Co-educational System was meant to foster competition, do away with curiosity about the opposite sex and to build healthy relationships- both emotional and interpersonal. Unfortunately, our laxity, non-availability of a well defined policy, confusion prevailing between modernisation and traditional values and the absence of an Adolescent Education/Sex Education Programme in our Schools has led to severe problems. We come across cases of puppy loves at much junior classes and some teachers take delight in making fun of these, rumour mongering, gossiping and making young children conscious of their infatuations. There are scores of cases where the teachers have been found love -sick and setting a bad example before students. Teachers of opposite sexes have been seen dating each other, flirting and news travels to students. On many occasions teachers have got married after a protracted so -called affair and continue to work in the same School. There are instances of teachers marrying students and even some Heads of Institutions have been found guilty of moral turpitude. This is the example we are setting. On the other hand, the Media sensationalises every incident and the young fall a prey to their emotions.
If we study a few chapters of Freudian Psychology about the development of sexual urge at various stages of Growth and Development, read about the Seven Stages of Moral Development and study literature on Emotions and how to sublimate and channelize Emotions; I am sure we will find many answers to our problem. But that will not be enough. Let us ask ourselves, are we ready to execute some strategies, experiment and use a multi-pronged approach to the problem. If our answer is yes; I suggest the following:
> Introduce a Programme of Adolescent/Sex Education in our Schools. The CBSE had already engaged an Expert and the Expert would travel to various States and Regions and train the Teachers. Find out about this Programme.
> Call Senior Doctors who are Specialists to talk to our students on Health, Hygiene, Habits and Sex related Issues.
> Organise Debates, Presentations by Students on Topics related to the Issue and let students express their views freely. Ask them for their suggestions.
> Have a very congenial Academic Climate, where the focus is on dedicated Scholarships, healthy interactions for exchange of views, information, joint surveys and projects. Ensure that students are always busy and never left free, unsupervised or idle.
> Trust them and build a climate of mutual trust. Do not suspect, do not allow rumours to be spread and accept emotions and feelings as natural.
> Have a proper Dress Code for students and Staff. Do not allow any laxity in this. Take Students and Staff into confidence while deciding this. The students need to understand that we want them to look decent, elegant and beautiful. They have to be ladylike and gentlemanlike.
> Introduce a variety of Co-curricular Activities of all types and see that students get an opportunity of spending their spare energy, exploring their talent and canalize their emotions. Sometimes, dance, theatre and other performance may help in Catharsis and per rogation of emotions.
> Talk to them often, make them speak and even call parents to speak to them. They are being exposed to a lot of influences of varying types' why can't we provide enough examples of positive behaviour and these have to be real life stories.
> Be a Role Model. See that all Teachers are Role Models.
> Have Trained and adequately qualified Counsellors on Staff and they should be available for help, counselling and advice.
> Have a Student Body-Boys and Girls- assigned the specific task of counselling cases that seem to suffer infatuation and drift away from expected behaviour patterns.
> Be firm and yet caring.
Wishing you the very Best
Thursday, September 18, 2008
INTERVIEW OF PARENTS FOR ADMISSION OF KIDS.
Admission procedure of Toddlers to Schools in India has been very defective and has come for a lot of criticism and flack. Parents raised the issue in The Supreme Court of India. Ganguli Committee Recommendations were tried for a Session and finally the Court gave detailed ruling on each contentious issue. But there have been very little changes.
Small Kids and the Parents are interviewed and the process is called "Interaction."
Parents are to fill Registration Forms that seek all personal, educational, professional, financial information. Besides, questions like: "How will you help the School?”- “How much time will you devote to supporting your child with School work" are asked If one makes it to the list of shortlisted applicants for Admission, one has to attend an Interview at a fixed time on a scheduled date.
Parents are grilled. Sometimes perplexing questions like: "Who attends to the child when both of you are working?', " How much time do you regularly spend with your child?', “In which language do you converse at home?",', "How often do you take your child out with you to a Circus, a Zoo, a riverside, a holiday trip?”are asked. Parents are tense and stressed. They look for agents and touts, pay under the table and get the Admission of their wards confirmed. The School Authorities say that it is more a process of elimination rather than selection.
