FA's and SA's

One more FA is over and I am exhausted!

 But do I have time to breathe? No… soon will come another SA to give the mother of all tensions.


School was okay (for me) until CBSE started the new system called CCE.

C – Continuous

C – Comprehensive

E – Evaluation


The school year is now divided into two semesters and the student is supposed to be evaluated continuously. Evaluated not only for his knowledge on a subject but also in other areas.

Picture Courtesy: http://cce.icbse.com/cbse-cce-system/

Earlier one could save all the tension for the the end of year ; but not so now. CBSE had only good intentions I am sure, but I have already started to dread this system. Our children, I believe are having fun since they have lots of activities to do, cooking being one of them.

Our daughter (she is in 10th now) keeps changing her answer to “what to do you want to do after the 12th” question. Since she loves interior designing, it used to be B.Arch but recently her biology teacher tried to instill into the students the merits of biology and she is not sure if she will like bio-technology. Maybe a dietician, she asks? According to this teacher, Architects these days are begging for jobs. I kept repeating that it is better to choose the subject that you are good at and to select a job that you will love to do. She is still not sure, not that I have any idea either!



As for son (in 9th std), from the time he understood that he needs to do something after 12th there was only one answer; “join the Indian army”. Daughter continues to maintain that it is only because of the war games that he plays and that he has no idea what he is talking! She says he is obsessed with India and is forever trying to educate her on the merits of his country. I believe, the only way to cure him would be to send him to India. Let him learn to love his country the real way.



But if I remember, it only seemed yesterday that we sent both of them to the nursery. Although daughter was the independent kind, it was she who cried the most on her first day to school, while our son who I thought was very shy, took like a fish to the water on the first day itself. The ensuing years were fine but now that they have reached the crucial years, like every parent I am very apprehensive.


What does the future hold for them?


Are they fit to face this world?



Today I read an excellent article by Professor B. M. Hegde:

Education today in our country has not only lost its heart; it seems to have lost its direction and goal. It is a sad situation for the future generation. Well-meaning people in society are keeping quiet. The powers that be, who ought to know better, seem to be either ignoramuses or they couldn't care less! The following case history will showcase one of the major areas where modern education, especially at the primary level, nay at all levels, is going astray to the detriment of mankind's future.

The teacher, like a midwife, should assist the student in delivering, and not deliver herself. “Every child is a genius only to be converted into an idiot in school,” wrote Nobel Laureate Alexis Carrel. Education should aim at making healthy minds and not just making wealthy careers. Here, society needs to be thoroughly deschooled to get rid of the obsession with marks and ranks in place of healthy education.

Now that I have rid of my worries (not obsessed)  with marks for the time being,  let me wind up this post in peace :)

Hair extension

No, I was not looking for it myself since I still have enough on my head to satisfy my ego, unlike my Hubby, who is forever threatening that he will be taking the service of one of those hair fixers like Gulf Gate etc. Have also noticed that he is very quick in spotting those who have them too :).  Maybe, we shall both take their service together someday!

Anyway, it was the weekend and the children having gone to India to give company to their grandmother, I had nothing much to do and was switching channels. It is when I saw a short documentary on Luxe.tv about hair extensions in expensive saloons in Europe.

Watched many beautiful ladies getting their hair fixed but what got my attention was when the scene shifted to India. Rows of people are sitting down to shear their heads and hearing this lady with her shorn head say that she has offered her hair to Lord Murugan, I assumed the temple is that of South India.

So have you always known where all this hair is going? There were bundles and bundles of hair stacked in the corner.

I knew it was being used in India too, since I remember seeing those small buns of hair that some ladies tucked inside their hair and also hair extensions too, but not until I watched this programme on TV did I realize that hair mostly offered to God for various reasons in India is the main source (China is also another source) in expensive saloons across the world.

This discarded hair becomes very expensive once it has been treated and sorted out into different length, color, texture etc.



To know the extent of it, you can have a look at the snap shot of the same. The hair can be of length from 5 to 80 inches and the color can be black, brown, grey and also white.

But, towards the end of the programme, this business guy from India did admit that business is not going to be good in the near future since the current generation does not believe in these kinds of offerings to God.

Yes, they may soon run out of hair and I wonder what these ladies shall do then?

Hair salons regularly charge anywhere from $500 to $3000 and quality clip-in human hair extensions range from $200 to $400. Last year alone the human hair extension market was worth over 300 million dollars.

