Encounters with Education - 1. Teachers Turn Tutors

In the June 26, 2014 episode of the TV serial Mahabharat (Star TV), Acharya Drona rues that his character flaw of courting the Court (royal students for self; a kingdom for his son) disqualifies him from being addressed as “Guru”; he is a mere “shikshak” – someone who taught students skills. A Guru goes beyond imparting “shiksha”; the Guru is a mentor and a moral ideal.

Gurus are revered by Hindus, worthy of the same respect as the Holy Tridev – Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. Gurus hold special significance in India – Kabir’s words “Guru Govind dono khade, kaake laagu paanv? Balihari Guru aapke, Govind diyo dikhay” can be interpret in two way: when in presence of Guru and Govind (God), touch the feet of a Guru because (a) Guru shows the path to Govind, or (b) Govind signals the devotee to first touch the feet of the Guru.

Guru is now an commonly-used English word; a guru counsels, advises or mentors, or is a leader in a particular field. Two related words are Teacher (one who teaches or instructs, especially as a profession) and Tutor (a teacher without institutional connection who assists students in preparing for examinations). 

What we have in educational institutions today in India are very few, if any, Gurus. I would say we have very few teachers as well; the majority of the ‘teaching staff’ are tutors. Pressure from Management, parents, students, and peers (and perhaps her own limitations) has created a new measure for success as a teacher: the marks/grades her students score in the final examinations. Being a guru is a luxury that she simply cannot afford.

Some people have embraced a dual role openly, interacting with the same students during and after school hours as teacher and tutor, respectively. What differentiates the interaction is the prescribed administrative work in school as a ‘teacher’. 

Rare is the child these days who does not head to tuition classes before and/or after school. In my city, the +2 stage ("Junior College") is more an intense coaching class than a "regular" college. Clearly, most parents believe that 'teachers' are simply not enough for a child to learn the subject - a teacher may talk deep and wide about a topic, but it is the tutor who will distill the essential essence for acing the exam!

And as teachers become tutors, students become more effective in scoring marks by providing ‘model answers’ to ‘important questions’ that are practiced scores of times as classwork, tuition-classwork, and homework, and less capable of reading, comprehending, parsing, and expressing any subject matter without the guiding hand of the ever-present and obliging tutor.

In the next few blogs, I will share my experiences with teachers/tutors as a parent and as an instructor.

Short of space?

Ad space is ... well ... expensive. Case in point - this banner on the Tarnaka flyover in Hyderabad. What do you think about this apparently decapitated but otherwise very fit man?

Bumper message

Taken from Tweet of rati parker ‏@ratigirl  Jan 12

Tree mystery

I wonder if it is something in the genetic code
That transformed this tree by the side of a road
Or if its lumpy nodes furred with moss
Were due to some other cause
Like parasites reinforcing their knobby abode

Absurd Ad

Big weight is big business - I mean losing it is! So we see ads like this everywhere. Just Rs. 990/- per week ... or your money back, of course. (And I have to say I am happy to see them say 'lose' weight, not "loose" weight, which is also sometimes advertised!)

They assure you that all you have to do is eat their "superfoods" and weight-loss is guaranteed, no matter your physical/metabolic condition. Proof: testimonials from various satisfied clients such as Ms. Uma (38 years):

Last I looked, the thyroid gland is essential for humans. But assuming some people think that its only function is to keep one from losing weight, the advertisers tell us: Despair not, dear dieters-to-be. Let not your thyroid deter you from enrolling in this program where you either keep your kgs and your rupees or lose both!

Ridiculous tag-line

By Vidya Jonnalagadda

Near the underpass to Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad, I saw this hoarding - "Because books never come with a shut down button" as a reason to send your child to a particular school. What does this mean? That other schools do not use books? Or that students in this school keep reading 24/7 because there is no option to "shut down" the books?

Adding to the ridiculousness of this tagline is the second USP of this school - "Digital Classrooms" (which would definitely have 'shut down' buttons; by the way, the USP is "Sprawling Campus", not spacious classrooms and labs). Now, would you not expect the USP to be something like "Huge Library" to boast that this particular school has an unusually large collection of books, given their claim about non-stop reading?

Really, who comes up with such tag-lines?

