Martyrdom?

I just saw a very powerful and disturbing movie called 'The Untold Story of Emmet Louis Till'. He was a 14 year old African American boy who was brutally murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman. The two men who kidnapped and murdered him went proved not guilty. This was not because of lack of evidence. It was just the way the society worked. A courtroom full of white people watched as the two men responsible for this inhuman act rejoiced.
Last weekend I attended the Alumni of Color Conference at school. The panel dicussions were largely about racism that colored students face in the American public schools system. To me coming from India, which looks at America as this perfect dreamland, was a bit of a shock.
In India, it is the so called 'lower castes' or women that face inhuman treatment even today. The Jesica Lall case was only one instance where something was actually done. But there are thousands of women who don't have anyone fighting for them and who are facing unthinkable atrocities. The problem is not only the fact that this is even happening but the real problem is that we as a society are letting it happen.

No matter what part of the world we live in, we see this kind of inhumanity take place right under our noses. How can education change this? The sad reality is that our curriculum is designed such that children are shadowed from the real world. In the Indian curriculum, there is only room for history. Teachers talk about how things were in the past not even touching about how little things have changed since then. Compared to the advancement we have seen in this past century, mankind has not really made progress in the 'humanity' department. Even today well educated people kill their own blood for marrying out of their caste and even today 'servants' are treated with little respect even though those same people who hire them cannot imagine going on without them.

This movie brought home many issues that are impossible for me articulate succintly. On one hand movies like these inspire me to do good work and on the other they make me realize what a dysfunctional society we live in. I think it is important to keep working thinking about all the Emmet Tills who gave their lives.

The Moon Obsession

A couple of days back I witnessed the lunar eclipse for the first time. It was mystical, incredulous and amazing. What made it more special was that recently I had been introduced to the world of the moon and been totally captivated by it.

Last semster I took a class on teaching and learning taught by Eleanor Duckworth. Observing the moon was an ongoing assignment for this class. Yes, it might seem ridiculous to some of you but the toughest of people got enchanted by the moon by the end of the semester. The deeper I got into it, the more I realized how simple and complex this activity was, all at the same time. I got back the childlike curiosity I had lost many years ago. I learnt about many facets of the moon and many questions and conundrums arose out of observing it. We figured out the workings of the moon- the many complexities that I had possibly studied about in school but that hadn't stayed with me. We became the 'moon community' and were completely enthralled in this activity. EVerytime, we bumped into each other, the most common question was, "Did you the moon yesterday?" We would run out into the open in the middle of the day to see what was happening to the moon, to see whether it was tilted or not, high up in the sky or lower down, full or half, waning or waxing.

When I found out that there was going to be a lunar eclipse I thought I had to watch it with my T440 fellowmates. Four of us got together to watch this stunning phenomenon. I would have perhaps watched it even without this class, but I think I would not have seen it with the same eyes that I saw it with now. Our dedication was intense. It was 20 degrees fahrenheit and windy and four of us standing out in the cold for almost an hour. We could not feel different parts of our body after a while but it was worth it. One of my friends did an imitation of the future with her children talking to her. "Mommy, Mommy what did you do in graduate school?" "Mommy watched the moon, honey."

Exams v/s Papers

Education has kept me away from this space. I have two papers due tomorrow, so I have been slaving away the past two days trying to write something that is acceptable to me. I really like this system of writing papers. I think it's a better way of guaging a student's understanding than year end exams or standardized tests. This too is an integral part of the western education which is not so prevalent in India. I cannot speak for any other country, though I am fairly sure that more countried fall under the same category as India than as the United States.

Why do I think that papers are better, you ask. Here is the answer- or rather a rumbling of thoughts or hypotheses.
My schooling was traditional and 'success' or 'learning' was based solely on the midterm and year end tests and exams. 1)These tests and exams asked for textbook answers. I find it ludicrous now when I rememer that definitions had to be reproduced in the exact same words as in the text. The teachers did not want to know whether a student had understood or not but rather whether she/he was capable of memorizing some convoluted definition and recalling it. Here if I did that I would be suspended for plagiarism! Coming back to my point; a student could very well have not understood the concept at all but could easily memorize it. 2)A student may have thoroughly understood a concept but may be horrible at memorizing (like me) and so won't produce the 'correct' answers. 3) A student may suffer from fear of exams and the anxiety and fear brings upon a momentary lapse of memory.
These are my top three points. If anyone wants to add to the list, you are more then welcome.

Since I am a student right now, I have a very passionate view on the art of paper writing. Yes it is an art. It is by no means easy. It is everything tests aren't. You cannot write a paper unless you have understood the subject. A student is meant to write what he/she has learnt. Some professors go a step further and give you situations to find solutions to to stretch your thinking. This adds the element of problem solving to this process of learning. You are encouraged to research and look for material outside of the texts.

These are only brief comparisons. The other reason why I believe tests don't work is because I hardly remember anything from school- math, science, history or geography. I was one of those students who understood but was too conformed to show the learning. It saddens me to think that I have wasted ten years, if not fifteen, of my life which I remember nothing from.

Another brick in the wall

The education system as we know it is made up of dictators who want complete control over their audience, the students. For years now teachers have assumed control of the classroom. They have told a child to shut up when she/he had a question and discouraged any innovation because it wasn't aligned with the 'syllabus'. What exactly is the aim of this education system?

I entered school being excited, curious, enthusiastic and over the years moved on to be discouraged, scared and eventually disinterested. Yet I think I have turned out fine. But that is because my schooling perhaps had little negative effect because of a positive atmosphere at home. It is a disturbing thought to think that most children go through schooling the exact same way but don't have the home advantage. These children come from expensive private schools or overcrowded municipality (public) schools. India has the largest number of out of school children in the world. Does the question of quality of education come after the issue of all children receiving education or are they both complementary?

These are a few of the questions in my head. I have now opened Pandora's box. I feel the need to talk about education- because I am an educator and because it is a vital component of any country's development. This blog is an attempt to share my thoughts about education (and related topics) and to find answers to the many questions I have. Through this writing and information that I will include, I hope to find stronger reasons to make me care.