Library and Laboratory-Soul and heart of an educational institute

An educational institution is very a important place in the life of students and the teachers. In a school the class rooms are the places which are occupied most of the time and maximum interaction between the students and the teacher takes place here.Then the other place the students are very keen to be at ,is the games field. What about the most important and talked about places i.e.  the laboratories and the library. Though in theory these are talked about with a lot of pride but  are not properly used the way it should be done. Ask the students of the school about their first choice in the school and that would be the games  field but not many of them talk much about library and laboratory. Is it not that the most important organs of the body are being ignored  and if it is done so then we may not remain completely fit?Why is it so that the students do not consider these places that important? Have the educators and administrators given any thought to it and done anything to improve the situation?When somebody visits a school it is observed that a lot is talked about the school infrastructure ,achievement of the students and more importantly labs and library are paid the maximum attention. More time is spent in explaining the number of books and magazines available in the library and the equipments and apparatus in the labs. But this is also true that there are number of schools which do not have adequate  books in the library and the labs are just a room with few tables and chairs.
When we know it well that these two are the most important requirements in a school and college, then why should proper attention not be paid to improve the situation for the good of the students? What may be the possible reasons of this? If we discus it in context of a school the labs are usually considered to carry out those experiments which are prescribed by the respective board.Often the students do not know well before going to the lab that this is the experiment and this will be the result. There is no enthusiasm or curiosity that something different and new will be done or achieved by them in the laboratory. This is true that structured syllabus is also to be covered but students should be given liberty to really do experiment in the lab. If they find something new or different than the written text in the book or taught by the teacher that should be discussed because that will help students to think why is it so ,otherwise something was written in the book and they got it which may not be so encouraging or they may not feel to have achieved some thing new.Labs should not be treated to complete an experiment by  taking some readings and complete the file for the sake of few marks allotted for the practicals. The teachers should guide and motivate the children so that they wait for the practical classes. They may be allowed to make use of the laboratory after the school hours also.When this  is discussed with educators the response is that the theory syllabus is quite heavy and more marks are allotted to that ,hence students are more concerned for that. If the situation is to be improved then the approach of teachers should  be different because the kind of rumour and in some cases the reality is that practical marks are"fixed". To say it so openly some people might get annoyed but the truth must be spoken. In this  most people help each other directly or indirectly. The example would be well known to all regarding a practical examiner arrested for asking some favour for giving "good marks" to the students. This should be stopped and due importance should be given to the the lab work and let the students enjoy doing experiments.
 Library which is called the ocean of knowledge in schools and colleges should also be taken by the students more seriously than what is done. This place is the store house of knowledge and if some one gets addicted to it then lot many problems will be taken care of. The librarians can play a very important role in this. The library committees ,which are in all schools, should have the representation of the students .The students who make better use of the library and the benefits of the same should be discussed and appreciated in the assemblies. The selection of books should be such that it is age appropriate. Not only the librarian but other teachers should also play an active role in making library one of the most sought after places. For doing so the teachers should make better use of the library and they should know the kind of books available in their school library. If they do so the students will also understand the importance of the library and will start using it for their benefit. The teachers should stop saying that they do not have time. Ask someone who is addicted to reading and writing how he /she gets time for library not in the school but outside too. As it may not be possible for every child to go to library other than the allotted tome so the idea of class library is very good. There should be class library in all the classes in  addition to the main library. Also the parents can be advised to set up a simple library at home as well. When both ,parents and teachers will set a good example, the children will certainly follow them.

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