DO NOT FAIL ANYONE FOREVER

Why do we say that? Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Let fishes swim, and let the birds fly. If one stream is not suitable another is. If one job is not suitable another is.

Assess the knowledge / Performance only

We think that everyone's assessment can be provided to them, without additional qualifications on the performance. Let the person, group, company, organization or educational institution decide their own criteria to take the individuals depending on their particular needs, at the time of selection.

A person going for a marketing position may have 70+ in languages, but 5 out of 100 in geography. That may be OK with the organization hiring him/her.

A student aspiring to be a mathematician may score 90+ in Mathematics and good marks in languages. However, if he scores poorly in Biology or History, it may not matter to the research institute hiring her/him.

Each institute, company or organization or even each MSME will have different criteria anyway - and the criteria will change for each stream or job they offer!

As we all know, scoring high marks have not been any great indicator of the achievements in later life, nor is it assuring the person to be a good human being.

Let us remove the stigma of a pass or fail - fail is very relative and in a very narrow sense - one can succeed in 100s of other things.

Also, we should allow students to repeat on their own volition and improve their marks / grades. It only bolsters the view of their preference to learn and prove themselves.

If someone scores 8 out of 100 in biology, but scores 80+ in other sciences, let him go into the appropriate science/ engineering stream. On the other hand if another scores 90+ in biology and has good language marks, the medical stream should be open for that person!

In our society, we are using arbitrary rules of pass-or-fail to "reduce" the list of candidates, to be able to handle the issue of heavy demand and low supply - be it in education or in jobs. The rules have become too arbitrary - an open Pandora's box - without any basis for the criteria set by various folks.

Let us just award the marks / grades. Let us not have arbitrary "standard criteria" across the board - at time of completion of any step. Let us leave the selection to the group that takes people in - to particular stream that the person aspires for.

Plethora of opportunities are available and the people should be able to enjoy learning and working on what they want to learn and perform.

Underpaid teachers - a global phenomenon?

Recently, we were pointed to an article in the Hindu Teachers... glorified, yet short-changed where, the story of a few generations of people taking up teaching in different countries & finding it hard to make ends meet, is given. In fact the article ends with the statement "I had always thought that underpaid, under-appreciated schoolteachers were particular to our country. But it definitely is a global issue."

No small sample should be taken as the "general" case. Just like the situation where not every IIM graduate earns 12 Crore rupees a year (as they tout the top salary in all and sundry magazines every year), there is no generalization that all teachers are living a life of difficulty and stress.

One may ask about the various professors in tens of universities who are well paid / well-off. Yes, some people are well-off, but I would also like to point out that many of them are actually doing two jobs - they get grants for doing research work, other than teaching. Hence, strictly speaking, if one were a teacher, in a full time capacity, one would find either a decent living or many times find it difficult to make ends meet.

So, how does that affect India and its education system. Unless some financial stress is reduced, the motivation to build thinkers, leaders, business-men, etc., is deflected towards "covering the portions and going home". Unfortunately, we also see the other end of the spectrum. Professors in plump university jobs who are simply pocketing half-to-one lakh rupees per month, who do not really imbibe knowledge or innovation or curiosity into their students. They are actually, overpaid for the job they do (many of them probably have the knowledge and probably deserve good money - but not when they don't do the job). Having said this, the sad state of affairs in Indian schools is that most teachers are under-paid.

Teaching comes from "within" as a passion. And if this passion is not there, then the pay probably does not matter. For those without the passion, if they are paid less their attention is less & if they are paid more, then they love to squander their attention. So, it leads to the next level (and possibly infinite regress), that teachers need to be trained to build the future thinkers, leaders & business-men. This needs a drive at the Teachers training level curriculum and agenda. The passion must be drilled into them in those years, especially for those who are looking to just get a job. Change the mind-set and for that, those teachers' colleges have to set the higher goal.

Back to the original title of story - teaching invariably means an underpaid job, unless you innovate and get into research in parallel & get someone to pay more for your other contributions. On the other hand, seeing someone's face suddenly brighten when they have understood a concept which was eluding them, is very very satisfying, at least for me.

Education standards in India

Recently I was pointed to an article in Economic times which talks about the above subject. Here the root of the problem is thought to be that the Teachers need to inspire students with out of the box thinking. I beg to differ with respect to suggested changes to the education system. I have given some views earlier in this blog too - on the parents' role in education for children.

The root cause that has to change is that of parents' understanding of what is required for their children in long term perspective, rather than a short term view of a lucrative job. Parents' understanding that they need to build some leaders for tomorrow rather than a bread-winner for their old age - that is required for the education system to change.

The reasoning goes like this - whatever be the system we invent, due to sheer population, one ends up with means of testing the children against some questions. This needs to be simple to check (simply because of lack to time to check everyone's performance), unambiguous (to avoid issues of favoritism and subjective marks) and covering all subjects. Now, whichever solution one may come up with, the immediate knee-jerk reaction of the students & parents (and due to parental pressure for results, schools and teachers) is to "master the system", rather than master a subject (or subjects). They want to get the top marks at any cost, including rote learning, coaching classes, etc.

