• Sanjose A Thomas

At birth most of us are born with five senses, exceptional few with sixth sense but none is born with civic Sense. Though we have the ability to speak, words and languages are taught to us by the adults. Similarly civic sense too has to be taught and inculcated.

With the exception of a couple of lessons in school or at home, not much attention is given to civic behaviour of the child. Faced by tough academic challenges and expectations to excel in exams, both teachers and parents are unable to devote much time to educate the children about the importance of civic sense and how it could make a difference to the country as well as contribute to the betterment of their own lives. While preparation for examinations is afforded priority, value formation, character building, and focusing on building ethical standards in children regrettably are not given adequate emphasis in our school curriculum.

Civic sense is nothing but social ethics or the unspoken norms of society. It is not just about keeping the roads, streets and public property clean but also has to do with abiding with law, respecting others point of view maintaining decorum in public places. Individualism, vandalism, intolerance, racism, road rage etc. are all examples of lack of civic sense. People are becoming less and less tolerant of each other, of other’s cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs and behaviour. Disregard for the law is a primary cause for lacking civic sense. The current state of public transport, for example, is disheartening.

Why this deterioration in civic sense? Self-containment could be the plausible reason. We do not bother about needs of others. Civility is conspicuous by its absence. Right from the beginning since man started living as socialized being; efforts have been made to instil civic sense either through stories or religion. All ancient civilizations had taken upon them the responsibility of maintaining moral values in society. There might have been different value systems, yet a common factor which brought them on the same platform was propagating moral teachings through storytelling. Jataka tales were a major source for inculcating in people a deep sense of moral values and spread the message of kindness, compassion, generosity, non-violence, self-sacrifice, charity etc.

Valmiki, also known as adi kavi or first poet, exemplified the dos and don’ts of life in the Ramayana, a tale portraying Lord Rama as a model for virtue. Gandhiji often compared democracy with ‘Ramrajya’, a society with no divide between the rich and the poor and where all religions are treated equally.

All of us want our children to be successful, but not many make the effort to turn them into good human beings. We must teach our children to respect our planet and do his or her bit for nature. They are simple but essentials means which can encourage our children to save the planet and we must remember to practice what we preach. If we do not teach our children about social issues, they may not be able to take an appropriate decision when confronted by that issue in society. For example, you need to teach your child about the ill effects of drugs and addiction, what sort of people smoke them and what effect it could have on his life. This knowledge will help him take an appropriate decision if ever confronted by this situation.

Good  parenting could be a strong foundation from where each one of us could start building national culture of civic sense and sensibility and making the future citizens of the country aware of the importance of  social ethic or societal norms which should not just be followed but should become a way of life. Smooth functioning societies owe a lot of credit to the right amount of civic behaviour among its people. While it is widely accepted that value formation is an essential pre-requisite in nation building, regrettably, adequate priority has not been given to this important aspect of ‘value formation’ when addressing issues relating to national development. With the degeneration of ethical values and the tragic deterioration of standards of our social, economic and political life, the need for a new model of values which will provide a basis and firm foundation for national development has emerged dominantly.

Few years back when Tsunami hit Japan and there was complete power failure, the world was shocked by the tragedy but was also marvelled at the conduct of the people affected. When the city was plunged in darkness, people left the shops, leaving the merchandize on counters. No one took advantage of the darkness. There was no looting or ransacking of stores. No wonder Tokyo is among the most affluent, progressive, safe and orderly cities in the world.

It is important to be open and receptive to the diverse worldviews of other fellow citizens. More than that it is important to respect people for what they are. Developing such an attitude among children is only possible if sincere efforts are made to make civic sense and value education an essential part of the School’s curriculum and not just a subject that is either ignored or taught half-heartedly. Also, cultural events and extracurricular activities of the School can be developed around the ideas of promoting tolerance, understanding and peace.