Source:
http://www.rajimpex.com/product-selector-tool.htm
http://www.hairextensions.com/home.php?cat=5

The power is back..

Finally the power was restored on Thursday after one full week.

It was indeed great to be back in our flat.There was this constant fear if it would go again but so far the going has been good and the temperature has also climbed down. Let me also thank the current Ambassador who has finally let us Indians feel the presence of our Embassy!

Looking back I feel we were lucky in many ways. We had a flat where we could move into and there was always this hope that things would improve. But not so in the case of many others. In places like UAE I read that many stay in labour camps were A/C's are not provided. They are often between the devil and the deep sea since returning to their home country would mean facing the debtors and their hopeful families. As for me and my family, if things get worse, I can always return to my country and I shall not starve.

And then there are those who have to work under the hot sun even in these extreme temperatures. I always wonder how they manage.

Here in Kuwait too like a few other GCC countries, they have the midday break rule whereby the companies are instructed to give those who are working outside a break from 12 -3 PM, when the heat will be the maximum. But I wish they are paid better since they are literally working in hell even if there is a break.

I am also seeing posters asking the residents to conserve power. But if this message is to be driven into them, then they ought to stay without power for at least an hour! As for us, it is been many years since we shifted to the low energy bulbs and switching off lights when not needed is a habit that most of us have acquired from our home country. The same is being taught to our children too. One knows not where they would have to survive!

Let us learn about LOVE...

Yet another email forward and an unknown author's wisdom points out some truths about LOVE.

Fairness & justness without love makes you inflexible & stern.

Diplomacy & tact without love makes you a hypocrite.

Success without love turns you arrogant.

Wealth without love makes you mean & tight–fisted.

Poverty without love turns you into a radical.

Beauty without love makes you capricious.

Authority & power without love lead to tyranny.

Labor without love turns you into a slave.

Naivety without love deprives you of values.

Prayer & worship without love turns you into a egotist.

Faith without love turns you into a fanatic.

Bearing your cross in life without love becomes a terrible burden.

LIFE WITHOUT LOVE LOSES ITS MEANING !

PG comes to the resue...

With the Maoists on their prowl and when it seems that even the "only saviour of the poor and downtrodden" Arundhati Roy is not able to offer a solution :) , it is time for a break...

When our PM has yet again gone to praise Obama and hopes to get nothing in return, it is time to take a break....

It is when I remembered that I had a good collection of PG Wodehouse to be enjoyed. Just finished "A Damsel in Distress" and I am now enjoying "Love among Chickens". 

PG rocks any day!

A reminder to oneself....

The following must have been an email forward sent to me by a well wisher a few years back... I am not sure why I saved it... but the words continue to inspire me..

The good you find in others is in you too.

The faults you find in others are your faults as well.

After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.

The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.

The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself.

To blame and complain will only make matters worse.

Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.

What you see in others, shows you yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best.

Give to others, and you give to yourself.

Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.

Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved.

Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

Listen, and your voice will be heard.

Show your best face to the mirror, and you'll be happy with the face looking back at you.

A very Happy New Year

Let me wish everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2010.

...and for those who have taken 2012 seriously, please remember that you have 2 more years to fulfill your ambitions, be happy and give other's happiness..

and for the rest of you who believe that this world is never going to end (during your lifetime), better work towards making it good so that it remains good while you :) last.. or at least good enough for your children so that they can take it up from where you left.

Let me leave a few links of blogs/newspapers that are reporting happy news from around the world…Yes we sure need them...

The one below is from a report on the co-author of "Three Cups of Tea”.. his work is mainly in Afganisthan..

that in 2000, there were 800,000 kids in school in Afghanistan, and this was during the height of the Taliban. The kids were nearly all boys. Today, there are 8.4 million children in school in Afghanistan, including 2.5 million females. So it’s the greatest increase in school enrollment in any country in modern history and the goal is 13 million.

I think that’s why I feel that educating girls is so important. If you educate a boy, you educate an individual but if you educate a girl, you educate a whole community.

The next is from goodnewsindia website which stopped spreading good news in the Year 2006 and for which the author has given a lengthy explanation. Please take time to read it through. He is now engaged in another fruitful venture.

