Friday, December 21, 2012

The teacher as a manager



McKinsey's 7-S Framework applied to teaching


Strategy: To achieve overall development of students

Structure: Responsibilities allotted to class leaders, group leaders etc.

Systems:  Meetings with these leaders to plan, take decisions

Staff: Selecting individuals who have aptitudes for particular works

Skills:  Recognising individual abilities

Styles: Leading students towards success by motivation

Shared values: Goals like mastery of subject, personality development etc.


Monday, December 17, 2012

Organisational behaviour and the class room

The scope to 'read' a class room as an organization


Uncovering hidden aspects of the class room

The class teacher needs strategies, objectives, policies, procedures, structure, technology, formal authority, chain of command etc. OB can help to discover attitudes, perceptions, group norms, informal relationships, interpersonal and intergroup conflict etc. 

Explaining and predicting behaviour of students

OB helps teachers behave as do in class rooms, why students in groups behave differently from individuals acting alone, why a certain amount of conflict is healthy for a class room, why people skills are very important for a teacher. Teachers will perform better if they understand the behavioural pattern of students.


Acquiring 'student' skills


OB helps us learn more about 'students'' behaviour. Students can distract the class from its professed path by engaging in conflicts and misunderstandings, or they can pool their diverse talents and perspectives to achieve much more as a group. By understanding what causes students to behave as they do, teachers can exercise leadership to achieve positive results.

Formulating informed judgements


OB can help formulating an informed judgement that can be derived from tenable assumptions. The important variables underlying the situations can be understood. Due recognition to the complexity of individual or group behaviour can be given. The teacher's own goals for the class, motives also can be analysed


Sunday, December 16, 2012

The winner takes it all

                            
                                                ABBA  


                               "The Winner Takes It All"

I don't wanna talk
About things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser's standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain?

But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say?
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all

I don't wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You've come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all...
................................................................................................................................

This is the western way to approach life.  Whether it is a 'game' or 'love' one has to win. Goal-setting is born out of this need. The greed to 'win' has created an environment crisis. Today's India has a breed of ambitious individuals who want to 'win' and have become corrupt to achieve power, money etc. Every organization has people of this category. They set 'goals' and want to achieve it by crooked methods. 

This is called materialism. That is, we go 'after' materials like cars, houses, positions that give power over others, etc. This way of approaching life can be of enormous harm to the soul. It leads to spiritual emptiness. Much earlier in the 1920s itself  T.S. Eliot called such men as 'hollow men' who are 'stuffed'. He called this civilization a 'wasteland'. Modern technological society has pushed men and women towards more and more materialism. India is now caught in this globalised stream of fear to become a super power. 


What is this 'winning?' Can we win nature? Can every one be the first in every thing? Why should we have power over others?


 'Winning' is the need of an insecure mind. The winner taking 'all' is only a viewpoint. No one can take 'all' from this enormous universe. It has a plenty for every one. 

Life is beautiful as it is, even when society does not consider you a 'winner'. 


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Academic ethics


Do academics need ethical practices?

Can we assume the academic world is ethical?

What are the significant areas where ethics will have to be reinforced?



Let me try identifying a few:

Teachers 

1. Effective reading with frequent updating

2. Impartiality to students - respecting them - being strict and focused

3. Avoiding character assassination of students

4. Avoiding character assassination of colleagues

5. Avoiding going on leave without proper reasons

Management/government etc.

6. Appointing well-qualified teachers for vacancies and taking efforts to retain 'effective' teachers

7. Not over- taxing teachers by asking them to 'substitute'

8. Not allotting too much of 'clerical work' to teachers

9.  A reasonably 'good' pay

10.  Result analysis at two levels - character and marks

11. Student feed back [oral] analysis

12. Checking if there has been any academic mobility [if students have improved from 'bad' to 'good']

13. To evolve a grievance - redressal system for teachers

14. One-to - one meetings with teachers




Monday, December 10, 2012

Neeya Naana - English and Indians

The recent show in 'Neeya Naana' took up the issue of English at its various levels of usage. People use it to 'show off', 'improve knowledge', 'come up in life' etc.

I was reminded of my grand mother. She knew a lot of verses from Kamba Ramayanam, Periya Puranam and other classical works. I must tell you that she taught herself to read and write. Those days, that is almost a hundred years ago,  in Kanya Kumari District Hindu women were not sent to schools established by the Missionaries.

British Protestant women came to villages and taught women to do embroidery, stitching etc. Today we are talking about colonised minds. But then the women looked at the British women as 'door openers.' My grand mother was one such women who wanted to become independent like the 'western' women.

Indians  probably think  only English people opened avenues. Schools in Kanya Kumari District have changed the District's quality of life.

What are the repercussions of this education?

Without this education would we have lived better?

Can we 'use' English as an Indian National language?

Can we 'use' English as a global language that has stored all kinds of knowledge?


The indirect  reasons for the English wave could be:

1. Social mobility

2. Nation/State

English and the computer have brought women to the economic forefront in India. The old concept of 'warrior' any way does not hold any value in real life, as technology is now the 'great warrior'. Therefore in modern life English that is the global language and English that is the internet language will be used by women as tools for achieving success. This could be one of the reasons why it is always women who are more 'particular' about English and its pronunciation.

English has become a politically powerful language and Indians are now not much interested in the literature of the country from which the language came from. Instead the average Indian wants to learn it as he would learn a technology.

When I took BA English literature in 1985 I loved English literature. We enjoyed reading prose, poetry, novels, short stories etc. that depicted 'English' culture.  In 2012 students opt for BA English to get a smart job. They are 'culturally' away from Britain. They are closer to America through Hollywood.

Today's English no more represents England. It is instead a language of 'communication' to tackle the practical world.


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Class room management


The western theories have been talking about the 'facilitator.'

Where is the facilitator in Indian class rooms?

The other day I addressed a B.Ed class of 98 students for one and half hours.  I am sure these students would have been 'exposed' to all westernized theories of class room management. I expected open discussions, interactions, questions and other such democratic social happenings.

Such things do not naturally 'happen' in our Indian class rooms. This has always been my hypothesis. Again it turned out to be true.

Our students and teachers are from a hierarchical society. They cannot practice 'open discussion' as casually as we see in western countries.

Even when a few students 'do' speak in a class, the rest of the class watch it with a kind of 'distaste' that can either be a smirk or inferiority. All said an done we 'respect' the silence more than noise in class rooms.

Long back a teacher wrote a few lines about me. These lines are significant as they sum up the Indian teacher-student relationship.

The teacher wrote: '...[I] was a serious student listening to classes with a grave understanding showing great depth of mind..'

That explains the Indian class room.

Now our task is to build theories to describe this reality of our educational practices. 'Listening, memorizing, repeating and repeating' have been the pillars of Indian educational system for millenniums.

Tackling the hierarchical attitudes in our mind and customizing them in the class room is a very big challenge we face today.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Norway arrest


Indians look at parenting as a responsible, authoritative affair. We save money for our children, educate them, give dowry for our girls and keep properties for our boys. We do not send them away to tend for themselves.

