An average student spends anywhere from 2 to 3 hours playing, 8 to 9 hours sleeping, 6 to 7 hours in school and another couple in eating, watching T.V. and doing their homework. Clearly they spend the longest stretch of the time that they are awake in the school. The school is their first social contact. There they learn to read and write and other communication skills. Therefore I would like to support the view that schools should be responsible in inculcating social and ethical values along with teaching academic skills.
School is the closest model to society, where a student comes across people of different caste, color, creed and sex. One of the biggest responsibility of the school should be to teach their student a healthy respect towards other kids who are different from him. If handled carefully the early part of his schooling helps a student in shaping his personality for the rest of his life and this for me is the biggest role of a teacher and a school. Therefore no a school should definitely be more than a place where a student learns to read and write.
Life today in a city is very fast with both the parents working and many a times their children become their second priority. There is no one for them to understand their problems and talk to them. It is here that they start adopting wrong and bad habits from their friends. This is where school plays a very important role in setting them on the right path, the path of truth, honesty and strong character. A teacher can explain to his/her students about the ill effects of their wrongdoing. They can impart strong moral values in their students and help them to be better human beings. Where else and who else will inculcate in them the importance of religion, God and other moral and ethical values.
Also the argument ignores the importance of other extracurricular activities such as sports, music, painting etc. these are as important to the development of a child as is knowing about his quadratic equations. If their natural talent handled and nurtured properly they future lives can be shaped and this is the power that a school and a teacher possess. Therefore it is very important for a school to realize that only the knowledge of maths and science is not enough for a student to be educated. He should also understand the difference between right and wrong.
In the end I would like to conclude that a school in the deepest sense of the term prepares its student for the life that awaits him after his graduation. It prepares him to makes the right choices in life. To respect and love other people who are different from him in caste creed color and sex. To contribute something back to the society and to spread the message of love and peace. If every school is able to achieve this, the world would truly be a better place to live in. And their natural talent handled and nurtured properly they future.
