Writers like Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore have always emphasized nature in education and the development of a child. According to them, anything taught inside nature and with nature is much more understandable than what we do inside the four walls. Whether nature helps in the development of a child or not has always been a question to be asked and has always been researched by many researchers. And it is proved that nature plays a vital role in the development of a child. Science says that it can help in improving memory power, physical development, concentration, etc.
In this article, we are going to learn about nature’s help in a child’s development.
Being with nature
Nature is one of the wonders created by God. When we are connected to it, we feel energetic and lively. Children playing outside in nature develop both physically and mentally. They explore nature. They come to know about different plants and flowers, birds and animals, etc. Their brains start thinking actively and they grow up as risk takers.
This is why, according to extensive research, children who learn in nature have better grasping power and are proactive thinkers. They know about nature and score better in science. Not only is this, these kids are always happier than those learning inside the concreate walls.
It is good to leave the children in nature for an hour between every three classes so that their minds are fresh to acquire more and more knowledge.
I still remember how my classmates’ behavior used to change with the change in nature. The moment it was a little cloudy with a soft cool breeze blowing outside, our hearts and minds were outside the class. But our teachers were good to leave us in nature when we were not ready to learn any more.
Such things are missing from today’s school curriculum, and the kids are not that active as we used to be when we were kids.
Technology and kids
Kids nowadays are more attracted towards technology. Starting from television to a tablet, they know how to operate everything. In this technological era where the whole world is inside technology, how can our children be away from it? There are various studies and research going on about the effect of technology on kids. According to some studies, it is harmful, and according to others, it is OK if our kids are spending more time on technology because that is what our future is going to be. We understand that technology can provide any type of information at any time, and that our children can be entertained by playing video games and watching various videos, but nothing can replace nature. Kids who are smart at playing videos are not smart at dealing with the real world.
Sometimes I wonder if anything has changed in our lives since what we used to do in earlier days. Well, things that have changed are our eating habits and our lifestyle, with the addition of technology to them. But our responsibilities remain the same, our tensions remain the same, and the way a child grows up remains the same. So, can technology replace our responsibilities and tensions? As of now, no.
It would be good if our children spent more time with nature and, at the same time, learned everything about technology. The way a child becomes a smart thinker with nature can’t be replaced with anything.