We agree that our hierarchical attitudes have created the caste system which makes us appear like cruel beings.  We are taking positive steps to change our attitudes regarding this weak area. But at the same time, the same hierarchical attitudes have created a strict family system where the father is the boss. The children are expected to obey the parents.

If parents are going to be arrested for mistakes, it is  a very scary affair for parenting. Then, there are so many repercussions for this 'new' perception of equality. For example, people might just as well lose interest in starting families and toil for bringing up children. in today's global scenario parenting has become a very costly affair. If people can live without the social need to 'parenting'  they probably will opt out. They will start using their money for their own pleasure.

Indian parents invest enormous amount of money in the higher education of their children. All this might stop if people get scared of parenting. Instead of imprisonment, the parents can be counselled. Capitalism, democracy and globalization have put a lot of pressure on parenting jobs and parents need a lot of counselling and support from society. Imprisonment is very discouraging.

Now, how will the concerned parents will 'feel' towards the concerned children?

Parenting has to be approached with more sensitivity.



http://filtercoffeeshoppoetry.blogspot.in/ 

The drive for luxury and feminism


The greed for 'Malling' and shopping has been on steady rise in this global culture.  Throwing a party, wearing branded clothes, grooming the body and face are today's symbols of power.

The women in society have brought more money to the family and children are enjoying the material benefits. Feminism has brought in material wealth to homes. Globalization and computers and English have brought more money into men's pockets and again children have benefited.

World cinema and the satellite television have brought brand culture to the living room. 'Free hair' that appears good on pictures taken by  2D cameras have become the hall mark of 'style'.

Very few youngsters understand how they are caught by the web of consumerism at a global level. Social culture is no more the culture of families. It is the culture of the globe.

The 'family system' is in crisis challenged by 'individualism'. Now the individual wants to live according to his wishes. Words like 'adjusting' have begun to disappear from the youth's vocabulary.

The 'new' money power has helped the youth to respect their wishes. It might take a decade or two for them to understand the limitations of 'individualism' and 'materialism'.

The role of English in creating global culture has to be studied with reference to television and movies. The role of computers and material wealth creation also has to be studied. The role of women in these areas have to be studied. The role of  women empowerment and materialistic wealth has to be studied.

http://filtercoffeeshoppoetry.blogspot.in/


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Impact of globalization

Policies  in an amoral democratic society will surely tend to favour the highly privileged wealthy class who protect their economic, social securities with these policies. The westernized intellectuals have no contact with the core Indian economic truths. Economic theories written in costly papers with fine binding and language that is perceived to be elite with top elitist bibliographies do not reflect the poor Indian farmer/entrepreneur/ and the average man who is pushed towards exasperation and hence suicide. For him all the doors are locked.

The pulses and cereals and even rice were bought at a nominal rate 10 years ago. One fine day the Malls came into the picture in the name of pan-Indian economic growth. They came with big warehouses. Products were stocked and the price rocketed. The farmer grows only one product. He has to buy the rest in the market. How can he buy these fine-packeted items competing with his city neighbour who is paid in thousands or even in lakhs per month?

Look at the servant class's state of affairs. The liquor shops are open till midnight and the men throw their money there. How will women buy products that are branded, marketed with brand ambassadors in a super market?

Indian elite bankers and economists come from top schools and colleges representing the upper middle class. They have not read Ruskin's 'Unto This Last' or have chosen not to read it. There is no ethical value in the current economic policies.

We expect something from the globally recognized economists of our country to take policies that will benefit even the poor people.

There is a paradigm shift taking place as every day the middle class is losing its social security and is becoming the poor class. Building great malls, constructing artificial ideas of white skin and beauty, constructing windowless glass offices, creating traffic jam every second with millions of closed cars have become symbols of super power.

Knowledgeable and wise people have to reconsider these symbols. We need visionary leaders and policy makers who will re-draft our aims as a nation.

I hope such people are still around.


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ethical Strategies


http://vanishree26.blogspot.in/2012/11/strategy-and-utilitarianism.html

This site talks about the need to bring in an attitudinal change in strategic policies in business, class room, work spot and at personal level.

Beating below the belt to hit direct or indirect enemies at work spot sounds very romantic. The strategist feels like a hero and a smirk appears on his winning face. He has just created one more block on his path of progress that might block his movement later in life. Ethical planning and inter-personal practices take an individual a long way.

It is time MBA Courses began theorizing on ethical strategies to be practiced at work places.

As for as business is concerned, unethical practices have become signs of super smartness. Amoral business strategies have become recognized practices. We have to study the repercussions, stress accumulation of these practices.

Statecraft and business-craft have  to involve certain objective and ethical pursuits.

In a class room the teacher has to become aware of students' strategies. The teacher has to make sure he is not fooled by a smart strategist. Similarly, a manager should not fall prey to the insinuations of smart strategists.

We have to become aware of the strategies of the business world,  family members, colleagues etc.

Utilitarian strategists are usually the people who operate any negotiations.

It is high time we become aware of the limitations of strategies too.


Friday, November 23, 2012

Strategic management of our amoral lives


We live by strategies. Lord Krishna and even before God Rama have all been great strategists. Kannagi has acted more on emotions, it looks in comparison. Effective strategies have come from the North. If we compare Kautilya with Thiruvalluvar, the former is more strategic whereas the latter is more ethical. The impact of the Northern thought on our minds is very great. Accordingly, self-protection is the fundamental nature of our minds.

We have institutionalized social hierarchy to protect the rich and the powerful. The motive of this system is to protect the individual. At every level a person has some one to boss over and fulfill his egoistic needs. The system has kept the woman at the bottom of its ladder. 

To survive this social system of amorality, every one of us quite naturally become amoral ourselves. We know  powerful people victimize  the powerless to further strengthen themselves. This is an accepted law of amorality. The model of 'social responsibility' is foreign to our mind. Every person born in this sub-continent, no matter to what race, region, caste, class, religion , gender they belong to,  is part of this scheme of self-protection. Of late  we use the term 'corruption' when we see this quality in government officials, politicians or 'others'. When we live by the same amorality we call it 'necessity.' 

Smart individuals ploy, scheme, play multiple games, insinuate, play act and our society permits success only to these strategic people. The colonial encounter has given us words like 'commitment, dedication, sincerity to work, welfare state, equality, mutual respect and impartiality'. We use these words as fine rhetoric. Colonialism has not touched our inner core. Hierarchy has strengthened itself further with these new words. 'English' has become a strategic weapon for social forces to keep them in power. 

The best rhetoric we can continuously hear is 'how in foreign countries work atmosphere recognises merit.' We not only reject merit, but manage to paint it as stupid and unimportant. The best IAS officers are almost always given unimportant portfolios. There is something in us that resists honesty in work and honesty in progress. Some individuals always manage to play smart games and strengthen their positions at others' expense. 

It could be because of our deep rooted belief system exhibiting in our myths and epics. We advocate strategies  to live. In such a case we have to begin to accept our nature. We have to be so alert that anytime any one will let us down. As a concept 'detachment' helps us to live with high alertness.

Janaga Maharaja was considered to be a Raja Rishi who could strategically rule a country and be detached from his power and position as a sage. This is the model our society has given us.