Unless the thinking of parents (and through them their children) changes to "life-oriented" learning instead of "job-oriented" learning, any education system is bound to fail with the pressures of population, lack of time, etc., because the testing system ends up being a "simple-objective" oriented one.

Parents in urban India are busy with their jobs and all other house-hold chores. They have very little time to teach their children and "schools, teachers and education system" are blamed. One can change schools, change teachers, change education system - but difficult to change their children or their own attitude towards learning/ life.

Now let us come to another aspect of learning - when does one get set on their course in terms of their attitude to learning, discipline, creativity, curiosity, inspiration, etc? It is only partly in school and partly by teachers. The parents can and have to set these strongly in their wards before the age of 5. The children have been watching, listening, copying, repeating, flattering the parents from the earliest possible age. If at this time there is less discipline, inculcation of wrong attitudes, role models have wrong habits, etc., they are easily imbibed by the children. If the parents are not able to answer the children their interest towards curiosity and learning reduces - parents should have "learning" attitude (that they will quickly learn even if from internet and answer them). The schools & teachers are now left to "undo" all the learning upto the age of 5, if they have not been set on the right path. With the population, there is little special attention possible to correct these things & likely has little effect (because the role models continue on their wrong paths).

Now, unless the Parents demand that the system change for better and they want to be part of the education, any system is going to be just "a hurdle to a job", rather than a stepping stone for success. Will this happen easily? No. So many parents complain that X or Y question was "out of portion"! Out of portion, if not allowed, there is no creativity. If one does not know to think out of the box, based on his learning (out of box is fought by the statement out of portion), then teachers or education system will not be able to do anything. The parents want to stoke the children's ego that they are the greatest on earth, while the teachers do not know "how to ask questions".

One aspect of the article I have not addressed is the "language" of teaching - whether mother tongue based education would make a difference. Again, with job oriented approach from students and their parents, it is difficult to avoid English as medium of instruction. I will comment further on this after gathering my thoughts (if I can)...

Since every parent wants only their wards to do well in exams, get top marks, get their engineering or medical degree, or fly to foreign countries for higher studies, with least effort from parents side.as well as the blame to put on the school / teachers / education system, any change in these 3 is not likely to make a better mark on the next generation of students.

Living in Denial

The current generation of parents with children in school and colleges seem to have higher expectations of everybody and everything. The parents contend that their children must be the top scorers, the school must ensure they are the top scorers & the teachers must also have the same goal for the children.

If the top score is not achieved, then it is the school's fault or the teacher's fault. The child is not at fault & the parents are not at fault. The abilities of the children are exemplary and the parents have done outstanding job in raising the kids. This seems to be the attitude.

Parents live in denial that their children could be above average or average. They live in denial that they also need to put in some effort. They live in denial that the children probably are not paying attention in school. It is also possible the children are not really getting the attention from parents themselves. The child may need some special assistance - but no, that is not at all possible in the eyes of the parents.

When people live in such denial, they are postponing the in-evitable - that is the results that come out showing the true colours of the children & parents' efforts and abilities. The earlier people realize their own abilities and efforts, along with the children's abilities and efforts, the better they can shape the future. That is why it is said "Wise are those who understand themselves".

Improve on the child's strengths and bolster the weak points to make it stronger - that should be the goal and for that people have to get out of denial that the child has weaknesses and the child's real current capability is not assessed properly.

For a better future, we should be open to understand ourselves first & ensure the next generation is given a good chance for a bright future.

VRVD.

Why we blame others

One of the bad habits that the parents and relatives teach children even before they can learn to speak is that we should blame others for our mistakes.

A simple example, is when the child stumbles while walking and falls. It is the child that made the misstep. Or it did not see an obstacle (or observe, if we wish to split hairs). The immediate reaction of people around is to say "It is the floor that made the mistake, let us beat it." This is just the beginning. Just to stop the child from crying, or from feeling bad about its mistake, we start teaching it to blame others.

Of course, when the child grows up and blames the lack of motorcycle, or expensive jewellery on their parents, it comes back to roost where it started.

Right from young age, children should be taught to be responsible for their actions. They need neither fear the floor, nor blame the floor for their missteps. Children should be educated about taking care for each step, responsibility, etc.

Moreover, any excuse from parents citing lack of time, or quick solution of quietening the children's cries, then they are spoiling their children in the long-run.

VRVD.

Practice makes perfect

"Not all of us have to possess earth-shaking talent.  Just common sense and love will do." - Myrtle Auvil.

To be good in any field, one has to practice whatever has been learnt. One has to practice many variations and applications of the learnings. That is the simple, common-sense based method of learning to be an expert or even a master.

