A quick tip to get your child (especially young boys) to read...

Hello Everyone!

Is your little boy or girl a reluctant reader?  My son is surrounded by books, is read to as much as possible, is give the opportunity to buy his own books, but, despite our best efforts, the IPAD and TV prevail.  

I discovered a really easy way to increase his vocabulary;  I bought a picture dictionary with simple meanings suitable for his age.  My son uses this to help with his English homework or if he asks the meaning or spelling of a word, I encourage him to check this in his book.  Since the homework given is quite short at this age, I feel the dictionary gives maximum benefit in a concentrated period.  This is a godsend to little boys or children who have yet to develop better attention skills.

In addition, please remember to keep it visible at all times on your child's desk in his room.  I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see him pour over the book, select the word, read it aloud and place it back on his table.  The additional and surprising benefit was his desire to keep a tidy desk afterwards with pencils, sharpeners etc., in their cases.

This has really worked wonders for my 7 year old, so try it with your own and let me know how it worked.

High-tech English teaching in India

Good morning!


When you picked up your morning newspaper, here in India, did you notice the article in the INDIAN EXPRESS?


It refers to a new mode of teaching English in classes for older children in Gujurat.  I find it rather ironical that Lord MacCaulay, who is mentioned in the article, shot himself in the foot by introducing English as the main means of breaking the spirit of the Indian people:

Lord Macaulay said the following about India in 1835 in British Parliament:

"I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."

(Please note, it is debatable whether the correct year was 1833 or 1835, but what matters for Indians is the statement itself). 

And yet, it is the very use of English that became a weapon to fight against the Raj themselves, particularly in Calcutta, where the Raj formed their capital.  It is a welcoming thought that those who were ruled became their own rulers: SWARAJ.  It is further ironical that the knowledge of English has helped India at a time when her rise has made her a global player in the economic arena.

Take a look at Gujurat's interventions in English teaching according to the Indian Express:

Students will now learn how to write a bio-data, create an email account, key in text messages on mobile phones and read newspapers in schools and much more before they learn to recite Wordsworth’s The Daffodils.

Rejecting the Macaulay way of learning English, Gujarat Council for Educational Research and Training (GCERT) has revised Classes V-VIII textbooks that teach spoken and communicative English before teaching writing techniques.

The new text books for Class VIII, for instance, have exercises on comparing mobile phone models, creating email accounts, filling in a voter identity card, talking to neighbours and conversing with friends as part of its English syllabus.

In schools across Gujarat, learning English is compulsory Class V onwards. The new system, tested on some 500 schools for a year under the Right to Education (RTE) guidelines, does away with learning basics of grammar like verbs, nouns, gender and subject-predicate. The emphasis is more on everyday situations. So every English word lists the Gujarati way of writing it and is also translated to help one know the meaning and learn pronunciation. The new syllabus will be implemented in over 40,000 government-run and government-aided schools in the state.

Unlike the stress on alphabets and age-old rhymes, English language teaching now focusses on tools of communication and gadgets. So there are exercises like “List out the gadgets in your home” (Class VII) and so on.

“The changes have been incorporated to make the content interesting and practical and which the students can relate to. In this manner, it is far easier to teach them English as a child understands what he sees and uses in a daily life. More than writing it correctly, it is important to understand what he is being taught,” said former adviser to Ministry of Human Resource and Development Subir Shukla, who was brought in by the state government to suggest and incorporate changes in the curriculum, particularly in English subject.

“A child should know how to read a newspaper, advertisement, fill an application form for admission in a school or college or even electoral roll. Though the prevalence of Gujarati is widespread and deep-rooted, we are hoping to make students adopt and use English comfortably and conveniently,” said Haresh Chaudhary, curriculum co-ordinator and teacher trainer at Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT).

Shukla said the curriculum has been framed keeping in mind the holistic development of a child. “Learning through exploration, practical exposure and interesting content is aimed at removing fear for the language among students. The main idea was to remove the general notion among children as well as their parents about their inability to grasp and use English,” he added.

Sample exercises

Collect information about your favourite mobile phone and list out features that you want factored in the use of social networking sites and email

Simulate elections for class representative with candidate symbols like television, mobile phone

Collect film songs based on patriotic theme and the ones that describe India. Do you agree with what is said in them?

Mobile manners and etiquette tips

Avoid talking about personal topics when other people can hear you. Maintain a distance of at least 10 feet from the nearest person when talking on your cellphone. Phone should be switched off or put to silent mode during a job interview, funeral, wedding or any other setting where a quiet atmosphere is needed.