At a materialistic level, detachment becomes a powerful strategy to live in an amoral society.  It will reduce our unnecessary stress in social relationships as we are haunted by the fear of being cheated by the 'other' person. 'Detachment' is the remedy given by our past intellectual thought to meet the challenges of social networking.

Instead of taking steps to build an equal and just society our past has prepared us to strategically manage  social lives. There lies the point.

Now, are going to turn ourselves more ethical? Or, are we going to continue with 'detachment' to strategically manage amorality? 


ஆங்கிலமும் பெண்களும்

எங்கள் வகுப்பில்  நாங்கள் எல்லோரும் மிகவும் பயப்படும் ஒரு டீச்சர்  ஒரு நாள் 'நான் மஜுரா போய் வந்தேன்' என்றார். ஒரு மாதம் கழித்துத் தான் தெரிந்தது அவர் மதுரையைப் பற்றித்தான் குறிப்பிட்டார் என்பது.

மதுரையை ஸ்டைலாகச்  சொல்வதாக நினைத்து அப்படிக்கூறியிருக்கிறார் என்பது பின்னர் புரிந்தது. ஸ்டைல் என்றால் ஆங்கில உச்சரிப்பு என்பது ஓர் தவிர்க்க முடியாத எண்ண அலை. 

அப்போதும் இப்போதும் ஊர்ப்பக்கங்களில் எல்லாம் ஆங்கிலம் என்றால் ஒரு மரியாதை தான். 

ஆங்கிலம் கலந்து பேசுவதை ஒரு கலையாக, ஒரு சக்தியாக, ஒரு மரியாதைச் சின்னமாகப்   பெண்கள் பயன்படுத்திக்கொண்டார்கள். 

அழகு என்ற சக்தியை மட்டுமே ஆயுதமாகக் கொண்ட பெண்டிர்  ஆங்கிலம் என்ற சக்தியை உபயோகிக்க ஆரம்பித்தனர்.

ஒரு புது விதியை ஆங்கிலம் உருவாக்கியது. ஆங்கிலம் அடுப்படியில் இருந்த பெண்ணுக்கு உலகைக் காட்டியது. அவள்  நிமிரக் காரணமானது. 

ஆங்கிலம் பேசும் பெண்ணிற்கு திமிர் அதிகம் என்னும் எண்ணம்  அவளைப்பார்த்து ஏற்படும் பயத்தின் விளைவே.   

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Class room management - handling class-created rebels

Two decades ago a college class room would have a handful of students who would rebel against teachers. These students had a framework of operation. They would be as soft as breeze in a knowledgeable teacher's class and as violent as a storm in a un-knowledgeable teacher's class. Outside the class room they were polite to the knowledgeable teacher and bullied the un-knowledgeable teacher.


Today there has been a paradigm shift in the frame work of the students because of the knowledge exposure. Students are no more worried about gaining knowledge from the teacher. The brilliant student has read much better books/internet sites and is bored in the class room. The average/below average student needs no 'explanations', rather he wants 'notes' to pass.

The current rebel categories:

1. A teacher has to be  interestingly knowledgeable; have excellent communication skills; have  a proper quantity of rhetoric skills. Otherwise  the brilliant student becomes a rebel.

2. A teacher has to be  capable of explaining the most difficult concepts in a simple manner; give simple illustrations; give simple, memorisable notes. Otherwise, the average/below average student becomes a rebel.

All said and done, a teacher plays a very significant role in creating/removing rebels. A rebel once created tries to practice the style in every class.

How do we tackle these class-created rebels?

The brilliant rebels

1. Illustrations carrying a variety of emotions: Every teacher has to train himself in collecting illustration to explain concepts. Each concept can be explained each time with a different illustration. Each time the subject is revised the teacher can change the illustration. These illustrations can be drawn from the popular culture/serious philosophy. That is, the illustrations must alternate in emotions. they should be humorous at times, sarcastic at times, ethical at times etc. The emotions should vary. The lecture should be so interesting  that the brilliant student must feel that the internet notes are boring.

2. High quality notes:  The brilliant student needs challenges. therefor the notes prepared must be complex, complete in knowledge.

3. Extra reading assignments: The teacher has to make these students realise their intellectual potential. They have to be reminded again and again that this god-given potential has to be cultivated by reading. Also they have to be taught the ethics of contributing to society. There is a need to be humble and hardworking. Intelligence will not be of any use if it is not backed up with hard work. Biographies of great leaders/scientists will be handy and the teacher can quickly talk about anecdotes in a minute. Names of books have to be given in every class to this group. Relentlessly the teacher has to monitor their reading, keep asking them to come to the front of the class to talk about what they have read.

4. Building rapport:  The teacher has to remember that intelligent minds are easily bored. So he should never lose his eye contact with these students.  Books can be discussed other than the prescribed ones everyday. It is smart to keep these students mentally closer to the teacher.


The average rebels

1. Simple notes: The teacher can prepare remedial notes. Give these notes in the beginning of the semester itself. So that they can keep studying everyday. For a student who is not comfortable with English, this practice will be a great service. Because memorizing the points takes time.

2. Checking illustrations:  The teacher has to make sure the illustrations do not hurt the weak students. They have to be treated just as the brilliant ones are treated.

3. Simple assignments:  The teacher can give assignments that are picture oriented rather than concept oriented. The best thing to do is to give  broad options for the entire class: PPTs, E-Mails, hand written, Charts, Printed, minimum one page to maximum 10 pages etc. Each category assignments have to be applauded only if they have the expected quality. It is better to be strict in evaluation. The students will gradually 'rise' to the teacher's expectation. It might take even a full semester to reach this point. Out of 50 students who are average, of 5 students do well, it is great success for the teacher.

4. Rapport:  Most of the times the teacher divides the class into two groups: studying and not-studying. This paves way for building rebels. The studying group becomes 'over-confident' and the not-studying group become 'demotivated.' A rapport can be built with the average students by giving them responsibilities. Initially they will not perform as they might not trust this new 'attitude' in a teacher.  The teacher has to keep on trying and one by one these students will come around. This is made possible by making the class understand that different kind of 'intelligences' exist: academic, sports, fine-arts, organisational, leadership, financial etc. It must be made very clear that all students are  equal no matter what their background, marks, personality and class performance. This will eliminate rebel behaviour in the average students. It will build their self-esteem and confidence. Most of the times rebels are students who need sincere attention.


To remove rebellious behaviour from the class room the teacher needs the following:

1. Knowledge with the latest updates

2. Thorough preparation

3. Respect for the teaching profession

4. Respect for students

5. Well defined goals for the class. Ex: All should pass, Every one should speak English, Should get the sports cup, should get the fine arts cup, at least one University rank etc.

6. An awareness of the limitations of  knowledge,  the drawbacks of intelligence as a tool, the imperfectness of human knowledge systems etc.

7. Ability to apply concepts to real life situations

8. Faith in life

Friday, November 16, 2012

An interesting and knowledgeable class room

Great teachers are born  and not made  just like poets. 


This noblest of professions is actually an art. 

Still, we can learn the strategies from some of our great teachers and practice them.

