self-study

Goldy Malhotra

Right from the time a child gets into a regular school in the primary classes, parents start looking for a help to tutor the child privately. Yes, this is happening in our country where majority of parents feel that there is need for extra coaching after school hours to make a student do well in the examination.
In fact, even if the student is doing well upto the middle school, the need is felt in the senior classes, primarily due to the peer pressure. Have we ever realised that the poor child is left with no time to do the work on his own? In other words, 'self-study' has completely disappeared from the time table of today's student.
The preparation at the coaching centres or with the tutor at home is simply an extension of the lesson teaching that is done at the school in a class. The hours can not be stretched and the tired student has no time to

Parents need to understand the benefits of self-study that can be inculcated at an early age. Random supervision can also be a good check till it becomes a habit. Independent study also encourages the effectiveness of technology. There can be good amount of knowledge sharing with the peer group after independent work.

recall the learning done at the school and this leads to early forgetting of the read material. Parents always look at the time their ward spends with the books, without understanding that the number of hours do not matter. One can study for two hours with the efficiency of four hours slog by another student.
Teaching in a group goes at a faster pace to meet the requirement of a larger number and extension of same is seen in the tutorials or so called group tuitions. For that matter even the individual tuition does not leave any scope for self-study.
Self-study, the true method of learning has its own pace and can deal with the difficulty level of the material to the satisfaction of student. The difficulties in the content can be best solved individually by the teacher while conducting the class or after the class. In such cases the self study provides the store house of memory to recall from.

The photographic memory works best when one studies in isolation with full concentration. Apart from broadening the thinking level, self study infuses a sense of responsibility that ultimately makes the student confident. Students who believe in studying on their own, have no fear of criticism and their work becomes research oriented.

One can understand the need of extra coaching or help for a student who is not at par with others in the class and is not fortunate to have a compassionate teacher to take him along. If such student shows improvement with the help of private tuition, this should not set an example for mediocre and bright students to have tuitions to climb the ladder. It has been observed that good students after depending on tuitions go down in their performance. This is mainly due to non availability of time to study on their own after the tuition and home work routine. Sometimes, the home work is also done with the help of private tutors making the student terribly dependent.

Parents need to understand the benefits of self study that can be inculcated at an early age and a proper time table is made for the same. Random supervision can also be a good check till it becomes a habit. Independent study also encourages the effectiveness of technology. There can be good amount of knowledge sharing with the peer group after independent work.
Tuitions, apart from becoming an escape from self study, are emptying the pockets of parents. Students to remain trendy among peer group, follow this fashion of 21st century that brings frustration among students. Are the school teachers not to be blamed for giving incomplete knowledge to their students and asking the parents to look for help elsewhere? This is the most mind boggling question in parents' mind.

Had this practice of 'self-study' not been successful, the online courses would not have been so popular today. MOOCs (massive open online courses) are becoming the right choice for many youngsters, who are able to work and study at the same time. These courses make you Autodidact or self teacher apart from being affordable. Udacity, edX, Coursera and Academic Earth are just a few low-cost or free education providers available through web.
Now that we are introducing digital learning, its time that our students prepare themselves to work independently after the school hours to be able to explore, learn and recall. Regularity, coupled with self-study, can give best result and take away the tension and stress that is often found in students before the onset of examination.

The author is former Principal, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, ND.



		EDITOR'S MAIL FROM THE EDITOR Economic Scene Farmers' community Rural India Tribal Community Education Need to focus on Higher Education Frontiers of science PNB Scam Law and order Growing inequality Job creation Sakala Syndrome Environment Sports management The Power of Yoga Art of living US STRATEGY DATELINE BEIJING SIGNS OF THE TIMES Issue:Mar' 2018 Subscribe Now	Need to focus on self-study Goldy Malhotra Right from the time a child gets into a regular school in the primary classes, parents start looking for a help to tutor the child privately. Yes, this is happening in our country where majority of parents feel that there is need for extra coaching after school hours to make a student do well in the examination. In fact, even if the student is doing well upto the middle school, the need is felt in the senior classes, primarily due to the peer pressure. Have we ever realised that the poor child is left with no time to do the work on his own? In other words, 'self-study' has completely disappeared from the time table of today's student. The preparation at the coaching centres or with the tutor at home is simply an extension of the lesson teaching that is done at the school in a class. The hours can not be stretched and the tired student has no time to Parents need to understand the benefits of self-study that can be inculcated at an early age. Random supervision can also be a good check till it becomes a habit. Independent study also encourages the effectiveness of technology. There can be good amount of knowledge sharing with the peer group after independent work. recall the learning done at the school and this leads to early forgetting of the read material. Parents always look at the time their ward spends with the books, without understanding that the number of hours do not matter. One can study for two hours with the efficiency of four hours slog by another student. Teaching in a group goes at a faster pace to meet the requirement of a larger number and extension of same is seen in the tutorials or so called group tuitions. For that matter even the individual tuition does not leave any scope for self-study. Self-study, the true method of learning has its own pace and can deal with the difficulty level of the material to the satisfaction of student. The difficulties in the content can be best solved individually by the teacher while conducting the class or after the class. In such cases the self study provides the store house of memory to recall from. The photographic memory works best when one studies in isolation with full concentration. Apart from broadening the thinking level, self study infuses a sense of responsibility that ultimately makes the student confident. Students who believe in studying on their own, have no fear of criticism and their work becomes research oriented. One can understand the need of extra coaching or help for a student who is not at par with others in the class and is not fortunate to have a compassionate teacher to take him along. If such student shows improvement with the help of private tuition, this should not set an example for mediocre and bright students to have tuitions to climb the ladder. It has been observed that good students after depending on tuitions go down in their performance. This is mainly due to non availability of time to study on their own after the tuition and home work routine. Sometimes, the home work is also done with the help of private tutors making the student terribly dependent. Parents need to understand the benefits of self study that can be inculcated at an early age and a proper time table is made for the same. Random supervision can also be a good check till it becomes a habit. Independent study also encourages the effectiveness of technology. There can be good amount of knowledge sharing with the peer group after independent work. Tuitions, apart from becoming an escape from self study, are emptying the pockets of parents. Students to remain trendy among peer group, follow this fashion of 21st century that brings frustration among students. Are the school teachers not to be blamed for giving incomplete knowledge to their students and asking the parents to look for help elsewhere? This is the most mind boggling question in parents' mind. Had this practice of 'self-study' not been successful, the online courses would not have been so popular today. MOOCs (massive open online courses) are becoming the right choice for many youngsters, who are able to work and study at the same time. These courses make you Autodidact or self teacher apart from being affordable. Udacity, edX, Coursera and Academic Earth are just a few low-cost or free education providers available through web. Now that we are introducing digital learning, its time that our students prepare themselves to work independently after the school hours to be able to explore, learn and recall. Regularity, coupled with self-study, can give best result and take away the tension and stress that is often found in students before the onset of examination. The author is former Principal, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, ND.