Teachers are a stubborn lot. Give them a tough problem to crack and they will doggedly chip away at it - till something gives way. Then either a rational solution emerges or the entire operation is abandoned. And search for a fresh alternative begins. In other words, half hearted, lukewarm responses have no relevance at all in the universe of school education. It is all about being able to deliver. Or not.
I always thought that I will practice before I preach. This has served me well in my first job as a teacher of undergraduate engineering students. I left teaching to practice 'environmental engineering' before I went back to teaching and research.
This would probably trigger an avalanche of brickbats, but I am going to take my chances anyway. I think its time that the Education sector in India opens up to a fresh set of quotas.
It all started with (a) Blink. I finally decided to finish reading Malcolm Gladwell’s brilliant, brilliant book that compels us to take rapid cognition seriously. You see, I have this horrid habit of starting a book and more often than not, abandoning it just when I am about to finish reading it. I’d told myself I’ll not pick up The Tipping Point, another magnificent world decoder by Gladwell till I am done reading Blink. But I did give in to my temptation and yes, I am now reading both.
I was in Kathmandu last week. An interesting time to be in Nepal as a political observer, watching the Jhalanath Khanal-led government run out of time to cobble together a coalition. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there as a political observer. My task was to meet with the top brass in the government’s Education department. And to try to figure out if an environment programme that has managed to excite and engage school students in India, would work its magic in Nepal, too.
A modern day historian I love to read calls India a ‘salad bowl’ nation. The same wise guy points out that our currency note has its denomination written in seventeen different scripts. Yes, seventeen! Each representing a separate culture with its distinct heritage and history. And the rupee only touches the outer layer. Scores of diverse languages, customs and most significantly, mindsets, spill over if you only scratch the surface of this land of ours. And, We, the Indians, have always been conscious of our separateness. So, isn’t this ‘idea of India’ as a unified whole, kind of bizarre?
How many times have you pondered on the way you deal with problems? It is interesting to see how human civilization tackles problems. Some times the problems are contained and inactively suspended. Sometimes we like to meet the problems head on and finish them. The second approach is used when we have a solution to the problem. Sometimes we circumvent the problem. This approach is used when the problem appears to be huge and we can find a way to avoid it. There is one another possibility and that is we immerse ourselves in the problem and transform the situation.
So India has been Independent for 64 years. Our government, our laws, our financial systems, our society and most importantly our mindsets have had these many years to evolve and mature.
Phew! This has been a month full of excitement and exhilaration with a few moments of tension thrown in for all of us. The fifth Green Schools Programme Award ceremony, launch of our new activity book as well as our brand new website—what else do you expect?! By the way, do make sure you grab a copy of the book and check out our site. No one minds a pat on the back, right?
Its been a while since we have offered you something new to sample, right? I mean, Gobar Times is more than a decade old, and our Green Schools Programme has just turned five.
Like forests, tigers, minerals and groundwater, schools too, will now be meticulously ‘mapped’ by government agencies.
It began like every other year. I am talking about the frenzied activities that usually take place in various parts of the world in the last week of May.
It is my favourite time of the year. Yes, I know you think I am crazy to look forward to summer. How can the glowering sun, making the mercury levels leap out of control, appeal to anyone? You forget that the heat also ripens those mouth-watering mangoes.
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