Chapter 10
THE
ROLE OF CULTURE
The Chapter at a Glance
Culture and
its significance in child development.
The first
impact of culture.
Diversified
cultural influences.
Cultural
variations and conflicts.
The child
and the future culture.
Culture is a great moulder of human
thought and behavior. A child is profoundly influenced by the culture of the
family or the region in which he happens to have been give birth. The many ways
in which diverse cultural forces affect various aspects of child development
will be briefly reviewed in the present chapter. The specific effect of culture
on the development of a child's personality has been discussed in a subsequent
chapter on Personality Development.
Culture and its Significance in Child Development
Culture
represents the intellectual side of civilization. It is an integrated whole
comprised of the arts, sciences, educational aims, language, religion, social
customs, mode and fashions aims language , religion, social custom, modes and
fashions of a people. It thus includes the ideas, beliefs, customs, acquired
sensibilities, preferences and patterns of thought and behavior commonly shard
by a group of people. Culture is the totality of the ways of their life, a
complex tissue of their habits, attitudes, outlooks, skills, etc. It is
reflected conspicuously in institutions like religion, government, educational
centers, etc.
Culture
is a gigantic moulding matrix. An individual is exceedingly moulded by and in
return moulds the culture of his time and place. He lives in a state of
perpetual interaction with the various cultural forces around him. He finds
that to be guided by culture in everyday life yields more considerable
achievement and immense satisfaction than he could possibly get if he preferred
to live in a state of nature.
The First Impact of Culture
The various cultural forces that
impinge upon the child affect his
imitation, experience, education and conditioning. The first impact of
culture on his growth and personality is naturally made at home. It takes
place through the habits, customs and values of his family.
In the beginning his cultural horizon
is confined to the ideals of his parents. As he comes into interaction with
other children and adults in the street, school and other social places his
cultural horizon expands gradually. It continues expanding practically
throughout his life.
Diversified Cultural Influences
The dynamics of some of the
significant cultural forces influencing certain specific areas of the thought
and behavior of the child are now discussed in the following pages.
Family Culture and Early Child Training
The early home training of children is
exceedingly determined by the cultural and economical level of the family.
In lower class families early infant training
is not fastidious. A poor family generally lives in a small and over-crowded home.
It has no provision for adequate or separate bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens,
lawns, etc. The child, therefore, can defecate, urinate, eat and sleep
practically anywhere he likes. As he grows older he is usually sent out to the
street for elimination. At a later stage he may even be expected to move out of
the town to the fields for the same purpose.
Similarly, for washing purposes he usually
goes to the public bath rooms attached to mosques and parks, public wells, and
even uses canal and river water. His diet is simple, wholesome and
insufficient. His environment is barren and un-stimulating. Right from early
infancy he is expected to share the burden of domestic responsibilities by
assisting the parents in various ways. Consequently, he gets little time for
the leisure and recreation needed by children of his age.
Being
poor, his parents are usually over burdened with a host of domestic and
professional problems which are constantly threatening the very survival of the
family. They don’t get much time to pay adequate attention to the needs of
their children. The home-life and hence the pattern of growth of such children
is dictated by disorder, squalor and neglect.
Child Training in Middle and Upper Class Families
The
child in a middle class family is relatively better off. He usually gets at
least some of the basic facilities necessary for early child training. His
parents, however, are very ambitions about his development. He is often expected to learn too much too
soon. An average middle class family for instance, hastens the child though the
learning of early toilet habits rather recklessly. He is usually pushed
excessively in matters pertaining to the learning of manners, social grace,
knowledge, skill etc. Such a parental attitude therefore is liable to produce an
anxious child.
The
child in the upper class family is usually over indulged. He is pampered by his
parents. He is constantly protected by nurses and tutors who look after his
basic needs. He is the center of attention. Everybody is there to serve him. He
is provided with all possible facilities conducive to the acquirements of those
habits and attitudes which are considered appropriate for the children of top
class families. Too much indulgence and protection by adults at home is most
likely to spoil such a child.