Distinctive Rooftop

By Vidya Jonnalagadda

Seen from the Seetaphalmandi flyover ... a car-shaped water tank!

More mores from science

by Vidya Jonnalagadda

  

Science does more than explain the “Why” and “How” of nature, it makes humans more just and, well, “moral”, if moral is defined as being compassionate towards other humans. This is the surprising finding of Ma-Kellams and Blascovich [1], who questioned college students to see how repugnant date rape was to 81 students, how many pro-social activities 32 students were planning, and how equitably 43 students would share 5 dollars.

They found that students of science-related subjects were more likely to rate (on a scale of 1-10) date rape as ‘wrong’ (p = 0.01); surprisingly, there are no correlation with religiosity (p > 0.46). Further, students who solved a jumble puzzle of words related to science just before rating the ‘wrong-ness’ of date rape also showed a higher degree of condemnation compared to students who had solved jumbles of words not related to science (p < 0.001).

In addition, more students said their plans for the upcoming month included prosocial activities (such as volunteering and donating money or blood) if they had just solved the science-related jumble (p = 0.024). Solving the science-words jumble also made students more likely to share a part of a hypothetical amount of 5 dollars with an unknown person (p = 0.046).

While one might take issue with the small sample size, there is no doubt that the study challenges us to view science as something more than the basis of technology or a key to high-paying jobs. Incorporating science into our thought processes may make us a more than just a bit more just!

 [1] Ma-Kellams C, Blascovich J (2013) Does “Science” Make You Moral? The Effects of Priming Science on Moral Judgments and Behavior. PLoS ONE 8(3): e57989. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057989

Goading the Goats: Tourists trigger tension

(This is a review of a paper on animal behavior. I wrote this review for a Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/) course on Animal Behavior (which, by the way, is an excellent course -- I recommend without reservation that everyone take it!). I hope you like my review).

Vidya Jonnalagadda

Goading the Goats: Tourists trigger tension

Humans like watching wildlife, be it photographs, videos, or live animals.  With growing numbers of takers for wildlife tourism—observing animals in their natural settings—the question is who gains what from this activity.

Doubtless, the National Park or Wildlife Reserve gets revenue, and tourists get edutainment, but what do the animals get?

Stress, seems to be the simple one-word answer, judging by a study of Nubian ibex (desert goats) in Ein Avdat National Park in Israel.

We may believe that the goats simply munch away till they are full. But in reality, vigilance wins over victuals; time spent grazing on any spot is determined by actual abundance of food and perceived risk of predator attack.

Tadesse and Kotler [1] scored “giving up density” (GUD)— measure of food remaining in a patch after the ibex move on to another spot—to gauge the goats’ perception of risk of attack while grazing. They placed feeding trays at various locations of the Park: sites classified as cliff faces, plateaus, and garden habitats. Each tray contained a known amount of edible matter (100 g) hidden in a vast excess of nonedible plastic tubing (1.3 kg); the ibex had to dig through the mesh covering of the tray to get to the food. GUD was the amount of edible matter remaining in the trays after the ibex moved away.

The researchers noted that the food eaten from the trays was dictated by the density and distance of tourists. More tourists meant less time feeding, particularly if the tourists were on slopes above the feeding trays.

This means two things: 1. though the ibex appear habituated to humans trekking through their habitat, they are still wary of possible attacks by tourists, and 2. humans "lurking" at certain vantage points are more stressful to these goats. People moving on slopes above the ibex generate extra stress presumably because the ibex sense that their “escape routes” are cut off.

For some animals, vigilance is a function of herd size (number of animals in the herd): as expected, more the total number of eyes in a herd, less the time each individual animal spends scanning the surroundings for predators (and taking breaks from grazing). But larger herd size did not correlate with lower vigilance for these goats; showing that one may not extrapolate what is good for the goose as also good for the gander.

This point is driven home by the observation that male ibex never fed from the trays (the reason is not yet known!). Among the females feeding from the trays, adults showed the highest degree of vigilance.

While the reason for this behavioral dichotomy is not known, it opens up the possibility that the tourist-generated stress affects other aspects of caprine [2] life, such as reproductive behavior. If being watched makes a goat less likely to feed, might it also make it less likely to mate? After all, these animals are not willing participants of a reality TV show!

