Friday, November 21

Teachings nobody taught

Wazzup!

I know I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'm
missing the rain... But that sure wasn't an invitation to the scary lightning and ferocious thunder that lashed Pune yesterday evening! The wind was pretty welcome, though, and so was the coolness that lasted through the night... Anyway, back to the theme for the day!

Ever wondered how things we aren’t taught in school or college are of greater essence and significance in life?

(I mean it’s not going to hamper my existence if I didn’t know who Shivaji or Marx were. Or whether the capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou. Or how good one is at geometric corollaries and chemistry.)

Of course, these may in time become your careers and then be useful to your role in an organization and society. By no standards, a matter of life or death! There are a host of things that are definitely more relevant and essential in our daily subsistence.

We did have moral/value education, environmental awareness, sex education and work-experience at school. However, nobody ever recommended or addressed the other vital day-to-day functions.
What do you think should be a compulsory subject in school?
In fact, I asked this Q on LI in late 2007 (have reopened it in case any of you wish to reply on that platform, the link is :
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/education-schools/CAR_BUE/108934-2748864?goback=%2Eahp%2Each_PRO*4CMA%2Evpf_2748864_0_pXm*4_name_*2_Anuja_Rathi)

I'd say : Cleanliness and presentable-ness.

We are all cultured, well-behaved, educated and civilized people. The masters of the living world! The brainiest species! How is it then, that we forget basic hygiene and etiquettes???

No, I’m not just hinting at
irritating, overtly crotch-scratching men and women wearing absurdly long danglers and jazzy, suggestive attire at work. I’m talking about all of us. You, me, our neighbors, colleagues, friends, travel-companions, even strangers and the like.

Here are a few fundamental things you should remember, if you’re a responsible, mature human being; whatever your caste, age, gender or economic/social status. (If you already do, then kudos! Salute to you!)

If you go to college, office, clubs or any other public place (which basically means that you step out of the house and are expecting to meet and interact with people)...

You MUST make sure you’re tidy : A clean shave for the guys (and the ladies, too, if need be), bathed and scrubbed look alongwith washed and ironed clothes for both genders

Ample body talc / deodorant, used generously at regular intervals if necessary, so that neither you have to undergo the inconvenience of sitting with wet, smelly clothes, nor do people around you have to wrench their noses in disgust.

Ensure your hair (from anywhere over the body) do not fall around and mess the surroundings. Especially after you have your bath or freshen up, make sure the bathroom is hair-free and lather-free.

PLEASE do not eat raw onion or other stuff that smells after eaten for breakfast or lunch. If you can’t resist, then carry a powerful mouth freshener or toothpaste with you. It’s awful listening to someone who stinks of oily vegetables or meat. If you have a incessant bad breath, then please visit a dentist. Else be prepared to be avoided, ridiculed and criticized.

After you visit the washroom, leave it in a sanitary condition. Especially the womenfolk - even the sophisticated and erudite ones. I advise turning around and looking at the pot once before you leave the loo. If you don’t like the look of the partly-flushed toilet paper, then obviously the next person is going to detest it, too.

I’m sure you could come up with lot more if you sit down to think about it. For starters, lets all pledge we’ll do something at least about the 5 above. Not too many, not too time-consuming, and undoubtedly uncomplicated...

(I’m sorry if this post hurts or offends any of you. But I’m sure we all agree how much these things matter. More than a few times we cannot speak it out to the people concerned for fear of hurting or insulting them, but then, it only reflects on their upbringing, common sense and community responsiveness.)

Ahem. Curtains down.

Love,
Princess

4 comments:

Unknown said...

True thoughts....
should be followed by everybody..

and such things were tought in school informally by checking how tidy clothes are, nails are removed or not etc etc.. but these were never told why its needed.. children think these routines r made to punish them...

so teachers/parents should educate them about the "reasons" behind it..

Sibi said...

First of all u wrote how much u miss rains n then yesterday v al saw the November Rain n the arrival of winter.Shows how much god likes u...
No one cud have written things bat cleanliness better than u.I completely agree with the heading of the post'Teachings nobody taught'.Perfect.There r a lot o other things tat needs to b tot in school.With a teacher like u students r really gonna hav a gr8 time.
byee have a nice day..

Harshad said...

Also please don't throw the Cadbury wrappers and Banana peels on the road, and treat the surroundings like your own house.

sumant said...

absolutely bang on..u rite and i think this is wht our education policy makers should pay attention.. presentation is as imp as the skill adaptaion is concerned.i see this as in the same lines when a decade back we had moral sciences being taught in schools. it was important that we become betr individual too.. awesome keep wrting

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