Cultural and Children’s Make-Believe
Cultural
forces thus are operative upon the human individual right from early infancy.
One can even perceive them at work in the make-believe of infants and children.
Young children reflect the culture of their family and folk in their
make-believe and playful behavior.
While
playing with their dolls, for instance, the children from upper, middle and
lower class families usually assign them different roles. They treat them in a
manner indicative of the culture of their respective parents.
Thus
for instance, children from lower and lower middle class families are usually
prone to assign common household duties to the doll, spank and scold her
occasionally. Such an attitude towards the doll reflects the cultural pattern
of their homes wherein domestic work, spanking, scolding, etc., are common
features.
Children from higher and upper middle
class families would hardly get any satisfaction from assigning such roles to
their dolls during their make-believe play, because such behavior patterns are
relatively rare in the cultural pattern of their families. They would rather
dress her up richly, and make her sit and chat while people call on her. The
dolls of upper class family children, following the cultural pattern of their
elders, would prefer to move about and participate in social functions rather
than attend to the drudgery of domestic work.
Effect of Culture on Children’s Playful Behavior
Similarly
other recreational and playful activities of children are also deeply
influenced by their respective cultural background. Children from poorer
families are more inclined to take pleasure in those sports, games and recreations
which are cheap and are customary in their circles. Poorer children are usually
more interested in playing ‘pakhunni’, ‘gulidanda’, ‘eechocheech’, hide and
seek, blind man’s bluff, ‘kabaddi’, kite-flying, spinning tops, etc.
The middle class child who enjoys the
facilities of schooling as well, feels more fascinated by such organized games
and recreations as hockey, football, basketball, cricket, scouting, guiding,
hiking, etc.
Upper class children, too, may well feel
interested in these games. In addition to these group games, however, they also
develop a taste for expensive mechanical toys, recreational instruments, guns,
horses, bicycles, automobiles, pets, etc.
Impact of Democratic Values
It may, however, be pointed out that the above-mentioned
preferences are not mutually exclusive in an absolute sense. Children of one
cultural status may find occasional access to games and recreational interests
typical of other classes and groups. Such possibilities, however, are very rare
especially for poorer children. They
find it difficult to get time for and bear the costs of the more expensive
recreations and games mostly enjoyed by the better off children. Upper class children, on the contrary, have
access to practically all types and modes of indoor and outdoor recreations,
sports and games.
It is, however, heartening to find
that this rigid class consciousness and discrimination in the playful pursuits
of children is on the decline these days.
With the growing tide of social and cultural awakening, the speedy fall
of feudalism and progressive rise of democracy in our country, sports and recreations
are rapidly becoming a social institution free from the stigma of class
distinction.
With the expansion of educational
facilities for children in under-privileged areas and the broadening of the
mass mentality by reformers, social workers and even enlightened religious
preachers, the recreational situation is fast changing. Children of all classes
are now getting more and more liberal opportunities for mixing with each other
in order to participate and to compete in a variety of sports, games and other
recreational pursuits.
Restrictions and Curbs on 'Kammee' Children
In certain culturally backward
villages, however, class distinctions are still imperative in all fields of
life. In such village a landlord will not permit his child to mix and play with
children of the 'kammees' or the 'inferior' class families. Kammee children are practically debarred from
playing certain games which are considered to be the exclusive pastime of
better class children. They are even discouraged and denied admissions into the
same schools in and around the village where the landlord families send their
children for education. Owing to these restrictions, Kammee children in such culturally
backward villages are, therefore, very seriously handicapped in their
recreational and cultural pursuits.
The dynamics of such a deplorable social phenomenon is not very
difficult to grasp. Our village life is almost solely based on a feudalistic
agrarian economy. The feudal lord is mostly an illiterate, rigid and
unprogressive tyrant. He is fanatic about maintaining the status quo in the
village. His sole desire is to continue uninterrupted in power. One of the
techniques that he adopts to materialize this narrow outlook is to debar the
under-privileged villagers and their children from all possible opportunities
of improving their status. He fears that this might diminish his hold over
their bodies and minds.