   

India - An English Language Powerhouse

The website OPENEQUALFREE.COM, sees India as an attractive place to study English.  Please read their article below:


To study French, one usually goes to France. It’s a logical choice, the nation of the language’s origin. This logic applies to learning German in Germany, Kazakh in Kazakhstan, and Quechua in the Andes. But in an emerging trend, students from East Asia are seeking to improve their English in…India?
To work and study in the U.S., Canada, UK, or Australia has been and still is the dream of many East Asian students hoping to increase their competitiveness for jobs. But a year-long program in California or Ottawa can rack up a bill exceeding tens of thousands in first-world currency. If English language prerequisites are not met, ESL academy fees can easily add another $5000. That’s where India comes in. With living costs near rock-bottom (a small restaurant meal in India’s most expensive city costs around $3.50), India is becoming an educational way station for more Asians on their way West.
The Guardian reports that over 1,000 South Korean students are enrolled at 43 schools throughout the country. In many Indian states, cheap English tuition can be found of a quality comparable to that of U.S. and Australian institutions. The Woodstock School in Uttarakhand, which has one of the best-known ESL programs, enrolls almost 100 Asian students from Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Taiwan. Instruction takes place in the folds of the Himalaya Mountains.
This is the colonial legacy of the British Empire, that England no longer maintains flagship status over the English language. Even Canada and the U.S., two countries which have English as their de facto language, are heirs of a settler tongue. Without counting these, 58 sovereign nations now list English as an official language. The Hindu in fact worries that the rich diversity of regional Indian languages is being lost, as “parents feel it is better to communicate in one universal language than to speak to the kid in two regional languages”–that universal language being English.
According to The Nation, a Thailand newspaper, some students are foregoing Western college degrees altogether in favor of Indian courses. For a four-year degree, these students end up paying about one-fifth what they would have spent in the UK or Australia. India’s attraction as a BRIC country, as well as its multiple listings in the QS World University Rankings‘ top 200, are seen to offset inconveniences like rough roads and other patchy infrastructure.

Quality crisis in Indian primary education

Please take a look at SHAILAJA FENNELL's article below in The Business Line.  (The author is Lecturer in Development Studies and Fellow of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge.)

India's poor educational outcomes should not come as a shock — it has not yet been able to ensure that 6 per cent of the national budget is spent on education. Achieving high enrolment levels is clearly not enough.

India's poor performance in the ACER PISA tests released earlier this month, where Shanghai came out at the top and India was placed second from the bottom (just above Kyrgyzstan), has provoked a barrage of questions: Why is the education system failing India, at a time when the potential of positive returns from its demographic bulge and the growing proportion of its people in their twenties and thirties should be contributing an additional injection to growth?

The poor educational outcomes should not come as a shock, given that India has not yet been able to ensure that 6 per cent of the national budget is spent on education. This, despite it being recommended decades ago, by the Kothari Commission Report in 1964. While the new Right to Education Act has provided the legal basis to ensure that all children can access school, there is still a long way to go before enrolment in schools itself becomes an automatic assurance of quality education. Programmes such as Mid-day Meal are important in increasing enrolment and retention, but will not be able to overcome the very low level of financial resources and difficult teaching environments encountered in most schools.

Uneven terrain

Any meaningful answer needs to be based on an understanding of the increasingly uneven terrain in the provision of education across India. There are obvious implications of the current pattern of educational provision. These relate to the very unequal access to educational resources with per child investment being significantly different between elite and government schools, the evidence of considerably better quality of schooling in urban than in rural areas, and policies of encouraging new private providers into the education sector not supported by adequate regulation.

The poor performance seems particularly difficult to understand, in the light of successful initiatives to improve the quality of schooling by State education departments such as those in Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, and even private players such as the Azim Premji Foundation. While it is important to reflect on continued weaknesses in the delivery of education, there needs to also be programmes to address the financial and social difficulties faced by children from poor families in paying and staying on in the schooling system.

Research conducted on the educational outcomes of the poor in four countries (Ghana, India, Kenya and Pakistan), between 2005 and 2010, shows that only children from better-off socio-economic households are able to successfully navigate through to complete secondary schooling.

Those households most likely to experience educational risk — dropping out of the educational cycle without completing secondary school — are the poorest in the community.

The introduction of private providers to create competition in the local educational sphere does not seem to have reduced this divergence. While the new private schools have seen increased enrolment, as children from better-off households choose them over the government schools, the poorest households are unable to avail of this opportunity and continue to fall off the educational ladder. They do not regard education as a potential contributor to improving employment opportunities; instead, they are resigned to poor educational and employment outcomes.

Chinese initiative

The only solace to be gained from undertaking a detailed analysis of current educational provisions is that all developing countries have had to face these challenges in recent decades. Take China, where rural households in the poorer provinces have been particularly prone to educational risk. A longitudinal study conducted in Gansu (one of the country's poorest provinces), over 2000-2009, indicates that rural households regarded the poor educational outcome of their children to be due to their severe financial constraints, which also prevented them from buying educational aids. Also, their own low educational attainment could not support learning at home.

