This is about children. As the world marks the Universal Children's Day on Nov 20, we thought it was about time we reversed the perspective - from how adults view this world including children to how children view the world including adults.

We thought the children might have their own views about teachers, school education, bullies, rules, freedom, television, money or society in general. These are all areas where adults make decisions for children who are on the receiving end.

What if children were given this chance to decide about the kind of world they want to live in. How different will that be from the one imposed on them?

So, for once, we left it to the children to pick and choose what they want to write about. We requested them to feel free in expressing their views because this might be their only chance.

We did prescribe the age limit – 6 to 13 – for present purposes. We asked them to draw the world too as they saw it. The picture is perfect with words and visuals.

We discovered that schools and teachers and television are what their world mostly revolves around. We found they want to defy the rules we set for them and yearn for freedom. We learnt they have some thoughts about money and bullies and how they can change their society.

Over to you, children, the young opinion-makers, in the most special of our Special Reports!

teachers

'My class teacher wears a Sari when she comes to school. She is a very good teacher. She teaches us very nicely. When she is very angry and any boy is telling her, he is blaming me, she beats the child and when the child starts talking again she says, "I have given you good beating, you are not listening. But what can be done? We cannot make our blood pressures high. I am tired taking your copies at home." ........Our Urdu teacher teaches us Urdu very nicely. I respect my Urdu teacher because she is a very nice teacher. She talks English in Urdu period not Urdu. She beats the students with a black stick, its name is Molla Baksh. The students have a odd and rude behaviour with her that's why she's very angry all the time. ........I dislike my Science sir when we start a new lesson and when the reading is finished then at once he gives us question and answers he doesn't explain any thing about the chapter and he beats us with his hands on our back very hard and when he wants to say the child to go back to your seat he raises his hand like this but our old science teacher teaches us very nicely she used to explain everything. ........Our social studies teacher is a very nice teacher when we start a new chapter on the first day she reads the lesson for us that we can understand. On the second day she again explains. On third day she gives us Q.A. or fill in the blanks. She is a very good teacher. ........Our computer teacher is very good teacher. He teaches us lesson and explains he takes us to computer lab not every Friday but on some Fridays. He is a very good teacher. .......Our games sir is an old man but is a very great games teacher. First he says to make arm distance then to make our arm stretching. And all the other exercise and then we can play games.'

--Rohail Nadeem, 10

'One of my friends' school teacher put tape on the mouths of her class II students. .......Another teacher in my tuition always has a stick which she uses to beat the students if they get bad grades in her class. ........Teacher Ayesha said to my friend that she will take off his shalwar if he misbehaved.

--Muhammad Osama Tahir, 9

'Teachers are the first step of children's life. If we have no teachers we could not study and without studying we cannot be a big man and in our country poor man can't do nothing. So now I am going to tell you about my teachers. In our school we have eight subjects and we have eight teachers of eight subjects. Our class teacher is Mrs Naheed. She teach us Islamiat, our Urdu teacher is Mrs Saima Amir, she is very bad, she don't no how to teach. Our English teacher is Miss Anna, she is a nice teacher, our Maths teacher is Miss Saima, she also don't know how to teach. Our last subject teacher is Miss Sumaira. She teach us computer. She is best teacher of school. She talk very frankly and she taught us very nicely. Now my second subject is that Allah has also said that we have to respect our teacher like our parents. They teach us and without teachers we are nothing. We should be frank to our teachers. If we will not respect them Allah will be harsh on us and will take everything from us. ........The third thing is our Qari Sahib who teach us Quran that if we will not respect our teacher we will never go forward and if we say something bad to them then we are saying bad to our parent so no one can say bad to the teachers.'

