Respite enhances learning

The ethos of work culture since the advent of globalization is “more, bigger, faster”.  In the mad rush to grab more and more; people are investing as many hours as they can while trying to retain some facade of a life outside work.

Individuals find themselves unable to cope with overwhelming demands and maintain a seemingly unsustainable pace. Paradoxically establishments force their workforce to get more done spending more time doing less. This tendency has obsessed our education system too for the past few years.

Semester system, project works, internships and continuous internal assessments are some of the key elements which gave a major boost to our contemporary education system. Hard work and exposure to a multitude of learning experiences make our new cohort of young graduates stupendous and effervescent. None of the parents want their wards to  waste time on ridiculous stuff. Thus knowing the pulse of the general public the schools and colleges today circumspectly plan their academic calendar to see that the students entrusted to their heed is completely engaged in prolific work year-round even during the semester breaks and summer vacations through various assignments.

In addition extensive privatization of education generates unhealthy competition to complete curriculum and examinations so that results could be announced in the shortest possible time. In this wild rush to be the leader in generating a vibrant campus and completing syllabus and exams in minimum possible period; one of the most valuable component of right schooling is being neglected. It is the essential respite and solitude for teachers and students to revive themselves for a new semester or academic year.

Multidisciplinary research shows that in academics; strategic renewal with vacations boost study skills, productivity, job performance and physical health. Vacations and family travel is a valuable part of a child's education that contributes to cognitive growth and stimulates a child's sense of wonderment.  Providing children with the experience of travel and summer activities broadens their horizons and opens up their minds to learning.

Researchers could clearly identify a significant link between academic achievement and taking a family vacation. Holiday activities like visiting relatives, meeting peers in home town and getting exposed to nature are linked to academic achievement in the areas of reading, mathematics and general knowledge. It makes the child to learn informally and builds him smarter.

Vacation is a period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude which takes a child back to base. This back away is essential in any creative endeavors.  A field should rest if it has to produce a higher yield. Any field which is continuously cultivated without being left barren for some period of time will definitely lose its fertility over passing of time. It is a common spectacle in villages that the children crossing a stream take a few steps reverse and then runs forward and jumps over. Moving  few steps back provides him energy to leap many steps forward. This kind of a retreat to gather further energy for future sessions is inevitable in education if not in other endeavors.

An academic year without proper breaks brings the same impact on pupils and the parents complain on the lack of concentration and sustainable learning in their wards. Respite and physical exercise are the least regarded but essential facades of personality development of the younger generation. These are the keys to achieve higher and finer objectives. To overcome weakness and to acquire confidence, self-esteem and dignity, our youth should be exposed to the wonders of nature and the merits of adventure.This exposure is possible only if sufficient break is available to them during their study phase.

Holidays and rest are possible only in a just society. People with greater share of rest and those with no rest were apparent in olden society. Bogus and strenuous work schedule in the pretext of enhancing productivity by trimming down the time for rest will affect performance in the long run. The whole rationale of vacation in education as understood by our ancient visionaries is miserably misconstrued. A restless academic ambiance creates a restless community too.