“Given India’s history of throwing up influential people, waiting for a Gandhi is not an unrealistic act. But we can do something while we wait and do a bit of what he counseled: You cannot change others; but you can change yourself. If bad news depresses you, you can do something that radiates good news; so, become the good news and you begin to change the world. Indeed Gandhi deemed the greatest change we can ever seek is the change in ourselves. Feel the power of his insight: “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.” [How I love this man! He knew the modern age was a myth; it believes all the water we need can be delivered in bottles.]

Reflecting further, I understood consuming less and consuming with sensitivity is also to contribute to conservation and/or production; without any measurable productive act, a sensitive consumer can contribute to production and begin to bridge the divide inside her.

Let me also post the reason why the author chose the name "point to return"..

“…the point is to return” says the tagline. And that can be read in many ways.
Return to your roots
Return to nature and to learning from it
Return something to the earth for gifts received and resources enjoyed.

The author has inspired many.. and if one reads the comments one gets to know how many were inspired enough to start their own ventures; yes.. how Solar Energy, Green Houses, Rainwater Harvesting etc. can make a positive change to our environment...

Volunteers at work...



Point to return has its presence in twitter too.

Let me sign off with a quote from him...

Just as one must believe in God despite the priest, one must hope farming can be made attractive despite the intruding professional agricultural scientists.

And we were O.K.

Received this via email I am not sure who the author is.. it may not even have originated from an Indian but yet I am sure most of us can relate to it.. so with due respect to the creator and with additions of my own in italics…

To all the wonderful kids who were born in India , grew up in the 60's,70's and 80's and survived :

First, we survived being born to mothers, some, whose husbands smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate whatever food was put on the table, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

They were mothers who did not check their blood pressure every few minutes. (mine didn’t)

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking or going out on our own. (nd all those longs walks up the mountains and along the streams with none to guide but just the dogs)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags. [Our car would have been the most rickety since it had to go through the terrible tea estate roads. Needless to mention that only an Ambassador was built for it. Thinking about it now, I still cannot believe that my Father, instead of repairing the door which would not close [the mechanics had already closed shops after our late night movie] asked me to faithfully hold onto it while driving up a 20 km long treacherous mountainous road (Mundakayam to Kuttikanam)… I dont remember my Father looking back even once to see if I was still there! And recently when I mentioned this to him he feigned ignorance:) ]

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. (ahh the water was the purest!)

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. (dint we all? and most still do…)

We would share a dosa, dip a chapatti into someone else's plate of curry without batting an eyelid. (I hope the current generation still enjoys this)

We ate jam sandwiches or pickle on bread and butter, raw mangoes with salt (& chilly powder) and drank orange squash with sugar and water in it.

We ate at roadside stalls, drank water from tender coconuts, ate everything - Bhel Puri to bhajias and samosas, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! (there was no dearth of games.. we made games out of nothing…but now the kids can have all the PS$.. and still be bored)

We would leave home in the morning and play all day during the holidays, we were never ever bored, and we were allowed freedom all day as long as we were back when the streetlights came on, or when our parents told us to do so. No one was able to reach us all day by mobile phone or phone. (those were the days!)

And we were O.K.

We swam with an inflated tube which we got from somebody who was replacing their car tyres.

We ran barefoot without thinking about it, if we got cut we used iodine on it which made us jump. We did not wash our hands ten times a day. (Wash hands?)
And we were OK.

We did not have parents who said things like "what would you like for breakfast, lunch or dinner".

We ate what was put in front of us and best of all, there was never any leftovers. (but now we have to push and prod them to eat..)

We fell out of trees numerous times, got cut, broke bones and teeth. (We jumped from one tree to another and my younger sister was the leader!)

We ate fruit lying on the ground that we shook down from the tree above. (and how tasty those were!)And we never washed the fruit.

We had a bath using a bucket and mug. We did not know what shampoo and conditioners meant.

Yet this generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

Please pass this on to others who have had the luck and good fortune to grow up as kids in India in the 60's 70's and 80's.

A dangerous trend…

While traveling through Alapuzha road, Hubby has never stopped reminding about the Kanichukulangara murder case and to show the Lorry which continues to lie there as witness. Bits and pieces of the case would float through my mind and I would feel sad at the state of affairs in Kerala. And now we have one more land mark, the place where the gruesome murder of Paul Muthoot occurred. Let me forget that this case got much interest since it involved a family of high influence and let me also forget the fact that wanted goondas were travelling with the victim. The way the case is moving makes me believe that the police will be forced to twist the facts and in the end we will never know the entire truth.