The disparities in the Chinese educational system were becoming evident in the late 1990s, with large intra-provincial differences between urban and rural educational outcomes. The response by the federal authorities in China was to implement a system of sponsorship for children from poor households from 2004, to cover costs of textbooks, board and lodging. The scheme is still under way and its objective is to ensure coverage of all poor rural children by 2012.

The financial outlay provided by the federal government is to be applauded, but the initiative has yet to reduce the wide gap in the quality of teaching and attitudes of teachers in urban and rural areas. Furthermore, youth from poor households in interior provinces, who have successfully completed secondary education and entered tertiary education by taking personal loans, are now faced with very poor prospects of employment. They find it difficult to compete with youth from better-off provinces, and stand no chance against the well-off and far better-taught youth coming out of Shanghai schools.

Linkage with job market

If the intention is to improve the provision and quality of Indian education to ensure that the youth bulge can really provide a boost to economic growth, it is important to address the weaknesses in the educational sector. The state then clearly needs to ‘put money where its mouth is', whether this is through public or private funds. That would be the beginning of a more equal and higher quality provision of education, which should be followed by measures to improve educational quality. The provision of education at primary and secondary level using locally relevant curriculum and delivered using innovative teaching methods should become the norm in every State's education policy.

Last, and certainly not least, it must be understood that having national enrolment levels close to 96 per cent in India today is not enough. It is worth remembering that in the early 1990s, the Kyrgyz Republic had enrolment rates of 100 per cent. But in the difficult economic period that followed, it fell below 90 per cent. The collapse of employment opportunities was a major reason for the disillusionment of Kyrgyz youth with the possible gains from completing the educational cycle. If the youth currently in schools in India today — particularly those in the poorer states and in difficult rural environments — are to contribute to making a better tomorrow, one must have better linkages between educational and labour market outcomes in the near future. 

And if you tolerate this, then your children will be next.

Hello Everyone,

After a couple of months training adults in the corporate sector, Smart Talkers India is back, blogging to you all about the state of play with the English language, here in India.  And there are no surprises that YOUNGISTAN (the term coined for India being the land with the largest youth population) were still making mistakes in basic English, even those with MBAs and Post grads.

The Hindu newspaper tells us, "The readers for whom English is a second language, or a foreign language, will never acquire the skills or the finesse of the ‘elite' (first-language learners) if they never strive to learn the correct language. The gap will never be bridged".  

Does the problem begin at school level?  Yes, I believe it does, having experienced this with my 6 year old and his education of English in India.  Another issue is, parents do not use English early enough with the child.  Do not mistake my intentions - I have a strong belief in also using the mother tongue and speak Bengali, too, to my child, but he had an advantage from the start, in that he was surrounded by 3 languages, namely Hindi, English and Bengali.  He continues to be a good speaker and this has been noted in his school reports.  And this is an important criteria of language - that it is to be spoken first, before it is read.  However, spoken English is not uniform throughout India, and virtually obsolete in government schools.

It seems, that those who had a convent education had fantastic use of grammar.  My own father had a Jesuit education before he set off for the UK almost 50 years ago.  His English is impeccable, as are many people who have had this education in India.  Some people feel it is because the foundations of the English language were carefully and correctly laid to the young students.  Nowadays, there is so much available on line such as grammar checks, spell checks and talking dictionaries, such as Cambridge on line (no excuses please for mispronunciation either in UK or US English).

Take a look at the following articles  from The Hindu newspaper, and former BBC correspondent, Mark Tully which have much to say on this subject:

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article1155559.ece

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15635553

The wonderful Manic Street Preachers (band of UK fame), clearly express the "sins of the father" in the song, "And if you tolerate this, then your children will be next" ; that is, that those of you who persistently, misuse or ignore that which is the correct path or method, will pass this on to your children.  In the case of the English Language in India, I continue to lament at its abuse, even at school level.

Smart Talkers India: International schools: A growing choice

Smart Talkers India: International schools: A growing choice: Dear All, Take a look at the excellent article by Expatia.com on the benefits of International schools and, hence, the importance of Engli...

Smart Talkers India: International schools: A growing choice

Smart Talkers India: International schools: A growing choice: Dear All, Take a look at the excellent article by Expatia.com on the benefits of International schools and, hence, the importance of Engli...

Dear All,

Take a look at the excellent article by Expatia.com on the benefits of International schools and, hence, the importance of English as the medium of instruction:

International schools: A growing choice

International school continues to gain a reputation for preparing international children well for English-speaking higher education opportunities throughout the world.

 

Ten years ago, the chance of finding an international school in your new relocation destination was, at best, sporadic. Today, most major cities have at least one good international school, if not several. Most international schools cater to a healthy mixture of expatriate and local children. In addition, international schools continue to gain a reputation for preparing international children well for English-speaking higher education opportunities throughout the world.

