THE BIG IMPACT

THE BIG IMPACT

times in our life, we would be afraid of doing something because of sheer obstacles. These obstacles can be anything. Sometimes they are created by others and sometimes they are created by our own self, when we form some preconceived opinions about our inability of doing something, long before we actually start doing it. But life is the best teacher and it teaches us many great lessons in the course of this journey. Many times, we do not realize what impact a small incident can have on our life and on our entire perspective towards it. It was a very small incident, but it gave me a priceless life lesson. A lesson of ‘Get Going’. It happened when I was a small kid. I always had an inclination towards sketching, paintings, drawings etc. Even in school I used to watch other kids draw and paint and it always intrigued me. But no matter how much I wanted to hold those crayons and paint-brushes to draw something myself, I never had the courage to do so. I always had this fear of embarrassment that I won’t be able to draw as good as others. So, solely on the basis of my prejudices for myself, I never tried something which I really wanted to do and which would have given me immense happiness. Even if I had to draw something on my notebook, I asked my mother to do it for me. Time passed and I never got an opportunity to overcome this fear. But then one day I had to draw a doll in my notebook. As usual I asked my mom to do it for me but she was busy with some work so she denied it. After some time, I insisted her again but she denied and told me to do my work myself. And sometimes all we need is a little push. Having no other option, I started drawing myself. At first, it seemed to be really difficult (considering that I have never drawn before), but after a lot of efforts I finally completed it and I was completely overwhelmed when I looked at it. It was not a very good drawing but it was not a very bad one too. But the most important reason of my happiness was that I was finally able to do something which I liked but was never able to do before. I had this feeling of joy that came from accomplishing a dream, even if it was a very small one. The feeling of finally overcoming my fear of embarrassment and doing something which I always wanted to do. That day I learned a very important thing. There will be times when we will be afraid of doing something and the reason will not always be embarrassment. Sometimes we won’t be able to live our dreams for the sense of disappointment, sometimes because of judgments of others  and sometimes because of the fear of failure. But we must learn to overcome everything that comes in our way of accomplishing something. In the course of life, there won’t be always others who will let us down but it can be our own fear too. The only thing that prevents us from moving further is our own prejudices for ourselves. We must never think of giving up on something before doing it just because we are afraid of its result because the result can be positive too. And even if it is not as we expected it to be, there is no need of getting disappointed because at least we tried. And we must never stop trying because usually the reason that will stop you won’t be very small. Most of the time it will be too difficult, too scary. But once you stop, then only you will realize how hard it is to start again.

OBSERAVTIONS OF LIFE

OBSERVATIONS OF LIFE THAT EVOKE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Just for a second imagine losing your job all of sudden with no place to work! It feels hopeless doesn’t? This tough may occur in anyone’s life. It leads to unemployment for some time. You are left with an insecure future. You lose faith in yourself and give up quite easily. This time leads to mental tension. You have to deal with the pressure for looking up another job in minimum time. Looking for a new job becomes cumbersome and on top of that getting rejected at certain places simply makes you disappointed. This is a tough situation wherein you lose hope. 

 

In past few months, the HRD ministry cut out the German language from the curriculum of kenderiya vidyalya’s students. Earlier German has been taught in all kenderiya vidyalaya’s schools and Goethe institute is the head of this program but suddenly HRD ministry stated that German is no longer being studied but students as their main subjects. They supported Sanskrit instead of German because they think youngster are forgetting and giving less importance to their own language i.e. Sanskrit. Sanskrit is known as the origin of our National language i.e. Hindi. After this, many German teachers who appointed in central school lost their job; this led to the decline of progress of German language. Now they are left with an insecure future and this time leads to mental tensions and personal problems and problems related to economy. They lost their hope for the secure job.

German in school is promoting the concept of multilingualism then why German has been cut out from the school syllabus?

May be to promote the Sanskrit language. Government decided to drop German as a third language because they want to promote the Sanskrit language as the third language. German has been cut out from the schools syllabus because it violets the rule of three formula language formula.

Is this decision affected the child?

In mid of the syllabus, Sanskrit overtook the German language in school, this decision is expected to affect about over 70,000 students across 500 kenderiya vidyalayas from classes 6 to 8 who will be asked to switch from German to Sanskrit. This obviously adversely affected the studies of students who asked to switch immediately from German to Sanskrit.

Why Sanskrit only, not only any other language?

With Sanskrit, Hindi and English it does not violet the three language formula but with German, Hindi and English, it is against the three language formula. So, German can be teach as foreign language and because Sanskrit is the oldest and most continually used language in the world certainly since 1500 BC, this is the root of many eastern and western language including English and many other European language. Sanskrit has one of the richest and most extensive literature of all language. So, Sanskrit has its own importance and to promote language, so this language has been taught in school.

Why study German?

Because German has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union. It is the ten most commonly spoken languages in world. When you learn German language you acquire a range of skills which can improve of both your work and private life. It helps in business world, to make the Global career and German is the second most commonly used scientific language in world. So, German helps individual to make future in science and research. It increases the opportunities to study or to work in Germany. A wide range of exchange program exists for both schools and universities students between Germany and many countries in the world. So, German in school has its own importance too.

What are the Benefits of learning other languages?

“If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.”

Multilingualism is not a problem but it is a gift. Learning a language keeps the brain active. And just other activities it exercise the brain, more language training makes the brain stronger and more efficient.  Children are better able to discuss things and reflect on language not merely use it. It helps to communicate better and being able to consistently better able to deal with distractions, which may help offset age-related declines in mental dexterity. It helps to having a better listening and sharper memories and it also helps for better problem solvers, gaining multiple perspectives on issues at hand. Multilingualism helps to bridge between the multi cultures as much as s it is also a tool for communication.