Art is polished with ritualistic practices. Craftsmanship requires hard work, careful preparation and continuous practice.

Every leader/manager/administrator/mentor has to know his strengths and weaknesses to manage others. The teacher plays all these roles in the class room. 


There are many areas where the teacher should know his position.

1. Knowledge/Reading/updating


The wise man knows he knows only little; even all the knowledge the Mankind has acquired is still very little compared to the immense ignorance we are grappling with everyday.

Thiruvalluvar says in Chapter 85 'Pullari vannmai':  The arrogance of thinking we 'know' is the greatest stupidity.


We all would have had teachers who became extremely harsh with students to hide their lack of  scholarship. They hurt as a strategy to protect themselves.


2. Communication Skills


Chapter 65 in Thirukkural discusses communication skills. It is called 'Sol Vanmai'.

Chapter 20 discusses how to avoid unnecessary talks. It is called 'Payanila Sollamai.'


The teacher has to communicate his knowledge in an effective manner.


  1. The key concepts have to be defined clearly. 
  2. Then they have to be explained with suitable illustrations drawn from contemporary life. 
  3. Finally the key concepts have to be explained once again. 
  4. In the following classes whenever possible the teacher has to bring back this definition for a minute or two. 
  5. This is a linear pattern. If there are 25 definitions they would be constantly touched by the teacher effectively that all the students become familiar with the concepts.
  6. These repetitions can be made interesting if each time a definition is brought back, the teacher can use a different illustration from popular culture like the media.
  7. Round about speaking, insinuations will confuse the listener.
  8. Ordering points is a good pattern.
  9. Illustrations must be chosen carefully. It can have extra meanings. Value based illustrations have to be discussed. 
  10. Speech/talks should bind the listeners together. Eye contact and a friendly expression is a must for every teacher.
  11. The teacher has to listen to every word he speaks; he should be aware of every expression that comes to his face; he should consciously observe his thoughts as he is teaching. A man who goes on talking without listening to his words will be a bore.
  12. Effective introductions; effective key points; effective summaries; effective analyses are the pillars of a knowledgeable and interesting class room

3. Knowledge of the self


'Know thyself' said Socrates. It is the most difficult thing in life. 

Each person has a distinct configuration. It gets modified with experiences, how the mind is receiving these experiences and how it interacts with other people.

This process is life that is permanent on one side and flexible on the other side. This dual quality is the biggest challenge that blocks our understanding of our selves. Dwaita philosophy considers life as dualistic. Existentialism studies this dual nature of mankind. 

We often complain about others how they have changed. It is essential we become aware of the changes that keep happening on our personality.

One has to develop a sense of self-observation to emerge as an effective professional.

Of all the professions, teaching exposes the leader to a large number of students who watch him minutely and critique later. Every expression that slips from the teacher gives a message to the student. Most of the times, students might even misunderstand these messages coming to wrong conclusions. The teacher has to become aware of these messages given by his body, words etc. to have command over himself. 

An effective understanding of the Self gives the teacher more confidence and authority. 




4. Knowledge of the students' minds

Chapter 71 in Thirukkural discusses extensively how we can read minds from facial expressions, especially the eye. It is called 'Kurippu Arithal'.

  1. One should learn to read silences
  2. One should learn to read the heart
  3. The eye must keep travelling to look at every face and understand its thoughts
  4. The face is like a marble piece that reflects thoughts
  5. The face has to be studied carefully
  6. One should respond to sadness on faces instantly
  7. The face will tell if the listener is a friend or enemy. Accordingly one should plan strategies.
  8. The finest metric system to understand human mind is the eye.
The teacher has to keep assessing the students as he is teaching. If a student's eye shifts it is time for a humorous anecdote; if there is a yawn, it is time to bring in an interesting illustration; if there is murmur, it is time the students are given time to speak; if there is passivity, it is time to given an activity etc.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The primary school teacher in Matriculation schools


A third standard child's painting done on the computer

What is the social position of an Indian primary school teacher? 

Primary teaching  has become the most difficult and un-recognized work given to the progress of society which is thankless to its primary school teachers. These teachers do not even get 20% salary of a Professor working at a University. We think the primary teacher's job can be done by any graduate while the University 'contributes' to society. The foundation of our education itself needs to be looked at more closely. We have to understand the implications of government policies on  education. 

How have these teachers built a new generation of engineers, doctors, lawyers, charted accountants, scientists and so on and so on? 

What are the value systems, belief patterns, ethical standards that have been given by these teachers to the educated class of our country? 

Do we know the belief patterns put by these teachers in the minds of children probably can never be erased, and will direct them the rest of their lives?

Do we know children pick up language structures from teachers and  find it very difficult to change them later?

The young teachers, usually just out of college of higher secondary schools  working in Matriculation schools  find it very difficult to tackle the city bred children.These children are computer savvy, are comfortable with English and the internet and in some families are exposed to news analysis too. They have a highly individualistic approach to life, treated as equals by educated parents. They have a well developed mind of their own, and refuse to believe things if they are not convinced.

Are the teachers equipped enough to cater to the needs of these next generation students?

The issues faced by teachers:

1. Pressure from the Management to produce 'high marks', 'neat class work notes', 'neat home work notes, 'neat test notes' and now 'neat assignments or projects'. Every work of the child should be 'neat'. It has to be 'perfect'. Every day hundreds of notes have to be 'corrected'. Can they be actually 'corrected'?

2.  Pressure from parents, especially  young mothers. These mothers meet the class teachers regularly and  interrogate the class teachers why their wards have not scored 100 marks in all subjects. Class work notes have to 'corrected' and should be without mistakes.

3. There are no hours allotted to value education in classes.

4. There are no hours allotted to play, as either the school has no grounds, or because it has not appointed no games teacher.

5. There are no handicrafts or arts class; no music classes; no painting classes within the official time-table. Both the Management ans the parents do not want them. The pent up energy of children get frustrated and the class teacher bears the bent of these emotions everyday. 

6. The mixed group of children- some brilliant and over-informative, some normal, some slow

7. Medium of instruction is English. This is a problem for most of the teachers. 


Higher Education has to build a negotiation with Primary education. We have to call primary teachers to discuss policies.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Millenial generation teachers

Today's teacher meets the following challenges:

1. Highly knowledgeable students

2. Students from well-established families paying heavily for education

3. Students opposite to the above mentioned category

4. UGC's expectation of academic excellence in Paper presentations, journal publications etc.

5. Student's expectation of an interesting class room

6. Teaching in a foreign language that is almost first language to some, second language to some and strange language to many

7. Result analysis based on examination performance

8. Expectation from placement angle; spoken English; personality development etc.

9. Tackling the syllabus within a time-schedule

10. Never called for any meetings that decide the curriculum


Are we going to address these issues?

The teacher is overburdened. Many teachers have become thoroughly frustrated. Many have lost interest in teaching.

How are we planning to attract the best minds to the class room to teach?

