play. It is the role of parents and teachers to understand the psychology of children and encourage them to advance in that particular field. Great philsopher Swami Vivekanand has also emphasized that every child has hidden luminary within them, and it is the role of teachers to make it visible to others so that it can light up the whole world.

If we look at history, we have different examples. We all know about Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists in history. But only a few of us know about his life before becoming a great scientist. He never did well in school. Later he was put to work managing the family farm, where he failed miserably; this prompted his uncle to send him to Cambridge, where he finally discovered his talent, and this is how we got a great scholar! If Newton had been forced to do the farm job, he could have provided the society, carts of vegetables or fruits. But when he found his hidden talent and interest, he served society tremendously, and his laws led to many important inventions.

So, the bottom line is that we should help children find their own interests in which they are good and can yield good results,and then we should nurture their interests and allow them to take their interests to a professional level. It is very important that our parameter not be the same every time.

There is a popular saying - "Everyone is good at something, but not everyone is good at everything".

In this condition, they will become specialists in a particular field and will add much more to society than merely being a mediocre provider.

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