EARLY EDUCATION - CHILD CENTRIC, NOT CULTURE DRIVEN

Here at our school in Bangalore, when we looked at the cross-section of the children, we had

• ·         a healthy ratio gender-wise (Equal numbers of both)
• ·         a healthy ratio physical structure wise (Some tall, some short)
• ·         a healthy ratio in terms of children's personalities ( some mild, some more aggressive, some quiet, some talkative)
• ·         a healthy ratio of children with varied interests (art, play, language etc)

But I did observe that we seemed very skewed on one aspect. All our children came from South-Indian families. We do seem to have a very South Indian base of parents, not on the basis of language, but on the basis of how long they have stayed in the South.

Considering Bangalore is a very cosmopolitan city with really diverse people, and we have many apartment complexes close by, this was strange. Even the few parents who have visited our school who were from Delhi and around had different expectations from the school. I was quite amazed to see India had such a clear North-South divide in something as basic as preschool expectations.

It seems to be cultural that South Indian parents are looking for the Montessori form of education, while parents from the North seem to be looking for the "play-way" or "fun" way of teaching.

Playways or playhomes are typically a lot of noise, teacher centric teaching and a fairly unstructured approach. We had seen a boom of this form of education in the South many years ago. We have fortunately evolved in Bangalore thanks to the many Montessori houses and more importantly thanks to the number of people who have gone abroad, seen quality early education there and come back realising self-learning is the best way of learning in Early years. Now that they had seen what this did for children, they were convinced about this method.

When parents from the South come to our school for the first time, and if they have never been exposed to a child-centric form of education before, they are quite shocked that this is the way Montessori based schools operate. But they are also very excited, because they sense that this is something that can really make a difference to their child’s education. But when parents from the North come in, they are shocked and cannot understand the merit in the system even after several rounds of explanation. It is high time we create a country-wide awareness on the importance and form of early education that can help young children blossom. We Indians are as a nation loud and also control freaks. We dictate every move of young children leading to an inability on the part of the child to make decisions and encouraging herd mentality.

In the South now we have seen a huge acceptance of the fact that a more steady, child-centric and sober way of education will lead to an academic excellence while in the North there is still a huge conviction that preschools = boisterous way of learning will help their children become more social and smarter. Just like weddings, the North Indian weddings, more filled with pomp, show and fun, while the South Indian ones are duller and solemn, though equally strong on the show of ostentation in the form of jewellery, perhaps in a more subtle way.

However, early education, is not an event. And though cultural expectations maybe right, we have to keep in mind what is good for our child and not what we culturally believe.

Early education is a stage where it is not what the adults / parents / teachers think is important. It is the young child whose personality is blossoming who needs certain stimulus and needs certain environment which will allow him to make himself what he wants to be and not force him to be moulded in someone else's form, be it the teacher or the parent.

For eg. Many play-ways schools have loud singing, in the belief that being loud will overwhelm any child and prevent him from thinking of wandering off or losing interest. This is an overwhelming stimulus which blots out everything else even the child's thought process. Music should stir the imagination and help children enjoy the process. Also language development will happen only when children can learn varieties of songs in a meaningful fashion. Teaching a child “Humpty Dumpty” in India is not only culturally inappropriate, it is violent and probably one of the most meaningless forms of language development that a preschool can propagate to a child.

Cultural norms take time to change and will happen only when there are many people who have travelled and come back, or seen it work elsewhere make a change.

The child is bound to pick up some mannerisms from all adults and peers around him. So it is important that the teacher be a little understated and polished. Being loud or forceful, will make children think that is the way to behave. Though Indians as a nation are generally loud, there is no merit in this behaviour in preschools, because it overwhelms or changes the child's personality without taking into account his/her base personality. So here I justify the form of education that we offer to the child, is suited for the child. We are in favour of creating thinking sensitive individuals who care about what happens to the world around them and have the ability to make a difference.

Perhaps it is time for parents to think what is right for their child and not what they think is right. We must understand that early education cannot be based on the cultural background. It can be culture-modulated but not culture-driven. 

OH GOD TEACH ME, HOW TO TEACH

OH GOD TEACH ME, HOW TO TEACH

My nine years old grand-daughter Aakriti had a conversation with my wife which she narrated to me thus:

Aak: “ Paati, I wish I could vote this time”

My wife:  “You are too young to vote. Any way if you were to vote who will you vote for?”

