A religion focussed solely on education is the ultimate solution to end all the educational woes of our society.
I recently finished watching Zeitgeist and reading the book Rise of Kali by Anand Neelkantan. What's prominent in both these intellectual discourses is that dominant people in the society fabricate the rules and ways of a religion to influence and manipulate the commoners.
Theists who lead life within the constraints of a religion follow anything that the priests/religious authorities put forth as the good code for life. Imagine a religion based purely on making the population rational thinkers set out to create a free and equal society. The followers of such a religion based on the ideals of democratic education would definitely solve problems in our education system.
If anything can save the doom of education then it is a strong blind faith that will make people believe in any tough way of life and fanatism that will fuel the minds with a craziness.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Blessed
There are days when I am simply at bliss and to my good fortune, these are frequent. Yesterday was one such day where I travelled to a serene place 100km away from Bengaluru. I waited for bus with this to accompany me:
I witnessed pure joy of learning and curiosity when these adults immersed in building their own scientific toys.
I can daresay that even if two out of these 80+ classrooms empower kids to construct scientific toys on their own then my purpose is served!
I chance across many interesting conversations during my field visits and one such conversation took place yesterday when this lady proudly announced that her son, in spite of scoring 98% in 12th choose to study law for his undergrad opposing everyone in the family and she along with her husband supported his decision. Now this proud mother dreams of seeing her 16 year old daughter trace her brother's footsteps and choose anything of her choice and succeed at it.
Throughout the day I challenged 2 of them for their caste biases and strtongly encouraged women participants to not shy away from speaking out and held counsels with a few women regarding the status of women teachers in rural areas. The day ended with talking to a young man about his struggles in the metropolitan Bengaluru city while he earned a decent life for himself.
For a stretch there was nothing but tranquil glimpses of paddy fields, coconut farms and the horizon adorned with a few bulges of hills.
My work was to train 80+ teachers on the innovative use of low cost experiments for their teaching. The training room overlooked this scenery:
I can daresay that even if two out of these 80+ classrooms empower kids to construct scientific toys on their own then my purpose is served!
I chance across many interesting conversations during my field visits and one such conversation took place yesterday when this lady proudly announced that her son, in spite of scoring 98% in 12th choose to study law for his undergrad opposing everyone in the family and she along with her husband supported his decision. Now this proud mother dreams of seeing her 16 year old daughter trace her brother's footsteps and choose anything of her choice and succeed at it.
Throughout the day I challenged 2 of them for their caste biases and strtongly encouraged women participants to not shy away from speaking out and held counsels with a few women regarding the status of women teachers in rural areas. The day ended with talking to a young man about his struggles in the metropolitan Bengaluru city while he earned a decent life for himself.
Turmoil
"I admire the achievements you have made in this young age, what caste do you belong to?"
"You carry yourself very confidently madam. Which caste do you belong to? I have a suitor for you"
"Madam I'm hailed as the most eligible bachelor of my village. When I get married, I want to look after my wife very well. I don't want her to take trouble by working outside house. Let her find peace in building my home."
"Yes, we all enjoy eating together. We are from caste A."
"My sister is more beautiful than me Akka. She is white!"
"My girlfriend dumped me because I couldn't earn more than 80k a month."
Should I stay contented at the outward nobility of all these people or burn with rage at the inherent casteism and sexism? My interactions with people from varied backgrounds has given me some patience to listen to everyone's stories but I still haven't gained the maturity to not judge what I think is blatantly wrong for the society. I have begun to engage each such individual who emanates sexism or casteism in a conversation. I adopt the process of enquiry with open ended questions. I like listening to the elaborate answers that people churn out. Just when they think I am convinced with their argument I throw another innocent question that contradicts their own belief.
I am sure that these mindless conversations with strangers will at least sow the seeds of transformation in at least few people's minds. Why do I even care to attempt engaging in such conversations?
I want a world where
"You carry yourself very confidently madam. Which caste do you belong to? I have a suitor for you"
"Madam I'm hailed as the most eligible bachelor of my village. When I get married, I want to look after my wife very well. I don't want her to take trouble by working outside house. Let her find peace in building my home."
"Yes, we all enjoy eating together. We are from caste A."
"My sister is more beautiful than me Akka. She is white!"
"My girlfriend dumped me because I couldn't earn more than 80k a month."
Should I stay contented at the outward nobility of all these people or burn with rage at the inherent casteism and sexism? My interactions with people from varied backgrounds has given me some patience to listen to everyone's stories but I still haven't gained the maturity to not judge what I think is blatantly wrong for the society. I have begun to engage each such individual who emanates sexism or casteism in a conversation. I adopt the process of enquiry with open ended questions. I like listening to the elaborate answers that people churn out. Just when they think I am convinced with their argument I throw another innocent question that contradicts their own belief.