QUESTIONS ON EDUCATION SYSTEM

QUESTIONS ON EDUCATION SYSTEM

 Why do we always see students being envious of their counterparts in the USA?

Answers- It’s because there are just three options that students have after class-10 they are stuck with Science, Arts and Commerce. If they are not good enough for either of these, they jets set straight into diplomas and certificates courses. Do not you think the Indian Education System needs to introduce combination courses in which students can opt for major and minor subjects? If students in America can pursue physiotherapy with Art History and Biological science with Photography, why not in India?

Is it justified that a student is evaluated only on the basis of his/her performance for the duration of three hours of the exam?

Answer-All the other evils of the Indian education system ultimately come down to the method in which students are marked. It is not justified that a student is evaluated only on the basis of his/her performance for the duration of three hours of the exam. If the axis of grading and marking is shifted to classroom participation, project work, communication and leadership skills and extracurricular performance, only then genuine student shine out. This might sound like a utopian proposition but the Indian education system badly needs to bring about this change. Students are just not evaluated on the basis of exams, they should be evaluated on the basis of overall development and attention and their mentally level. Because some students just do ratafication during the exams and them able to get good marks but in real they are not attentive with the knowledge and use of that knowledge in practical aspect.

Is there is respect for all streams?

Answer- “Oh has she done a MA in English? She will end up becoming a teacher”

“What good is a diploma in hospitality management? It ultimately means doing a job in a hotel a cook right?”

If you have heard these lines time and again from your elders, do not you think it is time to stop them? How long are we going to look down upon vocational streams and look up to medicine, engineering, the IIT’s and the IIM’s?  Students at the school level need to be educated through career counseling regarding the kind of streams that exist and what importance each of them plays to make an economy diverse. There should be respect of all kind of streams.

What are the reasons for the tuition classes mushrooming nowadays?

Answer- Commenting on this subject is like plunging one’s hand into a vicious cycle which seems to have no beginning or end. Reason for tuition classes mushrooming are because students say that the teaching in school is lax and not good enough for them to clear exams. Whereas teacher say that students jump ahead many chapters in the tuition classes before they are even taught in school. This makes them loose all motivation and stream to attend school in the first place.

Beyond the figures, what do we know about the excluded?

 Answer- Exclusion has many faces. Despite real progress since 2000 towards universal primary education, 72 million children are still not enrolled at all in school. More than half are girls. Seven out of ten live in sub-Sahara Africa and south and west Asia. Poverty and marginalization are major cause of exclusion. Households in rural or remote communities and children in urban slums have less access to education. Disabled children suffer from blatant educational exclusion- they account for one third of all out of school children. Working children, those belonging to indigenous groups and linguistic minority’s area among the vulnerable groups. Some 37 per cent of out of school children live in 35 states defined as fragile by the organization for economic Cooperation and development, but these do not include all, places facings conflicts and post conflict situations. In every case children are at enormous risk of missing out on an education.

Research on out of school children suggest that many countries are now promoting access to school but not ensuring decent education quality. Why?

Answer- Once you indentify who the excluded are and why they are not in school, Strategies can be developed to get them into school and keep them there. The challenge is to implement policies and practices to overcome the sources of exclusion. It is necessary to look at what happens in and out of school-from children’s daily reality in their homes and communities to what happens when they go to school, what they are actually learning and in what conditions.

 How does inclusive education promote successful learning?

Answer- Efforts to expand enrolment must be accompanied by policies to enhance educational quality at all levels, in format and in non-formal settings. We have to work on an access to success continuum by promoting policies to ensure that excluded children get into school coupled with programmers and practices that ensure they succeed there. It is process that involves addressing and responding to the diverse needs of learners. This has implications for teaching, the curriculum, ways of interacting and relations between the schools and the community.

 How does education need to change the accommodate everyone?

Answer- The overall goal I to ensure that school is a place where all children participate and are treated equally. This involves a change in how we think about education. Inclusive education is an approach that looks into how to transform education systems in order to respond to the diversity of learners, it means enhancing the equality of education by improving the effectiveness of teachers, promoting learning-centered methodologies, developing appropriate textbooks and learning materials and ensuring that schools are safe and healthy for all children. Strengthening links with the community is also vital, relationships between teachers, students, parents and society at large are crucial for developing inclusive learning environments.

 Teacher has a foremost influence on learning. Yet their status and working conditions in many countries make it difficult to promote inclusion. What can be done to improve their lot?

Answer- The way teachers teach is of critical importance in any reform designed to improve quality. A child centered curriculum is characterized by a move away from rote learning and towards greater emphasis on hands-on, experience-based, active and cooperative learning. Introducing inclusion as a guiding principle has implications for teachers’ practices and attitude –be it towards girls, slow learners, children with special need or those from different backgrounds. Adequate pre-service and in-service teacher training is essential to improve learning. Moreover, policies must address their status, welfare and professional development. But there exists not only a severe teacher shortage, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and south and west Asia, but a lack of adequately trained teachers. This shortage has unfortunate consequences for the quality of learning. A new curriculum cannot be introduced without familiarizing teachers with its aims and contents. Assessment can help to teachers to measure student performance and to diagnose difficulties. But teachers need to understand the value of good assessments practices and learn skills to develop their own tests.