“I will vote for Narendra Modi uncle”

“Do you know which party he belongs to?”

“Yes, BJP”

“The names are in Kannada, you can’t read Kannada, and how do you know you are voting for BJP?”

“That’s why they have the symbols. I will press on LOTUS symbol”

“Why do you want to vote for BJP?”

“Modi uncle is a good man. He will make broad roads, provide many books to read. With the same pocket money I can buy many more books than now. I can buy more Barbie doll sets for playing”

“What do you mean by saying more?”

“Everything is very expensive. When Modi uncle becomes PM, all prices will go down”

“Why do you think so?”

“ Modi uncle is a good man, he doesn’t take bribes. My friends are saying that all things are costly now because the Congress government takes bribes and we are charged more for that”

“What do you think of Rahul Anna?”

“My friends say he is not intelligent man. He behaves like king. Our country follows democracy, and why should people of same family become PM. Then it becomes monarchy”

“Have you thought of Communists?”

“Yes, in communism, all national wealth is enjoyed by all. That means each person gets a share. India, has very low natural resources and population is high. Our share will be very small”

“How do you know all these”

“They taught us in school”

“Amazing. Alright, now you have to wait till you become 18 to vote”

“Okay, Paatti I will go play with Swarna as of now”

I was astonished to learn about this conversation. She will do well if she studies political science and law when she grows up. May be I will not be alive to see that great day.

Two days later she asked me doubts on partition of India, formation of states etc. I was thoroughly impressed by her uptake and knowledge. I told her about how the rulers were empowered to decide on going to which side etc. Then suddenly I realized, how limited my knowledge was. The limitation came from the distortions made by the media, ruling governments with their own agenda and some fiction writers impersonating as historians.

Then I remembered an old song, sung by Jim Reeves

‘Teach me how to pray’

(Daddy my daddy teach me how to pray)

One night a sleepy little boy knelt beside my bed

He smiled and looked into my eyes and this is what he said’

Daddy, my daddy, teach me how to pray

You brought me home a brand new kite showed me how to fly

And there ain’t no wonder kid whose dad can knock a ball so high

I’d like to thank God for you, but don’t know what to say

So daddy, my daddy, teach me how to pray

I’d to turn and leave his room, he began to cry

I didn’t want my boy to know so did I

His best pal forsaken him, but what was there to say

For daddy, yes daddy had forgotten how to pray

(Daddy, my daddy teach me how to pray)

Oh God save me from ignorant media, historians, politicians. Teach me how to teach

JaiBharat

Immature Representatives

When I was an Engineer in a factory in mid-1990s, the workers were very young. May be the average age was 23, many of them recruited and trained by me for our factory work. They were not exposed to any other working atmosphere. They were enthusiastic workers but had their minor needs. As advised by a labour consultant we formed ‘Works Committee’ to solve their issues. The works committee comprised entirely of workers.

One day when I entered the factory premises I found that the workers were not working and I was told that the problem was there was no water in the toilet block. We soon organized water and they made a pretence of resuming work. They stopped work after half an hour on the pretext that the ‘vade’ supplied weighed few milligrammes than that agreed with the canteen contractor. We passified the workers. Still they refused to resume work and stated that they wanted ‘annual bonus’. We supervisors lost cool and gave them Rs5 and asked them to distribute it. We further told them that that was not the way to strike and there was a procedure. We also promised them to teach the procedure. They continued for 6months.

 One of them was ambitious and wanted to convert it into Workers’ Trade Union. Due to lack of experience he took the help of a professional trade union leader who was active in a nearby factory, a Govt of India Undertaking. This TU leader was a brother of a popular Union Minister. With that man entering the scene the strikes increased in frequency. The factory had to be locked-up. Even the large factory is shut forever.

Analogy: Works Committee : Civil Society

                 Ambitious WC member: Kejriwal

                 Factory: Union of India ie Bharat

Immature Representatives could be interesting to watch while in action but can be certainly dangerous.

