Teach manners and ethics in school, so that one day the kids can grow up to be decent human beings. This might be harder to achieve as the teachers and parents themselves engage in (what I would like to term) questionable works of art. You do not have to venture very far from the confines of your own home to see the sort of savagery being displayed by adults in the streets. That gets the question moving.

Constant strikes, vandalism, stone pelting, physical assaults, and the like have become the norm these days. Use of foul language and the stench of massive corruption have already gagged each and every one of us, and will probably work “wonders” on today’s children. It seems as if the parents and teachers themselves do not have either the time or the willingness to school their dependents on how to act and behave. The future in this regard sure looks grim.

I am sure everybody would agree with me when I say that the grooming process of the children begins at a very tender age. Once a mindset has been adopted, it becomes next to impossible to change a person’s way of thinking. So, what these school kids learn from their surroundings today will shape the future and in turn the future of the country.

A well-rounded education not only teaches an individual how to read and write, but also to reason and use good judgment, whist making decisions. It will also no doubt be helpful in differentiating between what is right and wrong. But to our dismay, there are very few teachers who have the ability to impart such wisdom to their pupils. Tap the few for the maximum benefit of the students.

Hence, an addition in the school curricula is the need of the hour. A subject that is entirely devoted to manners and ethics is necessary. It is a well known fact that kids have a short attention span, so they have to be repeatedly exposed to values which will teach them to be reasonable and uphold a dignified way of life when they grow up.

For the moment, running around and behaving like a hoodlum seems to have become a trend. I hope that a positive change in the teaching system and method will go far to ensure a long lasting and highly desired outcome of creating model citizens. Do we have what it takes? It remains to be seen!