Inside Panorama

Realizations of discrepancies

2006-10-03T09:29:00.000+05:00

A few days ago me and my husband (and now that I'm married we'll be hearing that a lot won't we? :P) were out getting a watch fixed. An expensive watch that was given to him as a gift. In fact, there were two of them but we only had on of them on us. Now, this watch was complicated and it took the guy almost 30 minutes to fix it after which he didn't ask for any money. But that's not the point. During the 30 minutes, another fellow came along and gave a watch to have the strap replaced. He pulled a couple out and asked the price: Rs. 100 and Rs. 50 (roughly $1.60 and $0.83). The poor man was so confused...He wanted the more 'expensive' one but he ultimately settled for the 'cheaper' one.

It got me thinking...wow, I and most of us spend money like it was flowing water (speaking of which there isn't much of that left either). But Rs. 100? NOTHING! It means nothing to us, but it means a week of food to someone else.

A new phrase I recently heard from my CEO:

'Perceived Level of disparity'

The more expensive cars you see on the road the more this perceived level rises, and is it perceived or is it for real? I believe that all over the world a small portion of the population is getting richer and richer while most of the others are getting poorer and poorer. Where will this lead?

Protests?
Battles?
Wars?

All of the above probably. In fact, if you look for it you'll already be able to see it.

Another Curve in the Road - or the Blog!

2006-09-19T14:37:00.000+05:00

So its time to change angles yet once again. Why is that? Perhaps because I got married or perhaps because my job changed or perhaps simply because that's what life is, a bunch of turns and dips just like a rollarcoaster. Whatever the reason may be, I realize 2 things,

1. I've ignored my blogs too long and
2. I have more to say than just what I see regarding the children in our schools

That's not to say that I won't be unloading my abstract understanding of education onto this website - and by the way, has anyone thought why people actually listen to my views regarding the topic especially considering that I have no formal education in the topic - GASP, did we just realize that formal education is not necessarily the only measurement to ones understanding of a topic?? *GASP*

So coming to the point, basically this blog will now be more generic, and sadly more like other blogs out there. Random blabbering. I'd like to identify a focus, but we've seen that really doesn't stick. But does that really matter? I suppose not, mostly because not many read this.

So the new focus?
An inside panorama - to Education, Human Resource, Development, and IT .... what a focus!

Judging People by Their Cover

2006-02-21T15:30:00.000+05:00

Today, a strange guy walked into the office. Never saw him before. He had the scruffy look of a loner on the roads, the sort that would make you bow your head and walk by as quickly as possible if he were to ever cross you on the streets. He was dressed relatively fine, but was unshaved, dark, intense yellowish eyes that made you want to hide under your desk just to get away from his gaze. The only reason I didn't, was because he walked in with a manager of ours. I figured he was an accountant or driver who got into trouble. But surprise surprise they walked up to our communications department and the guy ended up talking to two of our leading ladies in the department.

Now, they're sitting right across me, the scruffy guy and the two good looking girls, and I'm trying not to think, man...he must be enjoying this. Every now and then I'd look up over my monitor to see what was going on. And through these sly observations of mine I started to notice a kind of glow enter the guys face, and he slowly started to look a little less scruffy.

So now I was really curious as to who this fellow was (no longer was he just some other 'guy' I would've liked to avoid). I started thinking, is he some simpleton donor or a volunteer or something else? Finally one of the girls came to ask me for a camera, so I HAD to know who is he?? Turned out, he was a student of our system, a product of our work, the fruit of our labor. He was being interviewed and being featured in one of our newsletters, showing how through the school system lives have been changed for the better. He actually is currently doing his B.Com. and has been hired as an accounts assistant in one of our own schools.

After knowing all this information I kept looking over my monitor again, only this time I didn't see the scary guy, instead I saw a person, an ex-student, someone for all of us to be proud of. And I realized, the change in his appearance was due to two reasons:

1. Having a chance to talk to someone in a positive manner
2. The clearing in my mind about the baised thoughts I immediately assumed when seeing him

And then I realized the hypocrisy of my own thinking. Out on the streets I see people, and a great deal of them who looked like this fellow who causeed a warning signal to go off in my head. I never stop to realize that they might be of a similar nature, background, or have similar achievements. I'm not saying I'd now like to go and smile to all the men out there, if I did, we'd have a very happy male population ;), however halo effects and stereotyping tend to cloud all our judgments in some fashion or another. With the world spirling downwards with the various riots, wars, and racism, It may just be the time that restoration in the faith for humanity is required. Though one must play it safe for themselves, one should also consider giving the other the benefit of the doubt.