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Classroom management 3. Knowledge empowerment - at the urban level

In today's  world of information where city  students are dumped with information day  in and out, they expect a teacher in the class to help them use the information and customize it and relate it to syllabus/subject. The urban students at the Higher education sector and Secondary level are obsessed with abundant information which distracts them in class when the same is delivered by the teacher without analysis. The teacher has to empower himself or herself to handle this issue. Knowledge empowerment is the key to handle the distraction in this millennium students.

How do teachers  empower themselves with knowledge?

Thirukkural handles this issue in chapter 72 called 'Avai Anjaamai'.  The poet says 'to associate with people who are more knowledgeable to learn from them'.

As  Thiruvalluvar says we can stay connected with scholars and that will help build  knowledge as at a point it  might  clear doubts  and thus increase learning opportunities. The suggestion here is that one should have a thirst for continuous learning and thus empower and help assimilate existing knowledge resources. It might help them with more illustration and more scope for practical application of concepts.This will make teaching interesting in the classroom for the  students as now empowered teacher brings in rare insights into the subject which the students would not be able to understand on his own. Thus the teacher becomes an academic leader helping the students understand the fine aspects of information. The teacher guides the student into the pleasure of self learning. Ultimately the teacher helps students convert information into knowledge.

How does the teacher practice knowledge empowerment in an easy way?

Teachers can cultivate professional relationship with their colleagues and create a knowledge atmosphere in their departments to discuss the latest updates quite naturally.  Knowledge sharing has become easy than ever before with the help of technology. Social networking platforms like Facebook,twitter, blogs, Linked-in etc can be used effectively for knowledge sharing.


Class Room Management - 2. A leader has to read minds

In the Indian class room where the teacher stands symbolizing authority and administrator, observation becomes an essential skill for the teacher and student apart serious listening.

Foucault, the French post structuralist philosopher has discussed in detail the nuances of human communication systems in his book 'Archaeology of Knowledge.' 


Systems of thought and knowledge are discursive, says Foucault. They are governed by rules beyond grammar and logic. They operate beneath the consciousness of individual subjects. They discuss the conceptual possibilities of a given space and time. 

In a class room a knowledge atmosphere is created by the teacher that in turn stimulates more thoughts, new consciousness, and builds a certain emotionally charged scene of learning. Our students with our traditional attitude to the teachers will remain silent throughout the class. Hence the discursive elements have to be studied carefully by the teacher. 

Thiruvalluvar calls this act in chapter 71 as 'Kuripparithal' in his second part 'Wealth' where he defines the act of communication. He refers to this  as  'Kuuraamai Nookki'. Every Indian teacher has to learn to 'read' the silences of his students. Or any Administrator or leader requires this skill of observing the minute shifts in human expressions, the flashing eyes, the mild smirk that appears and disappears, the little too quick smile, or the dead passive expressionless eyes.

The Banyan Tree - a painting - oil on canvas by my Dad S. Chellaiah who paints only nature
A leader with this ability to read human thoughts is an asset to this world, says Thiruvalluvar. 

In Mahabharatham it is said how Arjunan could communicate with all the species of the world. It becomes essential that future leaders learn to communicate with not only fellow human beings, but also with all the species of this earth. Foucault brings forward a philosophy that recognizes all kinds of living creatures. Thiruvalluvar demands that such leaders with the capacity to read fellow minds perfectly well should be put in charge of important positions.

Reading mind is reading discursive expressions. Thiruvalluvar puts this down to the 'eyes'. He says that there is no other tool than the eyes to measure the human heart. A smart teacher will hold his students' attention just be communicating through eyes. He has to receive the thoughts and direct them towards the concepts being discussed. 

As Foucault says one need not try to fix this communication within the usual rules of logic or grammar. Reading minds and linking thoughts will bring maximum silent interaction between the teacher and the student. It opens the possibilities for more learning, and more understanding and also will channelize students' energy towards a specific goal. 

At the same time the teacher has to be cautious about what he is communicating to his students through his eyes. Self-management is one of the basic requirements for this profession. If a teacher likes/hates his students a little too much, the consequences would be many. 

An awareness of the discursive elements in human expressions will help teachers acquire more command and respect if not love from  all the students.





Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Class room management - 1. The Class Room as a social space

What is the structure of a class room?

What is its significance in the life of a student?

How does it shape the individual in a student?

What is the role played by the teacher in using this space to 'create' and 'shape' the qualities of a student?


................................................................................................................................


The arrangement of furniture offers a faithful image of the familial and social structures of a period
- Jean Baudrillard in 'The System of Objects'

The Fixed Furniture

The class room is arranged in rows of chairs /desks where the students are seated in two/three/four  columns or divisions. Some schools have allotted names to these segments. Colleges generally do not go by these small groups in the class room. The students are seated in their places from nine in the morning till three or four in the evening in schools. In colleges it may be from eight/nine in the morning to one/two in the afternoon. The teacher stands in front of the class room and teaches/lectures/explains/demonstrates. Some teachers keep walking and enter the Columns and go to the last rows. Most of the teachers in colleges do not do this as they have to stand and explain in detail. Some school teachers also never move out of their center position. 

Teacher as an Administrator

In general this is the class room arrangement that reflects a hierarchic model of class room administration. The teacher becomes the boss/manager/administrator/leader/guide/supervisor/patriarch/mentor/counsellor. Within this authoritarian structure the student's personality is shaped for 14 years in schools and minimum 3 years in college. This physical and mini-social structure in the class room has defined the type of teaching done and the type of learning done in the class rooms in the last 50 years. 
The Noisy class room of nature - painting - oil on canvas - Mr. S. Chellaiah

Route learning where the student sits and learns his learning materials thoroughly is the end this has resulted in. It has helped students learn vast amount of texts by heart as the sitting position has created the atmosphere for the student to memorise facts. 

Universities sanction 70 students per class in an Arts college as they are catering to the needs of the existing class room method. 

Complex Syllabi

Educators have been preparing their lessons addressing this facility provided and every year the syllabi for the schools have increased their complexity, as the students have shown enormous ability to learn any text given to them by heart and reproduce it in papers in the similarly arranged class room where they take their examinations. 

Engineering colleges also follow the same style in  preparation of the curricula and put students through maximum theories. Arts  colleges have diluted considerably that they give asylum to the students who cannot tackle complex curricula.

Student unrest

Engineering/Arts/school students come under the same frame work of learning materials sitting in a class room, listening to a teacher or just learning them by heart. It is a teacher centred education system, and if teachers do not do their lecturing in class rooms it creates student unrest. Colleges where teachers have not been ritualistic in class room teaching have seen great student unrest and these students also create civic problems. Excepting probably 5% of students who are self-learners, the rest of Indian student community is dependent on the teacher at the school/college levels. 

The Teacher as a Speaker

The teacher continues to rule standing as a public speaker, away from his audience. This is the hierarchical system and education has to be understood keeping this important fact in mind. The arrangement of the class room furniture is an unchanging factor that  describes the Indian mental structure. It is shaped by traditions and authority. Inter-personal relationships between the teacher and the student are formed within this structure. Every physical space is created by even thousands of years' practices, thought patterns and culture. 

