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On the Subject of English

English is all the rage. We are well beyond the point at which one can even as why this is, without sounding moronic. It is a foregone conclusion that it must be taught to children in schools and practiced at home between parents and children and amongst children. It is taken to be a language of necessity and survival, not a gateway to a way of life, but the only way to survive the only surviving way of life.

Who should teach this language? Do they know how? Do they know the language at all? Who taught the teachers? Is the teacher fluent? Where do the teachers go when they get stuck with teaching it? Is everyone sure what 'correct' English might be? What if no one at home is fluent in English? How do you support the child? Is there a grammar book that one can swear by? What if none of the other children at school speak the language either? What is appropriate instruction of English for children at Elementary school and where does one get it? This is a question that parents in Delhi struggle with.

Perhaps what is more relevant to struggle with, is what it is doing to identity? The reason that a parents sets a goal for a child is as important as the goal itself. Why we want our children to learn the language, to use where and for what purpose needs to be clear to us, as the teaching of the language comes bundled with all these expectations. Also, if learning the language means leaving something behind and moving towards the construction of a new, different and 'better' identity, then the way we feel about our children's past identity and future one will be communicated too.

The subject of how to teach the language comes second. What comes first is being clear why we think it is important to teach it. And most important is, to realize and admit to ourselves as parents and educators what we expect will happen if we and our children know the language. Where do we expect our children to use the language? With whom? Where do we use it? With whom? Are these sets of people different? Do we hope they will be?

Language is key to culture. It is also a part of culture. When educators train teachers in schools to teach the language, they are immediately, intruding into the culture of the teacher as well as of the children in her classroom along with the parents whose homes these children hail from.

Dreams and aspirations for our children are complex almost tangible motivators that drive us to do sometimes silly and almost always brave things. In the bargain, we chart our children's futures without them even knowing it. Why we decide what we do, for them surely deserves our attention and time.

Reflecting on why English is an important ingredient for our children's future, is key because it is central to what schools we choose and then how we supplement the learning they engage in at school.

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