Tadesse and Kotler show how a simple, low-tech, easily scalable, and non-invasive method can reveal key factors governing behavior of animals in their natural habitat. Given that behavior of animals is the only indication we get regarding their mental well-being, studies such as this can provide very important guidelines to design tourism and conservation programs that minimize tourist-induced stress to wildlife.

[1] S. A. Tadesse, B. P. Kotler. (2012) Impact of tourism on Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana) revealed through assessment of behavioral indicators. Behavioral Ecology 23:6, 1257-1262. 

 [2]relating to goats.

Bollywood Bumper Banners

By Mrunal Savkar

Seen on a truck in Mumbai:

Buri nazar wale tera muh kaala

Rakhi teri biwi aur Salman tera saala

Neeyat ho achchhi to khule kismat ka taala

Nek dilwale ko hi milegi Madhubala!

Worse than worthless!

by Vidya Jonnalagadda

Can any activity be worse than zero? Can something be so inane, silly, absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous, bizarre, childish, immature, meaningless, pointless, and futile that it merits a negative score on a scale for utilitarian value?

Sadly, the answer is yes. And one perfect triple example of worthless activity is INSEAD winning a top award for launching black toilet paper! The report at  http://mba-periodical.blogspot.in/2012/02/insead-knowledge-news-alert-insead-wins.html notes “The INSEAD case study documented how Renova, a privately-held European paper products company headquartered outside of Lisbon, Portugal, managed to differentiate itself from its international competitors, transform white toilet paper from a commodity into a premium product, and then enter new business sectors through innovative marketing. The result was “Renova Black,” the world’s first black toilet paper, which rapidly shifted from a novelty item to a luxury fashion item. Equally rapidly, the company moved from supermarket aisles into boutique hotels, fashion shows and the headlines.”

Well, toilet paper has value, but to me, its value does not lie in the designer colors and prints; what matters is that it meets certain service requirements. So, to me, creating designer toilet paper is the first waste-of-time activity. Researching and documenting this instead of following other ventures that produce something of real value is the second waste-of-time activity. And finally, recognizing this documentation as the best management study is the third waste-of-time activity.

Having read about this award, do you also, like me, have questions like: Is making profit the only criterion for judging the “value” of a business? Does success in marketing lie in convincing people that they are someone special if they use designer toiletries? In fact there is one company that tells us to use their products because "you are worth it!" Is there no interest in seeking and studying cases where a company introduced improved utilization of resources or addressed a long-standing social problem such as unemployment? Do most or all MBA students have to study such case studies as ‘model’ business practices? And, like in a recent TV advertisement claiming that responsible parents provide a color printer for their children as the sure shot route to academic advancement, is slick presentation all that is required to garner recognition of merit? Does the social relevance or significance of the content of a presentation have no worth?

Hindi serials

by Vidya Jonnalagadda

Every weekend, I want to watch a movie – see some interesting story. You would think that given the multitude of multiplexes and countless cable channels, I would have a hard time deciding what to watch. I do have a hard time indeed, but in finding something decent to watch on TV, and not just because of the ever-intruding advertisements. It appears that I have already watched everything worth watching on cable! Whatever is left is all too violent, too offensively stupid, or mind-numbingly boring. And in the theaters there is nothing each week that is attractive enough to compensate for the hassle of traffic, parking, and overpriced snacks. If we are lucky, we make it to a theater once every couple of months!

On weeknights, I watch some Hindi serial, much to the mirth and annoyance of several of my family members. How, they ask, can an intelligent person watch episodes where the ‘villainous’ bahu gets the ‘model’ bahu in trouble by switching the containers of oil and ghee in the kitchen, and the model bahu gets scolded for making, in her ‘innocence’, the bhog ka halwa in oil instead of ghee? Granted the serials are very silly indeed, but after a day of work at home and outside, it is somewhat comforting in the evening to escape to the world where such simple household intrigues are the height of treachery and corruption. A welcome change from the empty-speak of anchors, “experts”, and politicians on the news channels – all alleging or denying the latest multicrore ghotala, and claiming in their defense that the other political party did worse things during their tenure. At least the serials do not claim to be meaningful! 