Luckily, however, with the rise of
democracy and the agrarian reforms, this inhumane element in some of our culturally
backward rural areas is now on the decline.
Effect of Culture on Language Development
The time of the utterance of the first
word, as we have seen, is mainly determined by physiological factors. The
content of the language, however, and the richness and variety of expression
depend largely upon cultural factors. The child picks up his native language
very easily. The quantity of the vocabulary and the quality of the child’s
language is usually determined by the culture of the place and the family he
belongs to.
The
cultural level of the family influences immensely the quality of the language
commonly spoken by the child. Thus child hailing form a home where the parents
are writers, journalists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, high state officials etc.,
has usually abundant chance to develop a rich vocabulary and facility of expression.
Relatively fewer such chances are available to a child who belongs to a home
with poorer and under-privileged parents. This is so, obviously because a child
in an educated family hears more words and better expressions in his environment
than the child from a home of uneducated or unskilled people.
Family Status and the Child's Linguistic Development
In our culture a child from a lower class family is most liable to
hear his parents speak frequently of their immediate problems and worries,
generally connected with food, clothing, housing and other fundamental bodily
needs. The visitors calling on the family are also usually heard talking of the
same problems most of the time. The
child's vocabulary and expression, therefore, are likely to remain limited to
few recurring words and phrases centering round these problems of existence.
On starting
school the child makes immense improvement in the quality and quantity of his
language. But the schools where children from poorer families are sent for
education are mostly staffed by teachers whose socio-economic and cultural
status is equally low. The vocabulary and expression of these unfortunate
teachers is usually limited and stereotyped. Such children, therefore, have
comparatively lesser chances to enrich their language adequately even at the
school.
Language Environment in the Middle
Class Families
The child
from the middle class family gets a relative better language atmosphere at home. His mother might be illiterate. Her social
circle might be narrow and uneducated. But the father is usually a petty
businessman or an employee in an office, factory, etc. He has fairly wide
social contacts of his own. The things commonly talked of in such a home
include a variety of subjects ranging from basic needs and familial matters to
affairs of the office or business, local and international politics, etc. The
child’s school too is relatively better staffed.
The middle class child, therefore, has
better chance to develop a wider vocabulary and a better and more varied
expression. His expression is mostly free from the narrow and stereotyped
language usually spoken by the unfortunate child from poorer families.
Language of the Upper Class Child
The child in upper class families, or
families with literary and cultural traditions, is in a definitely advantageous
position. In most such families both of the parents have a sufficiently wide
and varied social circle. The matters usually talked about at home are
divergent as well as stimulating. The form of the spoken language is rich in
idioms and full of phrases.
Furthermore,
newspapers, journals and books are easily accessible at home. He invariably
gets better educational facilities. His school atmosphere is linguistically far
healthier than that of most average schools. Such a child is, therefore, liable
to excel in the quality, freshness and variety of his language over the
children belonging to less fortunate families.
Individual Variations in Linguistic Health
It may, however, be noted that though
the cultural and economic status of the family is a powerful factor in determining
the linguistic growth of a child it is not the sole factor. A host of other
influences also play a considerably significant role in this direction. Some of
these factors are the attitude of the family towards a child's language
development, the emphasis placed upon linguistic health, the child's own
attitude and the amount of effort he is willing to exert towards acquiring
skill in language, even his interests, general outlook on life, etc.
Individual
variations, therefore, are bound to appear with regard to the language
development of children regardless of the economic and cultural status of the
families.
Influence of Culture on Friendship and Love
The development of friendship,
affection and love is also largely determined by cultural factors. The usual
sequence of friendship and love relations of a child in the Western culture
tend to follow a certain sequence. Thus they pass through__
"a
very early period in which there is no specific manifestation of affection;
next, a period in which affection goes to the parents; next a period in which
it is directed to persons of the same sex; next a period in which affection is
non-specific but directed toward the opposite sex; and finally a period in
which affection is specifically centered on a person of the opposite
sex."