Supreme Court has laid down a policy where Schools are required to give weight age to Proximity, Siblings, Alma-mater, Qualification of Parents, Girl Child, Management Criteria (To be announced in advance) and allot marks to each. Hence the List of Admitted/ Selected students has to be put up on the School Notice Board.
The Schools need to Interact with the parents on a regular basis. The home and the School have to co-operate for the education of the child. The School needs to Orient the Parents on its Philosophy, Teaching Methodology followed, Assessment Procedure, Learning Outcomes expected in a Term or Month or Week. The Parents need to keep the School informed about the changes they observe in the child’s behaviour and what they expect.
Education level of parents does have an impact on the child’s education and upbringing but then there are glaring instances of children from slums and of rickshaw-pullers topping, not only the Board Exams but also in Competitive exams. I would say NO to refusing admission to any child on the grounds of his parents not being adequately educated.
In a Socialistic, Democratic Republic committed to Equality and Equalisation of Educational Opportunities, admission can not be denied on the grounds of Parents Qualification or their financial status. Even private (what we in India call Public Schools) that do not receive or accept Funds and Grants from the State, have a moral obligation to admit and educate one and all.
I am of the firm belief that we must have Neighbourhood Schools and all Children within a particular radius-be it 1km to 3 km’s- should be admitted to this School. This will bring children from different sections of the society together and we shall have strong Foundations of a future societal order.
As on date, we have Branded Schools, Schools for the Affluent, Public Schools, Government Schools and Minority run Schools. Each has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and ‘believe me each is contributing in dividing the Society into the Elitist and the Non-elitist, the Highbrows and the Lowbrows, the One’s that get all facilities and exposure and the others who are deprived of the basic facilities’. What pains me that education is meant to create an egalitarian society and our Schools are creating divisions.
The ripple effect has begun.”
Small Kids and the Parents are interviewed and the process is called "Interaction."
Parents are to fill Registration Forms that seek all personal, educational, professional, financial information. Besides, questions like: "How will you help the School?”- “How much time will you devote to supporting your child with School work" are asked If one makes it to the list of shortlisted applicants for Admission, one has to attend an Interview at a fixed time on a scheduled date.
Parents are grilled. Sometimes perplexing questions like: "Who attends to the child when both of you are working?', " How much time do you regularly spend with your child?', “In which language do you converse at home?",', "How often do you take your child out with you to a Circus, a Zoo, a riverside, a holiday trip?”are asked. Parents are tense and stressed. They look for agents and touts, pay under the table and get the Admission of their wards confirmed. The School Authorities say that it is more a process of elimination rather than selection.
Supreme Court has laid down a policy where Schools are required to give weight age to Proximity, Siblings, Alma-mater, Qualification of Parents, Girl Child, Management Criteria (To be announced in advance) and allot marks to each. Hence the List of Admitted/ Selected students has to be put up on the School Notice Board.
The Schools need to Interact with the parents on a regular basis. The home and the School have to co-operate for the education of the child. The School needs to Orient the Parents on its Philosophy, Teaching Methodology followed, Assessment Procedure, Learning Outcomes expected in a Term or Month or Week. The Parents need to keep the School informed about the changes they observe in the child’s behaviour and what they expect.
Education level of parents does have an impact on the child’s education and upbringing but then there are glaring instances of children from slums and of rickshaw-pullers topping, not only the Board Exams but also in Competitive exams. I would say NO to refusing admission to any child on the grounds of his parents not being adequately educated.
In a Socialistic, Democratic Republic committed to Equality and Equalisation of Educational Opportunities, admission can not be denied on the grounds of Parents Qualification or their financial status. Even private (what we in India call Public Schools) that do not receive or accept Funds and Grants from the State, have a moral obligation to admit and educate one and all.
I am of the firm belief that we must have Neighbourhood Schools and all Children within a particular radius-be it 1km to 3 km’s- should be admitted to this School. This will bring children from different sections of the society together and we shall have strong Foundations of a future societal order.
