the poem I was talking about in class

The Teacher:

I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day-
And as my fingers pressed it, still
It moved and yielded to my will.

I came again when days were past
The bit of clay was hard at last.
The form I gave it, still it bore,
And I could change that form no more!

I took a piece of living clay,
And gently fashioned it day by day,
And molded with my power and art
A young child's soft and yielding heart.

I came again when years were gone:
It was a man I looked upon.
He still that early impress bore,
And I could change that form no more.

These few lines are very close to my heart. For me they capture the essence of a teacher. Only the other day in class, we were talking about the current educational system and how it could be changed for the better. All the members in my group made very m,any wonderful suggestions but except one person no one really spoke about the need for quality teachers.

The poem above says that: He still that early impress bore, which signifies how important a part the teacher plays in shaping a child. This cannot happen with teachers who feel that the Wagah Border is the design you see on the back of a tiger, or who don't know the name of the person who wrote our national anthem.

The word EDUCATION is derived from a Latin word which is e-ducere which means- to draw out/ to lead out. Now if you look at it from this perspective then it becomes so blatantly clear that if a child has to draw out the best of learning and knowledge, then the source from where he/she draws it out should have that kind of quality to provide within it. Then it became apparent to me that providing facilities, chucking the marking system, changing learning pattern, reducing the importance given to exams, giving more weightage to practical experiments would only go so far. All this would only be sustainable, and work for the better only if the educators themselves were amply trained in their respective disciplines and were motivated to teach of their own free will.

I agree we don't need experts, but we sure as hell need people who know what they are doing and feel that theirs is a noble profession.

Taarein Zameen Par

"Har ek ungli pakad kar lagien usko lamba bananein mein", this dialogue from TZP really struck me while watching the movie. I found it to be so relevant when i reflect on our education system. Does the beggar child at the traffic light need to know how to solve sums on integration and derivatives? Do the little kids who are now homeless because of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada need to learn the kinetics of chemical reactions? We are so busy focusing on what other people's children are doing that parents forget that they are destroying their own child's individuality. If your son or daughter loves to play outside all day long, climbing trees and scaling the compound walls, do we think anymore that he will make an amazing mountaineer some day?
What i feel parents should understand is that becoming an engineer, doctor, ca or for that matter even graduating isn't everything. Classrooms are just not for everyone. Rather than making machines out of every single child why can't we let children grow up as individuals. Also taking into account the trials and tribulations of under privileged youngsters why can't we equip them with the skills necessary to survive, teach them something relevant so that they are able to stand on their own two feet and earn a livelihood. teach them how to weave or make handicrafts, repair small appliances or a skill like carpentry. They do not really need to know what is 2 to the power 5 or what happens when light passes through a prism.
The same problem comes to light when I see adults interacting with children who have a learning disorders or similar problems. What is 5 for normal people is usually as hard as 10 for these children but we still expect them to cope up. Why not encourage drawing or music which these children might be good at. Make them computer literate so that they can apply themselves easily doing data entries or other relatively easier things and gradually keep on adding more skills with increasing level of complexity and side by side honing their previous skills. They will get a sense of achievement which is so satisfying which you and I know so very well. I speak about this as this kind of an exercise has worked wonders with my own sister who is a slow learner. But the pride I see on her face when she types a letter, teaches my mother to write an email, is by far unparalleled. The joy she derives from working part time in small IT firm and the confidence she has gained by dealing with the world as an independent being is far more satisfying and joyous to watch. These little self experiences do not seem so trivial when you put them in perspective.
I am not at all saying that scrap education entirely. Basic level of literacy should be achieved, but it need not be done in 3 languages (English, Hindi and Marathi/Gujarati/Tamil etc), 10+2+3 or many more years. It should be done with keeping in mind that education should liberate people and not burden them with expectations of the world. We are born as individuals, but why not remain as individuals? Remember, people do not come off a production line, but rather they are custom made masterpieces which fulfill specific and equally important duties, however significant those activities may seem to you or me.