The pattern of development of
affection with the Eastern child as well is more or less the same. In our
culture, however, due to religious, social and conventional barriers on heterosexual
interaction, the frequent mixing of older boys and girls is not socially and
religiously approved. This is perfectly in line with the way Allah Almighty has
designed us to live in this world. Free mixing of grown up boys and girls may
lead to mutual understandings and friendships to some extent but this shall
have all the chances to go astray and suffer from severe frustrations__hence
the concepts of Haya, Purdah and Ghaz-e-Basar in Islam. This in fact is the
most rational and closest-to-Taqwa behavior leading to pure and happy life
throughout. Arranged marriages through parents or Walees with full consensus of
both the boy and the girl always succeed in life better than otherwise.
Friendliness of the Eastern Child
Excepting this handicap, which might
perhaps be a blessing in disguise, the development of love and friendship in
our culture proceeds otherwise very smoothly and favorably. Our culture expects
a child to be friendly to all those he comes in contact with.
"The children of India,"
Murphy tells us, "are the friendliest children I have ever seen. They
trust people; their smile is wholehearted, warm, and gay. They have more than
just passive friendliness; they are ingenious in finding ways of getting
acquainted with anyone who does not speak their language, and they are
perceptive and initiatively quick to understand how to make a genuine contact
and establish a relationship."
This also holds true of the Pakistani
child obviously because the pattern of life in both of these two countries is
very much alike in many respects. It is rather more true of the Pakistani
child because his culture and traditions do not impose any class restrictions
or other artificial barriers whatsoever in school interaction. The dynamic
culture of-Pakistan, deriving its inspiration mainly from the Islamic Ideology,
is rather hostile to any artificial class, creed or color barriers between man
and man.
Cultural Determination of
Children's Interests
Culture is the greatest moulder of
children's interests, desires, fantasies, preferences, aversions, etc. A child
soon finds that if he develops a liking for skills and acquires proficiency in
a particular field he gets the appreciation of his peers and adults. During the
course of time winning of social appreciation and rewards, and fear of
disapproval and punishment become strong incentives for the child to develop
certain recreational, cultural, educational and even vocational interests and
preferences.
Differing cultures of different
families, groups, countries, regions, etc. are, therefore, bound to result in
variations in the interests, outlooks, preferences and dislikes of children.
Thus the interests of a child from a lower class family are most likely to be
different from those of child from a middle or upper class family.
Similarly, the very cultural zone or
area from which a child hails influences the trend and spirit of his interests.
Thus, for instance, the likes and dislikes of the Punjabi, the Sindhi, the
Frontier or the Tribal child, the Baluchi, the Bengali and the Kashmir child
are bound to display great variations typical to their particular cultural
zones. Even in one and the same cultural zone the interests of the rural and
the urban children are liable to vary considerably. This holds true of all
places and peoples in the world.
National Variations in Children's Interests
A study of variations in interests of
children belonging to various countries caused by their differing culture would
be extremely revealing.
Sarhan has reported a very interesting
comparative study highlighting the differences
and similarities between the interests of American and Egyptian Children. A gist of
this study is as follows:
Interests of American and Egyptian Children
Interests Common to Both Main
Differences in Interests
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(1) Interests in material thing declines as the child grow older.
(2) Interest in academic work declines with age.
(3) Increases in age bring interests in self improvement.
(4) Increase in interest in out of
school intellectual activities with age.
(5) More interest in own language
and arithmetic than in science or social studies.
(6) Greater interest in people with
increase in age.
(7) Sex differences were common to
both cultures. Girls expressed less interest in material things.
(8) There was an egocentric
character to interests.
(9) Disinterested in those school
courses which did not bear obvious relation to a goal.
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(1) American children showed more interest in material things
than the Egyptian children.
(2) More American children expressed interest in improvement
of living quarters.
(3) Comparative larger percentage of American children
expressed interest in people outside the family circle.