It is indeed sad to see the political and other murders committed so often in our state. We have never been satisfied by the court verdicts and many murderers still run scott free. Another murder that still stands fresh in my mind is that of the teacher K.T. Jayakrishnan in front of his 6th standard students in year 1999. The accused were given death sentence by the lower courts but were left free by the Supreme Court. I remember writing a very emotional letter to the Chief Minister and I am sure that letter reached nowhere but I could do nothing else.

Yesterday I watched a retired police commissioner say how the police are not allowed to do their work freely, although the Kerala Police is one of the best in the country. He said that unless the society cooperates this scenario is not going to change.

Is it only the judiciary and the police to be blamed?

Is it only the political parties to be blamed?

Below is an excerpt from The Hindu dated Nov 30, 2004

The story of derailed probes High Court strictures

The credibility of the crime investigation and prosecution machineries in the State has been deteriorating rapidly. The developments in the last few days have eroded it further. Legal experts attribute the failure of the investigative machinery to lack of experience, incompetence and corruption. Poor prosecution mechanism, they say, is owing to the incapability of Government lawyers. They feel that political interference is compounding the problem

Daughters

Came across this chilling video as I went blog trotting and passed by Vinod’s blog post. It left me depressed and helpless since I couldn’t help seeing my daughter in her. I can do nothing but I can at least vent my feelings on my blog. I do not know where it has happened but can very well guess. But for sure it continues to happen. I will never understand how murder can be a lesser sin. I will also never understand how a girl/woman who was until then a daughter or a sister or a mother becomes an object to be crushed out, be it for any reason.

But when I look at my daughter who will soon turn 13, I am worried. How will this world be when she is ready to face it? Will she be too strong or too weak to face this world? If she is strong, will her strength make her suffer? I do not know.

But all I know now is that there are many helpless girls out in our world crying for help that is never coming.

I think I was lucky to be born in a place and time that was less complicated. So maybe I can only pray that my daughter’s world will also be thus. But then I also pray that these men who have never “sinned” will soon be born as woman in the same place.

For heaven's sake...

Prince Harry has apologised for using offensive language to describe a Pakistani member of his army platoon.


The News of the World has published a video diary in which the prince calls one of his then Sandhurst colleagues a "Paki" in his commentary.

We have for conversation sake shortened many countries; ‘Paki’, ‘Brit’, “US” etc. Even otherwise, what is wrong in someone acknowledging your nationality? If someone calls me an Indian why should I take offense? I guess it all depends how comfortable one is with one’s nationality.

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Mistakes, I’ve Made a Few, Bush Says at Final News Conference

The one regret Bush has is that he couldn’t find the WMD’s in Iraq! I wish him all luck in finding them since he has now all the time in his hands. He can start digging Texas first.

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Man accused of selling daughter for cash, beer

GREENFIELD, Calif. - Police have arrested a Greenfield man they say arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter into marriage in exchange for $16,000, 100 cases of beer and several cases of meat.

Putting this in the Indian context, don’t’ we have a word for this act? And many still think it is perfectly normal and right for our culture. The only difference being, you are selling your son.

Black or White.. does it really matter?

I could’nt understand the media’s penchant to use ‘black President’ every time Obama’s name was mentioned. It was indeed irritating. Democracy worked beautifully in America and that should be it.

Not because I have anything against either the blacks or the white. But if Obama was elected, then the votes just did not come from the blacks alone. I believe whites make up 80% of the American population. In this case, there has to be a good number of whites who voted Obama to power. Still why does the media love calling him 'black'? If his Father was white and his mother black, would they have called him ‘white’? Mothers yet again remain worthless.

Aravind Adiga rides atop his Tiger

Aravind Adiga’s tiger brought mixed reaction from the Indian populace. Some say this is the true India while some are shocked and feel insulted.

How dare an Indian demean the 'ready to shine in a few years' India thus? Won’t the rest of the world (whom Indians look up to!) have more reasons to continue looking down?

I have not read the book as yet and I don’t look forward to reading it either. With the media beaming out similar stories daily and the rest left to our wildest (yet true?) imaginations, who needs a book to shed light?

Maybe mine is a pessimistic outlook and I should be joining the rest and give Aravind a good bashing on my blog at least! But I shall not.. the tone maybe crude as they say but we Indians need waking up.

Looking at the way most crimes get away and the nexus between criminals (including the police) and the politicians, should we expect anything better just because we haven’t experienced it ourselves?

