Absolutely obscene! That was
all which came to the mind after overhearing the horrendously grotesque language
being used by a middle-age individual while he casually engaged in conversation
with someone on his cellphone the other day. It was impossible to witness the
relentless filth pouring out of his mouth. I got out of there as soon as I
could.
Using filthy language in public without even realising it has become a common
practice in our society unfortunately.
It is an accepted fact that our rich social values have diminished alarmingly.
This, of course, can be due to a variety of reasons. Language — a fundamental
component of any high-standard social culture — too of late has fallen a victim
to this uninvited plunge.
The decline, in one way or the other, has influenced nearly every social sector.
School-going students, being budding minds that absorb many words and actions
alike, are certainly among the most-affected souls. Many use objectionable, in
some cases, obnoxious language while conversing with each other.
The article is an attempt at highlighting the causes behind young learners’
offensive language — an intricate, gigantic and ever-spreading issue rapidly
corroding our culture, one which was formerly loaded with innumerable jewels of
social elegance.
While disgusting and hideous language is also exercised at a much higher
frequency by college and university students, one believes it is the school days
when a tender, naïve learner sows — for himself and society — the seed of that
thorny plant called ‘offensive language’.
Education comprises two basic elements: academic advancement and character
building.
While the former prepares a school child to secure his future in the physical
sense, the latter adorns his soul to ensure the development of a strong but
humble heart. Though in some ways both are inter-dependent, good character is
the last thing a genuine, far-sighted individual would like to lose out on.
Regrettably, very few school goers these days remember the saying: “If wealth is
lost something is lost; if health is lost much is lost; if character is lost,
nothing remains behind.”
The social attitude of students, with language use carrying prime worth,
reflects a nation’s norms besides providing a glimpse of its likely future. The
scenario in Pakistan, containing a distinctively heterogeneous social system, is
quite complex. The reasons behind the usage of unpleasant language by a child
living in big cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad or Peshawar can be
contrastingly different from the causes of foul language employed by a young
learner living in a remote village. Then there is the classification of private,
public schools and private, ‘elite’ schools.
Many students in our part of the world use detestable language while conversing
among themselves at schools, in their homes, functions and playgrounds — almost
everywhere. The worrying aspect of this miserable state of affairs is that a
vast majority of the youth do not even understand the meanings of those abysmal
and disgraceful words and phrases they express so openly and, sometimes, even
pompously.
The use of horrid language every now and then often results in intensified oral
clashes among students, sometimes leading to scuffles and brawls. Injuries,
which at times can be fatal, create permanent animosities between
parents/guardians. The net result: social disorder stretching beyond anybody’s
control. Reports of injuries and killing in fights triggered by verbal
altercation between teenage students have become a regular feature in
newspapers.
The burning question is who is responsible for this gross and apparently
unending string of moral breach by students? In the contemporary world, there
can be four reasons: parents/guardians, teachers, media or the entire social
set-up.
Parents, being the closest and the most affectionate human companions of a
child, have a vital role to play in the moral growth of their offspring. If a
youngster, who spends around three quarters of a day at home, is adopting an
indecent way of communication, it specifies the parents have not covered all the
bases in their strategy to make him or her a learned individual.
Teachers, apart from being mere knowledge providers these days, are duly
expected to contribute towards their pupils’ moral progress too. Teachers, in
their respective domains, can be held responsible for their students’ below-par
behaviour within the school.
The media too has virtually become a make-or-break factor in constructing or
damaging a social set-up. In certain cases (as in Pakistan) the peculiar social
and religious traditions are pivotal in determining children’s (students here)
association with the media. A significant portion of our society, which relishes
its glorious cultural values of the past, firmly believes that the media, in
particular areas and cases, has not played its due role in instilling social
values into young minds, language being one of the central points.
The multi-dimensional effects on our young learners due to the foreign
electronic media channels showing programmes of their preference, has also been
part of a heated debate in Pakistan.
Blaming all major segments of society for this social evil can be a rational
thought, specially for the analysts who believe in bringing a comprehensive and
stable change through collective realistion and efforts.