(4) Arts, crafts and hobbies were reported more frequently by
American than Egyptian children.
(5) A much higher
proportion of Egyptian children expressed whishes pertaining to religious
qualities and social graces.
(6) 40.1% of Egyptian children and less than 1% of American
children reported home work as favorite out of school activity.
(7) 12.5% of Egyptian and none of the American children
expressed interest pertaining to health.
(8) More Egyptian than American Children expressed patriotic
wishes.
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Needless to re-emphasize, the
foregoing variations in interests among American and Egyptian children are
mainly the outcome of the varying demands, pressures, expectancies and
convention of the cultures of their respective countries.
Influence on Intelligence and Achievement
Dr. Watts suggests that cultural
forces also influence the intelligence of children. He found that a child's
performance in an intelligence test was considerably influenced by the cultural
background of his family.
Cultural factors have also been found
to be responsible for a child's ambitions. A certain amount of the desire to
have and to possess is there by nature in every normal child. Cultural demands
and pressures, however, give this natural desire further impetus and shape.
Thus, for instance, children in
middle and upper class families have more incentive and chance to realize their
ambitions because their social and cultural environment is constantly stimulating
and encouraging them towards their achievement. One the contrary, a poor child
belonging to an under-privileged family has relatively fewer incentives and
opportunities to achieve and to succeed.
Competitive and Co-operative Behavior
Culture also expects the child to be
competitive to some extent. This expectation is more pronounced in Western
industrialized cultures. To be competitive, however, does not mean that one
should not be co-operative. Logically these two activities might appear to be
mutually contradictory. Psychologically, however, they may not necessarily be
so. They may rather supplement and complement each other. Thus a child can be,
and culture expects him to be, competitive with his class mates at studies,
sports, etc. He can at the same time be cooperative in his general behavior.
Later
efficient living also demands that one’s behavior should combine both of these
apparently conflicting demands of culture. An individual who combines both of
these traits adequately has far greater chance for optimal achievement than the
one who either lacks them or finds their demands mutually irreconcilable.
Cultural Variations and Conflict
It is evident from the foregoing
discussion that the cultural variations are an exceedingly enlightening
phenomenon. Mark the interesting customs, traditions, conventions, rituals,
rites, etc., prevalent among the Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, the Kashmiri, the
Frontier, the Tribal and the Baluchi people, etc. in Pakistan. Similar cultural
variations in other regions and countries of the world are equally fascinating.
In fact, our world would be an exceedingly dull and boring place
without these cultural variations.
Varying cultures put varying demands on children falling under
their respective jurisdictions. These cultural demands may sometimes clash with
other demands of a different culture or with some equally strong inner force
pulling the child in a diametrically opposite direction. Such a situation is
technically known as a culture conflict.
Contradictory Character of the Western Culture
Perhaps the contradictions involved in the
western culture are most conducive to such conflicts. The Christian and the
Jewish religious ethics emphasize brotherhood, love, forgiveness and need for
repentance. The Western economic system, however, glorifies achievement and
success based on "getting ahead". Such behavior usually necessitates
a ruthless, hostile and callous form of competition which is very common in the
spheres of industry and business. The average individual thus might feel
utterly puzzled to decide which way to proceed.
The
Western culture is
predominantly a mass
culture, working with the automatism of a machine. Most of the Western people, therefore, just
don't bother to stop and think about the implications of the conflicting
demands of their religious and economic systems. Such unthinking people are consequently
relatively happier than those few who look before they leap. It is precisely this thinking minority which
is apt to discover the contradictions involved, feel them and fall a prey to
mental conflict. Such conflicts might range from mild mental unrest to serious
maladjustments and even splits of the personality culture conflict thus open up
before them the doors to unrest, disease, delinquency, crime and immorality.
Conflicts in the American Culture
The American cultural pattern provides
the most clear-cut example of a culture conducive to generate tensions and conflicts.
The Christian morality clashes with the American democracy which cherishes
extreme liberty, free competition, even permitting aggression, etc.