Jai Bharat

Dharmameva Jayate

An Open letter to BJP President

‘Dharmameva Jayate’. At our school main entrance there was a polished black granite slab installed. The slab had the inscription “Satyannasti paro dharmah” –there is no virtue greater than truth. I have taken the liberty to put my faith in all inclusive dharma- foremost among them being DHARMA itself – i.e. Spirituality and the sanatana dharma.

 It is distressing and baffling to note the unpreparedness of BJP for the next elections, to the thousands of staunch BJP supporters like yours truly. I earnestly hope all issues were discussed threadbare in the recently held National Convention of BJP at Dadar, Mumbai.  Yet shri LKA’s blog has not been encouraging. It appears many issues remain unresolved and unaddressed.

‘Aam Aadmi’ generally middle class workers and micro-level business persons take pride when the party supported by them comes to power and the expectations are high from such a government. If BJP wins it would be by default due to frustrations of the voters than any achievement of BJP. The following need the response of those in BJP who matter:

·         * You yielded to opposition and media pressure while ShriBSYeddiyurappa was replaced. The same was felt about your reaction to ‘Porngate’ episode

·         * You have not put up any pressure for ouster of Smt.Sheila Dikshit

·         * Your action on reinstating Kashmiri Pandits should be more vigorous

·        * You don’t have separate policies for each state. For instance what will be your stand on Kaveri water issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

·        *  Your stand on Mullai Periyar dam is hazy

·      *  You will lose Karnataka also if you don’t resolve leadership issues amicably. With a result development is stand-still in the state

·         The pitch of your criticism in 2G matters is not high enough

·       *  You make speeches for an enlightened crowd on matters concerning petrol prices, High cost of living and inflation, Value of Rupee. No concrete proposals from BJP

·        * You don’t back up performing CMs and efficient leaders like ShriNarendra Modi to the hilt

·       *  Your stand on Lokpal issue, corruption related matter, Judicial Commission are nebulous to say the least

·      *   You have not made your stand clear on RTE, Telangana, Mining scams, nuclear power, agriculture, Black money retrieval from abroad, tribals (Maoism) in Odisha, Chattisgarh

·       *  Your policies and actions are Hindi-belt states centric. BJP presence is not felt in East/North Eastern states. Their presence in Karnataka also is diminishing. We have to wait and watch Goa. The media is generous to call you a national party though you are present only in few states.

·      *   In general you don’t seem to wish to win the imminent war of election or you have lost it before it even started

As a Bharatiya I wish to state that you as a political party will only get Hindu votes. If your policies are not structured towards pleasing Hindus you stand no chance of winning any election in future. You allow Teestas, Owaisis, Zakir Nayaks too much of lenience. It may be wise to introduce Hindu equivalent of fatwas, with the help of RSS/VHP.  Have a clear understanding in black and with potential coalition partners. Purge out trouble makers from the party. I therefore stress Dharmameva Jayate. The majority of the nation demands ‘Hindu Rashtra’, which does not mean we hate people of other religious faiths. All it means is others cannot be given undue preference and handicap at the cost of Hindus. The recent judgement on marriageable age of a Muslim girl being reduced to 15 is abhorrent. What happened to the Uniform Civil Code? Justice should be based on egalitarian or communitarian (Majoritarian) principles. I watched a programme in NDTV a discussion on consideration of Islamic banking system. What’s going on, one wonders. HINDUS have not forgotten SADHVI PRAGYA still languishing in jail while other terrorists, scamsters, Bastavade are roaming free. Afzal Guru ,Kasab are yet to be hanged.

It has become a fashion for non-Hindus and media personnel to call Hindus as ‘bigots’ while they themselves indulge in bigotry. They have to be taught that Hinduism is not religion. It is Dharma or spirituality. Hindus can be non-believers while it is not so for others. One has to be religious to be a bigot. BJP should take up to avoid such provocations.                

                                                                                                          

BJP ministers, politicians are forced to resign by UPA and media pressure. BJP also shows alacrity in ousting its senior ministers but do not step up the pressure when it comes to asking for the resignation of Sheila Dikshit, P Chidambaram to take up and speed up the trials.

All your TV debates lectures on economics related issues such as GDP, growth, development etc. are not clear to aam aadmi.  You should issue simple clear comprehensible brief talks/write-ups in English and local languages. This is also the case on your policy and explanation for Hindutva. Please educate the common man on your policies and arm him to question the UPA constituents and errant BJP governments, on your behalf. Please realize, long blogs with high technical contents, loaded with jargon will not help aam aadmi understand the matter. None reads the long technical blogs, due to lack of interest, time and other available interesting diversions.  They would rather watch silly reality shows. Whatever news they watch in News channels is also biased versions with half truths.

