Saturday 30 August 2014

On finding Mr. Right...

A chat on WhatsApp with a friend (FD).... on finding a long-lasting hubby

FD: Don’t know...Good hubbies are not available in the market.
HJ: That’s true, it’s meaningless to get married fast without getting Mr. Right. I
       believe it’s better to wait for the right person to come in our life than getting
       married to an idiot.
FD: True... As far as I am concerned I am more patient in this case
HJ: I appreciate that...but I do believe that one should get married. A happy marriage
      is a great gift a life can give us.
FD: And a sad marriage the worst curse.
HJ: Yeah...Marriage is a very important even in life. Naturally one has to be wise
      before selecting proper person.
FD: True.. Anyway I don’t have time to think about marriage
HJ: It’s a great feeling to come back to home and get hugs from children and spouse.
FD: Maybe
HJ: Single life at the age of forty goes without aim...even parents are no longer with
      us at that age.... No discipline...no compulsion from anyone...a rudderless ship...
      unless you have found your HIGH GOAL of serving people, country or
      downtrodden people... In the absence of any higher goal life at 50 may sound
      empty....
FD:  This is the only reason I give a thought to marriage...and sometimes work is so
        burdensome that it just comes to mind to get depended on someone...but these
       are very dangerous thoughts
HJ: They are not dangerous thoughts. They are reasonable thoughts. Of course, be
       ready to compromise with the image of your ideal partner. Just make sure the
       person is right and possess good qualities as a humanbeing. That’s all. And he will
       keep you happy till the last breathe.
FD: Anyway, I haven’t formed any image in my mind.
HJ: Then do... But do pass considerable period of time with the guy before getting
      married or rejecting him. One week, one month, or even one year and any time
      during this period you realise he is not suitable, don’t hesitate to reject. And if
      during this time you realise he is a husband material, be ready to tie the knot.
FD: Hmmm... actually I believe in divine power...When I am unable to work out the
       things, he manages the things, so someone whom I deserve will surely come to
       me. I am not searching for anyone or judging anyone.
HJ: Depending on divine power in matters like marriage is risky thing to do. And
       judging and searching are wrong words in this context. We are not talking about
       buying a product. We are talking about being cautious.
FD: But i doubt the role of being cautious and judging.
HT : In that case you should meet those who have got bad life-partners and they
        would tell you that they didn’t think much thinking about their spouse before
        getting married.
FD : I would think over all we discussed here……Now tell me when are you giving
        us good news.
HJ : Well I am waiting for divine power to play the role in this regard J

FD : He … He…. He…. J

Saturday 19 April 2014

Brain Vs Heart

The Brain vs Heart is an age-old debate, yet to have any definite and final conclusions. When one is having any problem, one is often advised to follow one’s heart. But the mute point I want to raise here is: What is it to think with brain and to think with heart? Should we give free reign to our heart while deciding some of the most important decisions of our life?

Most people believe that those who think with their brain or mind are more often than not calculating or shrewd people, devoid of any feeling or sensitivity towards others. In contrast people who think with heart are supposed to be merciful and benevolent, devoid of any malevolent intentions towards any one. If we think deeply, we would realise how far we are from the truth vis-à-vis taking recourse to the brain and the heart.  In fact when one thinks of any issue with heart, one is bound to ignore some of the most important facts thereof. And here lies the danger. Ignoring some vital facts may be convenient for the present purpose but it may prove highly dangerous in the long term.

On the other hand, taking help of the brain or mind while tackling any problems help us see the problem in totality and think straight. Thinking with heart often hinders our capacity to reason. We feel like everything in the garden is rosy. The most important decisions of our life are not made with heart and heart alone. They are made with the brain. It doesn’t mean heart is not important at all. But one has to be cautious while taking recourse to the heart. Thinking with heart sometimes makes us do stupid things which not only harm our life but also the lives of the people whom we want to see happy.


In a nutshell, I can say that while there can be no denial of the role that heart plays in our life, what makes life hassle free and worth-living is the application of our ability to think clearly and that comes from the brain. It always pays to heed what our brain has to say on any given situation of our life. 

Saturday 29 March 2014

English teachers and role of text-books and classroom activities

I have been teaching English for the last eighteen years and the question that has always puzzled me all these years is: Why, after learning English for so many years, do our students find it difficult to deal with the English language?  When it comes to expressing their ideas in English whether in writing or while conversing, they cut a sorry figure. How can this happen? In my opinion the answer lies with the kind of the syllabus we design for the learners. Long ago one my colleagues asked me what kind of reforms I wished in English subject text-books. I had replied the text-book which has less content is the best for the teacher and for the student as well. After all these years in English teaching I have realised that prescribed text-books, rather than proving helpful to the teacher, become a stumbling block to him. What is the role of a teacher? The role of a teacher is to make sure that his students learn the subject he is teaching and master it to a satisfactory level. But what is happening in the classrooms is completely distressing. We see English teachers busy teaching the units included in the text-books. Their primary worry is to complete the course! It is natural he diverts from his original role despite his strong desire to fulfil that role honestly. And what happens to the learners? They are tired memorizing the question-answers for the three-hour exams. Where is the romance of teaching and learning in this scenario?