--Ali Nisar Gohar, 12

'First of all I'd like to tell you that I'm writing this to tell you that teachers should change. Why should they change? Because they give us gray to work. They should make us work with red, blue and black ink pens so that are work will look colourful. ........Our games coach (teacher) makes us do difficult exercises. Our art teacher is so strict she says if we don't do our work properly she'll take away our papers. Our science and maths teacher Miss Bushra is nice, not strict. But still teachers are nice and kind. Our teachers help us without work. They are not only tutors but friends to us as well. They explain things to us. We can ask our teachers a hundred times but we should be honest because we know our teachers will tell us. So we should not be afraid to ask. We can play games with our teachers in the free periods. We know our teachers are kind but we should not take advantage of them. Our teacher should not give us surprise tests. Our teachers. Should give us more tests and dictations.'

--Zainab Aazadeh Raja, 9

'Teachers are nice and sweet. But we don't listen to them. Why? Some teachers are sweet and some are not. Some teachers don't care what students are doing. They just let them go and don't concentrate. I hate this kind of teachers. My favourite teacher is my science teacher because she is sweet, gives us homework, do experiments with us, discuss everything with us before the exam. I like my maths teacher also because she is calm to us and she lets everyone sit with their friends. I also like my English teacher but she is a little bit strict but she loves us a lot. ........My social studies teacher always says that look at my clothes she trys to show off. I really hate her. ........Our swimming teacher teaches us how to jump its fun. Our art teacher is creative. She gives us other types of assignments. I like my singing sir also. He sing in the sur. He says that when you sing everyone around you should be dead. I will be a doctor when I'll grow up because I like science because of my teacher. My all teachers are kind and sweet. I like them all.'

--Fatima Khan, 9

'Teachers teach you a lot of things. Teachers were once students like you people. Your teachers teach you a lot of things so that you can pass every exam that comes and it helps you to get a job. Teachers explain the concept about the things. If she does not explain it we will not know what to write, neither will our parents. So teachers should be responsible and should know if children are going out of the class if its not break time. .........She should also know if someone does not have lunch then she should help him or her. She should know everybody's name or if she doesn't then she should put a name tag on their shirt. .........We learn how to speak well from our teachers. We also learn how to behave with other people. She teaches us not to say bad things to your friends or other kids. We will be the children who do not know how to do their jobs without our teachers. .........Sometimes teachers can be strict and sometimes they can also be kind to you.'

--Shehzmani Shams, 7

'Madam Irum is my ideal teacher. She's friendly. She is efficient. She comes every day. She is also very cooperative and very religious.'

--Hamza Tayyab, 12

change

'I don't like violence in society. I live in Peshawar and I cannot play cricket in the ground because of bomb fear. There was a blast outside my school. I was very scared. Everybody in the school was running and shouting and we got three holidays also. My studies are also disturbed because of the blasts and I am always afraid. I was waiting for Spiderman to come and save people from dying. ........I also don't like Zardari. He is always laughing. When I watch TV, they tell about the bomb blasts and fighting, I get scared and I see them in my dreams also. My class fellows also tell me about blasts and fighting which I don't like. I ask my father about all this but he says I don't need to understand and only to study. I also ask my elder brother and sister they say they don't know. .......Every year in summer vacations I visit my cousins in Lahore. I enjoy very much. We go to Zoo, Joy land, different parks but when they come here, they feel really bore because in Peshawar there is only one or two places to go and nowadays they don't visit anymore because my aunt says "baahar nahi jana hai" and my uncle shopkeeper from whom I buy biscuits and toffees says the same. I am very sad because of this. I like cricket. I watch it. There are many favourite cricketers and now sometimes play also whenever my mother allows me. I also go for swimming in a club with my father but now we don't. I love food of my country. Whenever I go to Namak Mandi I eat chappal kabab and tikkas. They are really very good and fun.'

--Wahaj Aleem, 13

rules

'RULES SUCK. They are boring. They waste time. They are silly. For example, the rule that the president of the school can only be from the highest grade, does not make sense to me. Even at home, elder children in the family are told to boss around us.

Here are some rules at home. I can't sleep till late. I have to get up early whether its a school day or a holiday. Another one is, "No playing or watching TV until you finish your work."

