The platforms were crowded with flies
Hawkers, vomit, flowers, papers
One could not walk – only amble
You have to walk with buses and vans
Anytime anything can go wrong
A hooting car can come from back
Can shake you off balance
Throw you into a pit nearby
And push you into the next world
With the ease of a God.
But all these things need not happen
You can reach home safely
Day after day, year after year.
Everyone sees, and does not see
They manage each other with comfort
Only at time things go wrong.
The thing is, do people walk?
…………………………………..
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Teacher as a counselor
The Role Of Counseling In Second Language Acquisition
Dr. S. Sridevi
CTTE College
I. INTRODUCTION
Language deals a lot with emotions and thoughts is the assumption this paper makes. Effective way of learning a language would be to think and feel in the language with the already existing vocabulary one would have acquired. A counselor can build the confidence of the student by explaining how all languages are the same and if a student can acquire one language he can easily acquire another language too. This paper analyses these issues giving the example of two case studies and gives suggestions.
When we try to learn a language like English that holds an elite position in India there are lots of emotional issues that a teacher might overlook. The student needs constant support and guidance. The curriculum does not accept this factor as it treats every learner in the same fashion. The method that might work for a regional language may not work for a language from abroad. When this foreign language holds high respect in society the stress is high on the learner that might stop him from learning it well. The learner will also have cultural conflicts in him that will make him question the need to learn a foreign language.
Counseling can fill this gap in society where the learner and the curriculum do not meet. Many students 'reject' English for various reasons without being aware of it and blame themselves for it. They think they are 'stupid'. Counseling can explain the conflicts and stress in the student's mind regarding English and help him tackle them better facilitating learning English in a more effective manner.
II. CONCEPTS FOR COUNSELLING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS
1. English is just another language
We have to change our attitude to English if we want learn it on our own. When we attach too much of importance to English, we might become nervous and will never acquire the coolness and detachment to learn it well. We have to start thinking that English is just another language. We have to learn it as we learn our Indian languages.
2. Every region will have its accent
Indian English is Indian accented. Similarly the Chennai English will have the Tamil accent and so on. Accent is inevitable when we speak any language. When we speak a foreign language our native accent will influence the foreign sounds. Even the 'correct' English we speak will be Indian English only. Scholars like Braj Kachru, R.L. Varshney, Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah have extensively researched and written about the features of Indian English that is considered standard in India. Indian English has different phonetic qualities. All native languages of India lack voiced post alveolar fricative. Indian languages do not differentiate between /v/ and /w/. Consonants are distinctly doubled in India. We must accept that only to a certain extent we can acquire the 'correct' accent of the westerners. What is important is clarity. Also if the learner is put in an embarrassing situation and is made fun of his 'accent', he should know that accent is natural for every one. This will make him not lose his self-confidence.
3. Language has to be created
Language learning is a creative process that needs thoughts. If it had been a scientific process by this time computers would have begun to be in charge of writing in newspapers and novels for publishers. It needs other abilities like intuition, inspiration, creativity, and imagination and is different from by hearting formulae and rules. A scientific approach to language learning will not make one proficient in the target language. Every new sentence has to be invented like a great scientific discovery.
4. Mental blocks about language have to be unlearnt
If we have acquired any mental blocks about English during our childhood or because of ideological issues we will not be able to learn it well. These mental or emotional blocks can exist without the person being aware of it. Before any language learning takes place, the counsellor has to find out if there are any mental blocks as such. If so they have to be removed. This will facilitate better learning possible.
5. Become a multilingual
Our linguistic experiences are very different and multiple. This is a challenge put across the Indians and our survival instinct has already given us this ability. We can tackle many languages. To live in a global scenario, we must encourage our minds to consider ourselves as multilingual. English thus becomes one more language that has to be learnt. This kind of thinking will take away our self-consciousness in practicing English with our friends.
6. Think in English
The learner has to be encouraged to think and feel in English with the limited vocabulary he might have acquired already. He can start with praying in English. English has to enter his inner most recesses of mind and become strongly established like his mother tongue. He can pass remarks and comments in his mind in English. This is the mental foundation from which fluent speech will spring.
III. COUNSELLING STRATEGIES
The counsellor can encourage the learner to think in English and encourage a positive attitude in the mind of the learner. The following factors have to be emphasized about English:
1. It is a link language in India.2. It is a language of higher studies.3. It is an international language for global communication.4. It is a language of convenience at work place.