International schools: The facts

 
In 2000, there were 2,584 international schools teaching close to 1 million students -- mainly expats. Today that number stands at 5,676 international schools teaching over 2.5 million students, and by 2020 the prediction is for over 11,000 international schools with over 5 million students.

The growing desire to send local children to international schools is based on the quality of teaching and learning that many of these schools provide, coupled with the recognition by local wealthier families of the value of an English-medium education.

These figures and trends are all tracked by ISC Research -- the only independent organisation dedicated to mapping the world's international schools and analysing developments in the market -- who predict continued opportunities for parents wishing to provide an international education for their children wherever they may be living in the world.

"Asia (including the Middle East which is Western Asia) has dominated the growth since January 2006 and with 3,000 schools, accounts for 53 percent of all international schools worldwide," says Nicholas Brummitt, Managing Director of ISC Research.

"The leading countries for international schools currently are China, India, Pakistan, the UAE and Thailand. Europe has also grown significantly and now has 1,324 international schools. We expect future growth to be centred in Southern Asia, particularly in India and Pakistan; in Western Asia, in parts of the UAE, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; in Eastern Asia, especially China, Hong Kong and South Korea; and in South East Asia, in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore," he says.

The demographics of international schools
So why the growth in local children attending international schools? It's mostly been fuelled by a significant increase in the wealth of local families says Nick. "In many cases, an English-medium education for their children is very high on their list of priorities."

"It is now widely accepted that opportunities for students after international school are tremendous with the top universities the world over consistently competing for the best students. Many local families want this opportunity for their children and most schools see this as an enormous benefit for their expatriate intake; providing immediate and direct links with the local community that they're living in."

Although some international schools employ a small percentage of local teachers, the vast majority of teaching staff in international schools come from English-speaking countries around the world where education training and the teaching profession is revered. This includes teachers from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America and South Africa.

Currently there are 350,000 fully qualified teachers working in international schools and that number is anticipated to rise to 500,000 by 2020, to meet the demand from increased student intake and additional new schools.

"This is the biggest problem facing international schools today," says Nick Brummitt. "Not only to meet the demand of students, but also to maintain the high quality standards that most international schools currently hold."

New options
Nick points out that a recent new trend in international school options is the establishment of sister schools of top UK private schools. Harrow, Dulwich, Shrewsbury, Repton, Oxford High and Wellington College have all opened international schools and Epsom College, Oundle, Brighton College and others are preparing for imminent school openings in international locations.

"Excellent schooling options for expatriate families continues to grow," says Nick Brummitt. "In many internationally commercial cities you may have the choice of several international schools.

Making your choice may therefore require the consideration of curriculum as you may well have the choice of schools focusing on the UK curriculum (British international schools), American or other national curricula, or international curricula such as the International Baccalaureate or the International Primary Curriculum. Also bilingual international schools are becoming another alternative."

SPEAK EASY....

Good Morning, Good Day or Hello!

 

Everyone, everywhere in the world will use English according to the country they are from.  And India is no exception.  However, it becomes an issue if you are not universally understood, or you miss out words, such as articles or pronouns etc, which often happens in India.  It's great to see Indian words added to the English language e.g Jungle, , but "Hinglish" becomes a problem outside of India.  Parents should be aware that taking an initiative early, thereby ensuring correct usage of English, pronunciation and application of good grammar can save children, our future global citizens, a lot of issues later.

 

The Government of Singapore took initiative and began a campaign to improve their country's English. 

 

This article comes from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia:

 

The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) is a Singapore Government campaign to "encourage Singaporeans to speak grammatically correct English that is universally understood". It was launched by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on 29 April 2000. The purpose was to ensure that Singaporeans can recognise the importance of speaking Standard English and also to encourage them to use it.

Background

English was introduced in 1819 with the establishment of the modern port in Singapore. The port attracted migrants from neighbouring countries, such as China and India, resulting in a diverse linguistic landscape. Proximity to these various languages has, over the generations, influenced the local variety of English. The colloquial form of Singaporean English is called Singlish, and is largely characterised by the mixture of local expressions with English (e.g. the use of discourse particles such as lah). Singlish is commonly used by Singaporeans in informal contexts, however it can be incomprehensible to non-Singaporeans.

When the Speak Good English Movement was launched in 1999, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong described Singlish as "English corrupted by Singaporeans" and "broken, ungrammatical English". According to the local government, mastery of Standard English is imperative to raise living standards in Singapore, and Singlish causes problems when Singaporeans need to communicate in English, the "global language of commerce, business and technology". The movement thus campaigns for an improved standard of English used in Singapore. In hopes of extending its reach, the movement adopts a different theme and target group each year. Also, the movement collaborates with various partner organizations to provide programmes in line with the movement's goals.

