Showing posts with label Purpose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purpose. Show all posts

Quality of the Learning Experience

 There needs to be a lot more flexibility in teaching-learning methods across higher ed. and perhaps other levels too. We need to give teachers the autonomy to innovate and experiment. Of course, subject to the recruitment of teachers being conscious of quality.

Right now, at school level, the battle seems to have been won by coaching classes. Entrance exams galore make that possible, in a way. Medical, Law, Engineering are the prime culprits. But more entrance exams are coming up each year or two.

Anyway, back to the classroom. Exploration, and exercises/projects are some under-utilised methods in my view. I am not talking of teaching coding for computers, but social sciences such as management, where dealing with people is the major skill that has to be a part of the learning goals. Too much emphasis on the 'knowing' part and not enough on the 'doing' or 'being' parts may make Jack a dull boy (and Jill a dull girl)..diversity in the class is a also a desirable goal, to help peer learning thrive.

If entrepreneurship can also be a small part of the curriculum, the job-hunting mentality among many grads may give way to a more exciting and satisfying journey for many. Of course, selecting students with a risk-taking ability may need a re-look at admission processes. Maybe we can talk about this another time.

The Purpose of Exams

We thrive on exams- educational institutes, I mean, and the profs. in them. But what exactly is an exam, why was it invented, and does it serve its purpose?

Yes, and No.

If it makes people think-before, during and after the event, it is a good thing, in my view. If it doesn't, not serving its purpose. just like education.

Maybe with smaller classes, one can explore different types of exams. Oral, for instance. With large classes which are a norm even in institutions that can afford to have smaller ones, your options are limited. But creativity can probably be used here as well, to make it a more meaningful experience.

I have of course, found brilliant students through exams. But I have also found them by other means. So exams might not be the only way to grade the student. Application, which takes time to show up sometimes, could be another.

Entrance exams are another kind. They largely want to filter out a large populace, and so concentrate on that purpose, rather than being a genuine test of a person's all-round capability for engineering, medicine, or whatever the entrance exam is for.

I have had interesting experiences with exams of all kinds- open book, closed, viva, projects, presentations.. will try and list them out one day.

Purpose of Life According to..

There was a book titled The World According to Garp, many years ago. This is an attempt to define the purpose of (your) life according to..

Parents..to get married and "settle down" (meaning unknown).

FinMin..to pay taxes.

Boyfriends/Girlfriends..to give them your undivided attention. Looking at other specimens of their kind strictly forbidden.

Civil engineers.. to build bridges with them.

TV channels- to switch off.

Animal-lovers..to adopt a few zillion cats/dogs/gorillas..

Modi-bhakts.. to praise him for sleeping 4 hours a day.

Rahul Gandhi bhakts..to admire his dimples, and..let's not get there.

Kejriwal bhakts..to get into a scandal to make HIM look good.

MBAs- to do your bit to increase the supply of consultants and investment bankers and reduce all jobs that make your hands dirty.

Politicians- to vote for them, regardless..

Bankers/credit card companies- to take loans beyond your capacity to pay in this life.

Spouses.. no purpose at all, except to fight with them. OK, I take that back..got that ONE wrong..




Purpose of Your Life- It Depends on Who You Ask

It depends on who defines it.

For an insurance company, the purpose of YOUR life is to be insured up to your gills. Whether it is life, car or home, they want you to buy more and more insurance. Oh yes, mediclaim too.

For a hospital, it is to buy their service even if you don't really need it, and get billed forever.

For a car salesman, the purpose of your life is to buy cars- for yourself, your spouse, your child, your dog,...

For a cosmetics company, the purpose of your life is to look beautiful-wearing their cosmetics, tons of them.

For a credit card company, it is to get exclusive deals to SAVE more on every expensive product or service.

For a stock broker, The purpose of your life is to buy more stocks. For a bond market analyst, to invest in bonds, when all you want is to BE Bond...James Bond.

For an NGO, the purpose of your life is to help others, through them.

For a TV channel, it is to watch ads and shut off the programming, and for the newspaper, to read the ads and ignore the news. If you are a company, then you are born to give them more ads.

For your child, it is to give it an unending supply of food and gizmos (as the child grows up).

For your parents, it is to remain in touch with them.

For your boss, it is to increase his productivity- or make it appear so.

For your spouse (female), it is to be a magician, who knows everything and can produce people and things at will.

For your spouse (male), it is to be a magician, doing everything and leaving the remote control of the TV to you.

And for you? If you are still reading, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.


Suicide Rates in India

Something that I found truly sad in today's newspaper. Reporting about suicides in India by categories of people, there was a mention that Nagpur scores high on girl students' suicides. I find it sad that something (education) that is supposed to elevate a human being leads them into despair and despondency. And for what? Fear that a bad performance in an exam will bring about reprisal from parents, peers or the society. Is that why we want our kids to study? Not for shaping themselves into a better individual? It is obnoxious that a failure in an exam (which is someone else's evaluation of how good you are) should lead to such drastic consequences for some. What is it that we are doing wrong as parents, peers or whoever?

Everyone wants to be "successful", no doubt. But what if you are not? Is it such a big deal if I can't pass an exam in engineering, or the higher secondary or MBA? Why can't I make a second attempt? Or even, drop out and do some other course, maybe a language, or vocation, or anything that I can do successfully? If a degree is so important, there are many ways to get one- a distance program being an accessible method with many open universities around.

There is something seriously wrong somewhere, if suicide is seen as the only alternative to academic success.

What Keeps Me Going

What keeps you going may be different, but I think books keep me going. More accurately, reading...coz it could be comics like Phantom or Asterix, not books alone. I am reading one called "Genome" right now, which tries to explain what genes do for us- which is almost everything! Nicely written, if I can understand some of it. The analogy with computers- or rather, digital on/off switches is also effective, and explains a lot that happens inside us. But then, are we a machine, or a learning machine, or an 'atma' searching for the 'parmaatma'? That is still not clear. Does it matter? Probably not, considering our insignificant life span compared with the cosmic one. But how else can we pass our time, if not ruminating on profound fundas?

Interfaith Dialogue - An Online Course by JIS University

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