Parents need to involve themselves 

Greek philosopher Aristotle believed “those who educate the children are more to be honoured than their parents because parents give them life only while teachers teach them the art of living well”.

In Indian concept, a teacher is the spiritual and intellectual father of the taught. Without the help of the teacher, no education is possible. He is regarded as the “Guru”—a great friend, a philosopher and the guide. His relationship with his disciple is social and spiritual. Nowhere in this world was the implication of this statement been better implemented than in ancient India. A development of the relation between the teacher or guru and the pupil was the exaltation of the teacher to such an extent of reverence that he the guru was worshipped by his pupil.

It won’t be out of context here to take stock of parent-children interaction, too, dispassionately. Parents, also, owe much to reform, supervise and monitor the day to day working of their children from time to time. Leaving everything to the school and school teachers, or for that matter to Guru, is not fair enough. Parents need to involve themselves actively to watch the daily progress of their school going, children. But unfortunately, that is not happening. Whatever time parents have at their disposal is consumed by newspapers, television and other recreations. As a result, the younger generation hardly gets an opportunity to share ideas with their elders or to enter into a meaningful discussion.

Similarly, this idea is gaining ground among enlightened parents, too, that modern education is not meant to build up better human beings, but only to get better jobs. Consequently, the students' minds are obsessed with better jobs and dreams for higher social status. It is, therefore, the duty of the parents, too, to take an active interest in the day-to-day progress of their children both in and outside the institution and apprise them of the real meaning of education. 

To keep a close vigil on the activities of their children after school hours in and out also needs to be initiated by their parents, since the tendency to lure and indoctrinate the young minds by antisocial and disruptive elements of our society has been on the rise over a longer period of time.

DR. SHIBEN KRISHEN RAINA