Small Talk - Coffee and English Communication advice to help you, help your kids!

Hello All,

Are you a new mum not knowing how to begin communicating with your baby?

Perhaps you are a mum conscious of the importance that our kids in India are bilingual and need to maintain this quality, without compromising on their English.

May be, your child does not want to read books or speak English?

There are many reasons all children are different and need helpful, compassionate, constructive, fun methods and help!

Smart Talkers India will be holding morning sessions from 9 am - 11.45 am to offer advice and suggest techniques to assist you help your preschoolers and early readers (0 - 7 years old) with spoken English and written communications.

These "Communication Sessions" have come about from a request by parents and grandparents who have stopped me at school gates, bookshops, school bookshops and workhops; they all asked for advice to help their child improve or begin to speak English.
 
I decided to offer these informal sessions in a relaxed environment where you can bring your child if you wish.  Thus, I am available in Gurgaon or Delhi during the weekdays or from Gurgaon on most Saturdays.

I am a mother of a 6 year old, an international communications training specialist of 24 years, a native English speaker and a fluent Bengali speaker (my child speaks English and Hindi with equal fluency, plus is now starting to speak Bengali).  In addition, I am cross cultural consultant and am aware of the effects of environment upon learning.  I will give you my own personal experience and my techniques for your child's success story with the English language.

If you would like to arrange a session with me either individual or group, please call or SMS on 9899008960.

My fee is Rs 300 per consultation per child.  I will focus for 1 hour and 30 mins.

I look forward to our coffee, tea and talk about your little one!

Finnish-ing Schools

 Motherhood changes you, doesn’t it?

I have seen (myself included) how career woman change after having their children.  We are very conscious that we cannot (ever again), give full concentration to our work since there is a greater need to focus on our child.  If you are one of the lucky ones who does not have to work full time, then you will grab the opportunity.

I met a friendly lady a few days ago called Rajee.  She is a fashion designer and she also has a 6 year old son like me.  She had a good career, but after the birth of her child, she knew it was no longer possible to concentrate on a full time career.  Although she took the decision to work from home, she realised she must now concentrate on her child’s education, health and happiness; in her words, she told me “I am designing my son’s life, now”.  And no doubt, she must be designing it with all the various Indian and international facilities available.

Being a person of two cultures, (i.e. India and the UK), I have always believed in synthesis – take what is best from both cultures and reject the rest.  I am a devotee, and believe in the principals of the great Indian saint and avatar, Ramakrishna.  His prominent disciple, Vivekanada travelled abroad and explained the truth of Vedanta, demystifying Hinduism to the Western world; it is his influence that helps me follow the philosophy of East meets West.

As I began to travel internationally in corporate organisations all over the world, I saw many aspects of various cultures that I added to my personal “portfolio”.  I wanted to be a global citizen with Vedanta as my rudder.  Many of our children will be based in India but will travel outside to work or study from time to time. It is important that their minds are not closed to other ideas.  India is leaping forward to offer a potpourri of choices, even with education boards such as the International Baccalaureate.

So, last year, I was curious to discover that Finnish schools were getting the best result in education in the developed world.  Tom Burridge a reporter of the BBC World News America, Helsinki wrote an article where more than 100 foreign delegations and governments visited Helsinki, hoping to learn the secret of their schools' success.  

Now, I am a curious sort of a creature, and, being a bit of a “Tiger Mother”, wanted to know what is the very best for my child – even if it is from a country I have never visited.  I wanted to know why, Finland's schools score consistently at the top of world rankings, yet the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed world.  And I want to know how I can absorb some of this in my global portfolio for my child.

Burridge goes on to tell us that “In 2006, Finland's pupils scored the highest average results in science and reading in the whole of the developed world. In the OECD's exams for 15 year-olds, known as PISA, they also came second in maths, beaten only by teenagers in South Korea”.

And this is what I discovered:

·        No schools have ever failed in Finland.
·        The status of the teaching profession is highly regarded, and respected like a doctor.
·         The best students at university become teachers.
·         The strongest part of the Finnish system is the quality of schools.
·         The schools are the smallest in the world.
·         Pupils with learning difficulties sit with able-bodied ones; a second teacher manages any queries.
·         They invest a relatively large amount of money in Finland.
·         Finnish society has a very positive attitude to education and research.
·         The children speak their mother tongue at home.
·         Secondary and primary education is in one school so teachers develop relationships with the children. 
·         Learning foreign languages like English or French is seen as key.
·         Giving children extra help is important; in some classes, there are three teachers.
·         Teachers have to complete a Master’s degree if teaching science.
·         Acceptance of diversity in the classroom.
·         Immigration is low, thus, there are few language problems when children commence school.
·         Children will start school at 7 years old.
·         Schools decide how to teach – not the politicians.
·         Trust plays a large role between teachers and pupils, and teachers and politicians.