Then at school we hear, "You can't go to washroom or go out to drink water until you finish your work."

There are some rules at school like putting day and date on top of the page. Have a look.

Thursday, 13th, C.W. November 2008

It seems the teachers fear that we will forget the spellings of days and months if we don't write them daily. Isn't that silly.

Another Rule: We can't even utter a word to each other in class, not even in low voice or else the teacher erupts like a volcano. What more shall I say.'

--Moazzin Hamza, 13

'It was Friday, a holiday. I woke up at 7.00A.M on that day. I had my football match. I had to reach there at 9.00A.M, but due to excitedness I woke up at 7.00A.M. I reached school one hour before time. I was very happy because we practised hard for that match. When the match was started we came to know that our turn is the second last. Then a big hurdle again came in our way. Our goalkeeper was not there. After a long time he came and he was wearing studs which were not allowed. The person who wears studs he will be disqualified. The duration of match was 20 minutes including half time. After a long time, we came on this decision that he will wear my shoes. I was not happy, but I have to give him my shoes, because I was not that much practised AS he was. Then finally our turn came. We were not satisfied because we haven't made any strategy. The match started, we tried to get the ball, but when we had the ball. The match was over. And we lost. We were very angry and decided to practise at home. That was okay, but I was waiting for my driver, when every one was gone. After that my sister came to pick me where we saw our car, but driver was not there. It was half a mystery and little afraidness. However, we reach to the home. At 4, the driver called at my sister's phone, and said sorry I was sleeping in the garden till 4. It was quite funny. After that, I started practising THE football. I was trying to do some tricks which experts do. While I was practising my foot turned and I got a fracture. This was the incident which was not gonna to be finished and it was like my life is stucked in an incident.'

--Ali Arshad, 11

'I live in a big family. My mom tells me to watch movies after I finish my lunch. My dad says that I should sleep early at the night so that I can wake up fresh in the morning for school. My dado tells me to read story books and work hard in school. My chacho says that I should not shout and show manners when the guests come.

I have to follow rules in the school too. Rules help us to learn they help us know what to do. My teacher Ameena says that rules keep us safe. We make a line when we go to the library. Sometimes I don't like to follow rules. I want to see my DVD's very late but I have to sleep. When I grow up I will learn to obey rules as I aim to be a fighter pilot.'

--Anusheh Anwar Malik, 6

'Rules are so annoying. Every where you go, rules, rules and rules. Come on, we are kids and demand to have our own rules. Rules are boring! Rules should, at least, not be in homes. Ok, we understand that there are rules in school like no gum, cameras on mobiles etc, but at least not in our homes. Sometimes, I do agree with some of the rules. Well, they are for our own good. Like if all the cars, in a traffic signal, would go altogether, would anyone give us way, the answer is simple, NO!! And if we would try to make way, we all are going to end up, having accidents. Therefore, we should obey rules. I know, it's hard for children but we should try our level best to follow them. And this doesn't mean that, us, elders should make rules difficult for, us, children. They should try to make them easy for us. Another thing, I would like to discuss is that we are, on purpose, not following rules. The government has placed dust bins everywhere but we still throw the wrappers outside the dust bins. These are strict rules, provided to us by the government, which should be followed. One day, I was going to Khanpur (my farm house), and I saw a taxi driver, who I think was insane, kept on driving even though there was a man running after him for the toll. If there is a rule of giving toll, why don't we? Are we blind, that we cannot see? Are we deaf, that we cannot hear? No! No! No! We are none of them, which is a blessing of Allah. So, I really hope that after you read this you will follow the rules, whether it is our home or our school, remember, we have to follow rules, all of them. At least try!! Trying is a key to success. Rules create discipline and order in our lives. And helps in creating a balanced society.'

--Aimun Ali, 11

'Rules are good. We should have rules so we can know that what should we do and what should we not do. There are many rules like traffic rules, sign rules; school rules etc. We should obey them. We should always obey traffic rules so people don't get hurt. We also have rules in families. The first rule in families is to obey the elders. We should sleep on time and we should study on time. There are school rules also like no fighting at school. We should obey rules so we can be discipline.'