The Teacher is next to God

The class room of today is only an extension of the ancient Indian system where the teacher was kept in the highest social order. Today in a capitalistic society the student knows that he is paying for his education and tends to show disrespect to the teacher, but only if the teacher does not deliver his profound knowledge resources well. The student in private education sphere has two expectations: the teacher should know the subject thoroughly; he should deliver it well. Even privatization of education has not changed the ancient Indian order of society that put great teachers at the top of the social order. The best teachers are celebrated everywhere in spite of globalised views and the exposure to the knowledge of the internet resources.  

This happens because the class room still gives space to the teacher who knows his subject thoroughly to stand and deliver to his student audience every day. This recognition given to the Indian teacher has to be utilized by the teaching community. The Indian class room does not have the space or ambience to convert the teacher into the facilitator. The teacher continues to be an authoritarian model, highly ethical, impartial, objective and updating himself every day. 

Innovation in the Class Room

To combine western methodologies with Indian methods every school/college has to allot one or two  larger class rooms with movable furniture/closed windows and doors/ internet enabled computers with a projector etc.  to enable the teacher mover around freely and facilitate the students into learning in an active mode. Teachers may not know how to use this larger room. They still might continue to stand, as they would feel sensitive of their 'loss' of position in the front of the class room. They need to be exposed to training as to 'use' of the larger space in the class room. 

The class room has emerged as a modern concept using chairs, tables, a platform etc. and customizing these to a traditional learning atmosphere. It has not replaced old values, belief systems or attitudes. To exploit the intellectual space it gives to the authority figure of the teacher, he/she has to understand its values and emerge as an individual fulfilling its expectations. 




Monday, October 29, 2012

The need for bhakthi

Intelligence without connecting itself to the power of the universe will become bitter at some point.

As the mind gets accustomed to the materialistic life on this planet, it also realises the need to be detached from the web of materialism.

Connecting with the Higher Reality- painting- oil on canvas - Mr. S. Chellaiah
Connecting to the Higher Reality happens at this juncture.

Focus in work or prayer also brings one closer to the pulse of Universe.

Becoming a part of the pulsating universal life brings a rare harmony. Cultivating an awareness of such existence is a part of bhakthi.

Bhakthi teaches us that our daily failures and success are part of a bigger pattern. It trains our emotions to submit our experiences to the Higher power of God. It releases our emotional energy; balances our egoism; de-stresses our mind; teaches us humility; gives us freedom from pride; liberates us from narrow attitudes; gives us a broader picture of the universe; heals us.

Singing a hymn can bring all the above mentioned changes. Bhakthi melts our arrogance and makes us more human and simple. Bhakthi has to be embedded into our lives as a ritual.

Indian intellectual commitment has always paid great importance to this aspect.

Intelligence without bhakthi will lose itself in self-importance and high stress.

Such a mind will feel as it is carrying the universe on its shoulders - an ignorant attitude. It might take decisions based on this ignorance. These decisions might turn out to be incorrect.

Bhakthi helps one to move towards wisdom. It helps us to see ourselves and others with more clarity. Our biggest challenge is to tackle our own immense stupidity in understanding the meaning of every experience we meet in our lives. In our race to get gold, status and power, we lose our ability to understand ourselves or others.

Bhakthi that facilitates humility only can open our eyes of darkness letting  the light of wisdom reach us.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Skills needed to retain a marriage

Vijay Nagaswami's article in his column 'The shrinking universe' in The Hindu, October 28, 2012 has highlighted the needs to learn new skills to tackle marriage.

Marriage brings a lot of challenges to the man and the woman. Some of them are:


  1. Maintaining a cordial relationship with the in-laws : Most of the times spouses realize that they cannot respect the relatives of the other. Various reasons will be quoted to justify the prejudices. In the long run this becomes a main reason for family feuds. 
  2. Mutual respect: Men and women either slowly lose respect for each other due to the knowledge of flaws in each other's character or do not respect each other just for no particular reasons. This will slowly build into a problem.
  3. Common goals: The couple may not have one goal. One might want to do something and the other might think differently. Clashes will be a continuous process in such cases.
  4. Hobbies: Both might end up having two different hobbies. There will be a tendency to force one's hobby on the other. This can develop into a problem slowly. 
  5. Priorities: Each person will have one priority in life and it might clash with the partner's priority. 
  6. Deciding the tone of the home set up: Some people believe in hundred percent silence in homes; some like it noisy; some like it always neat; some like it natural and messy; some prefer warm hospitality and bubbly reception given to guests; some prefer calm and composed behaviour etc.  If  partners differ too much, then there would be pain and frustration.
  7. Eating habits: These issues can be in the taste of food, cooking styles, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, attitude to food, ways of serving food, dining habits, family traditions of rituals in eating and preparation of food etc.
  8. Ethics: What is ethical right for one person might appear wrong to another person. If  the partner feels what the other person is doing is 'wrong' then it has to be taken seriously and analysed. 
Marriage is building a relationship where all these factors play a crucial part. It would be better to look at marriage as a 'social contract.' The stakeholders are the children, parents, relatives, society and the world it self. Marriage is a social commitment responsible for the system of family. It is a finely evolved system that maintains human relationships. A little bit of love for the members will help the functioning of the system very effectively. Love becomes the oil necessary to run families successfully. This love is not only the young romantic 'love' between lovers. It is also the mature, detached love one should have for all human beings. A family that loves its members - life partners, children, in-laws, neighbours - is a blessed family.

Training for teachers for effective class room management

To day teaching has lost its formal glory. The teacher has become just  a facilitator in the urban class room. The teacher has become an under performer in semi-urban and rural class rooms. Very rarely students talk about inspiring teachers in both the scenarios.

Government has not allotted enough funds for the  education sector, and hence it has gone to private players. Today's students studying in private schools/colleges think: 'Why should I give special respect to the teacher, when he is paid by me?'  We are reminded of tuition teachers who visited rich men's houses those days, and who were some times not respected enough by the parents as well as students. 

The number of schools and colleges has increased ten times. There are many types of backgrounds from which students come from now-a-days. Teachers become frustrated when they are not able to identify themselves with these students. 

Either the students are too smart and don't have respect for the under-performing  teacher, or the students are so lethargic and passive that the teacher also becomes lethargic in the class room. 

Most of the teachers going through these circumstances gradually become under-performers. 

The question is:  'where are the mature, scholarly, commanding teachers?'

Are they working for the Corporates?

Are they in the media?

Are they in public service?

Why is it teaching does not attract brilliant people any longer in spite of the good pay?

How do we empower the teachers to teach in a globalised society?


  • Somewhere in the line brilliant minds have lost interest in teaching. Why? What are the reasons? 
  • Internet and pouring knowledge resources that the teacher has lost his authority? 
  • Knowledge has become the independent pursuit of the individual where the teacher is unnecessary?
  • Private players in education that it has become a capitalistic business? 
  • No scope for personal growth in schools and colleges? 
  • Too much of inter-personal problems in educational institutions?


What can be done to tackle this situation?


  1. Teacher education programmes at the school level and collegiate level have to prepare the teachers in motivation skills,  counselling skills, goal setting skills, ICT Tools making, rapport making with students skills, mind mapping skills to assist reading texts, summing up skills etc. 
  2. Add-on courses on leadership skills and managerial skills can help teachers in class room management. 
  3. The teacher today meets a student who is exposed to the internet, TV, cinema and the Television. Hence the teacher has to be in touch with these media to understand the minds of students.