5. It is just another language that can be learnt easily.
IV. SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH
1. English is not a syllable-timed language like most of the Indian languages and is a stress-timed language. Efforts have to be made to acquire skills to put the stress accents at the right syllables.
2. Efforts must be taken in vocabulary development, spelling, and nuances of grammar, pronunciation etc.
3. The students can be asked to read books, magazines and newspapers in English as only reading will teach the usage of words. Reading storybooks regularly also will help them enjoy the process of learning. They can practice speaking English in formal and informal settings. If necessary, they can attend spoken English classes and take some accent training programmes.
IV. CONCLUSION
Training to think and feel in English can be given to ambitious learners who have acquired mental blocks. They should also be trained to treat English as just another language. This will help Indians working at a global level and keep their self-esteem high.
Case studies
1. This person is a high achiever in Tamil. She is a great public speaker and very well known. She can speak a few Indian languages very well and is highly read and knowledgeable. She has gone abroad a few times. Whenever she went abroad she was able to speak in English fluently. She was able to 'read' English contents with ease. When she was back in India she was not able to speak and read with ease. She became shy and self-conscious. Counselling was given about the 'issues' in English. She was encouraged to treat English like any other language. Also it was found out she felt speaking in English in India meant she was being disloyal to Tamil. It was explained that it is not so. Serious discussions about the nature of languages were given. She was encouraged to approach languages in a scientific manner. Within six months the change came over. She was able to converse normally in English and has started reading English books.
2. This person was a high performer in many subjects except in spoken English. She wanted to speak English but was not able to do so. She was scared of making mistakes. She felt her classmates would laugh at her. She was not ashamed of making a mistake in Tamil, for instance. She thought mistakes in Tamil while speaking it, could be carried off with confidence, as that is a sign of one's non-familiarity with the language and proved familiarity with English. Only people who spoke English very well did not speak Tamil well. She was counselled about the importance of one's mother tongue. Only if we respect our languages we can be comfortable with other languages. She was encouraged to take away the extra importance given by her to English. And then she started responding to English and has become a good speaker and reads a lot of books in English now
Bibliography
Baugh, A.C. A History of the English Language. Bangalore: Allied Publishers Private Limited, (First edition) 1968, (Second edition) 1970.
Chomsky, Noam. On Language. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2003.
Crystal, David. English As A Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Kachru, Braj. The Indianization of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
Kachru, Braj. The Alchemy of English: The spread, functions and models of non-native Englishes. New York: Pergamon Press Inc. 1986.
Lyons, John. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
Trudgill, Peter, and Hannah, Jean. International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English. London: Edward Arnold, 1994.
Varshney, R.L. An Introductory Textbook of Linguistics and Phonetics. Bareilly: Student Store. 15th Ed. (2005).
Dr. S. Sridevi
CTTE College
I. INTRODUCTION
Language deals a lot with emotions and thoughts is the assumption this paper makes. Effective way of learning a language would be to think and feel in the language with the already existing vocabulary one would have acquired. A counselor can build the confidence of the student by explaining how all languages are the same and if a student can acquire one language he can easily acquire another language too. This paper analyses these issues giving the example of two case studies and gives suggestions.
When we try to learn a language like English that holds an elite position in India there are lots of emotional issues that a teacher might overlook. The student needs constant support and guidance. The curriculum does not accept this factor as it treats every learner in the same fashion. The method that might work for a regional language may not work for a language from abroad. When this foreign language holds high respect in society the stress is high on the learner that might stop him from learning it well. The learner will also have cultural conflicts in him that will make him question the need to learn a foreign language.
Counseling can fill this gap in society where the learner and the curriculum do not meet. Many students 'reject' English for various reasons without being aware of it and blame themselves for it. They think they are 'stupid'. Counseling can explain the conflicts and stress in the student's mind regarding English and help him tackle them better facilitating learning English in a more effective manner.
II. CONCEPTS FOR COUNSELLING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS
1. English is just another language
We have to change our attitude to English if we want learn it on our own. When we attach too much of importance to English, we might become nervous and will never acquire the coolness and detachment to learn it well. We have to start thinking that English is just another language. We have to learn it as we learn our Indian languages.
2. Every region will have its accent
Indian English is Indian accented. Similarly the Chennai English will have the Tamil accent and so on. Accent is inevitable when we speak any language. When we speak a foreign language our native accent will influence the foreign sounds. Even the 'correct' English we speak will be Indian English only. Scholars like Braj Kachru, R.L. Varshney, Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah have extensively researched and written about the features of Indian English that is considered standard in India. Indian English has different phonetic qualities. All native languages of India lack voiced post alveolar fricative. Indian languages do not differentiate between /v/ and /w/. Consonants are distinctly doubled in India. We must accept that only to a certain extent we can acquire the 'correct' accent of the westerners. What is important is clarity. Also if the learner is put in an embarrassing situation and is made fun of his 'accent', he should know that accent is natural for every one. This will make him not lose his self-confidence.