Evaluate your life !

By Vidya Jonnalagadda

Well, we are constantly doing that – evaluating our life – in terms of health, wealth, and familial/social relationships. But have you assigned marks to it? Last year, my life scored 72.8/100 but the year before it was 69.3/100.

Does this sound preposterous? But this is where we are headed in terms of assigning numerical values, or marks - to put it simply, to all activities that our children are doing. If a certain news channel and celebrity endorsements that it has garnered become successful in changing the education policy (now why a news channel should seek to shape policy instead of reporting events and analyzing their implications is another matter), soon students will be awarded marks for games and sports.

How will this work? A child running 100 meters under 20 seconds will get 10 points and those running it between 20 and 30 seconds get 8 points? Score 2 goals in an inter-house football match and capture another 10 points? Play in an inter-school tournament and get 20 points? Will playing in a team event fetch more points than participating in an individual event? And what if a child “fails” in sports – will it affect their promotion/admission to the next class? Will we see the emergence of ‘sports tuition centers’ and ‘guess papers’ and ‘study guides’ to ensure success in the sports Units Tests and Final Exams?

I am not just questioning how marks will be awarded in a fair and transparent manner – I am disturbed by the very thought of awarding marks for everything a child does. Most of the teachers I meet are distressed about the marks-centric mindset of students (one of my students asked “What is biodiversity for 8 marks?”), parents (one teacher told me that a parent threatened to move her child to another school - “Arre, I am paying you so much and my child got only 79%? I should move him back to his old school where he used to get 80%!”), and management (one of my friends filling in for a KG teacher was told “Teach only 4 names of colors, then all students will get 100%. Their parents are paying our high fees, so they expect their children to score at least 90% (for a related story, please see previous blog ‘When is a vegetable not a ‘real’ vegetable?”)). The marks-centric approach has converted school textbooks into Units for 2 marks or 5 marks (in some cases, even fractional marks like 0.5 marks). Fortunes have been made by private bodies (I can’t call them ‘educational institutions’ since their only activity is getting students to repeatedly answer ‘model’ questions) catering to the quest for marks. I see in my college that students do not put in any effort to understand important subjects like ‘Science and Civilization’, ‘Indian History and Culture’, and ‘Environmental Studies’ since marks for these subjects are not ‘counted’ in calculating the final grade for their B.Sc. degree.

Have we reached the day where children will refuse to play (or paint or sing or dance) unless they get marks for their efforts? And, as adults, will they evaluate their lives on a numerical scale?

Education for what?

By Vidya Jonnalagadda

What is the purpose of education? Today, most students (and their parents), expect that following the yellow brick road of the ‘3 R’s will lead them to the magical Emerald City of the ‘3E’s. In other words, Reading + Writing + Arithmetic = Excellent Education Ò Easy Employment Ò Enormous (or at least enough) Earnings!

Recently I read in the news that fewer than 20% of our fresh engineering graduates are employable! If a technical course holds such bleak job prospects, what can basic science promise? As a teacher of basic science, my colleagues and I often ponder on how what we teach can be translated into employability for our students, because one main reason cited for the falling enrollment in science courses is the lack of career opportunities. 

A couple of years ago, our college held an annual function for the MBA students. As I could not attend the Inaugural Session, I asked my father’s friend, a distinguished retired officer of the IAF (Indian Air Force) and a guest at that function, about what the speakers said. He told me that he was shell shocked by what he had heard – (paraphrasing here): “When I was a student, I was told that the purpose of education was to lead a refined life – to appreciate good science, powerful literature, and beautiful Fine Arts. Jobs were just for keeping together body and soul. Today, speaker after speaker told the students how education (degree) is a weapon to bludgeon one’s peers (read competition) into oblivion and soar to success (read corporate positions).”

So, what is right? Do we learn to earn (and lead a lavish lifestyle)? Do we read to breed greed? Or do we study to clear from our minds the muddy mess of ignorance, arrogance, and intolerance? Learn to turn into gentle, considerate, and creative beings? 

