Who would have thought that the world would have turned\nupside down in such a way that 6-year-olds started coding and 26-year-olds\ncreated fantasy cricket teams on an app? Well, this topsy-turvy world is what\nwe are living in today and that\u2019s where all this, so called, \u201cinnovative ideas\u201d\nare born. Our newest #DotsFired will be all about speaking up to the wider\nscope of problems that we are currently facing. It\u2019s not depression. It\u2019s not\npolitical propaganda. It\u2019s about giving the right kind of education to the\nfuture generation. What are we teaching them? It is said that children are not\nthat good learners, but they are great imitators. They learn by seeing what\ntheir elders do at home. They learn how to talk to people. They learn how to\nconfront challenges looking at how elders react in a tough situation. This blog\nwould be all about giving children what they truly deserve \u2013 a memorable\nchildhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNever let schooling interfere with your education\u201d <\/em>Mark Twain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Children, of course, are born talented. It is until\nthey start going to school and begin to learn all sorts of stuff. Schooling is\none part of education, not the entire education itself. There are some life\nlessons that cannot be taught or learnt in a school environment. Take the\ngreatest example of Sushant Singh Rajput. If education was so important, he\u2019d\nhave been sitting in the parliament today as the Education Minister reforming\nthe country\u2019s system. But, let\u2019s not get carried away. Let\u2019s talk facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of 21st<\/sup>\ncentury puts the 34-year-old National Policy on Education (NPE) six feet under.\nNEP 2020 aims at achieving 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio in school education by\n2030. So, does this mean that a newborn has to enroll for the IIT\/JEE coaching\nclasses even before the umbilical cord is cut? Relax! Let the kids live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Japanese Way \u2013 Manners\nBefore Knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason why the world envies the Japanese education\nsystem is simple \u2013 they put manners before knowledge. The students in Japan don\u2019t\ntake any exams until they reach the age of 10. They just take trivial tests. The\nprimary belief is that the goal for the initial 3 years of schooling is not to\njudge the kid\u2019s knowledge or learning, but to imbibe good manners and to\ndevelop their character. Probably what most of the adults in India haven\u2019t\nlearnt (or been taught in schools) in their childhood, and wish to pass on this\ntoxic legacy to the future generation as well. So, why pressurize our children\nto sit at home and code, when all they should be doing is get out of the house\nand play. The current situation being an exception, parents are resorting to\nkeeping their kids quiet by handing them a smartphone, which they think can\nsolve all problems. Well, we\u2019re sorry to burst your bubble. IT DOESN\u2019T.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The App Story \u2013 Double\nEdged Sword<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, let\u2019s say your kid has downloaded\nWhiteHat Jr. app and is learning to code and create an app. You are gravely\nmistaken that WhiteHat Jr. will make them a flawless genius. There are rare\ncases where a child has a brain like a supercomputer and can learn about 700\ncoding languages. Otherwise, WhiteHat Jr. is simply a \u2018templated\u2019 app where the\nkids have to learn about complex subjects such as game development, machine\nlearning, space technology and whatnot just by using the drag and drop feature\nand editing the functions as suggested by the teachers online. If you think we were\nthe victims of pressure that our parents put through to score 70% in board\nexams, imagine the plight of kids who want their 6-year-old to code and break\nthe record. Give them a break!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is that you get to create a dream team on Dream11 and\nfeel like a kid again? What about actual kids? Why don\u2019t you code your way out\nof it? You may have all the pros to quote, but when someone says it is\ngambling, you would smartly share the link of the legal page and tell them it\nis a \u2018game of mere skill\u2019 and the app is exempt from the provisions of the\nPublic Gambling Act, 1867 (PGA). Well, if that\u2019s the case. If it is a \u2018game of\nmere skill\u2019, and kids who can code are skillful, it should have been open for\n6-year-old kids as well. Why does the eligibility of playing on Dream11 say\nthat the contest(s) are open only to persons above the age of 18 years? That\u2019s\nquite a twisted tale, isn\u2019t it? We\u2019ll leave the Pandora\u2019s Box open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n