3. Language has to be created
Language learning is a creative process that needs thoughts. If it had been a scientific process by this time computers would have begun to be in charge of writing in newspapers and novels for publishers. It needs other abilities like intuition, inspiration, creativity, and imagination and is different from by hearting formulae and rules. A scientific approach to language learning will not make one proficient in the target language. Every new sentence has to be invented like a great scientific discovery.
4. Mental blocks about language have to be unlearnt
If we have acquired any mental blocks about English during our childhood or because of ideological issues we will not be able to learn it well. These mental or emotional blocks can exist without the person being aware of it. Before any language learning takes place, the counsellor has to find out if there are any mental blocks as such. If so they have to be removed. This will facilitate better learning possible.
5. Become a multilingual
Our linguistic experiences are very different and multiple. This is a challenge put across the Indians and our survival instinct has already given us this ability. We can tackle many languages. To live in a global scenario, we must encourage our minds to consider ourselves as multilingual. English thus becomes one more language that has to be learnt. This kind of thinking will take away our self-consciousness in practicing English with our friends.
6. Think in English
The learner has to be encouraged to think and feel in English with the limited vocabulary he might have acquired already. He can start with praying in English. English has to enter his inner most recesses of mind and become strongly established like his mother tongue. He can pass remarks and comments in his mind in English. This is the mental foundation from which fluent speech will spring.
III. COUNSELLING STRATEGIES
The counsellor can encourage the learner to think in English and encourage a positive attitude in the mind of the learner. The following factors have to be emphasized about English:
1. It is a link language in India.2. It is a language of higher studies.3. It is an international language for global communication.4. It is a language of convenience at work place.
5. It is just another language that can be learnt easily.
IV. SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH
1. English is not a syllable-timed language like most of the Indian languages and is a stress-timed language. Efforts have to be made to acquire skills to put the stress accents at the right syllables.
2. Efforts must be taken in vocabulary development, spelling, and nuances of grammar, pronunciation etc.
3. The students can be asked to read books, magazines and newspapers in English as only reading will teach the usage of words. Reading storybooks regularly also will help them enjoy the process of learning. They can practice speaking English in formal and informal settings. If necessary, they can attend spoken English classes and take some accent training programmes.
IV. CONCLUSION
Training to think and feel in English can be given to ambitious learners who have acquired mental blocks. They should also be trained to treat English as just another language. This will help Indians working at a global level and keep their self-esteem high.
Case studies
1. This person is a high achiever in Tamil. She is a great public speaker and very well known. She can speak a few Indian languages very well and is highly read and knowledgeable. She has gone abroad a few times. Whenever she went abroad she was able to speak in English fluently. She was able to 'read' English contents with ease. When she was back in India she was not able to speak and read with ease. She became shy and self-conscious. Counselling was given about the 'issues' in English. She was encouraged to treat English like any other language. Also it was found out she felt speaking in English in India meant she was being disloyal to Tamil. It was explained that it is not so. Serious discussions about the nature of languages were given. She was encouraged to approach languages in a scientific manner. Within six months the change came over. She was able to converse normally in English and has started reading English books.
2. This person was a high performer in many subjects except in spoken English. She wanted to speak English but was not able to do so. She was scared of making mistakes. She felt her classmates would laugh at her. She was not ashamed of making a mistake in Tamil, for instance. She thought mistakes in Tamil while speaking it, could be carried off with confidence, as that is a sign of one's non-familiarity with the language and proved familiarity with English. Only people who spoke English very well did not speak Tamil well. She was counselled about the importance of one's mother tongue. Only if we respect our languages we can be comfortable with other languages. She was encouraged to take away the extra importance given by her to English. And then she started responding to English and has become a good speaker and reads a lot of books in English now
Bibliography
Baugh, A.C. A History of the English Language. Bangalore: Allied Publishers Private Limited, (First edition) 1968, (Second edition) 1970.
Chomsky, Noam. On Language. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2003.
Crystal, David. English As A Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Kachru, Braj. The Indianization of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
Kachru, Braj. The Alchemy of English: The spread, functions and models of non-native Englishes. New York: Pergamon Press Inc. 1986.
