February 2014 : What we are taught to see

“Draw a scenery’, the Art Teacher would say, and we would all whip out our drawing books and spend the rest of the period finishing near identical pictures. A mountain range with three triangular peaks. A  river snaking down to drain at the bottom of the page; trees lining it banks. The Sun peeking out from behind the hills; its rays arranged in perfect formation.

That was the ‘scenery’ we saw. That is the scenery we have taught our children to see. If we do it long enough, will the Sun grow straight line rays, and mountains develop triangular peaks?

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I saw the rays of the sun leaving behind streaks of light in February
2014: The Year That Was

The stuff you learn in school

“Can I borrow your iPad”, my son asked me. “I have a class project on the vanishing mangroves of the city.” He’d collected a fair amount of material from the Net, when I piped up- “Do you even know what a mangrove looks like?”

He didn’t. And since there is a mangrove grove less than a mile from our place, I took him to see it. He didn’t seem the least bit interested, and I wondered why I bothered. But maybe if I keep at it, he will someday realize that what he learns in school is real stuff too.

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This is the fifth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The writing mojo seems to have deserted me, but by elaborating either on a quote that touches my heart, or by attempting to capture a fleeting emotion, let me see how long I last.

There is still Hope

Her father works as a security guard- a job he has clung onto for over a decade. Her mother is barely literate- a woman who’s personal horizons end at the walls of her home. She is a Certified Public Accountant, working for one of the “Big Four” Public Auditing Firms. Her younger sister is doing a Masters in Science in the United States- she went there on a full-scholarship.

Her’s is the kind of story that gives us hope. The kind of story that reminds us that with hard work and a supportive family, you can open almost all doors.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Tomorrow marks the 63rd Anniversary of the day on which India proclaimed herself a Republic. Though there is a lot that is wrong in the country, stories like this give me Hope.

I despair for my country

Ninety-six percent of children of school-going age are enrolled in schools. But less than half the children in grade five can solve simple two digit subtraction problems, or read texts meant for grade two children.

If the numbers are not bad enough, what makes it worse is that the numbers have gone down since a similar survey conducted in 2010- enrolment numbers have remained similar, but the quality of education has gone down.

If kids learn nothing in school, why should parents not put them to work instead? Why struggle to send them to school?

I despair for my country.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

He can READ

“Mamma, what is the meaning of RAPE?”, my six-year-old asked me. Any mother would have been horrified that he had stumbled upon that word. Instead, I was thrilled. Thrilled that he had learnt to string sounds together to form words. Thrilled that he liked reading enough to voluntarily pick up the newspaper. Thrilled that the universe of knowledge had opened up for him.

When he entered second grade, he struggled to recognize even three letter words. Guiding him was not easy, but his determination and my faith in him did it. He can READ.

But, that question still needs answering!

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In June, I visited a summer camp where underpriveledged children were given supplementary coaching to bring them to normal school levels. Some of the methods they used helped me in making that critical breakthrough with my son. This picture taken in a slum community about a mile away from my house,  forms a part of my Pictorial Flashback of 2012.

The first generation

Spotlessly clean uniforms- shirts tucked into their skirts. Hair neatly combed and plaited- every bow of the ribbon perfectly arranged. Sitting crosslegged in straight rows on the floor- backs straight, not ever fidgeting or whispering or passing notes.

I couldn’t help but compare the disciplined group of schoolgirls from a tiny tribal hamlet, with the unruly mob that inhabits the school my kids go to. The kids with movie-star hairdos and messy clothes, who unthinkingly flout every rule in the book!

It is obvious who values education more. Naturally too- they are the first generation to have access to it.

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I took this photograph in a one-room one-teacher school in a tribal hamlet near Bombay. The photograph taken in April forms a part of my Pictorial Flashback of 2012.

Our point of view

“And why do you want to change schools?”, the Principal of the school I was seeking admission in asked me.

“We are quite happy with the school”, I replied honestly. “But now that our older one is moving to secondary school, we want a school that puts more emphasis on academic results.”

She smiled, hesitated a moment, then said, “I’ve interviewed many parents who have kids in the same school, and you are the first parent who hasn’t complained about the school.”

I am glad she appreciated our point of view. We have chosen the right school for our kids.

 “Values aren't buses... They're not supposed to get you anywhere. They're supposed to define who you are.”
― Jennifer Crusie

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This is the fourth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The Plan is to elaborate on a quote that touched my heart- let's see how far this takes me. If I can tie it in with the writing prompt, so much the better!

He was right

“My Maths book has a mistake”, my older one informed me. “There is a question, ‘which are the only two months that are next to each other and have 31 days?’. The question is wrong, isn’t it?”

“Of course not. There are two months that are together that have 31 days”, I snapped; irritated that at nearly nine, he still didn’t know the calendar.

“You are talking about July and August, aren’t you?”, he asked. “But what about December and January. They have 31 days too, and they are next to each other.”

And you know what, he was right!

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
― Mark Twain

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This is the fourth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The Plan is to elaborate on a quote that touched my heart- let's see how far this takes me. If I can tie it in with the writing prompt, so much the better!

Put kids in charge

Decades back, the Indian government came up with “Project Tiger”- a way to protect the environment by putting the national animal at the apex of the ecosystem. Unfortunately, today, even the big cat faces extinction.

"If tigers are so important, why don’t we just keep them in zoos”, a kid asked.

Before the teacher could reply, my kid piped up, "but Project Tiger is not about the tiger. It is about all the animals. The tiger is the symbol, because big people don't think rabbits and butterflies are important."

Right he was. Why can’t we just put kids in charge?

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Albert Einstein

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This is the fourth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The Plan is to elaborate on a quote that touched my heart- let's see how far this takes me. If I can tie it in with the writing prompt, so much the better!

