[Goli Taipodia]
“Each One Teach One” is an African – American proverb. This phrase originated in the United States during the times of slavery when Africans were denied education. When an enslaved person learned how to write and read, it became his duty to teach someone else. India is a big country, and its population is about 130 crores. But it is pity that even after more than 70 years of independence, over 30% of its population is completely illiterate.
The slogan “Each One Teach One” is a motivation for the educated class to understand their moral and social responsibility of teaching at least one illiterate person. We might argue that there are NGOs, semi-government bodies and many non-profit organizations dedicated for this purpose but their major drawback is that their services do not often reach the common man. Education is an important part of human growth; without which it becomes quite difficult for a human to grow and flourish. The educated mass of the society including housewives, working young professionals and college going students can play a vital role in educating the underprivileged children. Children of rickshaw walas, labourers, maids and other groups of society who do not have access to quality education can be benefited if we are ready to educate them.
Not only children, but also adults, who remained illiterate due to poverty and are doing meager jobs can be taught or educated. This can help them become more aware of their rights and not be cheated or be fooled by upper section of the society. Also, literate mothers can bring a positive difference in the lives of their children. You can choose a convenient place like your house/office or neighborhood to reach at least one child. Since only one student is involved at any given time, there is no pressure on the student to gauge his/her performance in comparison to others. If all educated classes devotedly come out to work for this social cause, we can easily reach our aim of freeing the nation from the shackles of illiteracy and move faster towards development.