I like best the 'definition' of education given many years ago by my friend, Dr. Mokshay Madiman (now at Yale) – “Education should make us good citizens”. Which means law-abiding, responsible builders of strong communities (good parents and good neighbors), and of course, tax-paying (good employers and employees) people who also know and exercise their civic rights.

So, is it possible to design syllabi for high school and college science courses which not only impart strong subject knowledge, but also inculcate skills to convert this knowledge into employment or entrepreneurship?

Even when no one is watching

by Vidya Jonnalagadda

We bemoan the rising lawlessness on our roads; if a traffic policeman is not in sight, every vehicle from a bicycle to a bus will run the red light. Is it that our society lives more by fear of penalty than by self-discipline and doing the right thing?

The incident I want to relate relates to awareness of ‘jootha’ (in Hindi), or ‘ushTa’ (in Marathi) and ‘engilee’ (in Telugu) – sadly there is no term in English to describe this ‘status’ of food and vessels. The closest term I could think of to explain this to my Jewish American son-in-law is ‘contaminated by spit’! Though in my grandfather’s orthodox household, it was not necessary for your saliva to come in direct contact with an item to make it ushTa; touching a container of rice, say, with your (clean and dry) left hand while eating from a plate with your right hand was enough to render the whole pot of rice ‘contaminated’!

But I am digressing – this post is not about how circuits are created to make objects ushTa. It is about the simple decency of common folk. We often buy provisions from a crowded little store in a very crowded big market (the well-known Monda market of Secunderabad), where one has to weave watchfully through cows and carts, people and parcels, and vendors and vehicles to cross a street. So, outside this modest grocery store is a rickety stool carrying a small water dispenser – a plastic jar with a tap. A small steel glass rests on the jar (not tied to it). As I was waiting in the shop for the girl at the counter to bring me the items on my list, I saw a young mother and child stop at the water dispenser. The child could not have been more than five. The mother carefully rinsed only the inside of the glass with a tablespoon or so of water, and filled it up for her child to drink. She poured small 'gulpfuls' of the water into the mouth of her child, taking care not to let the lips of the child touch the rim of the glass. She then refilled the glass and drank some water herself – pouring it down her throat – and put back the glass to continue along the street. She was unaware that I was watching her from the store.

I was moved by what I had seen. There was neither a person to monitor the ‘proper’ use of the glass, nor were there any written instructions posted nearby urging one to ‘maintain’ hygiene. She could have sipped water directly from the glass, and even walked away with it, or left the tap dripping. Treating the water dispenser with respect came from the strong cultural upbringing of that young mother, which she was imparting to her little child. I kept smiling to myself throughout the day, happy to see that there are still many simple decent honest people around.

Curbing crackers

by Vidya Jonnalagadda

We adults are it again – bulling the children, that is. During my recent visit to Mumbai, my young sisters-in-law, Smita and Gauri, both educationists, told me how effective the noise-pollution-free Diwali campaign was. They happily noted that there were much fewer firework booms and bangs in Mumbai this Diwali. Though, of course, global recession may have helped too.

I feel it is a shame that we bully our children to give up the 5-6 days they spend a year anticipating the dhadaams and wheees of crackers and rockets. I mean, how many Lakshmi bombs and ladees does each of us actually set off during our lifetime anyway? Why take away those few hours of joy from our children and teenagers? And say nothing when tons of fireworks are set off at gala events like T20 matches, Formula One Races, Inauguration Ceremonies for National and International Sporting Competitions, and swanky New Year Eve parties?

We adults are showing our double standards again: “Thou shall not create smoke and noise … unless you are the BCCI or their ilk!” It is fine for wealthy conglomerates to mark their mega events with mega bangs, but our little kids are made to feel the guilt for polluting the atmosphere if they set off a few dozen tiny crackers for a few days each year! So, are you interested to see how many people petition to exclude fireworks from London 2012 Olympics?

When is a vegetable not a “real” vegetable?

By Vidya Jonnalagadda

Fear not, gentle reader, this is not a test of botanical definitions, or even an argument about why plant organs that are actually roots (like carrots) and stems (like potatoes) and fruits (like tomatoes) are all clubbed under the generic term ‘vegetables’. What this blog is about is my friend Neetu’s young daughter, Nishtha’s homework for school.