I am sure that these mindless conversations with strangers will at least sow the seeds of transformation in at least few people's minds. Why do I even care to attempt engaging in such conversations?
I want a world where
- I can move about people who wouldn't display sexism
- Friendships are based on like mindedness and not just caste
- People value merit more than status
- Girls can feel comfortable in their own skin no matter what color or texture it is
Will one person doing this deed bring about a difference? Yes. I strongly believe that humans are connected to and influenced by each other in a way we cannot comprehend. I believe that my humble attempts at establishing humanism and equality will create a positive vibe in a small part of our vast world and someone braver, kinder and more intelligent person will carry this forward. It is also true that I am fanning a flame of equality triggered by other great minds. Trying to contribute to a never ending intellectual quest for equality in my own way.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Why people don't change!
Here is an excerpt from a book that I have absolutely enjoyed reading:
"When a belief is an ideology , used to justify group the way of life of a social , it will be difficult for the members of that community to consider it objectively. There will be strong social pressures to conform to it and acknowledge it. People will feel that their set of beliefs, even if perhaps open to some theoretical difficulties, contains vitally important insights, and a vision of essential truths that have practical importance. For many people to question their theory of human nature is to threaten what gives meaning, purpose and hope to their life, and thus to cause them psychological discomfort or distress. Inertia, and unwillingness to admit that one is wrong, often plays a part here. If one has been brought up in a certain belief and its associated way of life, or if one has converted to it and followed its precepts, it takes great courage to question or abandon one’s life commitment."
Reference:
Ten Theories of Human Nature, Leslie Stevenson and David.L Haberman
"When a belief is an ideology , used to justify group the way of life of a social , it will be difficult for the members of that community to consider it objectively. There will be strong social pressures to conform to it and acknowledge it. People will feel that their set of beliefs, even if perhaps open to some theoretical difficulties, contains vitally important insights, and a vision of essential truths that have practical importance. For many people to question their theory of human nature is to threaten what gives meaning, purpose and hope to their life, and thus to cause them psychological discomfort or distress. Inertia, and unwillingness to admit that one is wrong, often plays a part here. If one has been brought up in a certain belief and its associated way of life, or if one has converted to it and followed its precepts, it takes great courage to question or abandon one’s life commitment."
Reference:
Ten Theories of Human Nature, Leslie Stevenson and David.L Haberman
Monday, June 8, 2015
The Far Side Gallery4 by Gary Larson
This book is hilarious. The humor is wasted on those whose G.K is poor. One needs to be aware of
- World and American history
- Pop culture
- Animal and plant kingdoms (chracteristics of different animals)
- Major events
- Literature
Thursday, March 19, 2015
These are a few of my favorite things :)
Days fortunately spent among children, children of angelic age of 5 to 11.
Greetings every morning with kids running to me and hugging any part of me that they can get hold of.
Pleas for chocolate and another story book.
Shy comments about how pretty I look that day.
An additional layer of kajal and a new earring can make me feel like a beauty queen among these tots.
A running, messy child.
A Soheil from grade 1 who is every so slovenly and ever naughty.
2 feet tall Arpitha from junior KG who gives me the best smile every day.
The kindest helper didi whose day doesn't begin without a hug from me.
Juveriya, who is always late to the class.
Juveriya, who is ever feisty.
Juveriya, who is the best dreamer of my class.
Juveriya, the name that fills most part of my heart.
Mr.A with collar button neatly done, leaving open the rest!
Crazy Anas who calms down with one touch.
Ronak, who refuses to ever give me a hug.
Aryan, who wins the award for being matured than the rest.
Chotu, whose front teeth haven't grown for the past 4 years.
Naziya, who places a kiss on cheeks every time she meets me and declares that I am the best didi in the world.
Yaseen! How I wish he were a little shorter to fit in my pocket.
The red dust of playground that chokes me, yet is like a breath of life.
Tears on a silly quarrel of pencil box.
Swear words and the apologies.
Reading time. That magical moment where I can hear the breathing of every single child.
The excitement over unopened book parcels.
The complaints over hand pain and leg bruises.
The sweat, dirt and smile after a football match.
Mufid, the ebony colored child with the dazzling eyes.
Mariam, who chides me for missing many of our evening one-on-one conversations.
Sakshi, whose sincerity puts me to shame every day.
Firdos, who retaught what kindness and joy are in life.
Souliha, the proud girl.