Lyons, John. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
Trudgill, Peter, and Hannah, Jean. International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English. London: Edward Arnold, 1994.
Varshney, R.L. An Introductory Textbook of Linguistics and Phonetics. Bareilly: Student Store. 15th Ed. (2005).
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Chetan Bhagat
The problematics in approaching Chetan Bhagat
Dr. Sridevi
CTTE College
Book history through postcolonial eyes: Rewriting the script by Robert Fraser in 2008 published by Routledge dismisses Chetan Bhagat’s works as unheard of outside India. Fraser positions Rupa, as a publisher who publishes only best sellers. Hence Prakash Ray’s The Dancing Democracy – a story about the neighbouring Nepal and Anurag Matar’s Inscrutable Americans – an Indian engineering student’s visit to USA are only popular. Fraser comments that Inscrutable Americans is
Couched mostly in Indish (or Indian English) as letters back home. It is a popular and alertly witty work, soothing middle class professional anxieties with the syrup of mild jokes. Much the same, I think, may be claimed for Rupas’s runaway fiction bestsellers, both by Chetan Bhagat(180 – 181).
Frazer continues to discuss the themes of Bhagat and sums up:
This is a literature of identification and displacement, and it sells well, spotlighting the lives of those with whom its readers perceive themselves as locked in a common Darwinian struggle: doctors, lawyers, engineers or technicians. It highlights achievement, while laying anxiety to rest with a balm of consoling levity. Outside India it is almost unknown (181).
The western criticism has simply dismissed Chetan Bhagat’s works. There are a few questions that emerge:
How do we treat art in India - Can a western perception of generification work for the Indian mind? Is art an entertainment or does it have serious purpose? How do we look at a fiction in a regional language that happens to be a best seller – as an entertainment or learning experience – or both? How do we treat a best seller in English in India that addresses Indians – as entertainment or serious literature? Indians use art to heal the wounds of life – as an entertainment. We believe in songs and dance, fight, melodrama. We mix up all the genres, something westerners cannot accept. The tired man reads a novel or goes for a movie for relaxation. This is the profound purpose of art – to keep man’s sanity and peace. When the west fixes an Indian bestseller, it becomes an academic text for Indians.
Are we postcolonial? What is the Indian perception of western models of society? Do we want to move out of the western model of social structure? The Indian has not rejected Eurocentrism. Rather, he has accepted the superiority of Rationalism. Only thing is, Indians do not want to depend on any other society or culture. They have learnt from western models, and want to go on developing their models.
What is the language of Bhagat? Can we call it Indian English? The formal, understandable Indian spoken English – understandable by the country - has arrived with Bhagat. It has brought the entire sub-continent under one language. Thousands of Indians use it in their conversation in India.
Who does Bhagat Address? Is there any attempt to talk to the west? The problems Bhagat discusses are Indian problems. The dialogue is between Indian attitudes and the writer.
What is the narrative style of Bhagat? Why is it so ‘natural’? he reaches his people quite comfortably, easily. The conversational style gives him the space. Bhagat uses a natural narrative to discuss the issues India faces from the perspective of the educated elite that decides policies in India. It is written in the formal language of India – English – used for official purposes and for personal uses by a few people. It is the language of the English print and visual media. Bhagat has used a scattering of the campus language, again used for practical uses only in premier institutes. He has taken the story from his life like any writer.
In a sixty year old polylinguistic nation, carrying a polycultural background on its young shoulders, a writer writes a novel in a supposedly the language of one of the colonizers, and that becomes a hit in local terms in the sub-continent, and how are we going to perceive its success? The people want research in IIT, so that they can become a super power as they believe research will give them the potential. They do not want pseudo secularism and want to become more rationalistic. They hate fundamentalism. They don’t want to be dependent on any foreign power for economical benefits. The novels are the wishes of the people of this particular class. But what we have to remember is, the readers are from the entire country. It is very different from being a writer with a regional voice. Bhagat has a pan Indian readership. The way it has been received by the people shows it is this want to read. They read their dreams in his words. A popular writer has the pulse of the people in his hands. He moves within the morality of society and reinforces the social thoughts.
In Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English in chapter 21 “After midnight: The novel in the 1980s and 1990s” written by Jon Mee, he writes that Rushdie’s Midnight children has a “postmodern playfulness” (318). The book is edited by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and therefore is accepted by the Indian critical idiom. The text is fixed in a position where it is fitted well in the western critical discourse. It goes well with the mainstream now.
