“I’m Drawing a Picture of God.” — The Child Replied

Our education system is eroding creativity

One drawing teacher states that once he saw a nursery child drawing a strange picture on his notebook. He asked him what his son was doing. The child replied innocently — “I’m drawing a picture of God”. The teacher asked him; Son, no one has ever seen God, so how can you draw a picture of him? The child responds in a very interesting way: — “Sir if you wait a bit, you’ll see how God looks like”

“Sir if you wait a bit, you’ll see how God looks like”

A few days ago, I was among some children who had not yet started school. They began asking serious questions when they mingled with me. Some of the questions were also puzzling. What’s your name, Uncle? Uncle, where are you staying? Uncle, what colour is the exterior of your house? Do you drive this car, Uncle? Similarly, I have a young niece who asks a lot of questions and then comes up with a new one after each response. When children ask me these types of questions, I think that how creative our children are, and when they leave these institutions, they cannot think or ask questions.

Children are curious by nature and frequently ask questions; however, after schooling, they lose this ability.

There are many reasons for the lack of creativity in our educational institutions — the main one is the fear of institutions. I still remember, when I was admitted to nursery class, the fear was created in my heart that teachers would beat me in school. Obviously what a little kid would ask if he’s up for a beating at school. And this tradition has not changed yet. A few days ago an old man was sitting in at my home with his grandson. When a little child didn’t shake my hand, his grandfather threatens him to shake hands with the teacher or he will be beaten at school.

Punishment never corrects a child. We pave the way for his evil by beating him.

Now there is a ban on beating in institutions but its fruits cannot reach our society because it is connected with complex parameters. What if the father doesn’t know about his child? Does he go to school or not? This means that if the father refuses to cooperate with the institution, the institution will never be able to solve the problem on its own. The second point is that if a teacher has seventy children to teach, he will almost certainly try to sit them silently first. And he will undoubtedly beat them in this regard. It is even more critical if the examination institutes (examination boards) check the child for information rather than creativity, the teachers will undoubtedly focus on the information.

Students are graded on their ability to retain information rather than their creativity. Teachers eventually prepare them to memorise.

If we want our generation to be known for its creativity and contributions to science and literature, we must improve our educational system, particularly the examination system. If we do not give a good education system, we will continue to produce PhD doctors but they will not be able to create a single question.