Once, a student asked me why History, Civics and Geography are put in the same book and subject when they are obviously dealing with things that seem light years apart. I was taken aback because I had never thought of it before. But then, I did my research and explained it to the child the next day. I asked the class to imagine a natural disaster in an imaginary city. After a little discussion and voting, they came up with a unanimous, “Earthquake!” I asked them to list out all the problems that would happen as the aftermath. The list included homelessness, lack of food, expenses for reconstructing the city, epidemics, etc. I explained that the earthquake occurred due to the movement of the tectonic plates, i.e. something to do with the geography of the place while the problems and remedies that come after it involves a lot of planning and money, which falls under ‘Civics’. And decades later, this would be seen as one of the greatest disasters that the city has faced and the people will always be ready to face a calamity. That would become a part of the history of the place.

This led me to wonder whether all the subjects are connected to each other in obvious and subtle ways which make each one of them an indispensable part of the curriculum and life. The answer, obviously, was yes. Math deals with numbers and equations but it is an essential part of Economics and Science. Superficially, it might look like Science doesn’t really have anything to do with Language and the arts, but then works of Science have been known to have shaken the very foundations of literature. That is the reason most of the greatest scientists known to mankind have been philosophers as well. These landmarks of Science are also an inevitable part of the History of mankind. While Music, dance and fine arts might just seem to be harmless hobbies that children can always skip for the so-called important subjects, they are more than that. They are based on precision, synchrony and creativity allowing each child to explore the world and his/her learning of other subjects in a different light.

It would be a naïve thing to say that there are such things as unimportant subjects and necessary ones. It is said that no man is an island and now we have reason to believe that no subject is an island either. While they might focus on different things and perfect different skills in a child, they all complement each other for the greater purpose- preparing the individual to face life’s challenges.