The teacher-student relationship has taken a set back now-a-days. With an empowered teacher the class room will become more significant and more vibrant. 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Thiruvalluvar and Strategic Management



How do we handle people who seem like our enemies at work? 

How do we handle people who perceive us as their enemies?

Thiruvalluvar's statue at Kanyakumari Makes us wonder why he stands like a Colossus on the huge rock.

When we read the second part in Thirukkural, we understand the reasons.

In the second part 'Wealth' or 'Economics' Thiruvalluvar writes:

49. Knowing the right time

481. The leader has to wait for the right time to make his moves like the crow
485. The really strong leader will wait for the right time
487. One needs to practice patience. 
489. The leader has to make use of the right time to perform great works.
490. Work has to be done like the crane that waits for the fish patiently.


All successes need strategies. We have to spend a lot of time in planning, says Thirukkural. Planning involves, understanding the situation, waiting patiently for the right time and scheduling the execution.   

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Celebrating Navratri

Celebrating 'womanhood'

The powerful energy in women is celebrated as many ritualistic festivals in India.

After society allotted the family space to women and ruled her out of social life, it wanted to recognize her contributions to the organization of social systems. It took every opportunity to please her and worshiped her forms.

It is essential mankind remembers what a great responsibility women have taken on their shoulders -   managing the household, its economics and politics, and bringing up children. Every woman intuitively learns strategies. Men at times are at a loss in trying to understand her strategies.

The economic women of the middle class are world class Managers. They have kept the great family kinship alive in India.

We can celebrate Navaratri as an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women to the system of family on which the society and world are well balanced.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The 'new' Tamil



