Parents’ Role in Value Education
Today people are forced to earn money to lead a comfortable life. In the European countries the children are left in day care centres from their birth. Except in the developing countries this is a common scenario. India is the mother land of Sri Lanka. India has a great tradition of following Vedic rituals. All the Sanskrit, Tamil and other literatures in other languages emphasize the value education. Value education means valuable education. The education we seek today is to get certificates then employment and find all the possible sources to establish oneself in good position, status with all the worldly comforts to lead worldly life.
The Ithykasas, Puranas and Vedas and other religious literatures are chanted by the Indians and even Sri Lankans who believed in the human, religious, and other values. Therefore from one generation to the other the parents and elders at home followed the great human values Sathya, Dharma, Shanth, Prema and Ahimsa.
The parents, grandparents, and great grandparents in the Eastern countries still follow the right path which were followed by their ancestors. The parents at home looked after their own children and their aged parents. They all lived in collective families. They observed their children’s behaviour from their birth. The girls in the family are gradually trained to be fit to be a wife and a mother. The parents lived and showed how the husband treat their wife as their better half. The wife always showed her concern about all at home. She followed the grandparent’s, parent’s, husband’s and her in laws’ words. The children who are born to such parents in Eastern countries are not sent to day care centres. Food is made and packed and clothing is parcelled, and baby is wrapped and given in the hands of the care takers.
Earlier the role of each person in those families showed responsibility. Everyone bothered about their families. Parents never left their children to take awkward decisions. They let their children to join good friends. They choose schools which have good disciplines. The mothers and grandmothers always related stories which had good Motos and based on human values. Before the child starts schooling large portion of value education is provided by the parents and grandparents.
In the schools the teachers and administrators laid down lot of disciplinary rules. The children who have grasped the good human values at home simply followed the disciplines and rules.
India is not only famous for Rishis, Great Saints, Avatars, Gnanis but also for great teachers, scientists, mathematicians and good leaders. The land itself is called mother Bharatha. The child should surrender to the mother by knowing and experiencing the mother’s love. Each citizen in India cause their land as mother Bharatha ‘Bharatha Matha’.
In Sri Lanka we still have families in the remote areas, villages and mainly in Jaffna who follow education in human values. The parents still respect their parents and grandparents. They live and lead a value embedded life. The children are therefore able to obtain value embedded education.
Today the parents have forgotten or forced to forget their roles in providing value education. The world is now desperate to have peace. The cause is the parents who are unstable, disturbed, money minded, worldly and undergoing mental and physical turmoil by their own children who do not respect them. Because they are father as ‘old man’ and their mothers as ‘that woman’. We in Sri Lanka are fortunate to have good parents, good society, good children and peace and harmony.
Bavvatharani Ravindran
Nallur – Jaffna
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