Mee says,
Commercial developments in English-language publishing within India have played their part in enabling a new crop of novelists to come forward. Many writers who publish abroad now also insist on a separate Indian edition of their work. Ravi Dayal’s publishing house has nurtured a group of writers identified with Delhi’s elite – St.Stephen’s college – Allan Sealy, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Rukun Advani, Mukul Kesavan and Anurag Mathar (319).
Rupa has begun to cater to “expanding urban middle class”. Mee further says, “It is the world of this middle class which provides the most obvious context for the new Indian writing in English” (319). The criticism is that writing in English in India has a framework of metropolitan, and cosmopolitan elitism. Mee says this cannot be ignored. This book is published in 2003.
Whether Bhagat expresses only the urban middle class, or is it the social thought processes of the entire nation being expresses in its arts forms has to be understood. Does the entertainment factor has an association of manipulation, also has to be understood. Whether the writer manipulates the people, or the people manipulate the writer becomes an interesting discussion.
Works cited
Fraser, Robert. Book history through postcolonial eyes: Rewriting the script. Oxon: Routledge, 2008.
Marcuse, Herbert. One Dimensional Man. Routledge, 2007.
Mee, Jon. “After midnight: The novel in the 1980s and 1990s”. Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English. Ed.Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2003.
Dr. Sridevi
CTTE College
Book history through postcolonial eyes: Rewriting the script by Robert Fraser in 2008 published by Routledge dismisses Chetan Bhagat’s works as unheard of outside India. Fraser positions Rupa, as a publisher who publishes only best sellers. Hence Prakash Ray’s The Dancing Democracy – a story about the neighbouring Nepal and Anurag Matar’s Inscrutable Americans – an Indian engineering student’s visit to USA are only popular. Fraser comments that Inscrutable Americans is
Couched mostly in Indish (or Indian English) as letters back home. It is a popular and alertly witty work, soothing middle class professional anxieties with the syrup of mild jokes. Much the same, I think, may be claimed for Rupas’s runaway fiction bestsellers, both by Chetan Bhagat(180 – 181).
Frazer continues to discuss the themes of Bhagat and sums up:
This is a literature of identification and displacement, and it sells well, spotlighting the lives of those with whom its readers perceive themselves as locked in a common Darwinian struggle: doctors, lawyers, engineers or technicians. It highlights achievement, while laying anxiety to rest with a balm of consoling levity. Outside India it is almost unknown (181).
The western criticism has simply dismissed Chetan Bhagat’s works. There are a few questions that emerge:
How do we treat art in India - Can a western perception of generification work for the Indian mind? Is art an entertainment or does it have serious purpose? How do we look at a fiction in a regional language that happens to be a best seller – as an entertainment or learning experience – or both? How do we treat a best seller in English in India that addresses Indians – as entertainment or serious literature? Indians use art to heal the wounds of life – as an entertainment. We believe in songs and dance, fight, melodrama. We mix up all the genres, something westerners cannot accept. The tired man reads a novel or goes for a movie for relaxation. This is the profound purpose of art – to keep man’s sanity and peace. When the west fixes an Indian bestseller, it becomes an academic text for Indians.
Are we postcolonial? What is the Indian perception of western models of society? Do we want to move out of the western model of social structure? The Indian has not rejected Eurocentrism. Rather, he has accepted the superiority of Rationalism. Only thing is, Indians do not want to depend on any other society or culture. They have learnt from western models, and want to go on developing their models.
What is the language of Bhagat? Can we call it Indian English? The formal, understandable Indian spoken English – understandable by the country - has arrived with Bhagat. It has brought the entire sub-continent under one language. Thousands of Indians use it in their conversation in India.
Who does Bhagat Address? Is there any attempt to talk to the west? The problems Bhagat discusses are Indian problems. The dialogue is between Indian attitudes and the writer.
What is the narrative style of Bhagat? Why is it so ‘natural’? he reaches his people quite comfortably, easily. The conversational style gives him the space. Bhagat uses a natural narrative to discuss the issues India faces from the perspective of the educated elite that decides policies in India. It is written in the formal language of India – English – used for official purposes and for personal uses by a few people. It is the language of the English print and visual media. Bhagat has used a scattering of the campus language, again used for practical uses only in premier institutes. He has taken the story from his life like any writer.