When Nishtha was in first grade, her Hindi teacher assigned the homework of writing names of five vegetables (sabziyaan). After consulting with her mother, Nishtha wrote simple words like aalu, matar, shalajam, and tamaatar. The next day, however, Nishtha returned from school angry and tearful, “aap ko kuch bhi nahin aataa Mummy, teacher ne teen sabziyon ko wrong diya!” A little investigation by Neetu revealed that three vegetables on Nishtha’s homework had been marked wrong because had not been taught by the teacher in class!

This was a couple of years ago. When I called Neetu today to ask if I could write about this incident on this blog, she had all but forgotten about it. Like her, you too might say that it was a small matter after all, no lasting harm done. But I  have thought often about this incident; perhaps it affected me so much because I am upset to see that we are teaching our children that what they see and eat are not “real” vegetables unless they are on the teacher’s list (or in the textbook)!

Poverty of the spirit

By Gauri Hardikar

Poverty of the spirit

“Ouch!” I cry out, as my husband swiftly kicks me under the table.”Don’t stare”, he hisses back. I use every ounce of my will power to reluctantly stop staring at a man, of undeterminable age, flashing all the right symbols of a successful life, right from a haughty nonchalant expression, to   branded accessories, while he starts eating his dinner of vada pao. You must be thinking,”Hmpf, so, what’s the big deal? Someone is eating vada pao, hello, this is Mumbai, vada pao is our staple food!” . Let me explain.

We (hubby and I) are having dinner at one of the classiest restaurants in town, and needless to say one of the pricier ones too. We chose the place, because this dinner is a celebration, of many events clubbed together. E.g A recently acquired promotion, not so recent Valentine’s day, actually last year’s Valentine’s day too, and the year before last (did we celebrate that one?!),assorted birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and other significant occasions not celebrated. But actually we both know that we are celebrating togetherness, the wonderful fact that in spite of having a fairly uneventful long married life, and very eventful career lives, both of us want to still spend time with each other dawdling over dinner that stretches over  three hours. Hence the extravagance. But that’s beside the point.

The restaurant offers a la carte option and also a buffet. After one glance at the a la carte menu, we roll our eyes, and settle on the buffet. Its not a difficult choice. The buffet with almost 70 dishes costs only 4 times more than the cost of a vada pao. Its actually the price of the Mumbai Special Vada pao that makes both of us almost hyperventilate. In Mumbai Nagari, the place of origin of the Vada Pao, or the humble Indian version of a burger, with prices that range from 5 Rs to, hold Ur breath, 500 hundred rupees, plus taxes ! I blink my eyes and wonder whether I am seeing things. Hubby and I confer and agree that the Vada pao in this swanky place indeed costs 100 times more than what it does at the tapari around the corner. Both of us wonder about people who placed it on the menu and more about whether anyone has ever ordered it?Or has it been cremated with due honors in the restaurant incinerator?

Imagine our excitement when we actually see a waiter carrying two pieces of the stuff to a table behind us. We blink our eyes again; this is the 2^nd shock in the same evening. Tell me then; do you blame me for wanting to have a good look at the man who has ordered vada pao which costs only Rs.560? And to answer an obvious question in your minds, he is an Indian.

This gives both of us a lot of food for thought and a lively discussion ensues, which continues, till we leave and wait in the foyer for the valet to get our car. An angry voice interrupts our conversation. We turn around to see the same man, yelling at the doorman, he seems to be in a hurry to leave. Hubby ever fond of gangster movies, has a theory that he is a ‘bhai’ who cannot eat the food that he grew up on, because it’s too dangerous for him. Hence the five star snack, and now the mad hurry to leave. Since there is a crowd of people waiting for their cars, our man strides out to stand near the gate. A motley group of street kids have clustered there, hoping to get the left overs that guests may hand over. As the other kids stare fearfully at the man, a dark, perky little girl, wearing a tattered dress, stretches out a grubby hand to touch the man, big round eyes appealing to his altruistic nature. No sooner does she do so, all hell breaks loose. The man screams every kind of expletive imaginable at her and the rest of the kids, slaps the girl so hard that she falls down, and chases the other kids who rush to help her. While the kid cowers in fright he continues the tirade while we watch in stunned silence. Fortunately, a Mercedes rolls up, the driver runs out to pacify the Sahib, who gets into the car still shaking his fists at the child who is now sitting up and wailing for all she is worth. The kids watching from a safe distance run back to her, the doorman also rushes to help her stand up. I move closer, wanting to offer some sympathy and may be some money to buy dinner. But the kids beat me to it. One hands the girl a half eaten chocolate, the other one opens a carry away box, to reveal some other food stuff, while the third one, removes her own colorful bangles and holds them out to the sobbing child.