Such sharply divergent systems of
teaching are most liable to produce confusion in the mind of a child. It may
also be responsible for unhappiness and maladjustment. Minor mental anomalies
and deviations, which follow, have often been found to develop into serious
conflicts and splits of personality in later adult life in America.
Cultural Conflicts among American Immigrants
Another interesting phenomenon of culture conflict is common and
peculiar to American immigrants. People of different nationalities settling
down in America often intermarry. Their offspring face a culturally
conflicting situation at home. They find that the customs, conventions,
attitudes and outlooks of their parents are so different that they seem to
clash with one another. Thus, for instance, a child may find that his Italian
mother's cultural outlook points towards a direction opposed to his Spanish
father's cultural preferences.
The child may further find that each
one of the clashing cultural patterns at home also differs from the American
culture outside the home. He is, therefore, bound to face insurmountable
adjustment problems. Both at home and outside he is apt to be perplexed by
gigantic adjustment difficulties regarding language, manners, customs, likes,
dislikes, etc. The doors of a serious conflict having been flung open to him,
such an unfortunate child is most liable to become a victim of anxiety,
insecurity, tension and frustration. He might even be dragged into delinquency
or mental disorders of serious nature.
Culture Conflicts in the East
The
phenomena of conflicts, though very pronounced in the West are not confined to
those countries. The East too has peculiar culture conflicts of its own.
In Japan, for instance, the culture
expects the child to conform to authority almost absolutely and
unconditionally. At home a rigid discipline with undue emphasis on cleanliness,
personal hygiene, hard work, etc. is ruthlessly enforced on the child. Such an
authoritarian cultural demand usually clashes with the natural impulses of
childhood, yearning for freedom, initiative, self-assertion, recreation,
leisure, etc.
The Japanese child thus feels two conflicting pulls; one of the
culture and the other of his natural urges. Both impel him in opposite
directions. The conflict that ensues expresses itself in too frequent temper
tantrums, excessive fear, abnormal suspicion, etc. during childhood. Too
frequent suicides at adult level are also largely indicative of the same
personality maladjustment consequent upon conflicting cultural pressures.
Culture Conflicts
in India
In India the rigid caste system creates social and
cultural barriers between the inferior class 'Shudra' and the privileged class
'Brahman'. Such an artificial distinction clashes violently with the requirements
of democracy demanding equal status and opportunity for everyone.
Other traditions and customs in Indian orthodox
culture also conflict very seriously with the demands of modern socialism and
democracy. The child in India, therefore, is bound to be adversely affected by
such a culturally conflicting situation. The social reformer and the school
teacher in India are busy with the stupendous task of resolving these serious
conflicts amicably. But the task is too gigantic to be accomplished very
quickly.
The
Partition Muddle and the Children in Pakistan
On
the eve of the partition of India into India and Pakistan, the latter, like the
former, faced pathetic scenes of culture conflicts. The mass uprooting of
people from various remote parts of India, and their haphazard rehabilitation
at unknown places in Pakistan gave birth to heterogeneous ‘mohalla’ and group
formations. Such newly formed settlements and group organizations lacked
cultural cohesion and homogeneity.
Thus
for instance, a literary family from highly and differently civilized area in
U.P. had to settle afresh side by side with an agriculturist family from Punjab
at a place unfamiliar to both of them. While mixing and playing with each
other, the children of the two families soon found that the culture of their
respective homes were entirely different from each other as well as from the
one prevailing in their new surroundings. They found that other children
behaved differently from how their own parents had taught them or expected them
to behave. This set before the children a situation leading to clashes and
conflicts.
The One-Unit Confusion and the Child
Another miniature scale example of
culture conflict came to be observed on the eve of the integration of the
former provinces of West Pakistan into One-Unit, namely, the Province of West
Pakistan. The administrative arrangements in connection with the integration of
services necessitated large scale inter-regional transferences of officers and
reshuffling of the departmental establishments.
