Imagine a classroom of students learning the importance of love, peace, respect and other values. Now imagine a classroom looking into their textbooks to understand Newton’s Prism Experiment and moving on to the next subject. If you look at the larger picture – by combining both of these – you will be able to imagine a classroom full of students who are not only learning enthusiasts but also leaders of the future who will be able to spread love and kindness.
Embedding moral values in a student’s daily life brings happiness in school as well as at home. Building relationships through these values becomes easy. Often, students begin to learn values at home and then carry it to their work atmosphere. However, if we have to teach the students, it is the teachers who must be trained first. Many organisations including UNESCO, ACTS and others, have created training material that highlights the importance of value education and how it can be developed as part of syllabus.
What are the values?
According to the framework created by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training), values are defined as something that ‘regulate and guide human behaviour and action in our day to daily life.’
We would like to highlight 3 values that are important for every child:
1. Peace
One of the main values is creating peace amongst us. When we build peace within our environment, there is a greater opportunity to foster other values as well because all other values are rooted in peace. Akshaya Patra, a charity for children, supports peace by providing access to healthy food. Lack of food may cause insecurity and therefore, contribute to a hostile environment. By providing food with help from charity fundraising, Akshaya Patra promotes peace.
2. Trust
Believing in someone does not come easy. For you trust someone, that person must have built this value through actions and words. Similarly, for someone to trust you, your actions and words must speak. This value, unfortunately, is most difficult when tried to inculcate among the elders.
3. Respect
How often have we heard or said ‘Give respect and take respect’? Maybe it’s a line that never gets old but the message it has will always stay strong. Respect is a universal human value towards not just our race but to nature, planet and everything that surrounds us.
The NCERT report says, ‘If we try noticing what a person does in spare time when he or she is not being coaxed or threatened to do a particular activity, we may get some ideas about what he/she values.’ Let’s bring value education into the classroom and fill the student’s mind with values – values that will help protect the planet, values that will help in spreading joy and values that will help in respecting the elders.
Akshaya Patra is an NGO that provides mid-day meals to over 1.6 million children every day. You can sponsor a child and receive 100% tax exemption as per section 80G of income tax act.