Look at God’s Own Country when it discovered that the terrorists killed in Kashmir were Malayalees. We are now told (by the media) that they existed since 15 years! Every other day, we hear of mass swindling and the political connections. We wait hopelessly to see at least one behind the bars but the media soon replaces one swindler with another and the show continues. We heard of Human God’s and the amount of wealth they accumulated (source maybe foreign or domestic) but they still continue to reign as Gods. There is one Sister Abhaya still haunting the court premises.

Well… being Diwali I shouldn’t be a spoil sport but my pessimistic mind fell into the trap and here are some articles which can further shed light.

Indian judges must clean up their courts

Justice R. Basant of the Kerala High Court, in his speech to the concluding session of the annual conference of the Kerala Criminal Judicial Staff Association, said, “The judiciary is the last ray of hope for Indians. The failure of the judiciary will have devastating results.”

This observation by Justice Basant carries considerable weight, as he knows, inside and out, the legal and illegal procedures commonly adopted by the courts.

For example, in order to file an application for bail in a criminal case, a person needs to pay a stamp duty of 2 rupees (US 4 cents). But by the time the application reaches the magistrate for a hearing, a client will usually have paid 700 to 1,000 rupees (US$14-$21) in bribes. Most of it is demanded and paid within the registry of the court where the application is filed.


40 lakh cases before HCs and 40 K cases before SC are pending

Over 40 K Cases Pending in Supreme Court of India (March 02 , 2007 - PIB Release)

OVER 40 THOUSAND CASES PENDING IN SUPREME COURT AND ABOUT 40 LAKH CASES IN HIGH COURTS - A total of 40,243 cases (including civil and criminal matters) are reported to be pending in the Supreme Court of India as on 31st January, 2007. In 21 High Courts in the country 39,91,251 cases were pending as on December 31, 2006. These include 32,87,037 civil cases and 7,04,214 criminal cases.

The corrective measures being taken for speedy disposal of court cases are:

Elections round the corner..

Election is round the corner for the two of the largest democracy in the world....

The words of Condoleezza Rice after the great deal (as they say) was signed may have thrilled a few Indians.

"The world's largest democracy and the world's oldest democracy joined together by our shared values and increasingly by many shared interests now stand as equals closer together than ever before,"

But then in what ways are we equal?

Do the Indian citizens have any idea who they will be voting to power in India?

Looking at the main parties and their leaders, can anyone say if they will ever be put up as candidates?

As for me, being an NRI, I have no voting powers, hence I am not forced to select any party or its leaders. And looking at the current scenario, it will be a tough choice too.

So, I think it is better if the impending divorce is settled.

Let the Congress (who will get a chance to gain its lost credibility) be backed by the communists who will keep on shouting ‘foul’. I think this balance would be fine. An unbridled Congress is a danger to the country and it needs the Communists (whatever their motives be) to shout ‘foul’ so that at least the citizens are kept abreast of the happenings.

They say that the Harward/Oxford educated intellectuals would have taken our country to a worse spot if they had not been bridled. For now, at least the Indian economy can rise up from a better position, thanks to the measures that were put in place. We never gave into mass privatisation and our banks are still accountable.

It could be BJP too, if only their motives were true. Their actions show only ‘RED’. I respected Vajpayee and would have loved to see him in power if his health would have permitted him. And as for ‘Hinduvata’, I have tried understanding this concept, but the action does not replicate what is being advocated. I see the same intolerance that is seen in the Muslim/Christian fanatics.

Will the smokers face extinction?

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has come out with yet another wonder, the ban on smoking in public.

As soon as the law came into effect, we saw the media well prepared to handle this fun with lines like,

Smoking ban goes up in smoke…..

The smokers puffing the law away .. etc etc.

I heard much explicit comments myself since I live with a smoker and knew in my heart that there is no way these smokers are going to be deterred.

Hubby never smokes inside the house or car and he always tries his best not to smoke in confined spaces too. And if his parents/brother or in-laws are around then it is very hard to find him or the place he chooses to smoke away. (The troubles these poor smokers have!) So in his case, the choice of a private place is very limited. It is not as though all smokers love their habit especially since they are now being treated as social outcasts in most workplaces too.

So like my children, I have just this question to ask. Instead of banning smoking when will the government ban the cigarette companies?