In such a situation the children of
the transferred employees sometimes felt it difficult to adjust to the
relatively different and unfamiliar culture of the new region. Such a
difficulty was more pronouncedly felt in those cases where neither the
Government nor the individual families concerned had made any psychological
preparations for the affected children to adjust to the changed cultural
horizon of the new place. Such oversights in the past point out clearly towards
the necessity of adopting adequate psychological precautions in similar
situations in future, e.g. shifting of the Federal Capital from Karachi to Rawalpindi
temporarily and then eventually to Islamabad.
Our Inconsistent Thought and Behavior
A constant and highly undesirable
factor which favors the continuation of culture conflicts among our children is
our inconsistent thought and behavior. On the one hand we endeavor to tell the
child that our country is an Islamic democracy which implies that the conduct
of the people in Pakistan shall be guided by the demands of Islam and
democracy. We further attempt to tell him that the demands of both, our religion
as well as modern democracy, could be and ought to be reconciled and practiced
in good conduct. Yet at the same time the general behavior of most of the
adults, including parents, teachers and key men in various walks of life,
violates the spirit of our pious declarations. Even a cursory reading of a
morning newspaper would reveal that we seem to have failed to live up to the
basic ideology which is the very foundation of our State.
When a child finds that the very parents and the teachers who
admonish him to be a true Muslim and a true patriot are far from being so
themselves, he feels extremely disappointed and utterly bewildered. The
commonest courses left open for a child facing such a conflicting situation are
two:
(1) He may ignore the conflict, develop immunity to pricks of
conscience and join the crowd of the inconsistent adults who themselves act
entirely differently from the way they admonish their children to behave.
(2) He may, on the other hand, react to the situation very
sensitively and develop a mental conflict.
Both of these courses are equally undesirable for personal,
emotional, cultural and social health of the child and of the Nation.
Reconciliation between Religion and Democracy
Theoretically the cultural situation
in Pakistan is entirely different from that prevailing in some countries where
the religious and social traditions are intrinsically hostile to the democratic
ideals of the equality and fraternity of mankind. The Pakistani religious and
social ideology, however, is in perfect harmony with the teachings of modern
democracy. It does not present a conflicting situation comparable with that
prevailing in other countries.
Theoretically at least, therefore, the
cultural situation in Pakistan is far healthier than that in several
countries.' And it is decidedly better than the conditions prevailing in most Western
countries where the preached prevailing religion and the practiced democracy,
speaking with conflicting tunes, are most liable to disturb the mental health
of children and adults.
Our Cultural Crisis
In Pakistan, however, little effort
has so far been made to give a concrete shape to this dynamic element in our
culture. The crisis facing the parents and the teachers here is: how to
convince the child that there is in fact no conflict between the requirements
of religion and democracy and that in one's everyday life the demands of both
of them could be met without any clash or conflict.
Such a conviction cannot obviously dawn on a child's mind by mere
high-sounding declarations. The actual life of the various adult authorities
alone, particularly the parents and the teachers, shall convince our children
that their country, its culture and the spirit of its constitution are in fact
most worthy of their honor and esteem. Such a realization is bound to have a
favorable effect on the lives of our children, and the adults of future. It
will give an entirely different shape to the growth of their thought and behavior
and pave the way for better cultural health.
Fortunately, however, with the realization
to put the present character crisis right, more and more constructive steps are
now being taken to bring about healthier changes in our religious, social,
cultural, economic, political and mental life. A major change is evident now,
whether through a bloody revolution or through a peaceful movement. People have
become fed up from the present system of governance and the corrupt as well as characterless
political leaders. Hopefully, after this major change, our cultural confusion is
likely to lose its previous intensity.
The Child and the Future Culture
What is the culture of the
contemporary age? How does it affect the child? Does it contribute towards
happiness, welfare and evolution of the human race and its values?
The
upshot of the preceding discussion is that if we look within and around us to
answer these question we are apt to feel rather disappointed to realize that
the various cultures and the world culture as a whole have failed to fulfill
their main purpose__ that of making human being happy, peaceful, cooperative and
creative.