It is an incredible success story with a simple philosophy.  To me, it smacks of quality rather than quantity, and gives a huge respect for both educators and the education system.  The government in Finland seem to put a great deal of trust in the teachers, and the results show.

So, my dear friends and fellow mothers, how do you intend to nurture your young ones so they may bloom where ever they go?  Will you look carefully, and create global citizens? Will you add seeds from other countries to your child’s philosophy portfolio? 

Then, tell me - how does your garden grow?

Living the Lingua Franca

Did you know that over the ages, some Indian words have popped into the English language?  Have you heard of the word VERANDA or BUNGALOW?  Do you wish you could visit the JUNGLE or do you feel smug or snug as you pull on your English PYJAMAS?  These words have slowly, like dusk turning to dark, crept into the English language as we know it. 

Some people in India object to English being the Lingua Franca or common language.  I think this is partly due to the memory of British rule in India.  I believe whole-heartedly in swaraj and swadesh (self-rule and self-governance) and I also feel strongly in being able to speak an Indian language/mother tongue, but history is different and offers little choice.  It is irreversible and leaves its marks on all cultures.  England has been invaded by the Vikings, the Romans, and the French among many; thus, the English language contains words and derivatives from these cultures, too.  Just as the courtly language of India before the British invaded was Persian, the courtly language of medieval England was French.

In a country such as India where there are so many regional languages, it is English that unites individuals and not Hindi.  This is particularly true of the middle classes who work in international offices.  Outside India, Hindi is not really used.  Professionals, now have to know, perfect or learn English.   It has become a necessity because we live in a global environment.  English connects with everyone in India and in the world.  Even students are exposed to the language because of the explosion in the education sector, particularly with English medium schools.  Take a look at your book shelves; how many books do you have in Hindi and how many in English?  I am sure the latter outweighs the former.  All higher studies (apart from languages) are conducted in English.  Without a good knowledge of English, how will you conduct trade, administer law and government service?   English is absolutely necessary for anyone entering government services, trade or the legal profession. Lawyers cannot even plead in the upper courts without it.

I have always felt to change a system, takes time.  I am opposed to the “bull in a china shop” method.  To create change, a “softly, softly” approach is needed.   As India emerges as a global player, more and more Indian words will be added to the English language and we will have a happier medium where people will understand and appreciate the nuances of each language. 

But, you know, this is the age of convergence; if your child wants to look beyond the home shores, perhaps, to study abroad later, or to work in many countries while having a base in India, then you will have to assist them in being a global citizen.  

For that, your child will need to know the global language - WELL.

The Dark Side

Good evening Everyone!   Have you heard the one about the sleepless night?  

I am saying “Good Evening” because I have had a sleepless night – or more to the point, my son has had a nightmare and neither of us had much sleep yesterday.

Every parent (especially mothers) will know what I am talking about.  We’ve all been through it.  However, I decided to write about it because there was a distinct reason for my son’s nightmare, and it has made me see, at first hand, why certain inappropriate television programs, some films and YouTube clips are frowned upon by leading child experts.

It all began one evening when my husband had returned from a trip to see his sister.  I knew that he would give a lot of thought and buy a useful gift for our son.  “I got this book for him” he beamed and handed me a red book entitled CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.  I squealed with delight.  Some things never change when you get older and I confessed how I loved the book as a child, and had been taken by my school to see the film starring the wonderful Gene Wilder who behaved like and resembled the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

Reading to a child is one of the best ways to get him or her to develop a love of literature and stories. It increases their vocabulary, teaches them listening skills and also, helps strengthen the bond between the  parent and child.  In India, most fathers come home very late from the office; they rarely see their little ones and so that special moment before bedtime is lost.  My husband gets a chance to bond with his son early in the morning or at the weekends.   Reading creates a magical moment between the parent and child where the child’s imagination can run wild and pretend to be the hero or heroine.  

So how did a wonderful story create such a nightmare for my son?  Well, you see, it wasn’t the book that was the problem.  It was media that did it.  First, a YouTube cartoon which showed the young hero and his grandfather drinking fizzy pop and floating to the fan as per the story.  

We innocently watched the animation thinking we were about to see the same storyline as in the book. But, UNLIKE the story where the grandfather and Charlie slowly float down after burping and therefore, releasing gas, the grandfather met with his end in a graphically gruesome manner with blood oozing from the fan!  I was so horrified and petrified that my son had seen this.  Quickly, I changed the video while my son asked me why the grandfather had hit the fan and was it blood.  I managed to assure him it was strawberry jam, and hurridly inserted the latest dvd version of the book.  I thought I would stamp out any disturbing images remaining in my son’s mind.  How wrong I was...