When Dr.Subramanian Swamy could take on the might of Congress, one wonders why is BJP with a powerful back-up  shy and inhibited. It is also distressing to note that Shri.Ram Jethmalani, Shri.Arun Jaitley representing UPA politicians in criminal cases and this weakens BJP stand. It clearly evinces lack of conviction of these leaders. Many of them are sailing in two or more boats.

The future of Bharat lies in it being declared a Hindu Rashtra and Sanskrit as its language. After all the partition took place on the premise of a Hindu India and a Muslim India. Now politicians are Islamising the nation for dirty vote bank. Political parties want to win the elections for satisfying their personal needs and not for serving the nation. Winning the nation has become an end in itself. Public is forgotten immediately after election. Artha Shastra, Manu Riti shastra/Manu smriti, Bhagwat Gita should be followed and published in Simple format in English and local languages.

It is mandatory for BJP to come to power. They have to strive hard to get majority and harder to retain the power. If a BJP supporter wishes to see shri.Narendra Modi as PM, it is because of his proven record despite heavy NaMo bashing from Media, governments, and some BJP members. He has weathered well. BJP should be proud to have him in the party and all including non-BJP govts have to emulate him.

I earnestly hope all those who matter in BJP will pay heed to this appeal and take steps for lasting peace.

Dharmameva Jayate. Jai Bharat

Toilet plan and Planning

Toilet plan and Planning

Swacha Mal mootra visarjan shouchalay installed by Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia for his special staff with special ‘Excretory’ requirements and facilities with restricted access control through smart cards reminds me of a joke I read in 1964 in ‘Illustrated Weekly of India’. Pardon me if I have not been able to reproduce it. But I have tried my best, though my memory fails me. It goes like this:

During the course of his employment, an employee was transferred from England to Germany. So he made an initial trip to look for a house before he went there bag and baggage. He located a house to his liking and temporarily reserved it for eventual occupation. He requested the lessor  Herr Schmidt for the plan of the house to show it to his wife. Herr Schmidt handed over a plan of the house and expressed his desire that Mrs Smith will like the plan. Those days jets were not yet introduced and travels were very few unlike Monty spending Rs2 lakhs a day on travel alone. There were no e-mails, no twitters, SMS, Cell phone services etc. MrSmith promised his prospective landlord that he would write to him soon.

On reaching England, he showed the plan of the house to MrsSmith who liked it very much. But she found that Water Closets were not marked on the plan, and expressed her desire to get the location and size marked on the plan before she approved it formally.

MrSmith wrote to HerrSchmidt:

Dear Herr.Schmidt,

I am happy that Mrs. Smith likes the house plan. However, we shall be extremely pleased if you describe the WC with respect to the plan of the house and its dimensional details etc.

Very truly yours,

John Smith

Herr Schmidt understood the WC as ‘Walls Chapel’ – a famous chapel near by. He replied:

Dear Mr. John Smith,

I am happy Mrs. Smith liked the plan. As regards the WC, I respond thus:

WC is situated at 12KM distance from the house. You can travel by car/bicycle/omnibus. The WC internal area is 400Sq.Mtrs. lying on a ground having an area of 4000Sq.Mtrs. There is ample space for car parking , bicycles parking. The building is very modern and well designed. The room has modern HVAC (Heating and Air-conditioning ) facilities. The seats are made up of cushion. There is a seating capacity for 400 persons to occupy simultaneously. Children can sit next to their parents. Papers are distributed at the entrance. Interior décor is so good that people from all over the world take photographs. Cameras are allowed while the service is on. Since it is a holy place, people come properly dressed.