Guddu, the frivolous and the cutest looking child ever!
Asif and Fardeen, the undisputed sweethearts.
Greetings every morning with kids running to me and hugging any part of me that they can get hold of.
Pleas for chocolate and another story book.
Shy comments about how pretty I look that day.
An additional layer of kajal and a new earring can make me feel like a beauty queen among these tots.
A running, messy child.
A Soheil from grade 1 who is every so slovenly and ever naughty.
2 feet tall Arpitha from junior KG who gives me the best smile every day.
The kindest helper didi whose day doesn't begin without a hug from me.
Juveriya, who is always late to the class.
Juveriya, who is ever feisty.
Juveriya, who is the best dreamer of my class.
Juveriya, the name that fills most part of my heart.
Mr.A with collar button neatly done, leaving open the rest!
Crazy Anas who calms down with one touch.
Ronak, who refuses to ever give me a hug.
Aryan, who wins the award for being matured than the rest.
Chotu, whose front teeth haven't grown for the past 4 years.
Naziya, who places a kiss on cheeks every time she meets me and declares that I am the best didi in the world.
Yaseen! How I wish he were a little shorter to fit in my pocket.
The red dust of playground that chokes me, yet is like a breath of life.
Tears on a silly quarrel of pencil box.
Swear words and the apologies.
Reading time. That magical moment where I can hear the breathing of every single child.
The excitement over unopened book parcels.
The complaints over hand pain and leg bruises.
The sweat, dirt and smile after a football match.
Mufid, the ebony colored child with the dazzling eyes.
Mariam, who chides me for missing many of our evening one-on-one conversations.
Sakshi, whose sincerity puts me to shame every day.
Firdos, who retaught what kindness and joy are in life.
Souliha, the proud girl.
Guddu, the frivolous and the cutest looking child ever!
Asif and Fardeen, the undisputed sweethearts.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Crippled
There is an attitude commomplace in everybody's mind that "I help others because I want them to grow". This belief was violently shaken and shattered to bits through my journey in Teach For India. I came here thinking that I will put my life to good use for these 2 years of fellowship by uplifting a low income community. I couldn't have been more wrong. That weak thought process in my mind is now crippled for heaven's sake.
The kids I directly taught and those whom I interacted with only on a partial time basis opened up a vista of learning for me. They pushed me to be the best person I could be everyday for every moment. Authenticity of character was demanded at such purity and quality that I had to be on my toes at all points of time. I was tried, tested, teased, mocked, questioned, pushed and transformed all at the same time. Compassion, my biggest weakness was the most required skill on the job. Kindness to self was what killed me but my kids demanded I be kind to myself and them at all times. Goal setting and planning became second nature to me. While in my pre-fellowship phase, I struggled with orderliness and effectiveness, during my fellowship they became the religion I practiced.
I stumbled heavily in my fellowship to find the real value of open and honest communication. I let my strengths and weaknesses be seen naked by strangers, trusted in Seva, rejoiced in giving for I now know that I always receive back in abundance.
The last leg of my fellowship is proving to be just awesome. Winding up everything that I started and chalking out a next step for myself are exciting ways to end the fellowship. If I had any notions about "helping" others then I am glad that I don't hold any such frivolous thoughts anymore. You receive more by helping and hence in true sense you didn't help at all but got helped.
“The Simple Path
Silence is Prayer
Prayer is Faith
Faith is Love
Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace”
―Mother Teresa
The kids I directly taught and those whom I interacted with only on a partial time basis opened up a vista of learning for me. They pushed me to be the best person I could be everyday for every moment. Authenticity of character was demanded at such purity and quality that I had to be on my toes at all points of time. I was tried, tested, teased, mocked, questioned, pushed and transformed all at the same time. Compassion, my biggest weakness was the most required skill on the job. Kindness to self was what killed me but my kids demanded I be kind to myself and them at all times. Goal setting and planning became second nature to me. While in my pre-fellowship phase, I struggled with orderliness and effectiveness, during my fellowship they became the religion I practiced.
I stumbled heavily in my fellowship to find the real value of open and honest communication. I let my strengths and weaknesses be seen naked by strangers, trusted in Seva, rejoiced in giving for I now know that I always receive back in abundance.
The last leg of my fellowship is proving to be just awesome. Winding up everything that I started and chalking out a next step for myself are exciting ways to end the fellowship. If I had any notions about "helping" others then I am glad that I don't hold any such frivolous thoughts anymore. You receive more by helping and hence in true sense you didn't help at all but got helped.
“The Simple Path
Silence is Prayer
Prayer is Faith
Faith is Love
Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace”
―Mother Teresa
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