Unprecedented circumstances caused by COVID-19 have shown different and divergent colours of human race. Education stands in a dock too. Does our Education system build and evaluate our character or it has failed. Let’s read the opinion of Mr. Girish Kumar, Principal, Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg, Jalandhar. Character and Personality are synonymously used, but that is erroneous. Personality is superficial and easy to read. We all judge people around us as jovial, introvert, energetic, optimistic, confident etc if not upon first meeting them, then shortly thereafter. Character, on the other hand, takes far longer to puzzle out. It includes traits that reveal themselves only in specific—and often uncommon—circumstances, traits like honesty, virtue, and kindness. Character is judged more in anonymity and isolation, than in a group. However, it is adversity that is the true test of one’s real character. As important it is for teachers to teach and impart knowledge, equally important is the need to be able to connect with the children and strike a personal chord with each of them. In order to build character, the educators must give up the chalk and talk system of teaching and strike up a personal conversation with the children. It is time for the school and the parents to work in tandem with each other. Schools also need to focus on literature, humanities and co-curricular activities which are as important for overall development of the children as academics.

The contributor of the article is Mr. Girish Kumar, Principal, Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg, Jalandhar. Click to connect to his