Why is English or, for that matter, any language is taught in schools? What is the purpose? The purpose is to make the students competent enough to express their ideas at whatever forum which maybe an ordinary day-to-day conversation or appearing in the interview or delivering a speech at a particular occasion. But are they competent enough at the end of their schooling? English medium students have the edge over those studying in regional language medium schools because they have studied all subjects in English and have good command over vocabulary. It is often seen that the students coming from English medium schools adjust themselves without much problem to English medium colleges while those who took their education through regional language medium find it much more hellish adjusting to English medium colleges although initially. As the subject of this article is not the medium of education, I would not dwell much on that. Having said that I would like to add that parents who want their children to command a good mastery over English language, need not take this which-medium-is better- for-my-kid question too seriously.  Psychologically, it is proved that the use of mother tongue in schools makes the learning easier for the child at primary level. It also enhances cognitive growth.

While discussing the role of a teacher, Gandhiji, in his autobiography ‘The Story of My Experiment with Truth’, has noted that the teacher himself is a text-book. He believes that when text-books become mandatory ‘the living word of the teacher has very little value. A teacher who teaches from text-books does not impart originality to his pupils’. English or any language as a subject is quite different from other subjects taught in schools. While designing the course for any language, it is vastly important to keep in mind its utilitarian aspect. More so when it is English language which is completely different from Indian languages. A glance at our textbooks is enough to see that there is no leeway for the teacher’s role. He becomes just a pawn, always worrying about finishing the course before the due dates given to him. Now there may be times when the teacher wants to teach his students about a particular aspect of a language, but where is the time for that? As for the students, they are following what their teachers are teaching in the class. If they are supposed to memorise the questions-answers, they would happily or unhappily do it. They want to pass the exams with flying colours after all. This is a rut we teachers and our students have got into.

How does, then, an ideal English language classroom look like? In an ideal classroom a teacher should be given a leeway to conduct a class in the manner he wants. There should be less outside constraints on him. It is he who has to decide what his students would be learning and how. Once all these constraints are removed the teacher will feel the freedom and boost his confidence. He will have space to make new experiments with his students. He doesn’t need costly equipments to do these experiments, but he has at least a TV, a tape recorder and a DVD at his disposal. Classes would be more interactive because they would be filled with a lot of fun-loving activities where students will feel the warmth of the language. They will be aware of the utilitarian aspect of the language. Of course, the teacher will have to be more and more ingenious to make this possible. He will have to come out of the rut and take recourse to all types of material that can be helpful to him to make his class interesting and fruitful to the students. There are enough books available in the market that can help our English teachers to do so. Besides, there are regular training provided by different state-level teacher training agencies. The MHRD is also doing a lot to provide training to English teachers.   

As said earlier the role of a teacher is very important. We need talented teachers who are fully aware of how a language should be taught. Considering the dearth of such teachers it is important to make organise fruitful training programmes for them. During my short stint as a resource person (RP) for District Centre for English (DCE), Rajkot (Gujarat), I had opportunity to train English teachers of my district. While I did come across some brilliant teachers, there were may who themselves were poor English users. I wondered what would they be teaching to their students inside the classrooms if they themselves can’t speak English properly? Grammar was their strong point, but grammar isn’t the be-all and end-all of English language teaching (though none can deny its important). Grammar is just one aspect of learning English. If you master it, fine but other aspects should also be emphasised like pronunciation, vocabulary(graded according to the level), listening (songs, stories, interviews, serials, news, movies speeches, group discussions) reading (stories, essays, articles), speaking (simulations and role-plays, mock interviews, debates)  and writing (essays, articles, stories, songs, drama scripts). Such teachers should realise that it is the time they pulled up their socks and do some worthwhile with their students. Considering the teaching-aides in the form of CDs, games etc available in the market now, it doesn’t seem impossible to do. What we need is just will to do better.


When I think of an English teacher, I think of a teacher who knows his subject well and has complete plan on how to teach his subject to his students. I never doubt his capabilities. If he lacks the capabilities, I hope he will master it sooner or later. All I want for our teachers is freedom from the textbooks, partial if not complete. I have no doubt that given a chance to teach the language on his own terms, he would bring a sea change in their students covering all the aspects mentioned above. The only thing needed is teacher-friendly textbooks which allow a leeway to the teacher and give him freedom to follow his own course. And I am sure he would do wonder with the students.