Education – A System Revisited

There are umpteen articles upholding the true spirit of education. There are several individuals who have labelled themselves as educationists and academicians who have taken up the responsibility of plowing out the weeds in the system. The obvious question that crops up in one’s mind is - Why the system is still a failure? In my opinion education is just another time wasting exercise which aims at making the individual more and more dependent on the system. As a teacher for the past 9 years, I have seen the concept of education crumbling under money pressure. Education became a means of earning a livelihood. It has become more like an investment business. Parents invest money in the education of children expecting two types of return. First of all, they want their children to earn a decent living (a big fat salary, MNC offer letter, big fat dowry all these are included in the package) secondly they want their kids to take care of them. The argument is this – we gave up all our comforts for your upbringing now in our old age you have to pay us back. This argument is as old as the human race. It is my strong belief that nobody in this world should do something expecting some returns. Education thus became need based or need fulfilling exercise. The joy of learning is almost lost and the individual adheres to the strict structure of academic drudgery. We see around us

courses designed for the specific markets. As an English teacher, my duty is restricted to improving the communication ability of my students. It is even an anathema to call them as students. In the modernized world they are better known as ‘customers’ or ‘clients’.

And for me, I am not supposed to move away from my lesson plans and curriculum document.

Most of the problem that happens in today’s educational world happens due to lack of a holistic approach. The problem will continue to haunt the system as long as the system exists on a policy of parochial learning. By the term parochial learning I mean the lack of creativity and the passion towards learning.

When I was a student, I didn’t even think about the post-studies scenario. It was like living in the moment. The city of Chennai stood there with her arms wide open. It was up to me to take the lead and explore the city. I did that exactly with the help of some of my friends. I explored the libraries, book shops, and attended the exhibitions not to land up in a highly paid salary job. It was just for the sheer fun of it. The type of learning which I undertook kind of set the tone for my future studies. I also secretly fell in love with the city for its endless supply of books and CD’s.

Maybe one of the reasons why I wrote this blog is because of the crime and the mental punishment that happened yesterday. This week is examination week in my college. Clients are busy scribbling answers in the paper, invigilators running around, anti-malpractice squads with snake eyes, and me standing in the center laughing at this comedy of errors.

Oman Diary 2

I have been in Oman for one and half years and have accumulated loads of images about this country. This is my second tryst with a Arab speaking community. Through this blog I am holding up a mirror to the Omani culture. I am not judgemental or critical . Here I share with my unknown readers my experience which gathered through my five senses. I have divided this blog into three parts

Teenage life:

Boys and girls lead a normal life here. They do have their limitations primarily because of lack of freedom. They are excessively dependent on mobile phones. The mobile companies are reaping benefits because of this. They offer MMS and Internet packages aimed at teenagers. This year four new mobile companies launched their services taking the total number of cellular operators to six. There is co-education only in the college level. Even there the interaction between boys and girls is very minimal. Religion plays a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the boys and girls spend their free time listening to the Holy Koran. Boys do venture out into the areas of Pop music, Rap and Reggae. Names like Akon and 50 cents are quite famous among boys. Boys also spend their time playing video games mainly Play Station. They like playing football games like Fifa 2009 and 2010. They take active participation in the football matches that take place in Oman and even in other Arab countries. It is a lovely sight to see them moving towards the stadium huddled together in a car or a pick up wearing their favourite team’s colour. They are also die hard fans of various European clubs like Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester United.

Adult Life & Marriage:

When a boy or girl attains the marriageable age their parents will take the initiative to see their children married off. In most of the Muslim countries the boy has to pay a large sum of money and literally buy the girl. For a beautiful girl you have to pay more. Omani society consist of different tribes. The word tribe in the Omani context is different from the one we use in India. In India tribal means a person who lives in a forested area away from the so called civilized world. Some of the tribal names are  al-balushi  (from Baluchistan), al-mamari, al-maqbali,al ajmi. They practice community living and some of the towns are named after these tribal names. Marriages are often arranged within these tribes.Certain tribes get married only on Thursdays. Usually for marriage a tent is put up outside the house for the male members. Women spend their time doing henna. Women prefer western gowns for marriages. Meat and Chicken is served either separately or in the form of Biriyani.Food is served in a big bowl and three to five people eat from the same bowl. The groom’s car is decorated with flowers and festoons and his friends goes around the town in different cars in a procession. The procession is full of sound (honking horns) and fury signifying the blessed occasion.

Snapshots of Oman

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Coming soon

Cultural study of Oman

The Dead Mosquitoes in the Language Lab

  This morning as I was arranging the chairs and mouse pads in the language lab I noticed two dead mosquitoes. They were lying dead on the LAN server. When I removed their dead bodies I noticed that they their bodies were as light as feathers.

This sight triggered thoughts in my mind. First of all I asked myself – What caused their deaths? What made them die on the LAN server? Since I was the one who asked these questions I was forced to find the answers myself. I am sure that these mosquitoes entered during the day time hungrily buzzing and in search of human blood.

 

Day time the lab is filled with students and the smell of human sweat would have drawn these mosquitoes into the lab. By afternoon the lab is closed and the human presence disappears. I can imagine them flying around the lab. Their buzzing sound will be kind of drowned in the drone of the air conditioner. Their search will yield them no results. Their tiny stomach will yearn for a few drops of fresh human blood.

Round and round they will fly.

Hunger equation in them will multiply.

Their wings will lose its strength.

Their lungs will gasp for breath.

Eventually they will lose the battle. Some will fall on the ground, some will fall on the tables and desks, some will fall on places where human eyes cannot reach and some may fall on the LAN server.

Remembering 2009

I have mixed feelings towards this year. I can't really say that my year was bad nor was it too good. The highlight event of the year will definitely be the leg fracture and the subsequent hospitalization. It was altogether a different experience. Another important issue will be the fall out with d&m. There were attempts to connect the former with the latter.I don't think it is an exercise worth doing. Maybe I will comment on that in this web space soon. This blog is about my journey through the year - 2009.

Movies: Movie watching in Sohar became a new experience with the opening of Sohar Cinema. We started with Aliens and Monsters and ended with Saw Le. Some of the best movies which we saw were - Taking of 123 Pelham, Pazzahassi Raja, and Loudspeaker. Some movies are meant to be watched in the year. For the other we have the TV and the endless supply of movies from my students. I enjoyed watching Scary movie 1&4,and Meet the Spartans.

Books: This year saw me searching for a book and finally buying it from the City Centre. The title of the book is - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I also got attracted to the area of audio books and made some quick purchases like ‘Dreams from My Father’ by Barack Obama and ‘Jude The Obscure’ by Thomas Hardy.

Events: I had a fall and was hospitalised for 5 days. I fell in the month of July and started walking in the month of December without any external aids. First time I underwent a major operation and experienced life in ICU. I used walker, crutches and finally elbow walking stick during the course of my recuperation. I still have the nail inside my leg and it will be removed only when I go home next year.

Xi and me: I purchased a new phone Sony Ericcson X1 which is a windows based mobile. It has opened up a new world to me. Most of the time I am hooked to the software which i have downloaded. Kinoma Media Play, Viigo, and lots and lots of software.

The tickets issued to heaven…2009 took some good people along with it. I personally felt the loss of Dr VJM, Lohitadass, Murali, John Updike, and MJ.

The year ahead for me: Only prayers that i should be guided by the good Lord in every step I take, every word I utter and every decision I make.