Upon receipt of your concurrence I wish to draft the lease agreement. With best regards,

Very sincerely yours,

Woolfgang Schmidt

Jai Bharat

Aham Brahmanosmi

Aham Brahmanosmi

Courtesy: I was inspired by Mr Rahul Gandhi to think about this and hence this piece

Verse no 42 Chapter 18  of Srimad BhagawadGita – Sermon of the Lord:

Shamo damastapah shaucham Kshantirarjavameva cha|

Jnanam vijnanamastikyam brahmakarma swabhavajam||

Shamah –Control of mind

Damah- Control of the senses

Tapah- Austerity

Shaucham-Purity

Kshantih-Forbearance

Aarjavam-Uprightness

Jnanam-Knowledge

Vijnanam-Realistion

Aastikyam-Belief in Hereafter

Eva-also

cha-and

Swabhavaja-Born of the nature

Brahmakarma-are the duties of the Brahmanas

Summary transliteration: Subjugation of the mind and senses, enduring hardships for the discharge of one’s obligations, external and internal purity, forgiving the faults of others, straightness  of mind, senses, and behavior, belief in Vedas and other scriptures, and realization of TRUTH relating to God- all these constitute the natural duties of a Brahmana.

I have to confess that my knowledge of Sanskrit is limited to what I studied in school 50 years ago. I have taken the verse and translation from ‘Srimad Bhagavadgita’  a publication by Gita Press, Gorakhpur and a publication of work by Swami Swarupananda of Advaita Ashrama.

I profusely thank Rahulbaba for rekindling my interest in Sanskrit and Srimad Bhagvad Gita, by his averment “I am a Brahmin”. I leave it to him and the readers if any of this piece,  to self assess about being a Brahmin. Of course Bharatiyas of all Varnas have a right to assess him if Rahulbaba is a Brahmin, from his actions, statements, leanings, conduct, behavior etc. and  whatever information available in public domain. Certainly, it is common belief that we attain varna by our birth and swear by it for nefarious advantage, caste based vote bank and the sops offered. I am a Brahmin by birth and do not conform 100% to the qualities of a Brahmin.

Politicians who want to rule over anything and everything have to conform to  the qualities of a Kshatriya. Verse No 43 of Gita is given below:

Shauryam tejo dhrutirdyaksham yuddhe chapyapalayanam |

Daanamishvarabhaavascha Kshatram karma swabhavajam||

Shauryam- Prowess

Tejah-Boldness

Dhrutih-Fortitude

Dakshyam-Dexterity

Yuddhe-In the battle

Cha- and

api-also

Apalaayanam- Not flyinDaanam-Generosity

Eshwarabhavah-Sovereignty

Kshatram-Of kshatriyas

Heroism, majesty, firmness, diligence and dauntlessness in battle, bestowing gifts, and lordliness – all these constitute the natural duty of a Kshatriya.

Verse No 44 – Duties of Vaishya and shudras:

Krshigaurakshyavaanijyam vaishyakarma Swabhavajam|

Paricharyatmakam karma shudrasyapi swabhavajam||

Krshigaurakshyavanijyam- Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade

Swabhavajam vaishyakarma- the duties of a vaishya

Paricharyatmakam- consisting of service

Shudrasyaapi- also of a shudra

Agriculture, rearing of cows and honest exchange of merchandise – these constitute the duties of a vaishya and service of other classes is the natural duty of a shudra (member of a labouring class) .

I  wish to end this presentation of mine by stating that, some of us who are Hindus and who wish to live by Varna classification, better choose your profession and tailor your actions accordingly. Since I have taken to self-employment I can be at the best, a vaishya with leaning towards being a  Brahmana. I can’t be a kshatriya

Jai Bharat

BPL –MSA Rekha

BPL –MSA Rekha

Recently, my, self- assumed prowess in Macro economics was put to severe test by a kid – the daughter of our maid -servant doing a degree course in economics. She was probably doing a project work and was collecting data and views. She wanted to know my views on BPL and the amount fixed by Shri M.S.Ahluwalia to determine the BPL. Being an Engineer by qualification I knew I was in for some trouble expressing my views. The conversation/data collection went on the following lines:

“Uncle, what do you think of BPL?”

The BPL I knew was British Physical Laboratories now rechristened BPL India. Then I realised she was not exposed to BPL. Though BPL deals in many products the present generation knows only about Korean products. Then the men with the ‘Blue turbans’ flashed in my mind. I asked, “Oh, below poverty line, what about that?”

“First they fixed it at Rs32 per day and later revised it to Rs28- for Urban area, do you agree with that?”

“Agree with what the figure or lowering?”