If the government continue to let the companies sell these cigarettes in public places since they need their taxes badly then this ban is only to laugh away. The smokers will try their best not to pay the fine, but they will continue to smoke. As for private and public places, does the government have any rules on those?

So I guess it is best to leave the veteran smokers alone. And since the government will not ban the cigarette companies, can they at least have stricter laws to deter the young smokers?

Can they have more awareness programmes to educate the younger generation (before they reach their teens) on the dangers in smoking?

Live within your means...

Live within your means and save for the rainy day.. used to be the Indian Maxim...

..until Credit Cards arrived with rosy promises

..until one found installments facilities for every product that was beyond your purse

..until self made financial gurus harped on spending rather that saving..

and all this was to bolster the economy and who was the hero to be looked up?

It was the American economy.

But then we saw the same gurus with crestfallen faces looking up to see if the sustainers of the great economy (a minority actually, and one can find some of them in the Forbes List)will be allowed to maintain their status quo.

The world saw Mr. President begging to let the bail-out pass through.

We also saw the US treasury secretary Henry Paulson begging Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House.

Will this save the average American? I personally don’t think so and I feel it is not fair to have used the public money thus. Those hardworking ones who refused to speculate but spent what they rightly owned will continue to feel the pain.

But when it has been done Barrack Obama takes credit too...

Obama also took credit for proposals by fellow Democrats that added protection for families in danger of losing their homes and limited pay packages for Wall Street executives to the plan.

Whatever this bail out will do, the next President has got a lot of problems in his hands. His headaches have already started.

But for now, we better sit tight and hold on to our purses and listen to our elders. (I better listen to my Father’s advice!)

Year 2012

Why in the world am I stuck with year 2012?

It all started when I accidently switched channels (infringing on the exclusive rights of dear Hubby) and landed on the History Channel. I found that I was in the midst of a documentary on Year 2012 (December 21st to be precise), the Mayan Calender, I Ching, The book of Revelation etc etc. and was stuck.

For some, this year predicts the end of civilization and for others the occurrence of some extraordinary events that will change the lives of the entire human civilization.

Here's what is known: The ancient Mayan long-count calendar — a calendar that spans more than 5,000 years — comes to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. This coincides with a galactic alignment in which the sun will align with the center of the Milky Way galaxy, an event that occurs once every 26,000 years, which could have potentially catastrophic consequences. The galactic alignment has the potential to create a shift in the Earth's poles, which would cause disastrous environmental events.

http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/4642.asp

On googling I realized that this Year 2012 concept was not something new and that it has been going on since many years.

They say curiosity kills the cat and it has killed a lot of my time!

I stumbled upon many other unknown realities of life and realized that ignorance is certainly bliss.

Are we for instance aware that a group of scientists are planning (or have they already done it?) to block the sun?

Political inaction on global warming has become so dire that nations must now consider extreme technical solutions - such as blocking out the sun - to address catastrophic temperature rises, scientists from around the world warn today.

For further reading ..



Coming back to Year 2012, I would like to believe in one of the concept, that there will be a great spiritual awakening over time and its culmination will be in Year 2012.

I guess it is easy to be spiritual these days with so many catastrophes already happening and waiting to happen all around the world.

But then being spiritual doesn’t mean going the VHP or the Jihadi or the fanatic Christian way. (ah.. now I come out clean since this is what is really bothering me these days…)

When will we raise our voice against pseudo-secularism which looks at only the vote banks and not the Human Beings?

As for Orissa, it is shameful to note that the Central Government will do nothing to stop the violence.

Does any means justify the end? Like for instance pairing with crooks to get the nuclear deal (still in confusion) through...

As for the communists, they are busy flaunting their wealth by the recent opening of a water theme park in Kerala. Even if they use rain water, is the fee of Rs. 300 affordable to the working class family?

High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

"According to Bloom's Taxonomy, education has four pillars — knowledge, understand-ing, skill and application. Our education system faulters at the last one and HOTS is an attempt to work on application skills of students. The aim is that students should be able to construct knowledge and that is what HOTS is all about," added Singh.

Looks all good on the paper. And the concept is most welcome too. Though our education system increases the number of brilliant students each year, when it comes to absorbing them in the current job market, the complaint is that they don’t have the application skills.

But again, what is the use if the CBSE Board keeps introducing “fixes” like these without proper planning? The board cannot be like Microsoft Corp., who loves sending “fixes” and “updates” as soon as a new product or a new version of an existing product is launched. We can live without Microsoft, if it gets unbearable, but not so the educational board which is supposed to be “fixing” the future of Indian students.