Can I be proud?

“You know what”, my older one said triumphantly. “The shopkeeper tried to cheat me, but I told him he was giving me the wrong change. I am really smart, aren’t I?”

At first, I found it hard to believe his story- would the shop-keeper I was patronizing for many months do that to me- but when I asked for details, I found that my son was indeed right. The shop-keeper had given him less change than he should have.

“How did you calculate so fast?”, I asked.

“We learnt it in school!”, he replied.

Can I be proud of him?

Education must have an end in view, for it is not an end in itself.
~ Sybil Marshall

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This is the fourth year that I am going to be a part of NaBloWriM. The Plan is to elaborate (in 100 words) on a quote that touched my heart- let's see how far this takes me. If I can tie it in with the writing prompt, so much the better!

Can't we use pencils forever?

“You have to start writing neatly”, I admonished my fourth grader. “Or they wouldn’t let you start using a pen next term.”

“Oh good”, he exclaimed. “I don’t want to write with a pen. What if I make a mistake- how will I rub it out?”

“When you start using a pen”, his younger brother piped up, “you will stop making mistakes. Big people don’t make mistakes, do they?”

Did he realize how profound his statement was? The day you stop admitting to your mistakes, isn’t that the day you stop growing? I wish we could all use pencils forever.

"Labels are for clothes, not people."

This is for a very dear friend of mine who sometimes stops by, and to tell her that regardless of what the counselor says, her child is just a intelligent and sensitive child, who is curious about things that don't interest others.

A month back, we got a report from the school counsellor. My second-grader couldn’t read, write, spell, compute or follow instructions; in short, he was leaning impaired and needed remedial education.

Yes, my second grader’s reading level was that of a kindergarten student, because of which he couldn’t write or spell either. But that’s all that is wrong with him- in fact, he’s way above his age in maths. A well-informed mother, I could challenge the counsellor and prove his assessment was worthless.

But how many others have been as lucky? How many kids have been labelled dumb, or worse.

Setting a goal

“But I can’t read”, my six year old said two months back when I told him I was buying him a book without colourful pictures.

“So what, we can learn”, I told him, before adding, “Why, Are you afraid to try?”

His competitive nature couldn’t resist the challenge. It was a tedious task, but he persevered. The fact that the English language is not predictable only made it more complicated. But by the end of the month, I know he’ll be able to read that book.

When you set yourself a goal- a tangible, non-negotiable goal, you do often succeed.

Happy Pi Day

"How I need a drink, alcoholic of course."

Yes, I know it is the middle of the week, and an alcoholic drink should be the last thing on my mind. But without this ‘piem’, how do you expect me to remember Three-Point-One-Four-One-Five-Nine-Two-Six, the first seven decimal places of the irrational number better known as “Pi”?

There was a time when I used “Pi” everyday, often several times everyday. When I could rattle off “Pi” to several decimal places. Those days are long gone. But even now, when I think of “Pi”, a smile springs to my lips.

Happy Pi Day.
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Confusing operations

Yes, division is repeated subtraction, and multiplication repeated addition. If you add five to five, five times, you get the same answer as if you multiply five by five. I know it, as would anybody who has been adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing as long as I have. But is it absolutely necessary to confuse my eight-year old by teaching him so?

Yes, in principle, I agree the idea of teaching kids different ways of performing the mathematical operations and letting them choose the one that works best for them. But after they do learn, can’t they be left alone?

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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Cats are a kind of alien...

“Have  you finished your homework yet?”, I asked the (nearly) six-year old.

“I am thinking.”

“How long does it take you to think of ten interesting facts about a cat?”

“I can think of only three facts”, he insisted.  

“Okay, tell me. And I will help you with the rest.”

“Cats are a kind of alien, because when they are angry, their nails come out”, he began.

I struggled to keep the smile off his face, but realized why he had been struggling.

Shouldn’t a teacher be happy with a couple of such facts than a dozen more inane ones?
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Another brick in the wall

“We don’t need no education, We don’t need no thought control… Teachers leave us kids alone.”

Comfortably ensconced in India’s top b-school, we took pride in treating this as our Anthem. Not just us- generations of students forming the intellectual elite have taken perverse pleasure in shouting out the lyrics- pretending for all it is worth that they are who they are despite their education, not because of it.

And yet, for the multitudes, education is but a dream. They know classrooms without teachers; lessons need to be self-taught or unlearnt. They’d welcome dark sarcasm in the classroom, for sure!
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

You have to start somewhere

“Is educating girls the answer”, she asked. “Somehow it seems too simplistic to think that education alone can be the key.”

Much as I would love it to be otherwise, she is right. In a world where women are treated as second class citizens, where they are denied basic human rights, where they are killed at birth, and treated as playthings of the men; in such a world, Education alone cannot be the answer!

And yet, when you are fighting centuries of oppression, you have to start somewhere. And education is as good a place to start as any other.
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

The way that suits them best

My younger one had been struggling with his subtraction homework for what seemed like hours, when I taught him a simple way to do it. His face lit up. “But this is so easy”, he said, “are you sure you are not fooling me?”

In the last week, he’s been taught three other ways of doing it, none of which works for him, but he doesn’t mind, because he’s able to get the correct answer. 

Yes, each child is different, but shouldn’t teachers take the trouble to teach each child the way that suits him best, rather than confuse them?

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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Who remembers the names?

Tropospehere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, exosphere. Do you even remember these terms from all those years ago when you crammed them up before your geography examination? Things come a full cycle. This time I am the one helping my child cram the terms.
Why? To what purpose? It is nice that kids know and understand things? But do the terms really matter? And if there are terms to learn, can anyone remember the details?

I wish seven year olds could just colour the layers of the atmosphere different colours, and not learn the names till much later. If at all!
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.