As on date, we have Branded Schools, Schools for the Affluent, Public Schools, Government Schools and Minority run Schools. Each has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and ‘believe me each is contributing in dividing the Society into the Elitist and the Non-elitist, the Highbrows and the Lowbrows, the One’s that get all facilities and exposure and the others who are deprived of the basic facilities’. What pains me that education is meant to create an egalitarian society and our Schools are creating divisions.
The ripple effect has begun.”
TEACHING AND WOMEN.
Indian Society has down the ages witnessed male-chauvinism in its extreme forms. Although women have been held in high esteem, yet their joining professions of choice has been a long drawn battle. Women have often faced ridicule and even been ostracised for making a choice of profession.
The choice of taking to Teaching was allowed because of the high degree of prestige attached with Teaching.
With emancipation of women, spread of education, special facilities for their academic and professional education; more and more women have joined professions that were deemed a male prerogative, so far.
Teaching is respectful. Working hours suit women. Mother is the first teacher of a child and the mother extends this role to the society by joining a School. Her innate qualities, her patience, her love and care and her “Mother Figure” role enable her to be ideally suited for this profession.
In the present scenario of education, especially in India, women have often outclassed men in academic pursuits and there is proof of it in the results of Boards and Universities. Women are finding the teaching profession safe, respectful, satisfying and many have proved their mettle.
It is a fact that in India the male member happens to be the main bread earner for the family. The family unit in rural and urban sector accepts women as equal partners in work and as her earnings are often meagre in comparison to their male counterparts, hence women only supplement. Exceptions are their but they are so few. With the family as an institution undergoing change and more and more women taking up professions that are lucrative, demanding and competitive; we have more and more mediocre teachers joining schools
If we want a change, we have to stop exploitation of Teachers, we have to restore this profession to the level of esteem in which it was held in the past, we have to make it a very lucrative profession and we have to create awareness among people to look at the profession not only in terms of what is apparently visible but lots and lots of intangible work that goes on behind the screen in moulding personalities, in transacting curriculum, in a lot of record keeping and paper work, in evaluation, in managing behaviour and in influencing lives through role-modelling and living in practice what they teach. Mahatma Gandhi called “Women as incarnation of Ahimsa”. Teachers are called Nation Builders. Teachers do need appreciation of their work and contribution to Society. No lip-service please. The work environment, the salary and perks, the facilities for upgrading one’s skills and incentives for performance are to be improved.
Let us hope that it happens soon.
The choice of taking to Teaching was allowed because of the high degree of prestige attached with Teaching.
With emancipation of women, spread of education, special facilities for their academic and professional education; more and more women have joined professions that were deemed a male prerogative, so far.
Teaching is respectful. Working hours suit women. Mother is the first teacher of a child and the mother extends this role to the society by joining a School. Her innate qualities, her patience, her love and care and her “Mother Figure” role enable her to be ideally suited for this profession.
In the present scenario of education, especially in India, women have often outclassed men in academic pursuits and there is proof of it in the results of Boards and Universities. Women are finding the teaching profession safe, respectful, satisfying and many have proved their mettle.
It is a fact that in India the male member happens to be the main bread earner for the family. The family unit in rural and urban sector accepts women as equal partners in work and as her earnings are often meagre in comparison to their male counterparts, hence women only supplement. Exceptions are their but they are so few. With the family as an institution undergoing change and more and more women taking up professions that are lucrative, demanding and competitive; we have more and more mediocre teachers joining schools
If we want a change, we have to stop exploitation of Teachers, we have to restore this profession to the level of esteem in which it was held in the past, we have to make it a very lucrative profession and we have to create awareness among people to look at the profession not only in terms of what is apparently visible but lots and lots of intangible work that goes on behind the screen in moulding personalities, in transacting curriculum, in a lot of record keeping and paper work, in evaluation, in managing behaviour and in influencing lives through role-modelling and living in practice what they teach. Mahatma Gandhi called “Women as incarnation of Ahimsa”. Teachers are called Nation Builders. Teachers do need appreciation of their work and contribution to Society. No lip-service please. The work environment, the salary and perks, the facilities for upgrading one’s skills and incentives for performance are to be improved.
Let us hope that it happens soon.
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