education redux!

this post was prompted by a comment from 'thinking aloud' and a post by amit varma in 'india uncut'.

the most common comment i hear when people (usually the ones without kids) are debating about our education system is that 'it sucks' and that it needs to be completely revamped! and that this system does not generate leaders and that it smothers the creativity of the children!

i beg to differ!

school days were the best days of my life! though i used to count down to my vacations when in school and then count down for the first day of school during my vacations.

and we learnt our lessons in life, both, inside and outside school. and the manner in which we learnt most of the basic concepts in math and science are being abhorred today. but i'll never ever forget my multiplication tables which we used to chant by rote between periods (i mean, between the class-room sessions. that's what we used to call them, so don't blame me!). and i'll also never forget the fact that if the blue litmus turns red then the liquid is acidic. (my friends taught me the mnemonic 'bra' - blue-red-acidic)!

and i remember having this major crush on this one teacher. this was then later redirected at her daughter. you think that was being fickle? well how about this girl who i sent a note to (i think it was poetic version of 'can we be friends'?) who wrote back saying that she found my friend cute! now that's what i call fickle! (just a case of sour grapes, i know. so don't rub it in.)

this was also around the time when i suddenly discovered my love for music and choral singing. i was not able to convince my friends that it had nothing to do with the fact that the practice sessions were held in the girls' convent across the street! philistines and uncouth they were, my friends.

i definitely got a well-rounded education through this education system (though my wife will say that i need to lose a few pounds around my waist and around my head!). and i'm none the worse for it!

p.s. and now the japanese also want to adopt our schooling methods!

the chief guest

i recently attended the annual sports day function at our kids' school twice! because the sports day for the pre-primary section was on a different day from the primary section. (click here to see the pics. and don't believe the slander you will hear that i was trying to get the pretty teachers on film instead of my kids!!!)

every year i worry about reaching office late because of having to attend the darned event! and how the financial markets will crash and the country's economy will slip a few notches if i reach office a couple of hours late! (somehow this sense of panic doesn't creep in when wake up late and crawl into office at an unearthly hour, late hour, i mean!)

but every year i only feel glad that i still managed to make it. (actually i should thank the 'big boss' at home for goading me into action with some well-aimed below-the-belt remarks about the afore-mentioned effects on the stock markets, et al!)

this year's events was no different. no actually, there was a big difference. and therefore this post.

there were the usual march-pasts, the drills, the yoga/karate/gymnastics displays, the races for the kids (which actually look like some cultural show more than races) and all that.

but what made it different this year was the choice of the chief guest by the school. normally they call some local dignitary or a school official or even a teacher from one of their group schools. but this year they actually had a student from one of their group of schools as the chief student! and not an ex-student who had made it big in the big, bad world, but a student from the current 9th standard (or 9th grade as my develop-world compatriots would call it) batch!

her name was neha bole and she was a state level swimming champion who had also won at many national level events. this was the first time i saw a school honoring one of their students in such a novel way. by inviting an athlete to be the chief guest at the annual sports day!

i think this sent a very apt message to all the students as well as the parents. about how we need to give due attention to sports. about how sports is important to make our children well-rounded individuals. about how sports can help in developing skills which can actually help even in academics. about how sport can also bring glory to the individual and to our nation!