If we talk about programming, it is important to practice developing small tools, applications or components, even if it has been done before. Each of us have to learn the basics and fundamentals with examples to be able to equip ourselves for the challenges in executing projects. The more examples we work out, we are exposed to lot of algorithms and data structures. The more variations we are aware of, the better the chances that we will come up with efficient solutions to the real-world applications.

Here I would like to point out how this concept of "practice" was incorporated and ingrained in us at school. Our teachers of English and Mathematics used this concept to ensure not only the bright students, but all students get to know the basics of the subjects.

For example, the mathematics teacher would teach a concept, say solutions to quadratic equations. Later in some of the classes he will hold impromptu tests where in he would dictate 25 problems in 5 minutes and ask us to return the results after another 5 minutes. By repetition of many problems, even the average student was good in solving the problems and the bright students were able to solve all problems very quickly.

In English, grammar exercises were given special importance. Even though the lessons had only a dozen exercise items, our teachers used to give us 100s of challenges for various concepts including (a) convert from active voice to passive voice and vice-versa (b) convert from direct speech to indirect speech and vice versa (c) metaphors, similies (d) idioms. These were covered so much so that we had learnt conjugation of pretty much all transitive and in-transitive verbs and ability to deal with these language elements with ease.

Not only did we learn the basics and fundamentals well but an important lesson that 'Practice makes us perfect' was inculcated into most of us. This has been valuable and stood by our progress in life as the foundation to help us develop into solution providers for challenges in our jobs.

VRVD

Long term view is more important

All parents want their children to be successful in life. But success itself is relative. For the children to be successful in their own way, parents need to give the necessary tools in life for them to be reach their goals (not the parents' goals for their children).

1. Basics and Fundamentals are more important than marks.

2. Improve creative thinking of the children. Only creative thinking will help children to solve life's problems.

3. Set good role models for the children to follow.

4. Virtues that will help the children in long term must be imbibed into them.

5. Give good guidelines for the children and ensure it is ingrained into their brains.

6. Show love and affection in a balanced way to provide them self-confidence.

7. Build trust in the children and ensure they trust the parents first for all issues, problems, etc., that they face.

8. Success in 1 step is not guarantee of life-long success. Failure in 1 step is not a life-long failure. So, marks in 10th or 12th or College is not the only criteria for success in life.

So, give "education for life", instead of "rote-learning for marks".

VRVD.

Short term view - the reason for chaotic schooling

The reason for the state of education, especially the schooling upto grade 12, is the short term view of the parents (primary), teachers & school management (secondary, but quite close on heels of first) and easy route taken by students who don't have good role-models.

Parents are the first role-models. Hence, if the parents are going to have crooked views, short-term blind plans, etc., the children take that as the "life-time goal". First damage is done there. Secondly, the parents hand-in-hand with teachers look at just the number of marks & the number of students who pass the exams (100% pass) as the goal to be reached. Learning for "life" is forsaken in order to learn for the sake of marks. Next generation has learnt the wrong ideals and not only dont fare well, but they also follow same methodology with their next generation.

With high population, it is difficult for the limited supply to be apportioned to candidates. Hence marks have become the only way to win the race. No one seems to look at the fact that most students who are at the top in school are not so in life - they end up being pretty average in performance, goals, position, earnings, etc.

Many of the students who were scoring average, but had learnt the important points in life - communication, networking, being part of a team, natural leadership, etc., have become the leading lights in every sphere.

So, parents and teachers should really build the "citizens of tomorrow", rather than use that term only as a cliche in every public parade of their wards, while practising otherwise. One generation has to start this education of all 3 sets of people parents, teachers+school management and students. Then future generations can reap the fruits - fruits don't come on 7th day after planting a Mango sapling...

On top, add 25 marks for everyone for the tough question paper

As a sequel to the last post, here was a scenario where all the parents and some of the teachers thought that the paper was inappropriate in many ways. Either it was too long, or had questions that could not be understood by average student, blah, blah.

After so much pressure it was decided that 25 marks be awarded to all students. I am at a loss at the logic for this decision. What if some students had solved those questions that were being discussed & scored full marks on those questions, but their total is 175. They would get the full 200, in spite of having scored 0/25 other marks.

What happens to the really good students who may have scored 195 or 199 or even 200? Will they get 220, 224 or 225 out of 200?

What do these decisions help? Who is it helping? Just to keep away from the angry parents, some decision is made. What happens to the really good students? They are bracketed with the kids who have slightly lower abilities (not solving the tricky / out of portion questions) - is that fair to them?

Merit must be rewarded and India needs to find the brilliant kids to promote them up the ladder and make them good leaders in their areas of strength. Others can do with the next rungs - not everyone can be a PM or President - we need ministers, officers, guards, peons, coffee boys, farmers, sports persons, cooks and other kinds of service providers too. Let us work towards each individual's strength and stop going after "marks" (2nd only to going after money & status).

VRVD