It’s an unforgettable sight, these kids may need my money, but they certainly are rich, in spirit, definitely wealthier than me and the vada pao eating man in the shiny Merc put together.

Judgment Day

I must confess, much as I enjoy appreciating creativity and hard work, I passionately hate judging anything. So, it is with a heavy heart that I step into the exhibit room of the Science exhibition that I am invited to judge, to undertake the task at hand. The category that I am to judge is the teacher’s projects on Population education and continuing education. And after seeing the projects, the following questions still trouble me:

• ·       How will “Increasing substance of women” help curb population?
• ·    Likewise, apart from the really obvious reason, how will enforcing a joint family system help? Maybe people will get so stressed out that they will murder each other??
• ·      Why is a game, where the only reward the child gets is a lecture from the teacher, called Fun and Learn??
• ·      In a remote area, where there are no roads, no transport and no school, and no teacher can reach, how high speed Internet, and laptops be available for using Skype and Whiteboard?
• ·      Likewise, how did showing a 10 min video recorded lecture, given to slum children actually increase the quality of their life?
• ·      In Continuing education, why will adults happily “learn with fun”, using letter blocks and other kinder garden teaching aids? (It will awaken the child in them, was the answer given to my question.)
• ·      Why are these leaders of the young harping on about controlling the population, while the whole world is terrified that God forbid, if India and China put their act together and train the vast multitudes, nobody can stop these countries that have the most valuable resource in the world, “Man Power”?

Just when my head started reeling, listening to lectures deliver with strong conviction on how bleak the world scenario is due to population, and when I am almost apologetic that I am living, and healthy, the following incident occurs.

When we are listening, to a very pretty young teacher, droning endlessly about literacy, reeling off statistics on the population of the various Indian states, my co judge asks,” And what is the role of the climate?” It takes a while for me to understand the point that he is making, which is that cold climate equals to less population. The young teacher stops midspeech, as if the Pause button is pressed, gives both of us a blank look. Swallows twice, looks at the ceiling, and the walls, and then magically, as if the Play button is now pressed, resumes her sermon on the literacy. I earnestly explain to her the gentleman’s question, and point out that if literacy is so imp. then why according to the statistics displayed by her, is Kerala still not low in terms of population, whereas Mizoram and Shillong are, which may have something to do with the climate. Again we get a blank look, I start wondering whether she has also practiced ‘the blank look’ along with rote memorizing rest of her presentation. She swallows twice this time and then gives up, and tries to show us a slide show, which has the same pictures that she has displayed on the first slide. Well, maybe it was a brilliant presentation, but we will never know as she keeps pressing F5 instead of moving to the next slide, and the ppt stalls at the 1^st slide. Lacking the desire to help her, we move on.

We somehow get through the all the exhibit and escape from the film set school, safely.

As I head home, I cannot get the teachers out of my head, dogmatic, authoritarian, and totally closed to learning per se. They are the ones I loved to hate in school. And they dominate the system. How will our kids learn? How will they retain their creativity and the spark to be different and flexible? How will we use the vast reserves of our people power to become a world economy?

And while these thoughts flood my mind, I recall the bright faces of the students who assisted the teachers in these projects. I remember their quiet confidence as they perform for us, their strong voices, and excited eyes. I remember the kids mouthing silently the lines of the skit that the teacher is supposed to say and prompt her gently when she forgets. And I know, that no matter what, these kids will learn, in spite of their teachers and the system

And I remember, some of the teacher participants presenting, their creativity, logic, and strong conviction in their work. I see talent, perseverance, and the will to do their best, in spite of the system.

And, then I know. The future of India and the world, safe in the hands of these bright kids and sincere teachers, is truly Shining.