Who is this Bloom whom the Board has unearthed?

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information.

Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.

http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

The first concern is: are the teachers trained to think along these lines? At present, when I look through the questions and answers, some of the answers are not to the point. The children are asked to memorize a full paragraph from the text itself. Even while reading it over and over, I still cannot get any clue; so imagine the plight of a student. And I wouldn’t have known this, if our lazy son had not come to me, asking me to explain the answer and reduce the number of sentences. Some teachers still love giving essays instead of concise answers. And some answers just” beat around the bush”.

The second concern: Was this new concept given enough time before it was introduced into the Board exams or were the students caught by surprise?

HOTS, as the name suggests, focuses on thinking skills and tries to move beyond rote learning. The focus of the question paper this year was to measure students' abilities to reason, justify, analyse, process and evaluate information. It was introduced only this year in class X and XII board examinations for mathematics, science and social science, the weightage being 20%.

If I heard right, most of the students were caught off guard. After all, were’t they being trained all these years just to answer the Board Exams?

Back to studies?

Yet again, one more term of studies have gone and I am now in the self evaluation mode.

Before we wonder if I have joined a course or am in some distance education program, let me tell you that it is neither. I am just an ordinary mother trying to figure out the marks that my ordinary kids have earned in their first terminal exams (only two months of studies before their Summer holidays). Every term begins with a resolution to take my kids through their lessons daily and before I even try to begin they are already into their Unit Tests and then the Term Exams and so they have reached 6th and 7th standards.

Do we really have to slog so hard with them? Is it necessary for them to score high marks in each subjects? Here in Gulf( I am sure elsewhere too), it is not only the weak that go for tuitions but also the brightest students. The marks that they score in their Board Exams as each year progress is mind boggling. I believe this can be achieved only if one focuses completely on one’s studies (if one is not a genius). This would also mean that the kid will have time for no other activities and so also the parents. In most houses the TV will be either banned totally or switched on sparely. And come exam time in most homes, no visitors shall be allowed into your homes and you will not get out of yours too.

Our daughter is consistent and she does her best, although I am sure she can score much better marks if either I or a tuition teacher cajole her. But on talking to my son’s class teacher I understood that he is not the “studying” kind since he is not scoring good marks for all the subjects. But since I am his teacher at home (as time permits), I think he is not a total dumbo but grasps concepts quiet easily. But then boys will be boys they say and he is happier to play with his cars or the computer.

And then comes the villain (mine) – tuitions. The Class Teacher did hint that she takes tuitions when I went for the Parent – Teacher meeting. Should I give up my stubbornness and sent them? Will our kids benefit from spending some more hours studying concepts which should have been taught in school? While I try to weigh the pros and cons, I am still convinced that they ought to study at their own pace and that we as parents better be satisfied with what they bring home. Looking at their marks, I understand that I never did any better during my school days when the syllabus was much easier. But then the competition was not that high too. And when the teachers talks about those kids who score good marks etc, I do want mine to score those marks which they were scoring in lower classes. But now the sylabus is tougher and the teachers go full speed with the lessons.

And only today I read what Roop has written so well in her blog . She quotes from an article in Indian Express where the author laments in not finding the right candidate during the interview for the top B-schools, although the candidates have passed one of the toughest examination in the country.

Of course I may be wrong since my kids are not highly intelligent and they may be in need of extra help. But for now I am just going to renew my resolution and give a part of my time, while the kids will continue to indulge in their favourite TV shows, amidst my constant reminders to sit and study (over the phone at work and while I am doing things other than teaching them while at home).

Thanks to blogging

This time cricket was not number one priority for my Hubby and hence we did not get to watch the IPL. But suddenly with the children gone to their grandparents to enjoy their Summer Holidays, we were left with too much time in our hands and we remembered the finals that were being played that day. It was easier earlier to from an allegiance with a team, but this time especially since I was not following the game I just couldn’t decide. I wanted both the team to win! The predicament ended when I got a long distance call from my long lost friend. I have to thank blogging and especially my blogger friend (who also happens to be my friend’s sister) for having made this happen. The last time I saw my friend was during my wedding and that too briefly. We tried to catch up with all those years in 20 minutes. While recalling our college mates and those moments that we spent together, we also discovered that much change had occurred in all these years in ourselves and our friends.