In a sixty year old polylinguistic nation, carrying a polycultural background on its young shoulders, a writer writes a novel in a supposedly the language of one of the colonizers, and that becomes a hit in local terms in the sub-continent, and how are we going to perceive its success? The people want research in IIT, so that they can become a super power as they believe research will give them the potential. They do not want pseudo secularism and want to become more rationalistic. They hate fundamentalism. They don’t want to be dependent on any foreign power for economical benefits. The novels are the wishes of the people of this particular class. But what we have to remember is, the readers are from the entire country. It is very different from being a writer with a regional voice. Bhagat has a pan Indian readership. The way it has been received by the people shows it is this want to read. They read their dreams in his words. A popular writer has the pulse of the people in his hands. He moves within the morality of society and reinforces the social thoughts.
In Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English in chapter 21 “After midnight: The novel in the 1980s and 1990s” written by Jon Mee, he writes that Rushdie’s Midnight children has a “postmodern playfulness” (318). The book is edited by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and therefore is accepted by the Indian critical idiom. The text is fixed in a position where it is fitted well in the western critical discourse. It goes well with the mainstream now.
Mee says,
Commercial developments in English-language publishing within India have played their part in enabling a new crop of novelists to come forward. Many writers who publish abroad now also insist on a separate Indian edition of their work. Ravi Dayal’s publishing house has nurtured a group of writers identified with Delhi’s elite – St.Stephen’s college – Allan Sealy, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Rukun Advani, Mukul Kesavan and Anurag Mathar (319).
Rupa has begun to cater to “expanding urban middle class”. Mee further says, “It is the world of this middle class which provides the most obvious context for the new Indian writing in English” (319). The criticism is that writing in English in India has a framework of metropolitan, and cosmopolitan elitism. Mee says this cannot be ignored. This book is published in 2003.
Whether Bhagat expresses only the urban middle class, or is it the social thought processes of the entire nation being expresses in its arts forms has to be understood. Does the entertainment factor has an association of manipulation, also has to be understood. Whether the writer manipulates the people, or the people manipulate the writer becomes an interesting discussion.
Works cited
Fraser, Robert. Book history through postcolonial eyes: Rewriting the script. Oxon: Routledge, 2008.
Marcuse, Herbert. One Dimensional Man. Routledge, 2007.
Mee, Jon. “After midnight: The novel in the 1980s and 1990s”. Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English. Ed.Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2003.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Indian Class Room
Negotiating egalitarianism in higher education: an Indian classroom
Dr. S. Sridevi
CTTE College
Egalitarianism has been the western model of pedagogy guiding our policies. Social democracy is behind the educational methodologies. How far can we negotiate it with our Indian age-old concepts of pedagogy from which no teacher or student has escaped. We can analyse how our system unconsciously clashes with the western ideals. There is a crisis in our class rooms because of this conflict, as roles are not clearly defined. Egalitarianism – hierarchy conflict occurs in our class rooms. The teacher has to emerge as a social superior to handle the issues of the class room. The students are now vested with social power and the teacher’s role becomes limited. We have to customize western pedagogy to suit our fundamental structures of society striking a fine balance between the two.
What is important for a teacher in higher education? To keep abreast in his field of knowledge? To keep the class under his control? To teach the subject thoroughly? To inspire the students? There are four areas a teacher has to concentrate upon. Research has shown it is not necessary to teach well, even if you know well. “It has long been presumed that scholarly expertise alone is sufficient preparation to enable someone to teach effectively in higher education” (8), says Bruce Macfarlane in his book Teaching with Integrity. Acquiring knowledge is a different thing and teaching it in a simple manner to young minds is another thing. This area of human experience needs another quality – ethics.
In India, the teacher is placed next to the parents. We accept the hierarchical order of society. Certain elements of the hierarchical system have been rejected by contemporary thought rightly. We have moved towards an egalitarian society. Have the teachers really become egalitarian? Can we tolerate questions, criticisms and critiques from our students? Can we accept at times students are right? Can we apologise to our students when we turn out to be wrong? Is it possible to convert all teachers to a complete rationalistic, socialist, democratic model? Can we practice complete democracy in a class room, as assumed by the learner centered methodologies imported from the west? Do we give opportunities to all our students based on their hard work and merit? Do we include them in our syllabus designing programmes? Is there any pluralistic openness in our educational programmes? Do we conduct a survey among them to find out their needs? Is there any co-relation between education and egalitarianism? Can we manage to work with a student on a research project, which need a complete freedom in questioning that we cannot give ourselves or to our students? As we are not comfortable with the Socratic, dialectical method of questioning every thing, how can our students; energy be directed into research? Vigorous questioning is the western approach to the phenomena that has grown in 2000 years of history. Our minds cannot tackle this easily.