Legitimized Linguistic Changes and Literature

The socio-cultural changes in our State of Tamil Nadu are reflected in the current literary language of the media used for the world of electronic entertainment forms. We can apply the social theory of Niklas Luhmann, a German Sociologist and a prominent thinker in the sociological systems theory to review the way society keeps changing itself, and interpret the contemporary discourses of radical change as a particular form of societal self-description that functions as a means of societal self-deception. Late-modern society uses the form of simulation in order to stabilize and reproduce at the same time the unsustainable status quo and a faith in the radical alternative.
Systems theory considers ‘everything’ as a ‘system.’ It considers society as a ‘self-referential system.’ According to this, social components establish relations within themselves and differentiate these relations from relations with their environment. In his book The Reality of the Mass media, Luhmann extends his theory of social systems – applied in his earlier works to economy, political system, art, religion, sciences, and law – to an examination of the role of mass media in the construction of social reality.  The changes brought into our society due to globalization today, and earlier by colonization can be understood from the theoretical position of Luhmann.
This paper analyses the globalised situation in the linguistic front in Tamil Nadu using the framework  of the essay by R.Radhakrishnan “Why Translate?” written in the Journal Of Contemporary Thought, where the writer takes on the Herculean task of portraying the Tamil reception of the colonial encounter in terms of  linguistics. Tamilians translate their thoughts into other Indian languages and English just like every other Indian becoming part of the great polemical linguistic of the sub-continent of the Bharatha Desam. Mixing codes and words have always been a characteristic feature of the Indian, though claims for the “purity” of languages are vehemently defended.
We can consider the mixing of codes as represented by the media in the current society as a self-referential programme of communication where the system is not decided by specific social interests or political directives; instead the mass media is regulated by the internal code that enables the system to select information from its own environment and communicates this information in accordance with its own reflexive criteria. Today’s mass media brings out the heterogeneous element in the social mode of communication.
Radhakrishnan says “Without a multilateral acknowledgement of the coevalness of the heterogeneity of human tongues and cultures, any act of meaning making remains captive to the master-slave or the anthropologist-native informant model.” [p.63] Languages could have been born at the same time, originating and existing during the same period. This valid linguistic statement raises the discussion of ‘location of culture’ to a position without a ‘location.’ The use of the word ‘translation’ assumes two cultures with two different locations in time and space. There is a ‘time’ in human experience when ‘two’ languages and become ‘one.’ Certain geopolitical factors do play a role in the permitted mixing of certain linguistic codes.
The current speakers in Tamil Nadu have accepted the interplay of Tamil-English and not Tamil-Hindi. Radhakrishnan delves into a detailed analysis about this intellectual representation of experiences only through selected codes. He compares the role of English in India with its role in Africa. The Tamil educated in English prefers English to Hindi for a political identity that could have been either natural or  fabricated. The African model of Post colonialism might not represent the Indian experience with the colonizers. Radhakrishnan says, “To a Tamilian, Tamil was the carrier of his/her culture, and not any other equally Indian languages. ...unlike in the examples quoted by Ngugi, the non-Tamil was both Self and the Other: Self by virtue of being a fellow Indian, and Other by virtue of being a non-Tamilian” [p.71].  
The Indian post colonialism describes the destabilizing social roles played by the birth of new codes and parameters. Luhmann describes the mass media as one of the key cognitive systems of modern society, by means of which society constructs the illusion of its own reality. It provides parameters for the stabilization of political reproduction of society, as it produces a continuous self-description of the world around which modern society can orient itself. Thus, communication becomes a technical code through which systematic operations arrange and perpetuate themselves. Colonialism gave new models of literary communication to Indian writers and they did try with significant models of western writing which we can refer to as technical codes.  These codes perpetuated into Tamil literary world too and they had to ‘arrange’ their styles under new systems and these systems merged bring forth new codes and styles.
The Tamil writers embraced the impact of ‘high modernism’ and after having a brief encounter with Western styles of writing, have come back to keep ‘alive’ the ‘local’ characteristics making the works available to the regional readers. The Tamil writers had the ‘tall’ responsibility of dealing with the “potentially universal status of Tamil language and literature” [p.65]. Leading Tamil writers like Pudumaipithan wanted to make Tamil as vehicular or modal to represent the living traditions rather than remain ontological or essential and thus become outdated. Tamil should have the ability to cultivate meanings and nuances. Tamil literature  accepted the ‘new’ form of ‘novel,’  especially its serialized form, in an easy manner like the other Indian languages, all while claiming for the language’s and literature’s uniqueness.   Radhakrishnan points out how Tamil was viewed by writers as a magnificent language on the way to becoming a vehicle to carry current thoughts and experiences   and they did not perceive the colonial linguistic transaction as something that happened from a totally ‘different linguistic universe’[p.66]. 
The mass media has become comfortable with the standardizing of the ‘mixture’ words that have been created by the current society. The film lyrics have legitimized the use of English and Tamil and these songs have taken Tamil lyrics to a global presence, quite new to the Tamil world of imagination. At the one side we have writers consciously borrowing from Western literary styles, and on the other side, ‘how to borrow’ is a leading question for Tamil writers with a world vision, though we may simply dismiss it as the ‘alien influence.’  Radhakrishnan points out that Tamil “can take on this burden, and continue to be itself.” [p.67]
Radhakrishnan views language as a system and opines that Tamil as a system will absorb various influences and continue its operation as a technical code of communication.  Language is ‘merely’ a code of communication that acquires additional nuances on its growth and expansion. In his book Art as a Social System, Luhmann says:
The discursive sequentiality of conscious operations is based on an immediate relationship to the world that is always retained and carried along, neither depending on nor allowing for the possibility of designating the world as a unity. This is true for perception in general and thus holds for the perception of artworks as well [p.8].
Human perception is not capable of viewing the world as a unity. When art uses words they end up having a ‘connotation’ and become limited by the utterance’s framework of time and space. What we write and how we read are all within this limited perception of human abilities.  Semantics and stylistics are part of conscious operations and they are discursive – though we say everything, or think we have said everything, there is lot more left unsaid or lot more over-expressed – a true post structural stand where we have understood the limitations of human utterances, as meanings cannot totally be operated by the sayer or writer of any text. New words in any language say something that really cannot be said in an already existing language. The new sensibilities are a force to be reckoned with.
Whether the semantic – syntactic parameters of Tamil can accommodate these ‘new sensibilities’ cannot become an issue for contention, as essentially Radhakrishnan argues style could even dictate content. Flop songs and soup songs  as  forms decide the content and even the diction and presentation. Literature has its internal possibilities and if the current film lyrics would be considered as an important genre of Tamil literature in the near future will only be decided by their longevity and their will to survive.  Can written Tamil literature tackle postmodernism or post structuralism or will this burden be carried by electronic entertainment system?  Self-critiquing a culture’s establishment by literature is a burden for Tamil writers, but it has been quite comfortable carried on by the electronic form of literature. Literature has become the voice of powerful agencies of various minorities and the question of aesthetics or the entertainment value has to be sacrificed in the effort to picturise the reality from a certain point.
Radhakrishnan studies the issues in translating a postmodern text into Tamil as ‘postmodernism does not translate well into Tamil’ and ‘postmodernism is not an experiential verity within Tamil’[p.68]. What is the political impact of post modern thought in Tamil? Is it because the postmodern experience is irrelevant and meaningless in the Tamil context?  The western experience of the World wars that resulted a serious questioning of its Establishment and belief systems probably does not relate to the Tamil mind.
All said and done, when we read post structural works deconstructing Indian epics, re-writing dominant male discourses into dominant female discourses, we are not really convinced. There is something that makes these works as not the product of our social milieu. That ‘something’ could be the ‘common’ viewpoint of the ‘common’ reader, and if a ‘literature’ cannot reflect its ‘people,’ then, it may not be able to carry the nomenclature of literature. ‘Isms’ of ‘content or ideologies’ from ‘other’ regions can probably inspire similar thought currents, but whether they will gain momentum, get a natural flavor and status depends on cultural ‘nearness’; Whereas, ‘isms’ of forms have managed to spread themselves and acquire new shapes and figures, like the ‘novel’ and the ‘free verse.’
Tamilians have a high sense of ‘pride’ in not imitating the ‘other.’  The Tamil sense of ‘purity’ and ‘classicism’ will never accept the flop song and soup song as standard forms of literature.  How will Tamil literary criticism explain these songs?  We can bring into argument Radhakrishnan’s discussion of  the work of Ngugi Wa Thiong’s   Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature  in this context.  The book looks at language from two levels: language as ontological worldview and language as pragmatic performance.  Ngugi sums up the dual role played by language – for communication and as a symbol of culture. Today’s lyric of the film uses English words treating them as the local language. I have come across many semi-literate and illiterate  people not knowing the difference between English and Tamil words. Many people think ‘ischool,’ ‘shop,’ doctor,’ ‘bus,’ and many other such words used in everyday life are indeed Tamil words. People do not worry too much about the ontological purposes of words; instead they use words as tools of communication. Lots and lots of English words have become actually Tamil words serving the purpose of communication and nothing more. The words can belong to any linguistic system. As long as they can be pronounced easily and as long as they convey the intended meaning, people continue to use the language.
How do we view this entry of foreign words into the local culture?  Can we view this as a sign of colonization?  Or can we view this as a new tool? There is ‘traffic’ and ‘mobility’ between languages says Radhakrishnan. The cultural issues following the trails of languages also have played a major role in the shaping up of social values.  The Tamils would rather have an Anglicized Tamil rather than a Hindified Tamil.  The issue of culture was deeply intertwined with the Tamil sentiments that it gave the platform for political parties to launch themselves with the issue of language.  Radhakrishnan points out how for a Tamilian, language is surely a carrier of culture and it just cannot be a tool for communication alone. The same Tamilian is able to accept the language from a faraway culture, as he thinks actually the people will never actually be influenced by European culture. Tamil Nadu is geographically much away from the English speaking countries making it safe to write and speak the language only as a tool of communication. The steady dropout of students interested in English Literature and the dilution of English syllabuses have been the result of a silent move towards English as a technical language than as a cultural language.  Students reading in BA English and MA English in Tamil Nadu Universities are not really exposed to major chunks of English novels or literary texts as they used to be before 25 years or so. Massive political ideologies have been steadily coming down from social agencies reaching school and college campuses that speaking English in a college campus encourages a slight mockery. A parallel thought current that English is a language of snobbery has gained currency among the youth that students do not want to appear too stylish and arrogant. One wants to be local in an educated scenario today as it means you are loyal to your motherland – Tamil Nadu.   The State has managed to establish language labs and spoken English Institutes where cultureless English is taught, training students to use the language as a tool for communication.
The Tamilian is in the process of evaporating English geographical culture and making it a language only for technical communication.  Nevertheless, English culture is still around in the name of Soft skills and body language. This makes it very clear as emphasized by Ngugi that “Language, any language, has a dual character: it is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture..... (English) is widely used as a means of communication across many nationalities” [as cited by Radhakrishnan, p.70]. English became the official national language and removing English words from our day to day life would be a huge attempt at decolonization of the mind, but after a people leave a language behind in a colonized land, slowly words lose their original importance and even slowly gain fresh meanings and added on relationships. Different worlds each conceived in its linguistic interiority communicate to form another type of syntax and present different shades of meaning. The hybrid world of this mixed language does not necessarily present a double consciousness. Two interiorized productions of words create the third interiorized significance, not presenting a dual awareness. Of the two mother words there is no inferior or superior, but a simple merge of the two worlds. It is the culmination of a ‘New Self’ which has been traditionally called ‘hybrid’ or a ‘melting pot.’ It rather appears to be ‘hybrid.’ If human memory has the ability to look back for 5000 years, then one would recognize perhaps every word having a hybridism. Limited by our vision, we have a tendency to freeze the current changes in languages and culture as hybrid. Heterogeneity assumes there is a mono-geneity, taking it for granted that there are pure forms of culture and language and culture never change in certain conditions.
Works cited

Luhmann, Niklas. Art as a Social System.  Translated by Eva M. Knodt. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
Luhmann, Niklas. The Reality of the  Mass Media: Cultural memory in the Present.  Translation Polity Press.  Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
Radhakrishnan R. “Why Translate?” Journal of Contemporary Thought. November 33, Summer, 2011.