What is important to develop critical thinking in children? Recently there was a much-talked-about incident in which the teacher put a black mark on the face of a school student and asked the whole class to embarrass the child. What was the child's mistake? The mistake was that he spoke in Urdu in an English medium school. It was a shocking incident and I can feel the pain of the humiliation this little child must have suffered. This is nothing short of a grave sin against this child, our national language, and all the students who have been involved in this game of language hatred.
At one point I felt proud of my friend's daughter who told
me the story of her 9-year-old daughter. He was admitted to an 'English medium
school' after returning to Pakistan. Since she was born in America, she spoke
English fluently with an American accent. This girl's Urdu was also good
because her parents used to talk to her in her mother tongue at home. The class
teacher at the school was impressed with the girl's English and made her a
monitor. The mother asked her daughter what her responsibilities were as a
monitor. To which the girl innocently replied that 'any child who speaks in
Urdu in school, I have to complain to the teacher'. Hearing this, the mother
was very surprised and immediately removed her three children from this school.
"I would never want my children to study in a school
where linguistic prejudices are fostered and children are taught to hate their
own mother tongue," she told me indignantly. With this background, I felt
happy to participate in the Urdu Teaching Conference organized by the Pakistan
Association of Teachers for Urdu Teaching. All the speakers who addressed the
participants highlighted the importance of the features of the Urdu language and
the treasure of literature. One speaker pointed out that Urdu literature feels
incomplete without mentioning Aini Apa's river of fire.
This reminded me of my youngest friend Satara who is a
resident of Khairo Dero and she calls me her best friend in the whole world.
When Satara joined the village's Urdu medium school, Urdu was proving to be a
difficult language for her. He had difficulties in reading as Urdu was a
foreign language to him. She only knew how to speak Sindhi. Her teachers
themselves also spoke Sindhi and they did not help Satara learn Urdu,
instead, they raised their hands saying that Satara herself had little ability
to learn. Then one day Satara rebelled and refused to go to school. His sudden
decision to not continue his studies angered everyone.
I understand Satara's escape from school. He was obviously
not enjoying reading it. So I asked her 'Adi' (sister, who runs the trust that
runs the development project in Khairo Dero) to teach Satara in her mother
tongue. Despite Satara's rebellion against my mother tongue, my friendship with
her remains strong. I have always gifted him books but those books are Sindhi
language books published by Book Group.
Whenever we meet, our behavior shows our friendship. Then a
miracle happened and Satara sent me a message saying 'Please give me some books
in Urdu too'. But the matter did not end there. A few months later I received a
letter from Satara in which she wished me a happy birthday in the most
beautiful Urdu language. But above all, he continued his education in the Sindhi
language and he is far ahead in the field of education compared to other
children of his age.
This is the reason why I strongly believe that children
should be given initial education in their mother tongue and gradually they
should be introduced to Urdu language which is the common language of
communication in Pakistan. That is why it is also the national language of our
country. If the principle of giving primacy to the mother tongue is followed,
then Urdu will emerge victorious.
Facts show that 93% of children enrolled in schools in
Pakistan do not have Urdu as their mother tongue. They understand and speak
different languages apart from Urdu. Our experience shows that if sensitivity
is used in this matter, love for Urdu can be developed in the hearts of these
children as well.
Teaching a child in a language they can understand has many
benefits. It provides emotional security to the child in a way. This way they
can continue their critical thinking because they are learning a language
they can understand and they don't have to memorize it. In this way, they will
enjoy their lessons and express their personality clearly. Above all, this will
increase the child's ability to learn the language. Which means that he will be
able to learn other languages easily and quickly. Obviously, after his mother
tongue, Urdu will be the national language. In other words, every child can
become a real star like mine.
In this context, Tahir Javed of the Pakistan Teachers'
Organization for Teaching Urdu and Farid Panjwani, Dean of Aga Khan Institute
of Education Development, can play a positive role. Their research can be
helpful in answering the question of when and how the teaching process of
children can be transferred from their mother tongue to Urdu in an effective and
positive manner.
Pakistan has a big advantage in this matter that all the
languages here have the same root i.e. their syntax and script are similar
(there is a slight difference of course). So why can't there be a miracle again
which changed the star's life?
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