Today, whatever is taught in schools, colleges and universities comes under education and is accepted as education, but in the words of Emerson, these are simply, “the means of education”Had acquisition of the dry bones of knowledge, scoring of hundred out of hundred by rote memory, attainment of degrees with distinction and acquiring of status in terms of post and position, great persons of the world like Tagore, Surdas, Valmiki, Shakespeare, Thomas Alva Edison, Froebel and others would not have come to limelight.

Their constructive contribution to the field of art, literature, music, electricity and education will ever remain green in the minds of one and all.

Froebel, the seventh child of his parents who could not read due to poverty and family problems, rose to be the father of Kinder Garten method.

Edison, who was with drawn from the school, contributed to electricity for the world. Shakespeare, who could read up to class IX, rose to prominence for his invaluable contributions to English literature. Valmiki, an established robber who could not even utter Ram properly became the writer of the Ramayana, the great epic. It is said sudras blind by birth, gave to the world what even man with physical eyes could not do Tagore, a versatile genius contributed to the field of art, music, poetry and education particularly when he always tried to remain away from his classes. i.e. he always preferred to be in the lovely lap of nature. For him “auto-education” was real education.

De-Educate Your Child If You Want Him/Her to Grow in full Dramas by Shakespeare surpassed the height of three university wits Kyd, LyLy and Marlowe. Critics, all out to wreck the reputation of Shakespeare, went to the extent of calling him “as an upstart crow beatified with the feathers of university wits”. But because of contemporaneity, communicability and universality contained in his masterpieces, he is immortal.

Vidyottama an erudite and established scholar of her time, could be fooled even by a foolish person like Kalidas, known all over for cutting the same branch on which he was sitting who in later stage became the writer of Meghdoot, Abhigyanshakuntalam and Kumarshambhavam. Even Ramanujan, Who could not clear his intermediate examination, was recognized for his rare and invaluable contribution to the field of mathematics. Not only Hardy, but the entire world could know his real worth. It is really difficult to catalogue all such people who without being tutored could give a lot to the world.

Why go to the past or distant past for such examples alone? Even in the living present, there are examples of people reaching the height without being coached either in private or in schools, colleges and universities. Most of the children today acquire more than their age, per spire for more than what they are meant, talk which our forefathers would not have even imagined, conceived and comprehended and at times some of the children behave in such an elderly manner that even octogenarians feel small before them. A child of standard I one day complains to the Madam “X loves Y and Y also loves X”.

The teacher in all good faith explains the value of love in life by citing examples. “A brother loves his sister”, “A sister loves her brother”, “A father loves his son or daughter”, “A mother loves her son or daughter ” etc. Quick was the reply, “no madam, not this kind of love”, rather “Mummy papa walla prey”.

Such is the example of “knowledge explosion”. Such is the example of the exposure of our children. The aforesaid example is enough to prove the type of maturity our children have achieved at such a tender age. Children who are known for their “imitating propensity” keep themselves so much tuned to the TV. Serials that they start copying instead of playing their own roles. Parents also have no option left but to yield to what is being done in the name of advancement.

Not only this, such parents are all out to compel their children to acquire degrees at any cost. Expectations of parents, from children, in this competitive age, reign supreme. They are least worried about age, ability and aptitude.

Consequently, things are going off the rails. Mental, physical and social disorders can be perceived anywhere in the children of any age group.
Maturity level of children is mounting so high that if steps are not taken in time to monitor and channelize the expectations and aspirations of parents, performance of children in the light of age, aptitude and ability and behavior of the society in terms of recognition, days are not far off when the number of mental hospitals will exceed the number of schools in the country.