Reflections of a Pedagogue

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 i...

Discipline is thought of as a natural part of the school environment. Most often it is defined as a set of rules about what is acceptable and what is unacceptable behaviour written by those in authority for those who are not. Even more often, there are a large subset of these rules which are unspoken, unwritten, ambiguous or ill-defined. This latter set, when obeyed leads to what is called 'samajh' (Hindi for understanding). Samajh is defined within the social norms that are relevant to the society in question at that point in time, especially with regard to childhood. For example, while debate is sanctioned in a classroom, disagreeing with a teacher's judgement, however politely, is considered irreverent or at best, forgiven as being childish. This can be confusing because the same thinking skills encouraged in the first instance are rebuked in the second. While students are may be encouraged to work independently without supervision, become so absorbed in their work tha...