Fluctuations in the Educated Niche

2006-01-31T16:52:00.001+05:00

Bryan Adams was in Karachi!!!

LOL....Wow, was it absolutely amazing! I promise I'll get to the relation to education in this post very soon, but it was so good to see an international musician in a country which is supposedly a high danger zone. The beauty of this is that he arrived on the same day a warning was issued to Americans against traveling to Pakistan! Three cheers to Mr. Adams for breaking the chains of taboo and acknowledging that music is the universal language!

Now, the tickets were expensive...they had to be, it was a charity concert, and inevitably it attracted an educated niche of Karachiites...those who could afford to pay the odd Rs. 3000 for a few hours. And wow, were they all well behaved! That's a rare sight for our country! No fights with each other or the guards. The security was great - it didn't feel like we were entering a war zone. It was very difficult to believe that we were still in Karachi...we just might have been in Kansas! And the crowd was responding brilliantly to him...singing right on time and on key.

So why the fluctuation of the educated niche? If you've had the pleasure of attending other concerts in Karachi know that a smooth event is a rarity...educated niche or not. One expects the privileged educated to be setting a model for others, however this is rarely the case. The educated ones are often those who possess the most ego, who will be the first to protest if searched because no one has 'the right' to question them. Not to say that they are the only ones who act this way, but a great deal of them do.

However, this was not the case at the Bryan Adams concert. Everyone was so well behaved. My only question to all of us out there...why must we be on our best behavior only for others and not ourselves? Do we as a city not deserve a night as good as the Rock for a Cause? We've proven ourselves to be a great city full of beautiful people...Please, lets do this for our own benefit as well.

Intellectual Ignorance

2006-01-19T10:53:00.000+05:00

I was enlightened by a wise man in class yesterday that there are 4 assets any country possess, the development of which is safeguarded by the respective authorities:

1. Geographical - Protected by the armed forces
2. Economic - Protected by the bankers
3. Political - Protected by the government
2. Intellectual - Protected by the teachers

Think that teachers would ever come in the same sentence as armed forces, bankers, and government? Not Often. But really, think about it. The strength of any organization lies within the employees and their commitment to work; the strength of any country lies within the people and their commitment to a better life. The knowledge of what that better life is and how to get their is disseminated by who? The teachers!

But that's not really the scenario right now. Within the schools of most countries students are encouraged about one thing: GRADES. Most third world countries are better than they were 20 years ago, by way of infrastructure. But the intellect of the people...the public....has gone down. Many may beg to differ to this statement. But then we must delve into the meaning of intellect. What does intellect mean? The most straight forward definition is:

The capacity for rational or intelligent thought

Simple enough. So, does that mean that rational or intelligent thought is proven by getting an A in various subjects? To a certain extent. But what about something like intelligently realizing that littering is wrong because rationally it will be bad for you and those around you? Or that intelligently understanding that crossing a red light is dangerous because rationally nothings going to happen if you get somewhere a minute late and that you might die or be seriously injured in the process?

Simply concepts. Hardly followed. Rarely taught.

So when one says that developing the intellectual resource of a country helps in the country advancing to a better state, one must realize that this also realize that this involves good civic sense and developing a student as a whole, well rounded person.

Children are the hopes and future of a country. Hopes and futures are not built upon A grades. It takes a lot more than that.

Bored Teachers

2005-12-28T11:10:00.000+05:00

Other than all the various 'teaching methodologies' available to both rich and poor countries, there's a key to making students understand what's being taught: Excitement!

How does excitement penetrate through a classroom full of sleepy, bored students? Through the teacher obviously. And surprisingly, most teachers are able to convey the thought that what they're studying is not the latest form of torture. However, when a teacher goes into the same classroom with the same subject year after year after year...after year....is he/she not bound to get bored? After 2 or 3 years you know the subject like the back of your hand, how can you be excited about it? And so many teachers do this. I know teachers who have been exactly that 'Teachers' for 25+ years. Now, there are three kinds of teachers I've run into:

1. Those who are passionate about teaching
2. Those who teacher for the money
3. Those girls who are teaching to pass time before they get married

Given, that the passionate ones will never get bored, and the passing time ones won't have the time to get bored. But the greatest percentage of teachers are the second category - those in it for the money. A great number of them will also not have the skills to move beyond being a teacher - so is it not the responsibility of the schools to ensure that the stagnant phase in any teachers life is not reached? And if it is, what can be done to change the status quo? There's nothing worse than having a boring subject (in the eyes of children, ALL of them) taught by a bored teacher.