Mr Tim Burton had given a modern film direction of the same book starring his best pal Johnny Depp.  I would like to add that it’s not his fault that my son saw his work.  I take the full blame here.  But I didn’t know.  I REALLY didn’t know that he directed it, until the dvd was firmly inserted in the lap top and the credits began to roll.  “Oh God!” said the voice in my head as soon as I saw his name.  I knew Mr Burton’s style.  It is distinctly dark and can have sexual overtones.  Who can forget BATMAN RETURNS directed by Tim, himself?  I loved it because I am an adult and relished the atmosphere that he evokes – something that my brother’s Marvel magazines could not. As an adult, I could distinguish between fact and fiction, good and evil, light and the dark side.   However, even Warner Brothers felt it was darker and much more personal than its predecessor.  They were very concerned that the film was too scary for children. The film also portrayed sexuality in the image of Catwoman who wore a costume that was both skin tight, and befitting of a rubber party dress!

Children’s literature, fairy tales often use language and images to tell a cautionary tale.  Everyone can remember LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD's message (beware of wolves in grandma’s clothing)? Or what about opening the door to a strange woman selling (poisoned) apples in Snow White?  Isn’t a little caution OK for a child as a learning point; for example, don’t talk to strangers?  If there is a change of scene or brighter images contrasting in the stories, I don’t think a small child is burdened with depressing images, alone.

My child was so upset with what he saw and heard in the film, that after two characters went to get their just desserts, he snapped the lap top down with a resounding SMACK, and thus, did what I wanted to do from the start.  “Mum, it’s too scary” he said.  “I want Papa to read the book”.  With great relief, I told him that I totally agreed and certain films were not appropriate for small children.  “Remember dear, books are ALWAYS better”, I told him.

But all night, he insisted the lights be left on and asked me to cuddle him very tight because the film had scared him so much.   I realised how terrible dark themes in media can be for little children, and even how they are brainwashed with commercials while watching kid’s channels.  As my son slept in the crook of my arm, he smiled sleepily and said, “Mama, your arms are so soft.  Are you using SATIN SOFT?  It’s very good for Mama’s holding babies!  I think you used SATIN SOFT when I was a baby..”

After my son went to bed and fell asleep, I watched the rest of the film.  At one point, Willy Wonka (the chocolatier extraordinaire) cautions Veruca Salt, a spoilt child, to keep away from his trained squirrels.  He warns her, “Don’t touch his nuts”.  What is the purpose of putting this obviously embarrassing innuendo in a child’s film and directing this to a girl of not more than ten years old?  Isn’t it inviting her to do so?  I complained to my husband who’s face looked worried when I told him what I had seen and heard.  My son’s father read more of the book to him and it was the balm that our child needed.

Tonight, my son still asked if it would be OK to have the light on at bedtime. 

 “Is it going to be dark, Mama?” he said in a small voice.

“No dear, not if I can help it”, I replied.

Goodnight.

The Winds of Change: Inclusive education

This morning as I set off to drop my 6 year old to school, he suddenly quipped, “Do I go to a private school or a government school, Mama?”  A young child must be answered (as every parent knows) otherwise, you will get yourself in a Pandora’s Box of constant questions that lead to a headache!  

“Private school, dear” I said quietly, very conscious that my young driver in his 20s and educated to perhaps, 16 years in a government school could understand a little English.  

“But, why?  Why not a government school?” he persisted. 

“I’ll tell you later”, I muttered, under my breath to save any embarrassment to the driver.

“But why later, Mama?  I want to know NOW!” he insisted like a spoiled child from Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

The great orator and Indian monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekanada, felt that “the ideal of all education, all training, should be …man-making”.  By man-making, he meant create a nation of character.  He goes on to say “I consider the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of her downfall.  No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for… If we want to regenerate India”.

Swami Vireswaranada of the same organisation goes on to elaborate in his publication, MAKE INDIA GREAT.  He tells us, “We have to raise the backward people…we must give them education and culture.  Women should be educated so they may solve their problems without the interference of men..”

So, (coming back now to the embarrassing conversation I had with my son this morning), how do I explain to my son in front of the driver that I would be horrified to send him to most government schools?   Here, teachers may not arrive for duty.  They may use only the core language of study which is Hindi, or the regional language depending on the state, and lesser opportunities to use, or study English.  Here, the facilities, books or buildings may not be adequate.  Worse still, he may catch a disease if kids have not been immunised, or study in a place where mosquitoes infest stagnant pools of water, nearby.  How do I explain that my driver’s education and his environment for study was not good enough for my child, and more importantly, how do I dare let The System carry on, when I am a mother and believe all kids have the same rights?