These are our current questions. In the Indian class room the teacher is still the powerful Other. How does the self view the Other – with respect or as an equal? We cannot rationalize the role of Other in this context. It transcends and goes beyond. There is a wide gap between the teacher and the students. Both represent the two sides of a society. Both the sections are not yet comfortable with the democratic model. Either it is used too much or it is misused.
We can try a conservative approach to Indian education system. The Indian theory of moral action believes in pain if we fail in our duty. In Indian ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges, a book published in 2007, J.N. Mohanty argues for an Indian theory of moral action. The karma theory strongly warns of the individual about the lapse in one’s performing of his duties. We can try to bring this theory into the arena of pedagogy. The teacher has to know that his duty is to make the student understand what he teaches and help him think beyond in the subject; unless he does it he is committing a sin for which he will be punished by life later. Similarly, the student must know he has to respect the teacher as a guru and if he insults or derogates the teacher, it would amount to be a sin; he should do the work allotted to him sincerely, otherwise it would be morally wrong. The class room should be within a natural cultural structure of thought.
Morality is a social structure born out of history and geography. It has a utility purpose of keeping the social structure intact says Nietzsche. Morality reinforces the culture of geographical blocks. It is directed by fear. To a certain extent if a society has to function well, this social fear is necessary. It is not fashionable to talk about morality in education, as it is understood the teacher is ethical. But, shouldn’t the student also be ethical? Shouldn’t he respect the teacher who is committed to the welfare of other, younger lives? Why is the committed teacher mocked by the careless students? Why doesn’t society recognize commitment in teaching? It is because we do not put education within an Indian, moralistic model. Education has to get back its glory. Our students must be made to understand that it was not so easy to enter schools and colleges those days, even hundred years earlier. They should learn the value of the class rooms. The teacher should get the respect back from society. He should not be evaluated based on materialistic factors. His role is the greatest; it cannot be materially weighed; every teacher should become aware of his importance in the building of values in society. The profession should get back its pride. We cannot negate our cultural values in the class room. This also has to become part of teaching methodologies while training teachers.
What is good to one culture may turn out to be wrong for another. It is a shifting thought process. But every region arrives at certain models of thought which remain in that mind forever. Social constructions grow slowly, rather evolve slowly and might take a double slowness to disappear. When new methodologies come from other lands, they have to carry their social values with them. Methodologies have to be backed up with society’s participation. These are the two units that can bring some movement or dynamics. As methodologies are also products of society, they cannot survive when are replaced in another society. We want education for all, as a policy. This policy has to be made a reality by the stakeholders – teachers and students. Both these stakeholders are part of a society that is hierarchical. They cannot practice liberalism in higher education to its full justice. So, it becomes essential that we customize the new methods and fit them into our theoretical models of life.
How do we combine these two extreme approaches to life – egalitarianism and hierarchy? We have to spend our intellectual energies in this area and devise accurate, suitable, scientific methodologies accordingly. We have to build a frame work that can accommodate egalitarianism and hierarchy.
Works cited
Macfarlane, Bruce. Teaching with Integrity. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Mohanty, J.N. “Dharma, imperatives and Tradition: Toward an Indian theory of moral action”. Ed. Billimoria, Purusottama. Joseph Prabhu, Renuka Sharma. Indian ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges. USA; Ashgate publishing company, 2007.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond good and evil. New York: Dover publications Inc, 1997.
Dr. S. Sridevi
CTTE College
Egalitarianism has been the western model of pedagogy guiding our policies. Social democracy is behind the educational methodologies. How far can we negotiate it with our Indian age-old concepts of pedagogy from which no teacher or student has escaped. We can analyse how our system unconsciously clashes with the western ideals. There is a crisis in our class rooms because of this conflict, as roles are not clearly defined. Egalitarianism – hierarchy conflict occurs in our class rooms. The teacher has to emerge as a social superior to handle the issues of the class room. The students are now vested with social power and the teacher’s role becomes limited. We have to customize western pedagogy to suit our fundamental structures of society striking a fine balance between the two.
What is important for a teacher in higher education? To keep abreast in his field of knowledge? To keep the class under his control? To teach the subject thoroughly? To inspire the students? There are four areas a teacher has to concentrate upon. Research has shown it is not necessary to teach well, even if you know well. “It has long been presumed that scholarly expertise alone is sufficient preparation to enable someone to teach effectively in higher education” (8), says Bruce Macfarlane in his book Teaching with Integrity. Acquiring knowledge is a different thing and teaching it in a simple manner to young minds is another thing. This area of human experience needs another quality – ethics.