--Mahnoor Jamil, 8

'Rules are quite difficult to follow. Sometimes rules can be a headache too. Most of the people hate but saying no to them is saying no to life. Rules discipline societies. Sometimes obeying rules can be difficult. I do not hate or dislike rules, I find them hard to follow. In a school you can follow rules easily if you obey the orders of a teacher. Some rules are for the benefit of our health like smoking in public not only affects us but affects others too. Some rules are an insult to black people e.g. on some restaurants there is a sign hanging on the door, 'NO DOGS ALLOWED'. The management has no idea how it hurts black people. A game without rules creates chaos. A society should make rules that are easy to say yes and follow. The Oxford University (London) without rules is like a playground for adults. A hospital has a rule of no children, its not like that they hate children the patients get disturbed by screams and cries. A society should make rules that should give both poor and rich equal importance and justice. If rules were only for poor people the rich would consider them selves superior. The person breaking the rule should be strictly punished. Developed nations like USA and China are developed because they strictly follow rules. This is the secret behind their success. Life without rules are like lives of an illiterate. Rules are like a key to success of a nation. There is no country in the world without rules. Every field of a mans life has rules even playing has rules. Whether we hate or like rules following them is a law. Hating rules does not mean not following them. Rules is a key to a successful life. USA without rules is like a world without a superpower.'

--Hamza Ali, 12

bullies

'I hate bullies because they snub students who are junior or less bold. They are harsh and stricter than the teachers. They try to show off, and pretend to be more efficient than you. By force, they take edibles from other shy students of the class. They move around fearlessly in the school as if the school is their personal property.'

--Khawaja Haris Tahir, 13

'By the staircase stood a group of Class 5 boys during recess. We, the younger boys, avoid going there. Those who would go there, were challenged by that gang. I will share with you my experience.

The water cooler was also by the staircase. So in summers most of the children went there. I was in class 3 then when I had this experience. I had gone to have water. One boy in the gang uttered, "Will you like to have a fight with this one?" Pointing to a boy in the gang. I said, "No, thankyou."

"Are you afraid of him, haan? he challenged.

"No. Its only that I don't like to fight for nothing," I said, keeping my calm.

Another boy standing by the one who had been provoking me so far, touched my right shoulder and had only opened his mouth to say something when I found myself giving him a punch in the face. I realised I was the one to start the fight but nothing would stop me then. They were four, all taller than me and I was alone but I fought fiercely. I was confident I had taught them a lesson because I was good at using my legs equally well. The fight got reported and I was taken to the principal's office by the custodian staff.

She asked me how could I pick up physical fight but I was so filled with anger, I could not say a word. After school when Amma came to take me, she was called in the office. When she looked at me, she cried in horror. My left eye had a dark circle around it, I found later. The principal said, "this boy not only picked up a fight, he would not listen to anyone -- won't stop."

My mother said, "my son is not the one to pick up fights," and asked me what had gone wrong. I told her in front of Madam that I will never spare bullies. I am determined to teach all the bullies lessons till they vanish from the school. My principal, I felt, collapsed in her chair. Since then bullies never dared to call me.'

--Ameer Ali, 10, narrated to her mom

money

'Money is something that is not available on trees. One has to work hard to earn it. Acknowledging money's important. I think it is equally important that it should be earned through legal and moral means. Money earned through theft, or by any other illegal means is something that we should keep ourselves away from. .......Money can be used to benefit people who are very less fortunate. It can be and should be used for people who are needy. It should also be used in the construction and progress of our country through which the whole nation will benefit. .......Money has the power to change things. Therefore I think it should be used very carefully. Misuse of money to e.g. spending on things that you don't need will waste the money. .......If given a chance I will use money to improve my style of living. I will buy best clothes, eat lots of Mc Donald, Pizzas parties and buy books which is my hobby to read. At the same time I will also remember the poor and needy around me.'