Trapping Students

2005-12-20T10:51:00.000+05:00

This is a story of my university, a story which I'm sure stands true for many other 'Education Institutes' out there. Education Institutes which should actually be termed as 'Education for Business' - those institutes that would do anything to trap students like fishermen trap fish for a living.

I initially joined to do an MIT, only to find out later that it was not going to be offered due to the low number of students who enrolled in the program (Maybe if they used lappy's for bait they would've been more successful? :P) Anyways, I then transferred into the MBA program, and was told I could chose my major in the last semester, nothing new in that. So I continued taking courses like a fish swimming towards a juicy worm only to find out that the worm was made out of rubber with a sharp hook right at the center. In my last semester I was informed that my major, HRM was not being offered (due to too few students - *surprise surprise*) and that I had actually been given Marketing courses instead. Yay! I've been studying something that has nothing to do with my professional experience - I had been hooked like a fish - doing what was convenient and cost efficient for the university. NOT what was beneficial for me.

So the story continues, for myself and many other students out there - who have been trapped by the education system; trapped to 'make a living', rather lavishly for most of them.

Whatever happened to educating a person for the right reasons? Why and when did this become such a lucrative business? When the US started using its university as a trade resource? When rich parents were willing to pay anything to have their children go to a foreign university and poor parents were willing to sacrifice anything for the same privilege? When primary schools realized there's money in it for them and it no longer mattered how much you charge whether the child is in pre-nursery or secondary school?

So long as the money is raked in, nothing else matters.

Seeing in the Dark

2005-12-16T16:44:00.000+05:00

To dream in color one must know what color is - Anonymous

Recently, a group of children in a village were asked what they would like in their environment in the next 10 years. All of them answered with two things: We would like roads and electricity. None of them envisioned anything for themselves specifically.

One may think that it was a general wish they had for the betterment of everyone living around them. But also consider that these children were never exposed to the 'real world'; they probably didn't know wonders living in a city could bring like studying in a classroom, reading books, and watching movies. They only thing they could imagine was what it would be like to have a light bulb in their house.

Dreaming of carousel horses and cotton candy? Only if they knew what these things were.
They were simply trying to see in the dark

Corruption at the Roots

2005-12-15T17:21:00.000+05:00

I'm sure many people who live in the third world with troubled education systems would agree that cheating in schools is prevalent through many levels. We're all aware that this phenomenon must be eradicated somehow, but often the question is easier to find that the answer.

But what does one do when the higher management not only accepts the fact that cheating occurs, but are willing to accept that it is impossible to eliminate? Infact, they believe that since its there and nothing can be done about it, it's perfectly okay!

Education is the development of a child as a whole; not just developing the knowledge base.

With that said, why bother with education if you are only going to put up a facade of educating the child? Is their any point to the hypocrisy? I guess that remains to be seen. In the mean time, the rest of us will continue to do what we can.

Educated vs. Uneducated Ratio

2005-10-03T14:48:00.000+05:00

The argument of what an 'Educated Person' is will be one that will last for all time. But for now, lets keep it simple, right down to the basics. Someone who can read, write, and lets throw in some basic math and science skills.

The aim of many NGO's out there is to increase the number of educated people in a geographical area. Which is great. There's no argument about whether that's a good thing or not. But what about the ratio of educated to uneducated people? As of today, the estimated world population is 6,446,131,400. Now, some sources say that the average literacy rate is about 75% of this population, but of course this isn't a fair representation because the gap of educated people between world powers and third world countries is monumental.

I was just in an area where the minimum amount of children per 'House' (explanations and pictures of these so called 'Houses' will come soon) is 10. Out of those 10, the family would be lucky if they get 3 of them in school (out of which usually only 1 completes primary AND secondary education). Because of the male domination in these societies, from those 10 children, say 5 are girls, they'll be married at approximately 15; and by the next 10 or so years, will have another 10 children.

Whether this next generation will be educated or not remains to be seen. But the ratio of educated to non-educated will not improve, in fact, it will probably decrease.

So maybe we all need to look at the larger picture and target the roots of the problem rather than the leaves at the top.

Principals = Killer HR Managers

2005-09-29T14:39:00.000+05:00

So, anyone know what the definition of HRM is?

ANTICIPATING AND PROVIDING FOR THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE (QUANTITY & QUALITY) INTO, WITHIN, AND OUT OF A FIRM - DuBrin & Ireland,1993

Though not always the case, majority of the employees of a school are female. Principals, depending on what region you're in can be either male or female.
The customers (i.e. the student) can be from a range of the troublesome toddlers to the temperamental teens.