In India, the teacher is placed next to the parents. We accept the hierarchical order of society. Certain elements of the hierarchical system have been rejected by contemporary thought rightly. We have moved towards an egalitarian society. Have the teachers really become egalitarian? Can we tolerate questions, criticisms and critiques from our students? Can we accept at times students are right? Can we apologise to our students when we turn out to be wrong? Is it possible to convert all teachers to a complete rationalistic, socialist, democratic model? Can we practice complete democracy in a class room, as assumed by the learner centered methodologies imported from the west? Do we give opportunities to all our students based on their hard work and merit? Do we include them in our syllabus designing programmes? Is there any pluralistic openness in our educational programmes? Do we conduct a survey among them to find out their needs? Is there any co-relation between education and egalitarianism? Can we manage to work with a student on a research project, which need a complete freedom in questioning that we cannot give ourselves or to our students? As we are not comfortable with the Socratic, dialectical method of questioning every thing, how can our students; energy be directed into research? Vigorous questioning is the western approach to the phenomena that has grown in 2000 years of history. Our minds cannot tackle this easily.
These are our current questions. In the Indian class room the teacher is still the powerful Other. How does the self view the Other – with respect or as an equal? We cannot rationalize the role of Other in this context. It transcends and goes beyond. There is a wide gap between the teacher and the students. Both represent the two sides of a society. Both the sections are not yet comfortable with the democratic model. Either it is used too much or it is misused.
We can try a conservative approach to Indian education system. The Indian theory of moral action believes in pain if we fail in our duty. In Indian ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges, a book published in 2007, J.N. Mohanty argues for an Indian theory of moral action. The karma theory strongly warns of the individual about the lapse in one’s performing of his duties. We can try to bring this theory into the arena of pedagogy. The teacher has to know that his duty is to make the student understand what he teaches and help him think beyond in the subject; unless he does it he is committing a sin for which he will be punished by life later. Similarly, the student must know he has to respect the teacher as a guru and if he insults or derogates the teacher, it would amount to be a sin; he should do the work allotted to him sincerely, otherwise it would be morally wrong. The class room should be within a natural cultural structure of thought.
Morality is a social structure born out of history and geography. It has a utility purpose of keeping the social structure intact says Nietzsche. Morality reinforces the culture of geographical blocks. It is directed by fear. To a certain extent if a society has to function well, this social fear is necessary. It is not fashionable to talk about morality in education, as it is understood the teacher is ethical. But, shouldn’t the student also be ethical? Shouldn’t he respect the teacher who is committed to the welfare of other, younger lives? Why is the committed teacher mocked by the careless students? Why doesn’t society recognize commitment in teaching? It is because we do not put education within an Indian, moralistic model. Education has to get back its glory. Our students must be made to understand that it was not so easy to enter schools and colleges those days, even hundred years earlier. They should learn the value of the class rooms. The teacher should get the respect back from society. He should not be evaluated based on materialistic factors. His role is the greatest; it cannot be materially weighed; every teacher should become aware of his importance in the building of values in society. The profession should get back its pride. We cannot negate our cultural values in the class room. This also has to become part of teaching methodologies while training teachers.
What is good to one culture may turn out to be wrong for another. It is a shifting thought process. But every region arrives at certain models of thought which remain in that mind forever. Social constructions grow slowly, rather evolve slowly and might take a double slowness to disappear. When new methodologies come from other lands, they have to carry their social values with them. Methodologies have to be backed up with society’s participation. These are the two units that can bring some movement or dynamics. As methodologies are also products of society, they cannot survive when are replaced in another society. We want education for all, as a policy. This policy has to be made a reality by the stakeholders – teachers and students. Both these stakeholders are part of a society that is hierarchical. They cannot practice liberalism in higher education to its full justice. So, it becomes essential that we customize the new methods and fit them into our theoretical models of life.
How do we combine these two extreme approaches to life – egalitarianism and hierarchy? We have to spend our intellectual energies in this area and devise accurate, suitable, scientific methodologies accordingly. We have to build a frame work that can accommodate egalitarianism and hierarchy.
Works cited
Macfarlane, Bruce. Teaching with Integrity. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Mohanty, J.N. “Dharma, imperatives and Tradition: Toward an Indian theory of moral action”. Ed. Billimoria, Purusottama. Joseph Prabhu, Renuka Sharma. Indian ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges. USA; Ashgate publishing company, 2007.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond good and evil. New York: Dover publications Inc, 1997.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)