--Laiba Niaz Paracha, 9

'An essential device needed for our survival. The key to ultimate success. Without it we are like rodents lurking around to gather food. Money is what we call a process of differentiating between the rich and the poor. Money comes in many different currencies such as dollars, rupees, pounds, cents, pennies and so much more. .......Money has caused a great change in our future and is responsible for the selfishness and greed in mankind. As we see that the LEDCs (Least economically developed countries) are under a lot of pressure. They keep on importing stuff from the other countries that whatever they earn is used to pay back the interest on the loans the MEDCs (most economically developed countries) charge. It is said that the world's poor countries owe a total of four hundred and sixty billion dollars while places like America spends five hundred and seventy billion dollars yearly on gambling. All of that money could have been used to give aid to the third world countries. .......Our own country Pakistan is a democratic government with no laws or strict policies. A huge amount of inequality is spread throughout the world and has now reached here. Having a lack of proper facilities people are forced to go on strikes. Furthermore the rich do not give any authority to the poor and do as they like. For instance they can pay to move ahead and take a safer route without even bothering to try. Also no one take a driving test to earn their license. Instead they go to Nadra office, pay some amount and come back with cheerful looks and the new driving license. Money in both ways is important and harmful for our souls. It buys you some relaxation and big trouble.'

--Raazia Kamal Butt, 13

tv

'I like to watch television because we get a lot of knowledge from it and especially from 'National Geographic' and 'Animal Planet'. The importance of television is that we can listen to the news and can know everything about our and other countries. .......The thing which I don't like about television is that some children watch dramas and do the same things which actors do in dramas. Which are wrong things. Some children watch a lot of television and effect their studies and eyes. I do not watch that much television because my studies are also important for me and the homework. And when I want to watch it mama wants to see news or papa wants cricket so I'm sad. ......There is 'comedy' in television too. Funny programs are very nice.'

--Keziah Nasir, 7

'Every kid loves TV. They watch cartoons on it. They can watch while eating. Grown-ups watch TV to watch the news and weather reports. But adult and kids can both watch movies. ......Kids you can watch but not a lot of it and don't look at it too closely otherwise your eyesight will be affected. Some kids remember the cartoon time table by heart. Some popular cartoons which I like are Dragon Ballz, Sponge bob Square pants and Timmy Newtron. Don't watch cartoon everyday like I do. Once you watch too many cartoons you will be sick. Don't be too worried if the light is gone and your favourite cartoon is on. You can still watch it tomorrow. ......You can use a DVD player to play movies on the TV. The types of TVs are flat screen, plasma and LCD. First TVs showed the pictures in black and white now the picture is coloured. There are some channels tell us about animals and wild life.'

--Daniyal Mahmood Mirza, 11

'I must confess the thought of school first thing in the morning is rather sickening. Who wants to wake up at dawn when a person is drawn to the exhilaration of sleep? Not me. .......School at its worst for me is to attend the never ending lessons in Islamiat; the teacher going on and on about things that seem so pointless – don't we hear enough of that at home? Some teachers specialise at making school miserable for students. Take Sir Tyson, for example, who takes pleasure in making boys cry in class. Such 'so called' ustaads are there simply to torment boys instead of actually teaching. I would highly advise such teachers to head the police and spare us. Plus, every day, without fail, the wait for the bell to ring for break seems eternal -- and the break so very short. .......However, school also has some pros. It is at school that you make your friends, socialise and have fun. Take the time between two lessons. That's the real fun time - playing football at the back of the class, having ink fights, playing pranks on each other. Two days ago a friend's cell phone by mistake started playing an Indian song while the teacher was taking a class. The entire class was in fits of laughter. Now how funny is that? Out of the 168 hours a week I spend about 40 hours in school. Attending eight periods and break a day. Now would I call school the best place or the worst place in my life? Both, to be honest.'

--Asad Tajammal Hussain, 13