The Times of India on Monday 18^th July, 2011 printed an article by Aaditi Isaac on how minorities can be brought into mainstream education. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/Minority-report/articleshow/9267038.cms

I quote from the article:

“Fatma Zakaria, chairman, Maulana Azad Educational Trust (Aurangabad) and juror, World Innovation Summit for Education Summit (WISE), says, "The three major factors of inclusive education are access, equity and quality. I feel we have not yet succeeded in providing even minimum access to education."

The 21st century is witnessing huge change in terms of the way education is being imparted. Providing inclusive education in terms of access, equity and quality is one of the biggest challenges that we face today in India. With the RTE Act coming in, there is a need to provide inclusive education to all.

Talking about the need for inclusive education, Fatma Zakaria, chairman, Maulana Azad Educational Trust (Aurangabad) and juror, World Innovation Summit for Education Summit (WISE), says, "The three major factors of inclusive education are access, equity and quality. I feel we have not yet succeeded in providing even minimum access to education."

The school dropout rate in the country continues to be alarming; the number of institutions that offer quality education is just a handful; and a large number of our graduating students — 7 million to be exact by 2020 as the Unesco report suggests — live outside their home countries in search of excellence.

"Inclusive education does not merely mean creating access; it also means a readiness to generate equitable access. Large sections of society, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class, minorities and women and the demographically underprivileged masses, who have not reached the national goal of 20% literacy even in 2011. I look at inclusiveness as an empowering strategy. Our policies must be directed towards the empowerment and self sufficiency of the poor, the victims of caste, gender and ethnic bias," stresses Zakaria.

In a diverse society such as India, social transformation through education isn't easy. Elaborating on the challenges, Zakaria says, "We are a multi- pronged society; issues of ethnicity, caste, marginality and gender have somehow remained outside our policymaking framework. While marginal groups and women need special attention in the process of capacity building, we also need to generate awareness among the majority sections of society that contribute substantially to the making of the centre. The project of social transformation through education cannot be accomplished unless exclusion is systematically resisted against and inclusiveness is recognised as a national virtue."

Providing education that bridges the gap between knowledge and skills is the way forward. Talking about how people from marginalised groups can be brought into the mainstream, Zakaria says, "I do not see how that goal could be achieved if minorities, women and people with special needs are either left out or simply ignored. Only awarding merit selectively or supporting the poorer sections of society indiscriminately cannot remove disparity. They could be brought into the national mainstream by creating equitable access. It would be a wise step to nationally identify centres and institutions that have a long and time tested history of educating these sections of society and create special endowments for them. Also educational institutions that are managed by minority groups should be given adequate infrastructure and knowledge resources." “

R Narayana Murthy is one of India's most respected core founder of Infosys (Global IT giant) wrote, “A Better India : A Better World  .  In his book, he talks of corporate social responsibility and issues crucial to national development such as good values and the improvement of the education system.  He too raises the point that we must improve our overall education system else, there is not equal opportunity for all. 

Smart Talkers India believes in education for all, and we have two English speaking projects already planned for the under privileged children in both private and government educational institutes.  Those private schools such as Sanskriti School in New Delhi, who share our philosophy, already have integrated children from underprivileged backgrounds into classes.  They hold special classes after school as well for others less fortunate.  There are a wealth of charitable institutions throughout India who are already practising what they preach (such as the Ramakrishna Sharada Mission Nivedita Vidyamandir, Hauz Khas , New Delhi) where the nuns are dedicated to the educational activities for all children, including a place for slum children who are taught in the afternoon).  AAMRA, a social welfare project in Kolkatta assists bright children of sweepers and cleaners and paying for their entire education, churning out engineers and doctors.  Mr P Mookerjee donates all his free time after retirement, to the cause of this charity and sells his paintings to provide funding, too.

 

What about Neeve School, Gurgaon, run by the wonderful Shalini Malhotra who has ensured her children from the slums are given meals and educated in an English medium school.   Some of the kids are then integrated into mainstream private schools.  Shalini is so passionate about her work and does not earn any money from this.

I don’t feel change in India can take place in a radical manner; to accept new ideas will take time.  There are too many subtle prejudices such as superstitions, the obsolete caste system and class distinctions, plus the issue of empowering women through education, that still remain.  It would be better to make a gradual change.  Inclusive education will enable us to empower women and children.  One of the best ways to do this is to give them a voice and reading skills to compete against others, whatever their caste and class.  The trick is to catch them when they are young and, at the same time, impart the value of that education to their parents.

So, in an emerging market such as India, we no longer need to ask why the common man’s child is STILL receiving inadequate education, even after the Right to Education Act.  We know the blame game is not going to work and the process is going to be slow.

Perhaps we should follow some of the spiritual truths of the Hindus, from the Upanishads, which told us long, long ago to raise ourselves from ignorance, to, “Arise, Awake and sleep no more”.