Mr Tanveer-ul-Hassan, a veteran math teacher working at an O’ Levels school,
with 16 years of experience behind him, on being asked who he thought was most
responsible for students’ abusive/offensive language, echoed the above idea.
“This [abusive language] is not a one-man problem. Social set-up has its
effects. Every section of the society has to play its role as almost all are
making errors at their end,” he said.
While giving the bulk of credit, in case of language decency gained from parents
and teachers through inspiration, to the student, he stressed that a majority of
parents do not guide their children morally.
“Some teachers lack the dedication and do not impart moral education to students
which results in [students’] poor behaviour,” Mr Hassan, who holds degrees in
MSc and MPA, added.
Noting sports, which train students in observing discipline (including verbal
discipline), the teacher emphasised that in order to do away with this huge
crisis, the elders (parents and teachers) should shift responsibilities to young
students so that they feel their social utility. Trusting students should be
balanced with top vigilance by the parents/guardians, he cautioned.
On asking more than 100 secondary school learners (VII to X/O’ Levels) who they
thought was responsible for students’ abusive language nowadays (options:
parents, teachers, media or social set-up), around 50 per cent pointed towards
the social set-up while approximately 45 per cent blamed the media.
It is very interesting to note here that around four per cent of these students
held parents responsible for the language-related chaos while a negligible
number singled out teachers as the main cause of inferior language used by their
pupils.
It explicitly shows that some of these young minds also feel that spending 16-17
hours in the company of their parents makes them liable to think and take
appropriate steps for the moral development of their child.
On the question, ‘Do parents give moral training to their children these days,’
approximately 80 per cent students answered in the affirmative while the
remaining 20 per cent replied in the negative. The same query about teachers
gave a 60 per cent ‘yes’ and 40 per cent ‘no’ response.
The dim yet positive sign here is that in the present era of sheer materialism
there still are many mothers, fathers and teachers sharing ethical facts with
students, who on many occasions prevent themselves from using crude language.
Yet, more interestingly, several school teachers, who were requested to pick the
basic reason behind the children’s abusive/indecent way of talking, gave a mixed
response, choosing media, parents and the social set-up (in descending order) as
the major factors.
Following are a few suggestions to solve this agonising problem:
The first and the most important step, which all the key stakeholders (parents
and teachers primarily) can take to bring about a positive change in our young
learners’ verbal attitude, is continuous and sincere emphasis on morality with
use of ‘tongue’ under the spotlight.
And before implementing this crucial yet simple strategy, the elders, having
more life experience, will have to set examples themselves. One of the top
reasons for moral weakening in young ones is their elders’ free fall in ethical
standards, an eye-opening reality illustrated through the example in the
beginning.
Second, young students can be groomed, by parents and teachers, right from an
early age to develop what can be termed as ‘media intellect’. This is so as
media, being a gigantic source of information and entertainment in the present
world, can either form a good character or make green minds deviate rapidly from
nobility.
Thirdly, general discussions with children on morality, use of language being
the core, should be arranged by parents/guardians and teachers on various
occasions depending upon time, (student’s) age and requirement. At such candid
talks where a few very close relatives and bossom buddies can also participate,
the students should be given appropriate time and calculated liberty to express
their own viewpoint. The move will gradually broaden their thinking level,
making them realise the short- mid- and long-term consequences of poor language.
Fourthly, school administrations, above all those ‘undeclared hindrances’,
should fully back teachers in instigating language discipline.
Lastly and very importantly, a permanent and dedicated coordination among
parents, teachers, school authorities and students should be developed in order
to find a common ground for establishing, intensifying and spreading the highest
possible standards of morality, with reverent language being given centre stage.
Courteous language is the very first step towards character building and we as
Pakistanis must not forget that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah underlined
character building as one of the elementary pillars of a nation. The structure
is weakened with even one pillar missing and the building is bound to collapse,
sooner or later. Let us all join hands to eliminate this nightmarish
probability.