The Future School
By Maqbool Alam
What should the future school be like? This question obliges the assurance of each and every condition important for students in a school. All we need is to maximize excellence, growth, and prosperity of students in every phase of life and to prepare them for the future. Building good schools, to me, is to build a good nation. So school needs to be conditioned at such a point where students would get maximum advantages out of it. Policy making is deemed to be an indispensable tool for maintenance and improvement of any department throughout the world. So, making the best potential policies will be stepping stone for the future school. Below mentioned are the rules to be implemented to make “the future school” possible.
Discipline and security:
Firstly, Schools should provide students with the educational foundation to build successful, independent lives. Classroom disruptions interfere with student achievement. Teachers and administrators must maintain the discipline to create an effective learning environment. A combination of methods used in a consistent and fair manner typically offers the best approach to classroom discipline. There must be enough policies to help students maintain discipline and sufficient follow-through. Parents’ participation in schools is one of farthest importance. There must be parents-teachers meeting at least on monthly basis to appraise students’ performance. This will give an impression to both parents and teachers for vigorous child development. Students should be observed in their attendance, homework and class participation. It is teacher’s responsibility to always take these into account. In addition, in today’s world, there is a high issue of children security in schools. We cannot generate good minds for future, until we do not make their life guarded. Security of children incorporates both external and internal security. In schools, there must be policies to protect children from sexual and mental abuse, bullying and corporal punishment etc. Children at once become the victim of psychological effects and emotional torture when subjected to these kinds of evil acts against them.
Teaching method:
As it is believed that, in today’s world, teachers need more training than students. There should be an upper responsible hand to check and balance in teachers’ ventures in classrooms. We strive for excellence and have high expectations from our scholars. He/she needs to be assessed (test) regularly, accumulate data from these assessments, and use the data to assist them to accomplish mastery of the concept/skill. Students’ behavior and grooming are based upon the way a teacher teaches. One of the top list factors that need the attention of everyone is the teaching methodology. It is a broad concept that focuses on the academic growth of students. One of the ways that will ensure a good teaching method is the recruitment of teachers after proper assessment and training. They should be judged on their management skills, experience and how far they aim at designing a friendly and amenable atmosphere in the classroom. Those teachers converging on the rot learning will perpetually produce rot apprentices with limited knowledge, intellect, and competency. This way of teaching hinders the sound critical thinking of students sequentially composing them unable to run with the modern world. This, for instance, effects their decision making power. Consequently, students are left with fewer options in life which create hysteria for their survival. A school, where intellect and critical thinking with conceptual reading are promoted, will always be touching possible heights.
Research shows that the number one way to enhance a student’s reading skills is to have him/her read. The students who read the most in school are the students who are the best readers and who score highest on reading tests. Moreover, the democratic environment should be promoted in classrooms. We demand democracy in a state but we even cannot create it in our homes and schools. How is it conceivable to bring democracy to a country? Student’s viewpoint should be listened and be esteemed. It has been ascertained out from the research that schools incorporate dictatorship where students are subjected to corporal punishment and suppression. We cannot formulate a fair and just system until and unless we do not promote it in our schools. This environment can only be created in class by the teacher. Therefore, a teacher being the tutor needs to take into account all the necessary steps mentioned above.
Innovation:
A well-known scholar puts in, “Education should not be the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” In this technological world, the stereotypic and traditional ways of passing exams, getting marks and changing grades need to be changed which produce only employers not leaders. If we are to give true meaning to the word “education” then we need to come out of the box and think. One part of education is the innovation. This will include indulging students in innovative technological, educational and leadership ideas from their early age. For example, in Pakistan, this factor is missing in our schools. Along with their course study, students must be involved in creating advanced societies. This is possible only if they are provided with the environment opportunities in schools. Kids enjoy 3D games and movies, so why not use this technology to help them learn? This technique will equip students with a 3D lab that offers interactive multimedia presentations. Technology and other changes in society demand innovation in education. While many schools face challenges such as underfunding, unengaged students, and outmoded curriculums, innovation offers a path forward. It’s significant for educators to prepare students for the future by empowering them with the foundational skills they need to succeed later in life. This includes focusing on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
Co-curricular activities:
One of the main reasons of underdevelopment and lack of success in students is because of the less involvement in balanced and productive activities e.g. sports, debates and discourse, arts and music. Though our students are involved in sports, one cannot deny the fact. But, we observe very less or no participation of students in discourse. Students should be able to identify the multiple problems of society from education and governance to international. Subsequently, they would be able to solve those issues. This skill can be manifested in students through debates and discourse in schools. Not only this, debates and discourse can be attributed to being the foremost factors in developing students’ communication skills. Moreover, it improves rigorous and critical thinking, mental and emotional maturity and academic and occupational achievement. In addition, arts and music are also important to be promoted. Every student is not there to become engineer, doctor, and lawyer. They can be made professional musicians and artists. Youth contribute to the largest percentage of the population in every nation. So, are we supposed to pressurize every student to become professional doctor and engineer? Those interested in other professions of life should be encouraged and provided with the utmost opportunity and staging. Most of our youth go non-productive because of the very reason.
Infrastructure:
A good infrastructure ensures learning among children. It undeviatingly attracts children attention towards school. They do not feel bored coming to school. Proper classrooms, well-furnished washrooms, and enough lighting are basic rights of students. Lending in infrastructure is like investing in future leaders. Pakistan is one of the developing countries. It becomes state’s sole responsibility to make sure the infrastructure to build reliable future for its citizens. It is needless to state that, more and more budget should be allocated to infrastructure and facilities of schools. Unfortunately, a satisfactory infrastructure and facilities in schools remained a nightmare in most segments of our country. We need to rise up and invest money in our schools so that we would be able to make future leaders who will end the afflictions of society such as corruption, terrorism, and bad governance.
To sum up, the fulfillment of all the conditions mentioned foregoing will earn my dream of “the future school” come true. All the conditions are resilient and can undoubtedly be executed in today’s world. All we need is to pay heed towards the policies and to prioritize them.