Aggression and Intolerance in our Culture
True,
we have constructed huge citadels of arts, sciences and languages. Apparently
we seem to be better off than the cavemen. Nevertheless we have equally
excelled in the arts of destruction. Despite all our apparent maturity we still
don't appear to have solved the problems of intolerance, aggression,
maladjustment, exploitation and war. This is the main tragedy in the contemporary
culture which a child is forced to accept, adopt and practice for his survival.
The contemporary cultural situation is obviously highly
undesirable and unwholesome for our children. The culture of tomorrow,
therefore, must aim at diminishing or eliminating brutality and violence from
the minds of individuals and nations. To materialize this dream the future
culture must begin with the children. Our present day knowledge of child
development seems to be very inadequate and defective. Why should a child
become a problem at home, a trouble-maker for the society and a threat to world
peace despite having received a thorough training at home and an elaborate
education at school? All this suggests that something must be seriously wrong
somewhere.
Enlightened Child Development
In fact, we need to make a more
refined, methodical and concentrated approach towards the problems of children.
There are several significant problems related to their development which need
our serious attention.
A basic problem which requires our
immediate consideration, for instance, is the glaring inequality in our
contemporary social provisions for children. The way the needs of children are
met within schools and families of varying socio-economic status is highly
uncivilized and miles away from our cultural ideal. We tend to over-feed and
over-educate the upper class child and starve and neglect the slum-child both
physically and mentally. Such an unhealthy situation is a slur on the fair name
of culture and democracy.
Application of Democracy to Child Development
Individuals, nations and governments
should, therefore, realize the dangers following from such fundamental
inequalities in child growth. It is these inequalities and inadequacies at
child level which breed dissatisfaction and discontentment at all stages. They
arouse worry and anxiety and cause frustration and maladjustment. They pave the
way for biases, prejudices, conflicts, diseases, riots, militancy, terrorism
and wars.
In order to eliminate these undesirable
elements from our culture we must apply democratic values to the problems of
child development. We must reconstruct a home, a region, a country and a world
which provides equal and adequate opportunities for all children. Every child
must be enabled to get the demands of his physical, social, cultural, emotional
and intellectual growth fulfilled on democratic and equalitarian bases.
Towards an Enlightened Culture
Such a scheme is not merely a Utopian dream. If the governments of
the world and the key-people in all countries realize the urgency and the
magnitude of the problem, they could hasten to take the most appropriate steps
in this direction. They could, for instance, curtail the defense budgets and
spend a major part of it on the development of children, their welfare and
education. Such a step is bound to pave the way for a peace and prosperity that
shall be both stable as well as creative.
The preamble to the United Nations
Educational, Social and Cultural Organization reminds us that : "Since
wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that defenses of
peace must be constructed". The most obvious and appropriate method of
seeking the defenses of peace is to concentrate on the child. How can conflicts
and wars originate if the child is taught to cherish and practice harmony and
peace?
Education of Teachers and Parents
The materialization of such a program
also necessitates an enlightened education of the teachers and the parents who
handle the children during their most formative and suggestible years. Teachers
need adequate training in understanding children. They must possess all the
necessary information regarding the problems connected with various levels of
child development. A well planned education of the parents will reduce the
various inadequacies a child faces at home.
Even pre-parental education would help
immensely; that is, the education of adolescents and pre-adults for future
parenthood. Suitable pre-parental education would go a long way towards paving
the way for a better outlook towards children and their needs.
Emergence of a Child-Centered Culture
The collective result of all these measures would be the emergence
of a culture which is refreshing, stimulating and creative. It would be a
culture in the real sense of the term. Such a culture is bound to succeed in
preparing the child for a better, healthier and mature life. The culture of
today is a failure. It is suicidal. The culture of tomorrow promises hope only
if it is child centered in the best possible way. Only Islam has the requisite
material, methodology and concept to teach and lead the world to success.