“Both”

The last I had heard of Mr.Keynes was in 1974 when I was browsing through my wife’s text book in 1974 as, I waited for her to reach home from college. She was doing her BA in Economics. As I was musing, the girl’s voice brought me back. She continued, “Uncle, is it practically possible for anyone to live in Rs32 per day even in Rural area leave alone Rs28 in urban area?”

Though my wife was doing the function of purchasing the grocery, I was the one who paid for the milk coupons every month. That knowledge came in handy. Immediately I exclaimed, “Absurd. That is the cost of one litre of milk. What about fuel, the grocery, electricity, medical, and many other expenses?”

When I was in second year Engineering we were doing machine design and one of my batch mates had worked out the design of a gear wheel. Those days we had just graduated from calculation with log tables to Slide Rule. Calculators came into existence in the late ‘70s. We had to be careful while using the Slide rule especially for extraction of cube roots etc. Due to carelessness my batch mate arrived at a design of a gear wheel with 1.2Metre diameter and the number of teeth was TWO! We did not realize the mistake until we sat down to draw a gear wheel of 1.2M having two teeth. This Rs28 is as absurd.

Ashwini continued. “What is the importance of declaring such figures?”

Not being an economist I didn’t have an answer. But I cooked up one. “By showing low figures they want to attract foreign tourists. All hippies can come here in Bermudas and lie all over the place like litter. The real expenses are not accounted for. They are like fine prints in any invoice, contracts, Insurance policies, and stuff like that”. She seemed to believe me. She was noting down vigorously in her pocket book.

I continued like an all knowing expert like Vinod Sharma – you know the guy who features in TimesNow newshour debates.”People will have faith in government that cost of living in Bharat is ridiculously low and that people would not mind accommodating many refugees from across the borders at the expense of the common man. Well for the government it is vote bank”

“Mmmmm I get it”

Aswini: “What are the other merits of low MSA Rekha.” The kid was smart. She was catching up fast.

“You know Ashwini, BPL people are real seculars. They don’t differentiate between various religious places of worship. They go to all of them for begging. You have separate queues for BPL group. Show photographs and enjoy tax waivers, concessions and bring in more money as NGOs and you don’t have to distribute it to only BPL. Other religious houses can identify targets for potential conversions.”

Ash: “What else can be done for BPL?”

“We can have special Sonia Gandhi Tandrusti Yojana for BPL”

“What’s that?”

“Special wards in Five Star hospitals for BPL”

I found I was showing my wisdom at every step. My self-esteem had sky rocketed.

Ash: “How do you identify BPL?”

“Aha I knew you would ask that. There is Diggy Raja side income yojana for legislators. Legislator and only a legislator can certify a BPL eligibility person in his ward/constituency. He can charge 25 days BPL rates as the fee for such certificates. You see this is like Man power consultancy. You can fix one month’s wages. But being a public servant it is limited to 25days aggregate value.”

Ash: “Any other add-ons?”

“We can conduct seminars to improve the lot of BPL. Prof Arindam Choudhary , Swaminathan A Aiyar, etal can help in it. We can have farms growing soya beans to enable BPL to live within the means. Excess production can be exported. We have to set up a committee (read lobbyists) comprising Niira Radia, BDutt, ARaja, PChidambaram to lobby for a Nobel Prize for Sonia Gandhi for assigning this BPL fixation job to MrMSAhluwalia. Simply brilliant.  You see Ashwini there will always be some bad side effects to every scheme. There will be some scams to the tune of crore of crore rupees. So media will have debates with Vinod Sharma, Vinod Mehta, Arnab Goswami, Renuka Choudhry,Team Anna members discussing the issue threadbare and taking positions because the nation wants to know and give solutions which will never be implemented.”

I continued,” Last but not the least, our democracy is based on Westminster system where we have two legislative houses –The houses of commons and Lords-  Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. With this concept of BPL we will have Bhikhari Sabha with separate members. The representatives will only be from BPL fraternity and they will outnumber the parliamentarians’ strength by five times. There will be new parties contesting with election symbols like begging bowl, mended dhotis, lungis, burqas, coats etc.”

I was proud of myself when Ashwini looked at me with adoring eyes and thanked me profusely for my brilliant discourse on BPL and left. I think I owe it to Montek.

Jai Bharat