So,

'Anticipating and providing for...' - Women (mostly), toddlers, and teens? That they sure do, and WOW! That's hard!

'...Movement of People (quantity & Quality)...' - Ever see a BIG school? Just imagine, aver students in a class 30. 1 Teacher per class. A few substitute teachers. Multiple sections for every grade. Wow, that's a lot of people. And lets face it, the world IS doing okay right? There's a range of mediocre people to geniuses living amongst us so there HAS to be some element of quality in every school (and the whole discussion of quality of education shall be saved for later when I have A LOT more time)

'Into, within, and out of a firm' - graduating and new students, staff coming and leaving, going form one class to another, the story continues...

Principals...well, HR Managers should be forced to spend some time running a school. If they can do that, they'll definitely be able to run any organization.

So, a round of applause for the good principals. Everyone thinks they're the badguy (and frankly, quite a few are), but they have a thankless job, and most put their heart and soul into it.

No Time To Study - No REALLY! There isn't!

2005-09-27T14:39:00.000+05:00

Everyone's always complaining that there's no time to study. Well, they're right there actually isn't! Check out the figures below:

Retention

2005-02-14T12:55:00.000+05:00

People remember:

* 10% of what they read
* 20% of what they hear
* 30% of what they see
* 50% of what they see and hear
* 70% of what they talk over with others
* 80% of what they use and do in real life
* 95% of what they teach someone else to do

Everyone shoud be a teacher huh?

Stupid Teachers

2005-01-14T10:26:00.000+05:00

Every student has their own style of studying, and often what happens is that teachers try to impose their style onto their students. Now what if a teacher FIRMLY believes that every student should have their own book, but there're two best friends who just can't study alone? Keep in mind that they don't disturb the class in any way, they just share a book. Does the teacher have the right to FORCE the students to buy a second book?

Is that part of his job? Or it his job to make sure that knowledge is tranferred and retained? I think the answer is pretty clear.

Teachers who have closed their own minds to transferring learning should have a 'stupid teacher' stamp put on their forehead.

Overly Technolosized

2005-01-08T13:15:00.000+05:00

Recently, while doing research for starting a distance training program for my organization I came across this frustrating barried called the wall of technology.

Did you know, they have camera's which follow the trainer around, and the trainer can then make the camera look where he wants it too?

Great huh? Until you see the price!

Sigh, what happen to the good old days of old fashioned home video's?

Freedom of School

2005-01-07T15:45:00.001+05:00

Many of us go to school feeling as if we're about to enter a prison. A comment from a visit in my school was:

They're all so happy. I'm amazed!

There're so many out there for whom school is an incredible privilege. A total escape from the abusive, strenuous reality they call home. I have to wonder, 10 years down the line, when they've finished their education, will they feel a sense of relief like most of us tend to? Will they feel abandoned? Success? Freedom? Happiness?

Teachers have the power to change the lives of children. The only thing left to do is let Life allow itself to be changed.

Revelation

2005-01-04T10:23:00.000+05:00

Succesful teaching is not a profession...
Its a passionate addiction.

Pics!

2004-12-30T11:02:00.001+05:00

Though these speak for themselves, the second one is of a boy, hardly 10, who was selling banana's in the middle of nowhere. You have to wonder what kind of life this boy has.

Dying Hope

2004-12-30T10:26:00.000+05:00

A four year old child had come in for admissions to nursery and being the overly sturctured education system we are, he had to give an interview to see whether he was qualified enough for the school. Though the rest of the children were happy to get away from their poverty struck homes, this one child through some enlightened gift knew that he was entering into a life that would remain with him for some 10 years. He wasn't happy. He was weeping.

The maid in the school tried to console him, but he managed to slip out've her arms, out've the school gates, and into the traffic filled streets. Before she could catch him, his father found him. SMACK! Right across the childs face. Bloody nose, swollen face, he was handed back to the maid to take him back to school.

No interview was taken. He was given immediate admission.

His first encounter into the academic school system. Probably not his first encounter with dying hope.

Similar Faces

2004-12-24T13:18:00.000+05:00

Imagine a boy of 10.

He goes to school everyday, comes home to his mother, has lunch, maybe does his homework.
Then he waits for his father to come home, and when he does maybe they watch tv together or talk about the day.
The next day at school, he's made a class monitor. Smiling ear to ear all day, he can't wait to get home to tell his parents, maybe they'll take him out to eat at his favorite place.

Now, think of another boy...10 again.
He also goes to school everyday, and he also comes home to his mother, has lunch, and then waits for his father.
Only, his father died when he was three, so when his step father comes home, he gets a good hard beating, everday. He never does his homework cause no one asks, and he never talks about the day, cause no one cares.
The next day at school, he's also made class monitor. He doesn't smile, even when asked. He doesn't want to go home, because all he'll get in return is more scars on his face.

Two faces in the same class, but will we ever know what goes on behind closed doors when these children go home?

Killing Creativity

2004-12-10T16:05:00.000+05:00

An art teacher told her students:

"Today we're going to draw something."

One child, took his drawing pad out and drew the margins, wrote his class, date, and name. The teacher came around to him and said:

"Why'd you take your drawing pad out? Did I tell you too? Wait till I give all the instructions, and do things exactly as I say!"

She then went to the front of the class and told the students"

"We're going to make a flower"

The same child, took his color pencils, drew a pretty ten petal, blue flower with a purple center, a red stem, and lots of yellow leaves. The teacher noticed him busy at work, came around to him and said:

"Did I tell you to follow my instrucitons? Erase your flower, and draw one with 5 red petals, a yellow center, two green leaves, and a brown stem."

The teacher went on to draw the perfect flower on the board so that all the children could follow her instrucitons. The student, looked at her flower, looked back at his, thought, "My flower is better than hers", but then being a good student did as he was told, erased his flower, and went on to draw one same to the one on the board.

Soon after this, the child was transferred to another school where he had another art teacher. This art teacher gave the class similar instrucitons:

"Today we're going to draw a flower in your art pads".

The teacher noticed that all the students were working except for the one student. She went to him and asked, why aren't you working, to which the student replied "You never told me to take out my drawing pad". The teacher, surprised, told him, "Take out your drawing pad now, and start drawing your flower".

The student took out his pad, and thought to himself for a minute. Then he drew a flower, 5 red petals, a yellow center, a brown stem, and 2 green leaves.

Bye Bye Exams

2004-09-25T11:44:00.000+05:00

How man parents and students realise that exams don't tell you how well your kid/you are doing in school??

Imagine:
Smart kid but lazy...
Does he have the knowledge? YES...
Does he have a high GPA? NO...

Smart kid, but English isn't his mother tongue...
Does he have the knowledge? YES...
Does he have a high GPA? NO...

Smart kid, but poor. He's pulling an all nighter at his
fathers store the night before his exam...
Does he have the knowledge? YES...
Does he have a high GPA? NO...

So, are we trying to test a students ability to answer a standard paper which doesn't take into consideration the different situations and backgrounds which children come from, OR are we trying to ensure that students are getting the knowledge?

The first picture for your eyes: The niece of the woman running a canteen. She got shy of the camera at the last minute.

Changing Directions

2004-09-25T11:42:00.000+05:00

Initially this started off as a blog with stories of children, but I think I've changed my perspective...

Lets keep it to Education in general..anything and everything...

Its amazing how different ideas, problems, and questions can arise in just a day..

So, here we go again...

Education Dilemas

2004-08-20T14:36:00.000+05:00

Okay..simple question:

What's the definition of a person being well educated? Does that mean he has a degree from some ivy league college? Or that he's a computer whiz? Or how about if he was the valedictorian in his school?

Is a college drop out considered educated? He DID finish high school didn't he? And supposedly all basic knowledge has been solidified by that stage.

Okay..so another question:
What do you say to a person who has learned how to fix cars simply by watching another person do it? He's managed to open a shop, decently earns and manages to support his family BUT maybe's (and stress on the MAYBE) has finishes say 5th grade? Would you consider him educated (only if in the field of automobiles)?

Keep in mind, I'm by far saying that a basic formal education is useless..EVERYONE needs it, and DESERVES it. There're A LOT of people in the world like that. Who have managed to carve out a life for themselves without having any 'formal education'. This post is simply giving them a round of applause.

No picture this time..didn't take a camera..next time definately.

Welcome!

2004-08-19T16:34:00.000+05:00

So you've found your way here!

Well, you'll have to be patient with me for a while. I'm getting the hang of blogging right now. Hopefully, I'll have a new picture and story up for you every week (that is, if I'm doing my job right!).

Simply, anytime you're feeling like life needs a boost of motivation, come read the stories of these amazing kids. Well, all kids are special aren't they? Some just beat the odds and deserve the recognition.

So for now, sit tight..and come back soon!